On Friday, April 22, our director Yosuke Kaneko submitted a demanding form to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to further strengthen global health initiatives that harness the vitality of the private sector, as a member of Japanese business leaders in global health, in which Ken Shibusawa, CEO of Shibusawa & Company, Inc. has been taking leadership.

The form, titled “Global Health as a New Growth Industry for Japan: Global Development of a Virtuous Circle of Growth and Distribution”, requests a doubling of Official Development Assistance (ODA) of Japan to the global health sector to address the global health challenges, which have emerged more strongly in the wake of COVID-19. Moreover, the form also seeks to position global health sector as a pillar of the new strategy by Prime Minister Kishida with the concept of “New Capitalism”, which must be achieved with strengthening the contribution by Japanese private companies.

It is highlighted to focus on so-called “reverse innovation,” in which Japanese innovations born out of the need to address health challenges in low- and middle-income countries can be applied to high-income countries, including Japan, thereby it requests stronger support for encouraging Japanese innovations in information and communications technology (ICT), supply chains, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and so on.

“SORA Technology aims to solve healthcare issues in developing countries, focusing on the delivery of medical supplies by drones and flying vehicles. We believe that it is essential for the sustainable and inclusive development of the capitalist economy that startups, the creators of innovation, work together with the Japanese public and private sectors and developing countries to co-create the future.” (Yosuke Kaneko, CEO of SORA Technology)

Details are available below. (Only Japanese)

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000009.000076537.html