Japan Leads the Way in Global Health Diplomacy: The Case of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

Daisuke Akimoto
Abstract:
This issue brief aims to investigate Japan’s policy toward “neglected tropical diseases” (NTDs) in light of Japan’s global health diplomacy. It confirms the significance of the so-called ‘Hashimoto Initiative’ as the origin of Japan’s global health diplomacy toward NTDs. This issue brief looks at the three cases of NTDs in Japan, i.e. dengue fever, Hansen’s disease, and lymphatic filariasis, and how Japan succeeded in controlling and eradicating the diseases domestically. It then examines the significance of the establishment of the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) in relation to Japan’s global health diplomacy. Finally, it explores the future scenario of Japan’s global health diplomacy to control and eradicate NTDs at the G7 Hiroshima Summit to be hosted by the Kishida administration in May 2023.
Related Publications
-
Japan’s New Diplomatic Bluebook: Revised by the Russia-Ukraine War
Introduction: On April 22, Japan’s latest Diplomatic Bluebook, an annual diplomatic report published by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), was reported to a cabinet meeting of the Kishida administration. […]
-
Japan’s National Security Strategy: On Road to Upending Post-War Pacifism?
Late in 2022, Japan’s ruling government, led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, endorsed the makings of a pioneering national security policy. It is one that aligns with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe‘s goal to […]
-
The prospects of critical and emerging technology cooperation between India and the EU
US-China strategic competition is the predominant challenge of this era and although it has fueled unprecedented tensions, it has also compelled the other regional and global major and middle powers […]
-
As G20 President, Can India Advance Its Multipolar Worldview?
Introduction: Days after the G-20 summit in Bali, which marked the end of the Indonesian presidency and heralded the group’s Indian leadership for the new term beginning in December, Indian […]
-
Enlarging Indo-Pacific into the Orbit of Euro-Atlantic: Implications for India
Abstract: Following the release of the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy that called for building bridges between the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic, the idea of interlinking the two geopolitical theaters has […]
-
Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit: Has It Burdened Japan’s Taiwan Trajectory?
Of late, Japan has been expediting the process of breaking its strategic silence on the contentious Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s status, as China repeatedly remarks, is a “red line” that cannot […]