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Japan Times
08-05-2025
- Health
- Japan Times
Japan bolsters pandemic readiness with new health crisis institute
As Japan marks two years of COVID-19 being reclassified into a lower-risk category under the country's infectious diseases control law, the government is accelerating its efforts to prepare for future outbreaks. The Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS), established in April, represents the centerpiece of a strengthened framework designed to apply hard-learned lessons from the early missteps of the pandemic. 'By bringing together diverse knowledge and expertise, we aim to reinforce our health crisis management system,' said Norihiro Kokudo, president of JIHS, during the organization's inauguration ceremony. The institute combines the functions of the former National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) to create an integrated research and advisory body. JIHS conducts research that ranges from basic virology to clinical studies, while also providing scientific counsel to policymakers and communicating information to the public. The organization's launch comes amid a broader shift in Japan's pandemic preparedness infrastructure following COVID-19's reclassification to Class 5 — the same tier as seasonal influenza — on May 8, 2023. In the event of a serious outbreak of an infectious disease, the institute is tasked with alerting the government, which would then activate its contingency plans and coordinate with prefectural authorities to implement a response. Takaji Wakita, deputy head of the JIHS, said the institute would provide 'solid scientific knowledge' to both the government and the public, as the country seeks to bolster its preparedness for future pandemics. In an interview with Jiji Press in April, Wakita, a virologist who previously headed the NIID, said the lessons of COVID-19 had driven the creation of the new agency. 'The experience during the coronavirus pandemic showed that information gathering, analysis, and the provision of scientific insights were insufficient,' he said. He pointed to shortcomings in Japan's infrastructure for the development of vaccines and treatments. 'Our reflections on that led to the establishment of JIHS,' he added. 'We're building a system in which doctors can both treat patients and engage in clinical research to develop therapeutics.' Wakita served as chair of the health ministry's advisory board throughout the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis. He now plays a key role in the newly consolidated organization, which merges the NIID with the NCGM — an institution with both research and hospital functions. 'From vaccine R&D to treatment and workforce training, an integrated approach is essential,' Wakita said. 'We aim to respond not only to infectious diseases but to health crises more broadly.' The government has emphasized preparedness during noncrisis periods, but Wakita cautioned that this can be difficult. 'What makes infectious disease countermeasures challenging is that, in normal times, there are no patients,' he said. To bridge that gap, JIHS began monitoring acute respiratory infections — including the common cold — in April, gathering patient data and analyzing specimens from designated medical institutions across the country. In doing so, it hopes to detect potential new pathogens at an earlier stage. 'By collecting broad data, we can detect anomalies like the emergence of unknown infectious diseases,' Wakita said. 'We will provide the government with steady, science-based advice.' Translated by The Japan Times
07-05-2025
- Health
Japan Preparing for Future Pandemics
News from Japan Society May 7, 2025 17:44 (JST) Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government has been taking steps to prepare for future pandemics since it downgraded COVID-19 to a lower-risk category of infectious diseases that includes influenza two years ago. "We'll work to strengthen our health crisis management system by bringing together various forms of knowledge and powers," Norihiro Kokudo, who heads the Japan Institute for Health Security, said at its inaugural ceremony in April. JIHS, created through the merger of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, promotes research on infectious diseases, from the basics to clinical practice. It provides advice to the government and the public. Following the COVID downgrade in May 2023, the government established the Cabinet Agency for Infectious Disease Crisis Management, which coordinates with other government agencies on measures against infectious diseases, in September that year. The health ministry has set up an organization to tackle infectious diseases. In July 2024, the government updated its action plan for dealing with outbreaks of serious infectious diseases. The new plan puts priority on preparations, including information gathering and research on vaccines and treatments. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
04-05-2025
- Health
- Yomiuri Shimbun
New Pandemic Response Institute Aims to Achieve Swift Initial Reaction Through Stronger Information Collection System
The Yomiuri Shimbun The building of the Japan Institute for Health Security in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, which was established in April One month since the launch of the Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS), a new organization of experts meant to prepare for the next infectious disease crisis in Japan, new initiatives have been started based on lessons learned from delays in the response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. These efforts include strengthening information gathering on infectious diseases. In order to realize a prompt initial response to emergencies, it is essential to build a system of close cooperation with local governments and hospitals nationwide from normal times and continue to thoroughly disseminate information to the public. 'Experience with the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of preparedness. We will be able to respond immediately to the next pandemic, no matter when it occurs,' said JIHS President Norihiro Kokudo. The JIHS was formed through the merger of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, which has been responsible for research and trend surveys on infectious diseases, and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, which runs a general hospital. There are about 3,900 staff members at the JIHS, including doctors and researchers who are involved in matters from basic research on pathogens to treatment of patients in an integrated manner. To support government decision-making, the JIHS provides scientific knowledge to the Cabinet Agency for Infectious Disease Crisis Management, which serves as the command center for the government's infectious disease response, and the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. On April 7, the JIHS began a fixed-point survey of acute respiratory infections (ARI). Before the start of the JIHS, medical institutions reported the number of patients for known pathogens, such as influenza. But in the ARI survey, the JIHS focuses on cold-like symptoms, such as cough and sore throat, and collects information on outbreaks. By monitoring trends in the number of patients suspected of carrying infectious diseases whose pathogens are not yet known, the JIHS aims to quickly detect the spread of unknown infectious diseases through testing to speed up the initial response. Improving efficiency The JIHS will strengthen emergency surveys conducted immediately after the outbreak of a new virus or another disease is confirmed, which is called the 'first few hundred' studies. It is intended to analyze medical examination information, blood, nasal membrane and other patient data to quickly determine the characteristics of pathogens, including infectivity, infection routes, symptoms and severity. Based on this, the government will decide on infection control measures, such as the length of isolation of patients. Emergency surveys were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic as well. But, since there was no network of medical institutions to collect patient information, there was nothing to rely on besides the personal connections of researchers. Norio Omagari, head of the infectious disease clinical policy division of the JIHS, said, 'We'd like to promote the establishment of a close cooperation system among medical institutions during ordinary times to ensure surveys can be conducted promptly and reliably, and to efficiently consolidate information through digitalization.' Compared to Europe and the United States, Japan lagged behind in the development of vaccines and therapeutic agents for COVID-19. However, as the JIHS has both research and hospital functions, it will be possible to immediately confirm the effectiveness of candidate drugs found by research sections at the hospital that also accepts patients. Start in ordinary times In the two years since COVID-19 symptoms were classified as Category V under the Infectious Diseases Control Law in May 2023, influenza and various other infectious diseases have continued to spread. This spring has also seen a sharp increase in both whooping cough cases, with continuous severe coughing as a symptom, and measles, which is highly contagious. The JIHS will begin disseminating information to the general public on these familiar infectious diseases from as early as May. Their characteristics and precautions against them will be briefly summarized and made available on its website. Nobuhiko Okabe, advisor at the Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health who served as a member of the government's subcommittee on measures against COVID-19, said, 'If we communicate well with the public and gain their trust, they will carefully listen to our advice in case of an emergency.' During the pandemic, experts who advised the government repeatedly held press conferences and directly called on the public to take measures. Izuru Makihara, a professor of public administration at the University of Tokyo, said, 'The reason behind this is that the government and public administrations did not fully accept the sense of urgency felt by experts.' Based on this, he added, 'It is essential for the government and the JIHS to communicate well on a daily basis to clarify their respective roles in order to avoid confusion in the event of an emergency.'
Japan Times
01-04-2025
- Health
- Japan Times
Japanese version of U.S. CDC launched for future pandemics
The Japan Institute for Health Security, modeled on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was launched Tuesday to prepare for future infectious disease crises. The institute was created through the merge of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, or NIID, and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, or NCGM. It will be responsible for information analysis, research and crisis response related to infectious diseases. Legislation to set up the new body was enacted during the ordinary parliamentary session in 2023, based on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, in which Japan was unable to act quickly, including in developing vaccines and drugs. Norihiro Kokudo, who was president of the NCGM, became the first head of the new institute, while Takaji Wakita, who was director-general of the NIID, assumed the post of deputy head. The new institute, whose abbreviated name is JIHS, will collect information on infectious diseases and conduct risk assessments in normal times while reporting scientific findings to the government. In the event of an infectious disease outbreak, it will work with the government to develop drugs and vaccines and draw up guidelines for medical treatment.
