On April 14 2018, the APRU Population Aging Hub held a high-level policy discussion on challenges posed by a rapidly aging society.

The meeting was brought together by Keio University’s Global Research Institute, host of the APRU Population Aging Hub and initiator of the Keio-APRU Population Aging Hub Longevity Initiative.

The meeting featured special guests Dr. Victor Dzau (President of the United States National Academy of Medicine), Senator Keizo Takemi (Member of the House of Councillors), Dr. Hiroto Izumi (Special Adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe) and Mr. Yuji Kuroiwa (Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture). The meeting was attended by leading faculty members including Prof. Masayuki Amagai (Dean of the Keio University School of Medicine) and Prof. Hideyuki Okano(Dean of the Keio University Graduate School of Medicine and Leader of the Keio University Longevity Initiative).

The event allowed for an open discussion among leading academics and policy-makers on challenges and solutions for improving health and happiness in a rapidly aging societies particularly in Japan, the United States and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.

Discussions topics included:
– improved funding mechanisms at national and global level as a catalyst for research and innovation in the field of healthy longevity;
– creating global synergies for technological and human resource exchange and capacity building;
– the importance of preventative healthcare and education in reducing the social and financial cost of an aging population; and
– developing effective indicators to estimate individual healthy life-span

For a detailed meeting report and vidoes, please see here.