- Home
- News Releases
- Back Issues
- September FY2018
- Announcement of Program of the 1st Well Aging Society Summit Asia-Japan
Announcement of Program of the 1st Well Aging Society Summit Asia-Japan
September 11, 2018
To discovering potential venture businesses and entities that will contribute to solving challenges that Japanese healthcare industries are facing and support them, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been advancing a variety of efforts including the Japan Healthcare Business Contest project. While advancing the efforts, METI identified unique, effective services that may help to address the issues faced by a super-aged society.
Against this backdrop, METI decided to hold the 1st Well Aging Society Summit Asia-Japan as an international event bringing together experts from around the world, representatives of large companies and startups, investors, public officials and others to hold discussions on future directions of global efforts for addressing the issues faced by a super-aged society and solutions thereto. METI hereby announces that it will open invitations to the public and begin accepting applications for the press to attend the event.
1. Background and purpose
Japan has already entered the era of a super-aged society ahead of other countries and is facing a variety of social challenges (e.g., an increase in social security expenses, an increase in patients suffering from lifestyle-related diseases or dementia, disparity in access to medical care and shortage of nursing care facilities and human resources in such facilities). In these circumstances, Japan is required to create and develop sustainable new healthcare industries that solve these challenges and meet a variety of public demands for health.
As part of the efforts to this end, METI has been holding Japan Healthcare Business Contests and other events to discover and support venture businesses and entities that can contribute to solving challenges that Japanese healthcare industries are facing. Through the 1st Well Aging Society Summit Asia-Japan, METI will showcase the many companies in the field of healthcare that have placed their business bases in Japan and are advancing in the development and implementation of outstanding services and R&D, and that Japan is useful as a field base for service development and R&D, aiming to encourage other countries to invest in healthcare business in Japan. Moreover, METI expects that this event will become an opportunity for participants to establish cooperative, international partnerships to solve challenges and to match up globally state-of the-art innovations or technological seeds with demands in the field of healthcare in Japan and that through this event, participants will find solutions to problems that can contribute to extending healthy life-spans worldwide.
2. Outline of the event

- Title of the event:
- 1st Well Aging Society Summit Asia-Japan
- Date and time:
- October 9 (Tue.), 2018; from 9:50 to 20:00 (tentative)
- Venues:
- Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall (2-2-1 Nihombashi Muromachi, Chuo Ward, Tokyo)
Nihonbashi Life Science Hub (1-5-5 Nihombashi Muromachi, Chuo Ward, Tokyo)
Nihonbashi Life Science Building (2-3-11 Nihombashi Honcho, Chuo Ward, Tokyo) - Organizer:
- METI
- Co-organizers:
- The Office of Healthcare Policy, Cabinet Secretariat
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) - Cooperators in planning:
- The Life Science Innovation Network Japan, Inc. (LINK-J)
Aging Japan
Note: Japanese/English simultaneous interpretation available.
3 Program and major speakers (tentative)
9:45-10:10 Remarks by organizer; remarks by guests of honor (Venue: Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall)
- 9:45-9:48 The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (speaker is currently being determined)
- 9:48-9:50 The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (speaker is currently being determined)
- 9:50-10:00 Mr. Yoshitake Yokokura, President, Japan Medical Association
- 10:00-10:10 Ms. Annika Saarikko, Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services, Finland
10:10-11:50 Keynote speeches (Venue: Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall)
- 10:10-10:30 Mr. Nigel Smith, AARP
- 10:30-10:50 Dr. Dessislava Dimitrova, World Economic Forum
- 10:50-11:10 Speaker is under coordination.
- 11:10-11:30 Dr. Makoto Suematsu, President, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
- 11:30-11:50 Dr. John D. Halamka, US Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP)
13:30-13:45 Plenary speeches (Venue: Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall)
- 13:30-13:35 Mr. Hiroshige Seko, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
- 13:35-13:40 The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (speaker is currently being determined)
- 13:40-13:45 Mitsui Fudosan / LINK-J (speaker is currently being determined)
14:00-18:15 Theme-based session
14:00-16:00 Theme: Quality Digital Health (Venue: Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall)
Details: Panel discussion, pitch-presentation contest by venture businesses
<Panelists> (tentative)
- Dr. John D. Halamka, HITSP
- Dr. Shinsuke Muto, Tetsuyu Healthcare Holdings Pte Ltd.
- Mr. Akihisa Shiozaki, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
and others (subject to scheduling)
<Venture businesses> (tentative) (Information in parentheses is the location of their headquarters.)
- ExaWizards Inc. (Japan)
- LPixel Inc. (Japan)
- BC platform (Finland)
- Enlitic Inc. (United States)
- LIFESITE, Inc. (United States)
- Shenzhen A+AccessibilityEcological Industry Development Co., Ltd. (China)
- Tabyy mHealth (India)
- Tricog Health Pte Ltd. (Singapore)
- Vsee (United States)
14:00-16:00 Theme: Biotech (Venue: Nihonbashi Life Science Hub)
Details: Presentations, Panel discussion
- Mr. Michael Chan, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX)
- Mr. Ken Takanashi, Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, Ltd.
- Mr. Taro Inaba, REMIGES Ventures
- Mr. Atsushi Seki, UBS Securities Japan Co., Ltd.
- Mr. Hironoshin Nomura, Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd.
and others (subject to scheduling)
16:15-18:15 Theme: Well Aging Society (Venue: Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall)
Details: Panel discussion, pitch-presentation contest by venture businesses
<Panelists> (tentative)
- Mr. Nigel Smith, AARP
- Dr. Dessislava Dimitrova, World Economic Forum
- Dr. Florian Kohlbacher, The Economist
- Dr. Fumiaki Ikeno, Stanford University
and others (subject to scheduling)
<Venture businesses> (tentative) (Information in parentheses is the location of their headquarters.)
- SoundFun Inc. (Japan)
- Triple W Japan (Japan)
- mediVR, Inc. (Japan)
- GYENNO Technologies Co., Ltd. (China)
- I’m Soul Inc. (Singapore)
- Intuition Robotics Ltd. (Israel)
- LongGood MediTech Ltd. (Taiwan)
- VideoVisit Ltd. (Finland)
18:45-20:00: Networking event for speakers, representatives of venture businesses, supporting associations, and other stakeholders.
For details of the program and more information, visit the website below:
4. Call for public visitors
To attend the event, please visit the following website to fill out an application. Please note that participants will be selected by lottery if the number of applicants exceeds the maximum capacity of the venue.
5. Registration of the press
For the press that intend to attend the event, please visit the following website to register to attend.
6. Collaborative events and supporting associations (as of September 11)
Titles of the events:
- J-Startup Saloon: Future of Healthcare Innovations Led by Venture Businesses (METI)
- BioJapan 2018 (BioJapan Organizing Committee and JTB Communication Design, Inc.)
- The 45th International Home Care and Rehabilitation Exhibition (the Japan National Council of Social Welfare and the Health and Welfare Information Association)
- Japan Healthcare Venture Summit 2018 (the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
- CEATEC JAPAN 2018 (Secretariat of CEATEC JAPAN)
- Digital Health Days 2018 (Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.)
- JETRO Japan-China Networking in the Elderly Industries in Tokyo (the Japan External Trade Organization)
- Global Life Science Cluster Session (LINK-J)
- UK Life Science Symposium (MedCity, LINK-J, etc.)
- “Front Line of Healthtech in Israel” - mHealth Israel Women x Healthtech Women Japan- (International Healthtech Association)
- Blockbuster TOKYO (Tokyo Metropolitan Government)
- Oral Healthcare Seminar (tentative title): Front Line of Oral Healthcare in Thailand, Malaysia and Japan (METI and the Japan Dental Materials Manufacturers’ Association (JDMA))
- Deloitte Tohmatsu Healthcare Seminar: Future Innovations for Hospital Construction that Denmark has been Advancing and Their Meanings for Japan (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC.)
- BRAVE 2018 SUMMER (Beyond Next Ventures Inc.)
- MIRAI 2019 (the Japan Research Institute, Limited.)
- Advanced Medical Devices Acceleration Project (Japan Convention Services, Inc.)
- 500 Startups Kobe Accelerator (Kobe City)
- US-JAPAN Medical Device Innovation Forum in SHIZUOKA2018 (Executive Committee of US-JAPAN Medical Device Innovation Forum in SHIZUOKA 2018)
Division in Charge
Healthcare Industries Division, Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group