Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Summary
The 23rd ASEAN & Japan High-Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies

The 23rd ASEAN & Japan High-Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies was held from 28th to 30th October 2025. This meeting was co-organized by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). Under the theme of "Sustainable Support for Ageing Populations," lively discussions were conducted among high-level officials from the health, social welfare and labour sectors of Japan and ASEAN Member States as well as partners and other participants, and recommendations for future initiatives and actions were adopted. In addition, joint discussions and site visit were organized in conjunction with the Country Coordinator Knowledge Exchange and Training of the ASEAN Centre for Active Ageing and Innovation (ACAI), and a joint statement was adopted, affirming a commitment to steadily advancing the creation and enhancement of a society that promotes active ageing.


The outline of the meeting is as follows:

＜Date and Venue＞

Date: 28th (Tue) - 30th (Thu) October 2025

Venue: Hotel Nikko Narita (Narita City, Chiba Prefecture)

＜Participants＞

-　Japan
-　ASEAN Member States: high-level officials from the health, social welfare and labour sectors (Brunei Darussalam, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Republic of the Philippines, Kingdom of Thailand, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Socialist Republic of Vietnam)
-　Participants of the Country Coordinator Knowledge Exchange and Training of the ASEAN Centre for Active Ageing and Innovation (ACAI) (on 29th and 30th October)
-　Observer country: People’s Republic of China
-　Co-organizer: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)
-　Partners:
　ASEAN Secretariat
　World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO)
　International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Japan
　Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
　Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
　ASEAN Center for Active Ageing and Innovation (ACAI)
　United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
　National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan (IPSS)
　Chiba Prefecture
　Narita City
-　Experts
-　General audiences

＜Theme＞

Sustainable Support for Ageing Populations

＜Recommendations＞（PDF:204KB）

＜Joint Statement＞（PDF:39KB）

＜Program＞ *The titles of the speeches listed here are the original titles used by the speakers.

Day 1: Tuesday, 28th October 2025

●　Opening remarks

-　Dr. SAKOI Masami, Vice-Minister for Health and Chief Medical and Global Health Officer, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan
-　Mr. Miguel Musngi, Assistant Director and Head of Poverty Eradication and Gender Division, ASEAN Secretariat
-　Mr. KUMAGAI Toshihito, Governor of Chiba Prefecture


●　Speeches by Partner Organizations

-　Mr. Miguel Musngi, Assistant Director and Head of Poverty Eradication and Gender Division, ASEAN Secretariat
“Regional initiatives on social welfare, health and labour”（PDF:7,982KB）
-　Ms. Mikiko Kanda, Technical lead, Healthy ageing, Division of Healthy Environments and Populations, WHO WPRO
“Regional initiatives on social welfare, health and labour - WHO WPRO perspective”（PDF:1,458KB）
-　Mr. TOMITA Nozomi, Director, ILO Office for Japan
“Challenges of Population Aging in ASEAN Labor Markets: Lessons from Japan’s Experience and ILO Reports”（PDF:1,824KB）
-　Ms. SATO Rie, Director of Health Team 4, Health Group 2, Human Development Department, JICA
“Overview of JICA’s Work for Healthy and Active Ageing”（PDF:1,585KB）


●　Remarks by the Co-Organizer

-　Dr. YAMANAKA Takayuki,COO, ERIA
“ERIA’s Commitment to Inclusive and Resilient Ageing Societies”（PDF:3,314KB）


●　Keynote Speech 1

-　Dr. Somsak Akksilp, Executive Director, ACAI
“Sustainable Support for Ageing Populations: Designing tomorrow”（PDF:8,313KB）


●　Panel Session 1: Promoting Initiatives for Social Participation of Older Persons

-　Moderator: Dr. IGARASHI Kumiko,Research Managing Director, National Institute of Public Health, Japan
-　Presentation: Ms. NOMURA Takako, Director of Long-Term Care Insurance Section, Welfare Department, City of Narita
“Empowering Seniors for a Vibrant Life～Preventive Care Initiatives in Narita～”（PDF:3,393KB）

-　Reports by participant countries


●　Keynote Speech 2

-　Dr. ONO Taichi, Professor of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
“Maintaining Sustainability of Social Protection Schemes for the Elderly amid Population Ageing in Japan”（PDF:7,844KB）


●　Keynote Speech 3

-　Mr. AMBIRU Takashi, Director of Employment Promotion & Research Department for the Elderly, Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers (JEED)
“Initiatives to Promote Employment of Older Persons at the Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers (JEED)”（PDF:14,985KB）


●　Panel Session 2: Realizing the Delivery of Health care and Long-term Services Open to All

-　Moderator: Mr. NAKAMURA Shintaro, Senior Adviser on Social Security, JICA
-　Presentation1: Mr. HOSHI Akihiro, Department Manager, WELCIA YAKKYOKU Co., Ltd.
“Toward Becoming the Region’s No.1 Health Station by 2030”（PDF:7,293KB）
-　Presentation2:Mr. IWANO Shingo, Section Chief, SAINT-CARE NARITA Small-scale/Multifunction In-home Care and Home-visit Nursing
“Nursing-Type Small-Scale Multifunctional In-Home Care Introduction”（PDF:5,856KB）

-　Reports by participant countries


●　Keynote Speech 4

-　Dr. Aleksandar Bodiroza, Deputy Regional Director, UNFPA


●　Keynote Speech 5

-　Dr. Monika Queisser, Senior Counsellor to the Director of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Directorate and the Head of Social Policy Division, OECD


●　Panel Session 3: Promoting Active Ageing in Southeast Asia

-　Moderator: Mr. Narihiro Hirai, Chief Manager on Healthcare, ERIA
-　Presentation:

-　Reports by participant countries


Day 2: Wednesday, 29th October 2025

-　Site visit

-　Hands-on Experience Program (Winners of the Healthy Aging Prize for Asian Innovation (HAPI))


Day 3: Thursday, 30th October 2025

●　Panel Session 4: Generational Economy and Policy Implications

-　Moderator: Dr. Liem Thanh Nguyen, Program Manager on Social Welfare, ERIA
-　Presentation


●　Overall Summary, Recommendations & Joint Statement

-　Reports by participant countries

-　Discussion on Recommendations（PDF:204KB）
-　Overview and Key Takeaways of the ACAI Country Coordinator Knowledge Exchange and Training
-　Adoption of Joint Statement（PDF:39KB）


●　Closing



【Appendix】
　　The ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies has been organized by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan since 2003. The purpose of the meeting is to enhance human resource development of officials in health and social welfare areas, and to strengthen the ASEAN-Japan cooperative relationship. Since 2011, officials in charge of labour policies have also participated in addition to health and social welfare officials, with a view to promoting cooperation in these three related fields.
　　This meeting has been recognized as a vital platform to support the ASEAN Plus Three (Japan, the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea) Health Ministers’ Meetings, the ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meetings on Social Welfare and Development as well as the ASEAN Plus Three Labour Ministers’ Meetings. Japan has reported the outcomes of the high-level officials meetings to these ASEAN Plus Three Ministers’ Meetings.



Themes of the past ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies

The 1st Meeting November 2003 Human Resource Development for Social Welfare and Health Services
The 2nd Meeting August 2004 Development of Human Resources and Implications of Aging Societies
The 3rd Meeting August 2005 Health and Welfare Services for Children and People with Disabilities
The 4th Meeting August 2006 Support to Vulnerable People (Children and Women)
The 5th Meeting August 2007 Collaboration of Social Welfare and Health Services, and Development of Human Resources and Community
- Community Services for the Elderly -
The 6th Meeting September 2008 Healthy Next Generation:
- Strengthening Joint Collaboration between Health and Social Welfare -
The 7th Meeting August 2009 Towards an Inclusive Society
- Strengthening the collaboration between social welfare, health and medical systems for Children with Disabilities -
The 8th Meeting August 2010 Poverty alleviation with a focus on vulnerable people
- through strengthening collaboration between the social welfare and health services -
The 9th Meeting October 2011 Human resource development in the sectors of welfare and health
- with a focus on capacity building of service providers and employability promotion of vulnerable people -
The 10th Meeting October 2012 Caring Societies for the Socially Vulnerable Suffering after Natural Disaster
The 11th Meeting December 2013 Active Aging
The 12th Meeting December 2014 Resilient Communities for Active Aging
The 13th Meeting October 2015 People-Centered Disaster Risk Reduction and Restoration
The 14th Meeting November 2016 Facilitating the participation and improvement for the accessibility for those who need a social support
The 15th Meeting October 2017 Healthy Development of Children for Future Generations
The 16th Meeting December 2018 Promoting Inclusive Society Through Empowering Children and Youth and Alleviating Poverty
The 17th Meeting December 2019 Health and Active Ageing towards an Inclusive Society
The 18th Meeting October 2020 Promoting inclusive society for the children’s future
- Focusing on support for children with developmental disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorders and their families -
The 19th Meeting December 2021 Approaches to maintaining mental wellbeing in response to COVID-19
The 20th Meeting March 2023 Age of the 100-year life - Living True to Yourself - In a Society Supporting Diversity
The 21st Meeting November 2023 Towards building a society where everyone can live lively as being oneself in communities
- focusing on maintaining and strengthening physical and mental capacities to optimize one’s full potential -
The 22nd Meeting November 2024 A Virtuous Cycle of Achieving UHC (universal health coverage) and “Promoting a Healthy Society
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