For Health Care and Welfare in the New Era

Since its foundation, the Health Care Science Institute (HCI) has consistently made efforts, as advocated in the Prospectus, to bring together the wisdom of society and find solutions for the new era in consensus with society, aiming to strike a balance between health care and the economy, that is, a balance between the value of health care, which is essential for the sanctity of life, and limited health care resources. Meanwhile, over the more than 30 years since its foundation, both health care and the environment surrounding it have changed dramatically. Not to mention the shrinking population, aging society, and declining birthrate, but also the outstanding progress made in healthcare technology and breakthrough progress in drug discovery, including the diversification of modality, have led to the resolution of unmet medical needs. In addition, there has been a series of remarkable developments in information technology (IT) that supports health care, as well as an outstanding evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and its application.

In the midst of such dramatic changes, in order for HCI to continue its activities in line with the Prospectus and enhance the quality of the activities, we must enrich the content of the activities using collective wisdom. To achieve this, we have outstanding academics from various fields serving as trustees, auditors, and councilors, and with these academics at the center, we have established five committees and are carrying out various projects with the participation of external academics. In addition, there are projects that are carried out under the responsibility of the Chairman, through consultation with the Board of Trustees.

Late Dr. Wataru Mori (former President of the University of Tokyo), the first Chairman of HCI, defined the term “health care science” as meaning “all social relationships relating to acts of creating, distributing, and giving (receiving) health care,” and used this term in the name of this institute. Inheriting his spirit, HCI will play a role as a forum to mobilize the wisdom of various fields in Japan and to deepen consideration, with a view to exploring the shape of “health care” in the new era, while dealing with various issues on health care head-on and taking into account the changes and evolution of society.

June 2024
Masaru Mimura
President
The Health Care Science Institute