HHS Participates in Annual U.S.-Japan Health Security Committee Meeting

Tokyo, Japan — On July 29-30, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), participated in the 2nd U.S.-Japan Health Security Committee meeting in Tokyo, Japan. This meeting is a direct result of the Letter of Intent (LOI) signed by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, which extends and enhances the scope of the 2017 Memorandum of Cooperation between the United States and Japan. The inaugural meeting was hosted in Washington, DC, in 2023.

The U.S.-Japan Health Security Committee

The U.S.-Japan Health Security Committee, established through the 2023 LOI, represents an evolution of the longstanding U.S.-Japan Medical Biodefense Research Symposium. Since 2007, this symposium has convened U.S. and Japanese experts and government officials to advance cooperation in medical biodefense research. The new committee aims to build on this legacy by focusing on broader aspects of health emergency management, medical countermeasures, and global health security strengthening. The European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) joined the meeting for discussion of multilateral cooperation and medical countermeasures.

This year’s meeting featured technical discussions on several critical topics:

• Emergency preparedness and response
• Pandemic readiness and management
• Biosecurity and biodefense strategies
• Bilateral and multilateral health cooperation
• Development and deployment of medical countermeasures (MCM)
• Operations and coordination of Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT)
• Informed public health decision-making

The meeting resulted in agreement to continue discussions and identify collaboration opportunities for advanced development and procurement of MCMs.  

The ASPR-supported National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) conducted an on-site assessment of Japan’s National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) biocontainment unit, completing one of the deliverables of the 2023 LOI. ASPR, NETEC, and NCGM started the collaboration in 2021 to expand the management of high-consequence pathogens.

Immediately prior to the Health Security Committee meeting, ASPR and Japan’s DMAT Secretariat met another milestone: conducting a joint DMAT tabletop exercise, with representatives from the Republic of Korea, Australia, and the European Union.

In addition, CDC and Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), and National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) initiated discussions to strengthen information exchange related to public health events, deepening bilateral and regional coordination, and bolstering global health security efforts.

Delegation and Participation

Meeting participants from MHLW comprised various divisions such as Office of Public Health Emergency preparedness and Response, Health Science Division, Minister’s Secretariat, and Department of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Health Policy Bureau, as well as related ministries and organizations, including NIID, NCGM, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From the United States, representatives from CDC and ASPR attended, including experts from the CDC's newly established East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office in Tokyo. The committee meeting followed visits by both CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen and ASPR Assistant Secretary Dawn O’Connell to Japan in Spring 2024.

HHS is committed to fostering a collaborative environment where the United States and Japan can share knowledge, strategies, and resources to enhance global health security. The U.S.-Japan Health Security Committee stands as a testament to the strong partnership between the two nations in addressing some of the most pressing health security challenges.