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Initiative for a Caring World

1. At the June 1996 Lyon Summit, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto proposed the Initiative for a Caring World. The principles of this are:
(a) each country will share its knowledge and experience of social security policies with other countries for establishing a sustainable social security system; and
(b) each country will contribute to building a better society for the next generation by sharing their knowledge and experience, while resolving their respective problems, not only with developed countries but also with newly industrialized economies and developing countries.

This proposal received support from the leaders of the G-7 countries, including French President Jacques Chirac, the chairman of the meeting, and U.S. President Bill Clinton, who was to preside over the Denver Summit.

2. As part of the ideas to translate this initiative into reality, the leaders had the items of ageing and infectious diseases on the agenda at the Denver Summit in June 1997:

(1) As for ageing, Prime Minister Hashimoto stressed that we should do away with the stereotype that the elderly are a helpless existence relying on society, and rather we should build on the concept of "active ageing." He argued that we must try to put in place an environment that will help the seniors to participate in society through employment and other forms and emphasized the importance of structural reform that will enable sustainable social security systems to exist alongside economic activity.

(2) In the area of infectious diseases, Prime Minister Hashimoto stressed, in addition to the improved capacity-building for surveillance system and emergency responses, that Japan would like to take this up at the Birmingham Summit in 1998, with Japan playing a central role in carrying out discussions on the ways and means to come up with measures against parasitic diseases, taking into consideration the present situation around the world and building on Japan's experience in controlling them in the past with the cooperation of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other participating countries.

3. This initiative has already been pursued in international venues under Japan's leadership:

(1) With the view that it will be beneficial to continue actively to utilize the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development which already has an accumulation of experience in this field among the developed countries, the November 1996 OECD high-level meeting on social policy "Beyond 2000: The New Social Policy Agenda." decided, based on Japan's proposal, that each country would produce a report. These reports will be grounded in a common framework of matters of interest to each country, and at the third OECD Meeting of Social Policy Ministers (scheduled for 1998) each country will share experience and knowledge in the social security field based on their reports.

(2) As the first step towards realizing this initiative in relations with developing countries, Japan held the East Asian Ministerial Meeting on Caring Societies in Okinawa on 5 December 1996. With Minister of Health and Welfare Junichiro Koizumi presiding, cabinet-level representatives from the seven member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Republic of Korea, China, Cambodia, and Laos participated; and the G-7 nations, the 14 nations bordering East Asia, the European Commission, and related international organizations, such as the OECD and WHO, attended as observers. Prime Minister Hashimoto delivered the keynote address, followed by Japanese-side presentations on Japan's health service, welfare system, and official development assistance to developing countries' social development. The participating countries also introduced their respective experience and issues, and a lively discussion took place. In addition, it was decided to follow up this conference with a meeting of senior officials by the end of fiscal 1997.

4. In addition, Japan's policy is to take an active role in international cooperation in the broad sense of social security, including health, medical treatment, and public hygiene, as a part of implementing this initiative.

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