Event Detail

The ACCJ will hold an exciting kick-off luncheon featuring presentations about the Healthcare Committee national public opinion survey focusing on health and wellness in Japan and highlights of policy proposals from the 2011 edition of the ACCJ Prevention and Early Detection White Paper. This luncheon will immediately follow a press conference at 10:00 a.m. where the survey results and updated White Paper will be announced. All luncheon participants will receive a printed copy of the survey overview in English and a copy of the White Paper in either English or Japanese.



The Survey: Come hear the results of a ground breaking 80-question, 5,000 person national public opinion survey about Japanese personal health habits and the leading disease areas conducted by the ACCJ Healthcare Committee in October. The Japanese are well known for having a healthy diet and the longest life expectancies in the world. But have you ever wondered how the Westernization of the diet (more processed and fatty foods) combined with high smoking rates and stressful work environments are impacting health and workplace productivity in Japan? Are there generational differences in lifestyles or attitudes that could cause these health trends to accelerate or reverse direction? What is the annual economic burden of infectious and chronic disease in terms of economic losses due to absenteeism, presenteeism and disability. And what could be done to keep rising costs under control? Are employers doing enough to support the health and productivity of their employees? These questions and many more will be addressed in the public opinion survey results.



The White Paper: Come hear an overview of the greatly expanded 2011 edition of the ACCJ Prevention and Early Detection White Paper, which will include policy proposals on 27 different topics, ranging from cancer screening and tobacco control to vaccines and pain management. Traditionally, the Japanese healthcare system has focused more on treating people after they develop disease, and less on preventing diseases from developing in the first place. Faced with an aging population at home and increasing competition from abroad, more and more attention is shifting to the question of how to enable people to stay healthy and stay in the workforce longer. To increase emphasis on wellness, prevention and early detection of disease, the government is focusing more on improving health screening rates, though actual screening rates seem to consistently fall short of official targets. Nearly two dozen ACCJ member companies joined forces to develop the 2011 ACCJ Prevention White Paper based on the belief that improving the health of the Japanese people will not only result in a higher quality of life and save long-term healthcare costs, but also increase labor productivity and economic competitiveness.



NOTE: This meeting is ON THE RECORD