Webinar

Japan-U.S. Dialogue | Harnessing New Technologies to Battle COVID-19

On the evening of October 1st (the morning of October 2nd in Japan), the Consulate General of Japan in New York and the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) co-hosted an online dialogue featuring Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, the recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The purpose of this webinar was to share lessons from Japan’s relatively successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore possible areas of collaboration between the U.S. and Japan in fighting the disease.

The event started with remarks from Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy in charge of Japan’s COVID-19 response, then a special presentation by Dr. Yamanaka, followed by a conversation between him and the Pulitzer Prize–winning science writer, Ms. Laurie Garrett. By sharing information about Japan’s efforts, especially about his own research regarding iPS cell technology, Dr. Yamanaka offered opportunities to learn from Japan’s unique approaches in combating COVID-19.

After the impressive conversation between them, the floor was then opened up for dialogue between Dr. Yamanaka and about 30 prominent global health experts from the U.S. The event was live-streamed on YouTube and can be watched below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhCCKsOZFOU

The summary report of the Dialogue can be seen here.
https://www.jcie.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/JCIE-CGJNY-COVID-Dialogue-201001.pdf

AGENDA

Opening
James Gannon, Executive Director, JCIE/USA

Special Remarks
Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy in Charge of Economic Revitalization

Conversation with Dr. Yamanaka
Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, Director, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University
Interviewed by Ms. Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Coming Plague

Japan-U.S. Dialogue with Leading Experts
Dr. Dennis Carroll, Chair, Leadership Board, Global Virome Project; former Director, Pandemic Influenza and Other Threats Unit, USAID

Dr. Lincoln Chen, President, China Medical Board

Ms. Kate Dodson, Vice President for Global Health Strategy, United Nations Foundation

Ambassador Mark Dybul, Co-Director, Center for Global Health Practice and Impact; Member, WHO Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response; former Executive Director, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Dr. Victor Dzau, President, National Academy of Medicine

Ms. Erika Elvander, Director, Asia Pacific, Office of Global Affairs, US Department of Health and Human Services

Dr. Harvey Fineberg, President, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Chair, Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; former President, Institute of Medicine

Mr. James Gannon, Executive Director, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA)

Dr. Yanzhong Huang, Senior Fellow for Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations

Dr. Hajime Inoue, Deputy Director General, Office for Novel Coronavirus Disease Control, Cabinet Secretariat of Japan

Dr. Claudia Juech, CEO, Cloudera Foundation

Ms. Mihoko Kashiwakura, Head of East Asia Relations, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Dr. Peter Kilmarx, Deputy Director, Fogarty International Center; Associate Director for International Programs, National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Dr. Florian Krammer, Professor of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Mr. Akio Okawara, President & CEO, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/Japan)

Dr. Ariel Pablos Mendez, Professor of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center; former Assistant Administrator for Global Health, USAID

Dr. Makoto Shimoaraiso, Cabinet Secretariat of Japan

Dr. Sheila Smith, Senior Fellow for Japan Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

Hon. Keizo Takemi, Member, House of Councillors of Japan; former Senior Vice Minister for Health, Labour, and Welfare

Mr. Shoji Watanabe, Assistant Director General, Office for Novel Coronavirus Disease Control, Cabinet Secretariat of Japan

Dr. Andrew C. Weber, Senior Fellow, Council on Strategic Risks; former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs.

Ambassador Kanji Yamanouchi, Consul General, Consulate General of Japan in New York

Dr. Robert T. Yanagisawa, Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Closing Remarks
Ambassador Kanji Yamanouchi