Foreword
This report is the second in the OECD’s series of reports reviewing public health policies across selected OECD countries. Health care systems across OECD are increasingly under pressure from social changes – including demographic changes and aging populations – and emerging new health challenges – from a growing burden of chronic disease, to re-emerging and new communicable diseases, or a growing burden of mental ill-health – which demand a strong public health response. The OECD Reviews of Public Health provide in-depth analysis and policy recommendations to strengthen priority areas of countries’ public health systems, highlighting best practice examples that allow learning from shared experiences, and the spreading of innovative approaches.
In particular, this series of Reviews of Public Health builds on the OECD’s long-standing programme of work on the economics of public health, applying this extensive expertise to country-specific challenges. The OECD Reviews of Public Health are a tool to help countries to strengthen their national public health systems, and help countries to develop and implement innovative public health actions.
This OECD Public Health Review of Japan seeks to assess the current scale of public health challenges, and efficacy of existing public health policies to respond to them, in Japan. In many respects Japan’s population is in strikingly good health compared to many OECD populations, with relatively low rates of risky health behaviour, the longest life expectancy in the OECD, and comprehensive primary and secondary disease prevention programmes. Nonetheless, Japan’s rapidly aging population means that the need to support healthy and disease-free lifestyles well into old age is greater than ever. This review recommends that Japan focus on a select number of priority interventions, especially when it comes to primary and secondary prevention, and takes steps to promote these across the country. In doing this, and across all public health policies, joined-up government, data-driven policies, and good citizen engagement will all be key.