The Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) and the Consulate General of Japan in New York co-hosted a special webinar featuring Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, the recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The event started with special remarks from Hon. Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Minister of State in charge of Japan’s COVID-19 response. Dr. Yamanaka followed with his presentation, in which he shared Japan’s efforts and lessons on its unique approaches to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its use of AI (Artificial Intelligence). He was then interviewed by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Laurie Garrett, who further delved into key points of his presentation.
The floor was then opened up for a dialogue between Dr. Yamanaka and about 30 prominent global health experts from the US. The event was live-streamed on YouTube and can be watched below.
AGENDA
Opening
JAMES GANNON, Executive Director, JCIE/USA
Special Remarks
Hon. YASUTOSHI NISHIMURA, Minister 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-US 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
Amb. 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.
Hon. KANJI YAMANOUCHI, Ambassador, 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
Amb. KANJI YAMANOUCHI, Consulate General of Japan in New York
