TRADE and industry institutions from Japan and the Philippines agreed on October 10 to cooperate in addressing healthcare concerns in the two countries during a medical seminar held at the Philippine International Convention Center.

About 143 attendees from the medical field participated in the Philippines-Japan Medical Seminar titled “Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer, Hypertension and Heart Disease,” which tackled innovations in treating cancer, hypertension, and heart diseases.

The seminar was hosted by Japan-backed foundation Medical Excellence Japan (MEJ).





“In recent years, lifestyle-related disease such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and cerebrovascular disease have considerably increased in the Philippines. Efficient and effective detection and treatment for these lifestyle-related diseases has become a growing concern but has not been thoroughly studied in the Philippines,” MEJ said.

MEJ was joined by Japanese and Philippine partners which included the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Health, Philippine General Hospital (PGH), and the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines.

PGH Director Gerardo Legaspi discussed the Philippine medical situation while Tsukasa Ishida of Kobe University Hospital discussed his observations in the Philippines as a Japanese doctor currently based at St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Seigo Kitano, president of Oita University, presented the historical and current state preventive measures and cure for cancer.

Masafuni Kitakaze, director of the Department of Clinical Medicine and Development and the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center in Japan, explained the present trends and practices in the prevention and treatment of hypertension and heart disease.

The healthcare seminar was conducted by virtue of a memorandum of cooperation signed between the health authorities of Japan and the Philippines during the 2015 Japan-Philippines Summit Meeting and was aimed at providing an exchange of knowledge on effective policy creation and personnel training in both countries’ medical sectors.