Japan currently faces practical and immediate issues of financial collapse, failure of local economies, and associated curtailment and deterioration of public services, caused by declining population, falling birth rate and an aging society. Furthermore, on one hand, it has been asserted that the decline in Japan’s birth rate not only decreases Japan’s future national power but also endangers the very existence of the Japanese people leading to a downward spiral; on the other hand, the creation of a new social system is sought to revitalize society, such as immigration policy, foreign-resident participation in local communities in association with the levy on foreigners of local taxation.
In growing globalization of world economy, Japan faces macroscopic issues such as how Japan’s finance and social security system should be and how it be balanced between central and local governments. On the other hand, proactive approaches shall also be made to micro issues such as anideal form of safe and secure medical security systems, an effective medical and nursing care insurance systems for alleviating the financial burden, a system to raise the birth rate and developing excellent human resources who could struggle to survive in this fierce competition on the global scale, and an ideal form of safety net systems for dismissal of workplace or unemployment, which may expose household finances to the highly volatile social environment.
Tax and social security systems, local government finances, health technology assessment (HTA), population health, etc.
| Project Leader | Research Director Megumi KASHIWAGI |
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| Research Objective | There are certain issues with tax administration in the wake of globalization and the aging society, and countries are looking for ways to simplify tax administration and make it more efficient. We need to identify leading-edge technology trends to help further promote digitalization of tax administration. We will investigate the current issues towards digitalization, as well as the efforts of various countries to make rules for achieving that goal, and will aim to reflect the results of our studies in the national and local taxation systems. |
| Project Leader | Research Director Megumi KASHIWAGI |
|---|---|
| Research Objective | In Japan, the national and local governments are facing new fiscal and administrative service challenges due to globalization, declining population and aging society, and digitalization, and due partly to environmental changes resulting from the novel coronavirus(COVID-19). Fiscal challenges cover many different topics, including budgets, public bonds, inter-government fiscal policies, taxation systems, social security, and social capital. We will examine a more efficient social system and government administration through which national welfare can be maintained, and will examine them on various levels of the national government and local municipalities, and urban and local sectors. |
| Project Leader | Research Director Yukihiro MATSUYAMA |
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| Research Objective | We will make an international comparison of points of issues over safety nets in a comprehensive manner and give our policy recommendations on structural reform of our country’s safety net as a whole. |
| Project Leader | Research Director Yukihiro MATSUYAMA |
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| Research Objective | We will make an international comparison of policies relating to population health and social implementation of healthcare innovations and publish reports on CIGS’s website. |
| Project Leader | Research Director Isao KAMAE |
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| Collaborator(s) | Makoto KOBAYASHI (Director and Chief Operating Officer, Crecon Medical Assessment Inc.), etc. |
| Research Objective | Our project has been approaching to the final phase of the research associated with the new policy in government on Health Technology Assessment (HTA). Regarding the institutionalization established so far, we will summarize the issues of the HTA system and make recommendations to the near future. In collaboration with the Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo, and also with the government-affiliated institution and the experts of HTA, we will aim to foster Japan's HTA leaders of the next generation and lead the era of "value-based healthcare." |
