The growth in global population, alongside increasing wealth and the advance of technology, have increased the demand for healthcare services and made healthcare one of the fastest growing industries globally. At the same time, rapidly aging societies, the rise of non-communicable and lifestyle diseases, and the mounting costs of new therapies pose difficult choices for governments, industry players and for individual consumers.

Japan, which is home to one of the world’s fastest aging populations and is the second largest pharmaceuticals market in the world, is no exception. World-class research, cutting-edge medical technologies and strong backing from the current administration through a number of regulatory reforms, have given a new impetus to the healthcare sector in Japan. At the same time, the rising costs of new therapies and the burden to the social security system are posing a different set of challenges.

GR Japan has many years of experience supporting some of the world’s leading multinational pharmaceutical firms and international healthcare industry associations to meet their public affairs needs in Japan. Our work in this sector includes successful public affairs campaigns for the introduction of new legislation, correction of regulatory anomalies holding back individual products, lobbying on pricing mechanisms and market access, sustained educational efforts and advocacy among Diet members on medical innovation and specific disease areas, as well as monitoring and intelligence, and strategic outreach with key government stakeholders in the area of healthcare policy.