The Japan Institute for Health Security, modeled on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was launched Tuesday to prepare for future infectious disease crises.
The institute was created through the merging of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, or NIID, and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, or NCGM. It will be responsible for information analysis, research and crisis response related to infectious diseases.
Legislation to set up the new body was enacted during the ordinary parliamentary session in 2023, based on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, in which Japan was unable to act quickly, including in developing vaccines and drugs.
Norihiro Kokudo, who was president of the NCGM, became the first head of the new institute, while Takaji Wakita, who was director-general of the NIID, assumed the post of deputy head.
The new institute, whose abbreviated name is JIHS, will collect information on infectious diseases and conduct risk assessments in normal times while reporting scientific findings to the government.
In the event of an infectious disease outbreak, it will work with the government to develop drugs and vaccines and draw up guidelines for medical treatment.
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