The Asian Population and Development Association (APDA), Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), and Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP) co-hosted the Parliamentarians’ Meeting: “ICPD30: Leaving No One Behind in an Ageing World” in Tokyo on 23 April. On the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), this meeting shared experiences of Japan, which is at the forefront of super-aged societies, as well as other countries, and deepened discussions on a new approach to responding to population ageing, and adopted a declaration towards ICPD30.

The opening ceremony was addressed by H.E. Yasuo Fukuda, former Prime Minister, Chair of APDA and Honorary Chair of JPFP; H.E. Kamikawa Yoko, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Hon. Gu Xiaoyu, Vice Chair of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of NPC (China); and Mr. Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and was moderated by Hon. Kikawada Hitoshi, Secretary General of JPFP. In the closing session, Hon. Aisawa Ichiro, Acting Chair of JPFP, Dr. Alvaro Bermejo, Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and Hon. Edcel Lagman, Acting Chair of AFPPD (Philippines) made remarks. On behalf of JPFP, Hon. Miyaji Takuma, Hon. Makishima Karen, and Hon. Kunimitsu Ayano served as Session Chair of Session 1, 2 and 4 respectively.

The meeting was held under the auspices of UNFPA and Japan Trust Fund (JTF) and with the support of the IPPF and Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd., with attendance of a total of 150 participants from 22 countries.

The following day, on 24 April, the Arab and Asian parliamentarians visited Kashiwa City and Tsukuba City to learn about measures to deal with population ageing. Firstly, the delegates visited to Kashiwa City Medical Cooperation Center, where they learned about a successful “Kashiwa Model” that includes lifelong learning, frailty prevention, community-based integrated care system. It was emphasized that the city’s pioneering initiatives require interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as full collaboration with citizens, the business community, and other local organizations such as medical associations and NPOs.