Proactive Engagement of the Expert Meeting in Managing the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Epidemic, Japan, February-June 2020.

To deal with the risk of emerging diseases with many unknowns, close and timely collaboration and communication between science experts and policymakers are crucial to developing and implementing an effective science-based intervention strategy. The Expert Meeting, an ad hoc medical advisory body, was established in February 2020 to advise Japan's COVID-19 Response Headquarters. The group played an important role in the policymaking process, promoting timely situation awareness and developing science-based proposals on interventions that were promptly reflected in government actions.

[Novel influenza H1N1 pandemic: lesson learned].

The efforts made by the government of Japan and its people to prevent and control the spread of the disease and to limit its health impact had three major characteristics: (1) Suspension of schools in wide geographical areas particularly at the early stage of the outbreak. (2) High proportion of the infected persons who were given antiviral drugs. (3) High level of public awareness and personal hygiene such as regular hand washing.

[Tuberculosis control strategy in Asia for the 21st century--tuberculosis control in the Western Pacific Region of World Health Organization].

The unprecedented and rapid changes at the global level posed a big challenge to public health. The tuberculosis disease as one of major health problems today should be viewed from this context. These global challenges include 1) population issue particularly on growth and ageing; 2) epidemiological issue such as health transition; and, 3) social and environmental issues such as rapid urbanization and global warming.