The "Medicine and Health Forum 2015 Kansai"—creating tomorrow's healthy society and the next-generation industries that support it—will be held in Osaka.

The "Medicine and Health Forum 2015 Kansai," an event aiming to create a vision for new industries responding to a declining birthrate and super-aging society, was held at Grand Front Osaka from Friday, March 20th to Sunday, March 22nd.

Taking advantage of the "29th Annual Meeting of the Japan Medical Association 2015," the Kansai Wide-Area Union, various Kansai economic organizations, universities, and the Annual Meeting collaborated in an "All Kansai" effort.

On Friday, March 20, the symposium "New Collaboration Between Medicine and Industry Supporting a Healthy Society: Aiming for Next-Generation Industry Creation from Kansai" was held. It deepened insights into next-generation industries responding to a low birthrate and super-aging society, pioneering globally from Kansai beyond the traditional framework of medical-related industries. With Dr. Hiroo Imura, President of the "29th General Assembly of the Japan Medical Association 2015 Kansai," as the initiator, discussions were held and a shared vision established toward founding the "Kansai Health and Medical Industry Creation Council (tentative name)," a public-private-academic partnership involving the Kansai Regional Federation, the Kansai Economic Federation, and various universities.

On Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, the "Healthy Citizens Festival," a public event to learn about and experience healthy living, was held at the same venue. Its purpose was to widely disseminate medical and healthcare information to citizens to help realize a healthy society.

In collaboration with Osaka Prefecture's medical organizations and universities, citizen workshops were held. Additionally, "Mini-Kansai" was organized, where children themselves engaged in town-building activities through work experience at over 20 booths they designed from scratch, all themed around "Healthy and Vibrant Towns." Organized by the Mainichi Shimbun and planned/operated by the NPO cobon, Mini Kansai saw a total of 400 children participate over the two days. Additionally, with the cooperation of the inochi Future Project Executive Committee, a public lecture series titled "Children's Medical School" on cutting-edge medicine was held. Speakers included Dr. Masayo Takahashi from RIKEN and Professor Yoshiki Sawa from Osaka University. The two days provided an opportunity to consider what constitutes a "healthy and vibrant city."