Under the guidance of Minister Chen Shih-Chung of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Medical Excellence TAIWAN (MET) and the Medical Excellence JAPAN (MEJ) jointly hosted the “First Taiwan-Japan Medical Cooperation Seminar.” Led by MET Chairman CHEN, YU-JUI (currently the honorary chairman of Chang Gung Medical Foundation) and MET Vice Chairman CHEN, CHIEN-CHIH (currently the chairman of Kaohsiung Medical University), the ceremony successfully concluded on April 13.

To strengthen and promote the medical cooperation between Japan and Taiwan, the seminar aimed to help participants from both countries understand the current situation of international development, medical policies, service certification systems, and other related issues through discussions about bilateral medical systems, policies, and medical care. In particular, the executive vice president of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, SHIH, CHUNG-LIANG, was invited to give a keynote speech on the topic of “The Current Situation and Future Prospects of the Internationalization of Taiwan’s Medical and Health Industry.” Dr. WU, MING-YEN, the chief executive of MET, further explained “Taiwan’s Medical Internationalization and Medical Tourism,” while Japan’s MEJ engaged in in-depth discussions on the topics of “Promotion of Japan’s International Medical Cooperation” and “Infrastructure for Japan’s Medical Globalization.”
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Nearly 300 representatives from industry, government and medical circles in Taiwan and Japan participated in this online seminar, including Japanese MEJ members, Japanese medical institutions such as The University of Tokyo Hospital, the University of Tsukuba Hospital, and the Kameda Medical Center, as well as representatives from medical-related enterprises like Terumo, Olympus, Canon, Konica, Tanabe Pharma, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Hitachi, Ltd., Fuji Film, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., Itochu Corporation, and Shimadzu Corporation. Representatives from Taiwan’s medical institutions that mainly promote international medical services were also invited to attend the seminar. The MET Foundation would like to express sincere thanks to all the participants who found time in the midst of pressing affairs.

MEJ is a representative organization in Japan established under the guidance of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), comprising industry, government, and academic circles. In support of the MExx concept advocated by former MEJ Chairman Kondo and to promote the internationalization and industrialization of Taiwan’s medical and health industry, industry, government and academia jointly established Medical Excellence TAIWAN (MET), which completed its legal person registration announcement on September 30, 2021. Going forward, under the guidance of government ministries, MET will continue to help gather medical institutions and healthcare industries, build a resource network platform, and play an integrated role. This seminar is the first online seminar officially authorized by the Japanese and Taiwan governments to cooperate with foreign foundations, taking a significant step in the field of international medical cooperation between Taiwan and Japan!