I wanted to take a moment to express, once again, how truly outstanding the MSSP program was. For students with a clear sense of motivation and goals, MSSP offers an ideal and intensive opportunity to acquire practical, hands-on skills in a short period of time.
I returned to Japan last summer and have since served as the lead technical advisor for the entire Public Health Bureau at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Just last week, I was transferred to a new position where I now oversee technical strategy in the Health Policy Bureau, focusing on Japan’s health care system.
In May, I had the honor of representing Japan at the OECD Expert Group on the Economics of Public Health. It was my first time participating in an international conference, but thanks to the communication skills I developed during MSSP, I was able to build meaningful relationships with delegates from other countries. More importantly, since OECD places a strong emphasis on modeling, the technical training I received during the program proved directly useful in the discussions.
In Japan, the Ministry of Health negotiates with the Ministry of Finance for funding, often citing impacts on mortality and quality of life. In contrast, I was impressed by how public health authorities in the UK and the Netherlands present economic modeling to demonstrate the value of their interventions—making it easier to gain the support of their finance counterparts. I believe that taking a similar approach in Japan could strengthen the visibility and influence of public health authorities, and I am currently exploring ways to implement such a strategy.
This is just a brief update, but I wanted to take the opportunity to reconnect and express my sincere gratitude once again. I very much look forward to seeing the MSSP community again in the future.