Government of Japan Contributes 5.5 billion yen by Establishing “ASEAN Center for Infectious Diseases”- Enhance Japan’s presence

20 July 2020 -

The Government of Japan contributed approximately 5.5 billion yen to fund the establishment of the “ASEAN Infectious Disease Control Centre” to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in response to the global outbreak of the new coronavirus. The aim is to improve measures against infectious diseases in the ASEAN region, and there is also the aim to increase Japan’s presence through this support.

The concept of establishing a new centre was announced by Prime Minister Abe at a video conference between the ASEAN and the leaders of the three countries of Japan, China and South Korea in April. Japan will bear all of the establishment costs and will discuss operating costs in the future. In order to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 and future infectious diseases, it is envisioned to conduct surveys and analysis on the infectious diseases and to train medical personnel.

Selection of candidate site and construction of the centre will be implemented through contributions to the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). By utilizing Japanese knowledge, the project aims to improve the medical standard in the ASEAN region, and assist Japanese companies to further advance into ASEAN.