The 1st GMP Forum, held on April 30 from 15:05 to 18:30, brought together students from different seminars and years to examine the sustainability of Japan’s public long-term care insurance (LTCI) system. Under the guidance of Professor Fu from the School of Commerce, participants engaged in pre-forum teamwork by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the system and exploring whether the system should remain public or become privatized from a consultant’s perspective (Scenario 1).
The highlight of the forum was the presentation by four teams that stood out in an earlier video selection process. These teams re-examined the LTCI system from the perspective of family caregivers (Scenario 2) by summarizing the key changes in their perspectives and the reasons behind them. Finally, they discussed the strengths and weaknesses of Japan’s LTCI system in a super-aging society to identify sustainability challenges and potential solutions.
Proposals to integrate public and private elements of the LTCI system were a common theme among the teams. To address the shortcomings of the current system, innovative ideas were presented, including lowering insurance premiums for healthy individuals, establishing a matching platform for caregivers and users, and issuing bonds to finance long-term care costs.
Following the presentations, Professor Fu provided feedback, and students were given time to discuss the professor’s questions with each other. This was followed by a lively question and answer session, which fostered deeper discussions and explored the issues from diverse perspectives. The forum concluded with the announcement of the Best Team Award, won by Team 14, and the Best Speaker Award, won by Haruki Oku (4th year) and Kotone Nakano (3rd year).
Members of the Best Team (Team 14): Surrounding Professor Fu (Third from Left)
Kotone Nakano, a winner of the Best Speaker Award, shared her thoughts on the experience: “Initially, we faced challenges in identifying problems and solutions while preparing for the presentation due to our limited knowledge of long-term care insurance. However, through collaborative learning and brainstorming sessions led by our team leader, we gained the confidence to deliver a strong presentation on the day of the forum. This experience provided us, as students, with a valuable opportunity to recognize the importance of innovation in the long-term care sector and to raise awareness about the critical fiscal and human resource challenges faced by Japan as it enters a super-aging society.”
