Green Practice Japan

Activities and Achievements in Green Practice Japan

Takafumi Sasaki

In Japan, there had been no activities by healthcare professionals to tackle climate change from the medical side until Takafumi Sasaki took initiative. In 2021, Sasaki studied an online course at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare in the U.K. With the support of Greener Practice in the U.K., he gathered a group of like-minded medical doctors in Japan. In 2022, Sasaki formed Green Practice Japan, a group of medical professionals working on climate change. The circle of activities expanded around primary care physicians, and they formed the Planetary Health Working Group at the Japan Primary Care Association, continuing to focus on workshops and symposia. Thanks to these activities, the number of Green Practice Japan’s members has increased to around 50, including orthopaedic surgeons, paediatricians, obstetricians and gynaecologists, respiratory physicians, pharmacists, and public health nurses.

At the same time, they worked with other organizations and think tanks in Japan such as the Health and Global Policy Institute, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Planetary Health Alliance Japan Hub, Climate Integrate, and Climate Dialogue. They continue to inform the public about climate change from a health perspective, as it is a life-threatening issue that directly affects lives. The media has also picked up on their work.

Green Practice Japan signed the Planetary Health Party's 'Call to Secure a Just & Equitable Transition to Sustainable Energy & Safeguard Health' at WONCA Sydney in 2023 and 'an Open Letter on fossil fuels from the Global Medical and Health Community' addressed to the COP28 President. They were the only Japanese healthcare professional organization to participate in these signings. They also worked toward Japan's membership in the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health.

The JPCA Planetary Health Working Group assisted in the declaration of climate emergency in primary care (the Hamamatsu Declaration, below) and the sustainable operation of the conference. They would like to thank all the members for their advice and warm messages regarding the declaration from the WONCA Planetary Health Party. The Japan Primary Care Association's Climate Emergency Declaration is the first full-fledged declaration by the Japanese clinical community, and they are committed to taking responsibility for its implementation.

Japan is the fifth largest country in the world with about 5% of global emissions. Health care emissions of GHG are about 7% in Japan. Green Practice Japan will move forward to reduce health care emissions and improve the well-being of people.

This is part of a series of articles written for World Family Doctor Day, 19 May 2024, on the theme "Healthy Planet, Healthy People".