Press Releases
Ministry of Health and Welfare
Nov 07,2025
The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW, Minister Jeong Eun Kyeong) announced that on Wednesday, November 5, it held a Director General-level bilateral meeting between Korea and Japan in Hangzhou, China, to share policy experiences and explore joint responses to the shared challenges of low birth rates and population aging. The meeting was convened as a follow-up to the agreements reached at the Korea-Japan Summit (August 23) and the Korea-Japan Consultations on Common Social Issues* (September 29), and featured in-depth discussions on issues related to low birth rates and population aging.
* Launched on September 29 under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the Korea-Japan Summit, the Consultations aim to promote bilateral cooperation on five key social issues: balanced national development, low birth rates and population aging, disaster prevention, suicide prevention, and agriculture
Held alongside with the 13th Korea-Japan-China Population Policy Forum (November 6–7)* in Hangzhou, the meeting addressed current policy issues, including (1) recent marriage trends and policy measures, (2) dementia policy, (3) exchange in the age-tech industry, and (4) cooperation between research institutes in both countries.
* Established under the trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation on Low Birth Rates and Population Aging, this annual Director General-level forum provides a venue for the three countries to share population policy developments. This year’s forum, hosted by China, focused on “Responses to Late and Non-Marriage” and “Community-Based Dementia Services,” with next year’s forum scheduled to take place in Korea
Kim Sang-hee, Director General of Population and Child Policy, stated, “We hope that Korea and Japan, as close neighbors and key partners, will continue to work together to address the national challenges of low birth rates and population aging by closely sharing demographic trends and policy responses.”
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