JETRO exhibition of elderly care products and services in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

On August 15, JETRO jointly held a multi-stakeholder forum in Ho Chi Minh City, an event related to the "Asia Health and Well-Being Initiative," under the title of "Investing in Healthy and Active Aging for Sustainable Growth - A Regional Approach to Promoting Innovative Long-Term Care," with both governments of Vietnam and Japan, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE). JETRO also organized a side exhibit of the forum, where it promoted innovative products and services of Japan for elderly care toward parliamentarians from a large number of countries and regions who have abundant expertise in the health field.

The forum was joined by approximately 260 people, including parliamentarians dealing with healthcare-related issues from 27 countries and regions. Meanwhile, next door to the forum JETRO held the "Japan Elderly Care Industry Exhibition,” where Japanese companies introduced their own innovative products and services in the fields of self-reliance support, effective prevention and rehabilitation to numerous Vietnamese professionals in the fields of health and nursing care as well as the officials from Asia in attendance at the forum.

At the opening ceremony of the exhibition, JETRO President Yasushi Akahoshi stated that as a number of Asian countries will experience aging at a rate exceeding that of even Japan, itself a super-aged society, it is necessary for those countries to tackle the issue early. He expressed his hope that the various practical examples of nursing care from Japan on display would be put to use to improve the quality of elderly care in each country.

The exhibition showcased the latest and most useful innovations in the area of elderly care-related products and services which are actively used in Japan, such as a pedal-powered wheelchair, a nursing care bed, a robotic walking-assistance device for gait training, a wearable device which can predict excretion, a humanoid communication robot with advanced artificial intelligence and a bath system in which a patient can be wheeled in while sitting in a wheelchair. These received great attention from visitors. On the exhibition stage, a special event was held for visitors to experience the symptoms of dementia through virtual reality. Among participant Japanese companies came the following praise: "I am glad I was able to directly introduce our products and services to business people and healthcare specialists from many countries such as Vietnam, China and Thailand." "One visitor told us ‘I want your product for my hospital,’ which helped confirm to us its marketability."

Visit the following link for the forum report.(9.2MB)
(The report on the JETRO exhibition is described from page 41 through 42.)