6th Five Year Report
Organization and History

In January 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Prime Minister Eisaku Sato met and issued a Joint CommuniquJ recognizing their mutual concern for the health and well-being of all peoples of Asia. In accordance with this Joint CommuniquJ, the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program (USJCMSP) was founded. The United States and Japan agreed to undertake a greatly expanded, joint cooperative research effort in the medical sciences, concentrating on health problems in Southeast Asia. The relevant regions in Asia are not specifically delineated but are generally understood to include the Republic of Korea in the north, India and Pakistan to the west, and other intervening nations in the broad Pacific Basin.

Initially, each country appointed prominent medical advisors as Delegates to a Joint USJCMSP Committee (Joint Committee). Such Delegates continue to review jointly the program's objectives, operations, and accomplishments. The United States and Japanese Delegations are appointed by the Department of State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, respectively. The role of the Joint Committee is to advise its respec-tive governments on the scope, direction, and other broad aspects of the program and to develop review procedures necessary to ensure fulfillment of the objec-tives for which the Program was established. Through annual meetings, the Joint Committee establishes and changes policy and reviews programs in accor-dance with prescribed criteria.

The areas selected for study in 1965 were cholera, leprosy, parasitic diseases, tuberculosis, and viral diseases. Other areas added later were malnutrition (1966), environmental mutagene-sis and carcinogenesis (1972), hepatitis (1979), immunology (1981), and AIDS (1987). Five-member Panels/Boards from each nation were organized to develop specific guidelines for cooperative and collaborative research. These guidelines have been modified as research has progressed. Each country sup-ports its own research under the program, but the results are presented and discussed at annual workshops or conferences of the Panels/Boards and at the annual meeting of the Joint Committee. The Panels/Boards have achieved significant progress in their respective areas of research.

A Subcommittee of the Joint Committee is responsible for preparing written reviews for evaluating programs of the USJCMSP. The Subcommittee meets semiannually and makes recommendations to the Joint Committee regarding continuation, addition, or deletion of specific programs. The Subcommittee deals with all actions prior to the formal Joint Committee Meeting.

The Program was defined to operate within a bilateral governmental framework that could involve scientists and facilities in Third World countries in collaborative efforts of mutual interest. Coop-eration with the World Health Organization (WHO) has always been considered appropriate and has been encouraged.

Both Japan and the United States clearly recognized the increasing human benefit from such a coopera-tive scientific effort. During the sixth 5 years of the Program, emphasis on collaboration between the scientists of the two countries resulted in increased participation and open discussion at the annual conferences and an enhancement of scientific progress.

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