Introduction: Japan and Global Health in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Japan’s global health policy was stimulated by the outbreak of a coronavirus pandemic. In the field of global health and human security studies, researchers and experts have published quite a few articles and books in the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, a research gap in the field of Japan’s global health policy lies in the fact that there are few book publications on Japan and global health in English despite the significance of this research case in the coronavirus pandemic era. Accordingly, this book attempts to fill in this research gap and examine the development of Japan’s global health policy. This chapter intends to contextualize Japan’s global health policy in terms of its human security diplomacy, trace Japan’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and clarify the development of Japan’s global health strategy during the initial stage of the pandemic period. Finally, it will briefly outline contents of the following chapters.