Tokyo, 30–31 October 2025: ERIA convened a 2-day meeting on the Financial Sustainability of Integrated Care for Older Persons (FISCO), co-hosted with the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS) in Tokyo.

FISCO is a multi-year initiative aimed at strengthening the financial sustainability of integrated care for older persons in ASEAN, drawing on lessons from East Asia. Its core objectives include assessing existing financing models, projecting future financial pressures, and developing policy recommendations and guidelines to support ASEAN Member States (AMS). The initiative will run from 2026 to 2030.

The meeting gathered key organisations and experts, including representatives from ERIA (Dr Liem Nguyen, Mr Narihiro Hirai, Ms Uswa Alhamid, and Dr Wan Seok Chang); IPSS Japan; the United Nations Population Fund Asia-Pacific Regional Office (UNFPA-APRO); the Asian Centre for Active Ageing and Innovation (ACAI); the US–ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC); and the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO-WPRO).

The first day introduced project partners and provided an overview of FISCO’s objectives and planned activities. This session built a shared understanding of the project’s scope and enabled partners to identify areas of contribution and clarify institutional roles.

The second day centred on technical exchanges and future planning. Participants shared insights on potential collaborative areas and discussed priorities for 2026, including resource needs and methodological considerations. Discussions covered the application of the National Transfer Account (NTA) framework, development of e-learning and training materials, and ongoing work of the Asian Population Association (APA) Scientific Group on NTA. Preparations were also made for the forthcoming Situation Analysis or Landscaping Study, as well as joint engagements at the Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) 2026 and the upcoming APA meeting.

The meeting concluded with a strong alignment amongst partners and a clear roadmap for advancing FISCO’s objectives in the coming years.