Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Japan about bilateral collaboration into research into new antimicrobial agents and antimicrobial drugs.

We are working closely with Japan to promote research into novel antimicrobial products and to address the global market failures in antibiotic research and development. Professor Dame Sally Davies, the United Kingdom Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), visited Japan earlier this year and met with parliamentarians, senior officials and industry leaders to highlight the threat posed by AMR and to share experiences from the world-leading NHS England and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence antimicrobial reimbursement project.

Officials at the Department of Health and Social Care and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continue to have bilateral consultations with their Japanese counterparts on national research into new antimicrobial agents and UK Ministers also highlighted the importance of this during G7 Ministerial meetings. Collaboration on AMR also continues between UK Research and Innovation and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development under the Memorandum of Cooperation.