A new joint medical facility, the Thai-Japan Center for Early Cancer Detection Training, has officially opened in Bangkok, with the aim of helping to make cancer treatment more effective and less costly.
With the cooperation of Thailand's National Cancer Institute and Japan's Nagoya University, the centre will provide new technology for detecting the early stages of gastrointestinal cancer.
The two bodies also signed an agreement Wednesday to develop activities with each other, such as exchanging faculty members, holding joint workshops, exchanging academic materials and launching collaborative research.
Japanese Health, Labour, and Welfare Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki said in the agreement-signing ceremony that the cooperation between NCI and Nagoya University was a "new page in (the) history" of cooperation between Thailand and Japan.
It was also the first time for the Japanese ministry to spend part of its budget on health matters in Thailand.
Cancer is a major killer in Thailand, with tens of thousands of people dying from various types of the disease.
Japan is known for its expertise and experience in the prevention and control of cancer.