On 19 August, President Noda Yoshihiko received a courtesy visit at the party headquarters from Bill Gates, Chairman of the Gates Foundation, who was visiting Japan.

Present at the meeting were Secretary-General Junya Ogawa, Policy Research Committee Chairman Kazuhiko Shigetoku, International Department Director-General Kentaro Genma, International Department Deputy Director-Generals Yumiko Abe, Hanako Okada, and Hiroki Saito.

At the outset, President Noda referenced an exchange he had with Chairman Gates during his tenure as Prime Minister concerning polio eradication. He stated, ‘I wish to express my profound respect for the tremendous contributions made over more than twenty years to support people in the Global South and to address global health challenges.’

Chairman Gates explained that since their previous meeting, difficult circumstances had arisen, including the earthquake, the pandemic, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, he noted that through international efforts, new vaccines had been developed, halving the number of children dying before the age of five.

Amidst a global trend of reduced foreign aid, he announced that the Gates Foundation would commit $200 billion over the next 20 years to support developing countries. This aims to further reduce under-five mortality and save more lives, while advancing efforts to improve quality of life. He also expressed expectations for Japan's leadership in the global health field.

During the meeting, views were exchanged on the future of AI, overseas aid policy, and the importance of United Nations agencies.