Bangkok, Fukuoka team up on ‘One Health’ rabies-free drive
Bangkok partners with Japan’s Fukuoka under a “One Health” approach to push a “rabies-free city” plan, drawing on Japan’s long-running controls since 1956
Bangkok is moving forward in a concrete way towards becoming a “rabies-free city” through cooperation with Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, a model area that has sustained rabies elimination for nearly 70 years, under the “One Health” concept that treats the health of people, animals and the environment as one. This cooperation is not only an exchange of veterinary knowledge, but also reflects a 21st-century vision of a major city that prioritises public health safety alongside residents’ quality of life.
Japan has been officially recognised as a rabies-free country since 1956, after facing a severe outbreak in the period following World War II. That success has been attributed to strict and continuous policies, including systematic pet registration, mandatory annual vaccination, control of stray dogs, and public awareness that rabies is not only an animal issue but a threat to human health and overall urban public health. Fukuoka has therefore become an important model that many cities around the world have shown interest in studying.
For Bangkok, partnering with Fukuoka is seen as a key step in upgrading rabies management from short-term problem-solving to a long-term system that links multiple dimensions—human medicine, veterinary services, education and the environment. The cooperation aligns with a Letter of Intent on promoting the One Health concept, which the two sides signed in November 2024, aiming to build a society in which humans, animals and nature can coexist safely and in balance.
The concept of a “rabies-free city” does not only mean the absence of disease. It also means building an urban system that is responsible for all forms of life—from proper pet care and humane management of stray animals to preventive public health policy. Cooperation between Bangkok and Fukuoka is therefore more than a city-to-city relationship; it is a lesson looking both to history and the future, underscoring that a “safe city” begins with recognising health as an issue shared by all living things.
On January 15, 2026, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt welcomed Isao Kurauchi, Chair of the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly, along with a delegation of 20 representatives from the assembly and relevant agencies in Fukuoka.
Chadchart and Kurauchi discussed future cooperation in health, education and the environment, as well as exchanges and learning in veterinary work. Japan has been rabies-free since 1956 due to very strict measures and controls on pet registration and vaccination—approaches Bangkok aims to study and adapt to current conditions.
Bangkok and Fukuoka have previously signed a Letter of Intent to promote One Health cooperation between Bangkok, Kingdom of Thailand, and Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
The objective is to work under the One Health framework “to build a society in which the health of humans, animals and the environment exist together as one”, with the signing taking place on November 20, 2024. They also signed a memorandum of understanding on future cooperation on human resource development, entrepreneurship to support future economic development, and social innovation, on January 13, 2023.
