Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) will hold the 132nd HGPI Seminar in conjunction with World Immunization Week, a week designated by the World Health Organization (WHO). This year’s World Immunization Week will take place from April 24 to 30 with the theme, “Immunization for All is Humanly Possible.” To mark the occasion, various activities to promote immunization and vaccination will be held around the world.

Since FY2020, HGPI has been engaged in discussions with experts from Japan and abroad and has been promoting policy advocacy activities to promote immunization and vaccine policies based on a life-course approach. Thanks in part to the activities of this project and others, by the end of FY2022, the government has even restarted discussions on the review of the “National Immunization Plan” which had been delayed due to COVID-19 and other factors. That plan is now set to be revised in April 2025, its first revision in over eleven years.

The National Immunization Plan outlines a medium- to long-term future vision for immunization, and the upcoming revision includes many new items. These include digitization of immunization records, surveying pricing and outsourcing costs for vaccines that are usually distributed by single companies, and adding new items to the routine immunization schedule. However, the preliminary release of the Plan shows that some items will be left to be addressed in the future, such as the scope of financial burdens for municipalities, which are in charge of implementing immunization programs; or variance in eligible ages for subsidies and subsidy amounts among municipalities, and the resulting disparities in access. On top of this, advances in science have created methods of preventing infectious diseases other than vaccination, such as through the use of antibody drugs. Attempts are also being made to develop vaccines for a wide range of non-communicable diseases or conditions like neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases, aging, and obesity. These developments mean it is all the more necessary to hold continuous discussion on how to best structure immunization and vaccine policies to meet the needs of tomorrow.

With this backdrop, this HGPI Seminar will feature Professor Hajime Kamiya of the Department of Public Health, Occupational Medicine, and Applied Epidemiology, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine. Professor Kamiya has an unbroken history of involvement in the implementation of science-based immunization and vaccination policies at institutions like the immunization branch of the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID). While continuing his duties related to immunization and vaccination at Mie University, Professor Kamiya has shifted his focus to include local governments in Japan, and he is currently engaged in collaborative efforts with prefectural or municipal government officials and community members. While discussing his extensive experience, Professor Kamiya will examine the ideal immunization and vaccination policies for Japan and what form they should take in the future.

[Event Overview]

• Speaker:
  Dr. Hajime Kamiya (Professor, Department of Public Health, Occupational Medicine, and Applied Epidemiology, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine)
  
• Date & Time: Friday, April 25, 2025; 18:30-19:45 JST
• Format: Online (Zoom webinar)
• Language: Japanese
• Participation Fee: Free
• Capacity: 500 participants

■Profile:

Hajime Kamiya (Professor, Department of Public Health, Occupational Medicine, and Applied Epidemiology, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine)

Dr. Hajime Kamiya graduated from the Mie University School of Medicine in March 1999, earned his medical license, and undertook his residency at the Pediatric Department of St. Luke’s International Hospital. From September 2004, he continued his training and began serving at the Immunization Branch of the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. In May 2008, he earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He has served as a researcher at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) Infectious Disease Surveillance Center since August 2008. In March 2012, he earned a doctorate in rotavirus epidemiology from the Department of Virology and Parasitology at Fujita Health University and then joined the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In August 2014, Dr. Kamiya was appointed as Chief Researcher at the NIID Center for Surveillance, Immunization and Epidemiologic Research (CSIER), and in April 2021, he became Chief Researcher at NIIDs Center for Field Epidemic Intelligence, Research and Professional Development (CFEIR). In April 2022, he was appointed Chief Researcher at CSIER and also took on the role of FETP facilitator at CFEIR. He assumed his current position in February 2024.

His areas of expertise include infectious disease epidemiology, immunization, infectious disease surveillance, and pediatrics. In addition to his current position, his other roles include Member, Committee on Vaccination and Infectious Disease Control, Japan Pediatric Society; Board Member, Japanese Society for Vaccinology; and Member, Committee on Vaccination, Society of Ambulatory and General Pediatrics of Japan. He also serves as a pediatrician and specialist and instructor in social medicine.