Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI), together with the Planetary Health Alliance Japan Hub, launched the Planetary Health Academy in 2025 to deepen knowledge and awareness on the relationship between health and environment. It was attended by almost 40 participants, who come from a wide array of disciplines and backgrounds such as medicine, public health, private industry, academia, and civil society, creating a rich environment for cross-sector discussion. The lecture series consists of six sessions in total, of which three have been held to so far.

Session 1: Introducing Planetary Health (August 27, 2025)
Professor Chiho Watanabe (School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University) delivered the opening lecture. In his talk, he outlined the core concept of planetary health, showing how human impacts on Earth’s systems in turn threaten human health and wellbeing.

Session 2: Climate Change and Health (September 10, 2025)
Professor Masahiro Hashizume (Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo) led the second session. He examined how climate change (e.g. increasing temperatures, extreme weather events, shifts in disease ecology) exerts both direct and indirect effects on human health especially among vulnerable groups such as the elderly, and discussed current adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Session 3: Environmental Factors and Their Impact on Children’s Health (September 24, 2025)
The third lecture was delivered by Professor Yu Ait Bamai (Hokkaido University Center for Environmental and Health Sciences; WHO Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health and Prevention of Chemical Hazards). Her presentation focused on how daily environmental exposures such as air pollution, dust, and chemical contaminants in food and beverages differentially affect children’s health, emphasizing vulnerabilities in early life.

The first three sessions of the Planetary Health Academy lectures combined active reflection and participant engagement. Participants not only gained knowledge but also shared their insights and presented thought-provoking questions, further deepening the discussions.

In upcoming sessions, the academy will further explore sustainable cities, biodiversity and ecosystem services, and frontline medical perspectives, continuing to encourage dialogue and collaborative engagement among participants. Through these activities, learning is expected to extend beyond individual knowledge, cultivating a community of learners committed to advancing planetary health.