Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) is accepting applications for “Planetary Health Academy”.

■ Application period: Sunday, August 3, 2025; 23:59 
■ Course duration: Wednesday, August 27, 2025 – Wednesday, November 5, 2025
*Please note that this program is available in Japanese only

Human activities are affecting the Earth’s natural systems more rapidly than ever before, resulting in significant changes to our health as well. Due to these challenges, the concept of “Planetary Health” has gained traction. Planetary Health is an interdisciplinary field that transcends traditional boundaries, examining how environmental changes profoundly impact human health while pioneering sustainable solutions that benefit both people and our planet. In particular, global environmental changes such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, pollution of air, water, and soil, and shortages of food and water resources are threatening the foundation of public health and raising concerns about their significant impact on future generations.

The Planetary Health Alliance, established at Harvard University in 2015, has evolved into a worldwide consortium bringing together hundreds of universities, NGOs, government agencies, and research institutes from more than 80 countries in common purpose. In 2023, the same year that the secretariat moved to Johns Hopkins University, Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) joined the consortium. Today, the PHA not only stimulates transdisciplinary discussions but is also expanding its activities by working towards wider societal impact.

Against this backdrop, HGPI and the Planetary Health Alliance Japan Hub will launch “Planetary Health Academy” for individuals interested in the relationship between health and the environment. 

This academy will focus on HGPI’s core strengths in health policy and healthcare, while adopting a Planetary Health perspective to connect diverse expertise and values. The program aims to deepen knowledge and promote practical, sustainable solutions through dialogue among participants from a wide range of backgrounds interested in the connections between healthcare and the environment. To achieve this, the academy will offer small-group interactive online lectures using video cameras through a Zoom meeting format. Participants who meet the attendance and performance requirements will be awarded a certificate of completion jointly issued by Health and Global Policy Institute and the Planetary Health Alliance Japan Hub.

■ Organizers

– Health and Global Policy Institute
– Planetary Health Alliance Japan Hub

 

*Applicant will be asked to answer several open-ended questions.
Responses will be shared with the organizers and lecturer to better understand your expectations and what you hope to learn from the academy.

 

 

■ Course Contents

	Date (2025)	Theme	Lecturer (Title omitted)
1	Wednesday, August 27 18:30-20:00	Introducing Planetary Health	Chiho Watanabe (Professor, School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University)
2	Wednesday, September 10 18:30-20:00	Climate Change and Health	Masahiro Hashizume (Professor, Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo)
3	Wednesday, September 24 18:30-20:00	Environmental Factors and Their Impact on Children’s Health	Yu Ait Bamai (Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Hokkaido University Center for Environmental and Health Sciences (CEHS); WHO Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health and Prevention of Chemical Hazards)
4	Wednesday, October 15 18:30-20:00	Domestic and International Efforts to Develop Sustainable Healthy Cities	Keiko Nakamura (Professor Emeritus , Institute of Science Tokyo)
5	Wednesday, October 22 18:30-20:00	Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Human Health	Masashi Soga (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo)
6	Wednesday, November 5 18:30-20:00	Planetary Health Approaches from the Medical Frontlines	Kei Yokota (Director of Emergency Department, Department of General Medicine, Okayama Kyoritsu Hospital; Board Member, Green Practice Japan)

 
■ General Session Outline (Example)

• Announcements and speaker introduction (approx. 5 mins)
• Main lecture (approx. 60 mins)
• Q&A and discussion (approx. 20 mins)
• Summary and closing remarks (approx. 5 mins)
  
  

■ Format

• Platform: Online (via Zoom meeting)
• Language: Japanese only
• Participation fee: 45,000 JPY
• Capacity: 30 people

■ Academy Benefits

• Provision of curated planetary health reference materials
• Detailed course content summaries
• Access to archived recordings (1 year)
• Certificate of Completion issued by HGPI and Planetary Health Alliance Japan Hub*
• Opportunities to collaborate on and participate in future HGPI planetary health initiatives
• Expand your professional circle and forge meaningful ties with participants from diverse fields
  *To obtain a certificate of completion, participants must achieve both an attendance rate of at least 70% and a test score of at least 70% on the assessment provided at the end of the academy.

■ Timeline

Closing date for application:	August 3, 2025 (Sun)
Closing date for payment of course fee:	August 18, 2025 (Mon) (Please let us know if you need to adjust the schedule, such as payment directly from your organization)
First lecture:	August 27, 2025 (Wed)

 

■ Lecturer Profiles

Chiho Watanabe (Professor, School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University) 
Professor Chiho Watanabe completed his coursework without degree from the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine in 1989. He was appointed as Professor of Human Ecology at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine in 2005, and as President of the National Institute for Environmental Studies in 2017. He served as Professor and Executive Advisor to the President (Planetary Health), School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University from 2021 to 2022, and as Dean (first) for Interfaculty Initiative in Planetary Health and Professor of School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health from 2022 to 2023. He has been named Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo and is a Doctor of Health Science. His other positions include or have included President of Planetary Health Alliance Hub Japan and Steering Committee member for the Planetary Heath Alliance (PHA), and President, Japanese Society of Health and Human Ecology (2017-2022); Chairman, Society of Environmental Science (2021 -2023); Associate Member, Section II, Science Council of Japan; former Third Vice President, Society for Human Ecology; and former Chair, Human Ecology Section, Ecological Society of America.

Masahiro Hashizume (Professor, Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo)
Professor Masahiro Hashizume is a physician and environmental epidemiologist. His research focuses on climate change and human health, particularly current impacts, future projections, adaptation strategies and health co-benefits of mitigation policies. Trained in pediatrics in Tokyo, Japan, he obtained MSc in Environmental Health and Policy as well as Ph.D. from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Prof. Hashizume served as a lead author of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and is a member of the WHO’s Technical Advisory Groups on Global Air Pollution and Health, as well as Climate Change and Environment in the Western Pacific Region.

Yu Ait Bamai (Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Hokkaido University Center for Environmental and Health Sciences (CEHS); WHO Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health and Prevention of Chemical Hazards)
Professor Yu Ait Bamai graduated from the Hokkaido Pharmaceutical University School of Pharmacy in 2002 and obtained a national pharmacist license in the same year. She completed a doctoral program in Department of Public Health Sciences, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine in 2014. After serving as a Research Assistant, Assistant Professor, and Lecturer at the Hokkaido University Center for Environmental and Health Sciences (CEHS), she was appointed as a Specially Appointed Associate Professor at CEHS and an active member of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health and Prevention of Chemical Hazards in 2023. Her research focuses on understanding how environmental chemical exposures impact human health, particularly in vulnerable populations such as children. Recent research project includes the Hokkaido Study of Environment and Children’s Health (Hokkaido Study) and Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS), a birth cohort tracking the effects of prenatal and early-life exposure to multiple environmental factors on human health.

Keiko Nakamura (Professor Emeritus, Institute of Science Tokyo)
Professor Keiko Nakamura graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. She served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health Entrepreneurship, Division of Public Health, Tokyo Medical and Dental University. She also served as the Director of WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Cities and Urban Policy Research, 2016-2024. She is a member of the Urban Health and Wellbeing Scientific Committee of the Interacademy Partnership (IAP). Her research focuses on urban environment and health, health promotion, healthy cities and urban policy, and planetary health.

Masashi Soga (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo)
Dr. Masashi Soga graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology in 2010, received his Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology in 2012, and received his Ph.D. (Agricultural Science) from the Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University in 2015. After receiving his degree, he worked in the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellowship for Young Scientists and as an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences of the University of Tokyo before assuming his current position in November 2019. 

Dr. Soga’s specialty is ecology, but he also has expertise in environmental psychology, urban planning, and public health, and is engaged in interdisciplinary research on the human-nature interactions. Recently, he has focused on the evaluation and social implementation of the effects of interactions with nature on the health and wellbeing of urban residents and their attitudes and behaviors toward ecosystem conservation. His major publications include “History and Future of Urban Ecosystems (Toshi seitaikei no rekishi to mirai)” (Asakura Shoten, 2020).

Kei Yokota (Director of Emergency Department, Department of General Medicine, Okayama Kyoritsu Hospital / Board Member, Green Practice Japan)
Dr. Kei Yokota graduated from Jichi Medical University in 2008 and has been engaged in primary care in Yamaguchi and Kanagawa Prefectures. From 2016, he worked at Yamaguchi Prefectural General Medical Center, where he was involved in rural healthcare support and the training of general practitioners. Since 2022, he has been a member of the Green Practice Japan. In 2023, he joined the Department of General Medicine at Okayama Kyoritsu Hospital. He is also working on the translation and promotion of the “Climate Impact Checkup Tool,” a carbon footprint calculator for healthcare facilities, in Japan.