Research

1. Evaluation of “Healthy Japan 21” Local Plan (PI: Yasumura S):
        In FY2000, Sukagawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, was selected as one of
21 model municipalities nationwide to formulate a “Health Japan 21
Municipal Version” health plan as part of a special project to promote
community health by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. We were also
involved in the formulation of plans in Kitashiobara Village, Fukushima
City, and Nihonmatsu City. Currently, we are involved in evaluations in
Fukushima Prefecture, Fukushima City, and other cities.

2. Epidemiology and Prevention of Falls and Fractures in Older Adults
Living in the Community (PI: Yasumura S):
        We have been focusing on falls and fractures, which have attracted
attention in recent years as physical causes of bedridden patients, for
about 15 years and have continued our research. Due in part to the
accumulation of our research, an item on falls and fractures was added
to the Health Assessment Manual and Basic Checklist of the Fourth Health
Project Plan.

3. Association between Psychological Factors and Physical Health among
Older Adults Living in the Community (PI: Iwasa H).
        We are conducting a follow-up study on elderly people living in the
community to clarify the relationship between psychological factors
(personality, cognitive function, and depression) and physical health
among older adults.

4. Research on Development and Dissemination of "JST Index of
Competence" (Strategic Research Initiative [Research and Development of
Social Technology] Research and Development Program “Designing a New
Aged Society Created by Communities”: Research and Development Project
“Development of a New Functional Capacity Index Considering Health
Characteristics of the Elderly” [Principal Investigator: Takao
Suzuki])(Associate Researcher: Iwasa H)

5. Relationship between Cognitive Failure and Mental Health among Female
Workers Raising Children and the Proposition of Supportive Measures”
(Fukushima Occupational Health Center, ‘Grant for Research and Study on
Occupational Medicine and Occupational Health in Fiscal 2009’) (PI: Iwasa H)
        We are conducting a research study that contributes to the maintenance
of mental health among mothers raising children.

6. Elucidating home and workplace factors that promote fathers'
participation in child rearing: examining causal relationships through a
longitudinal survey (PI: Iwasa H):
        We are conducting research to contribute to the promotion of child
rearing participation and the maintenance of mental health among fathers
during the child rearing years (This study was supported by a grant from
KAKENHI, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS))

7. Ethnography of Post-Nuclear Disaster Fukushima (PI: Koyama, Y.)
This research employs ethnography to illuminate the unique experiences
of the residents of Fukushima who “live with radiation.” Their daily
navigation of life alongside radiation is more than mere resignation to
inevitability; it symbolizes a powerful act of free will and
transformation. In this context, we can see echoes of Nietzsche’s ideas—
the “eternal return of the same” and the “will to power”—as individuals
consciously engage with a painful past and redefine their futures
through that lens.
Furthermore, the principal investigator of this research is a native of
Fukushima Prefecture and personally experienced the nuclear disaster.
Positioned as both a “researcher” and a “subject,” this research seeks
to theorize this “hybrid” and “ambiguous” positionality through a
postcolonial critique. By transcending the traditional boundaries of
subjectivity and objectivity, it aspires to advance the theoretical
frameworks of ethnography as a critical methodology in public health.
(This study is supported by a grant from KAKENHI, Japan Society for the
Promotion of Science, JSPS.)