Naoki Kondo

Naoki Kondo has held his current position since September 2020, focusing on research in the social determinants of health. He is the vice chief investigator of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES), a cohort study tracking over 200,000 older adults nationwide in Japan. The JAGES initiative investigates community and social environments that promote healthy and equitable longevity, including the prevention of non-communicable diseases, social isolation, loneliness, and the creation of Ikigai (purpose in life), among other factors contributing to well-being including culture and art. His recent research addresses health/well-being inequality in community settings, conducting intervention studies with local and central governments using “community assessment” data.

He holds multiple roles as committee members and advisors for Parliamentary Groups and Japanese government, including serving on the committee for tackling social isolation and loneliness in the Cabinet Office of Japan. He has published nearly 300 peer-reviewed academic papers. His recent English-language books include Silver Opportunity (WorldBank), Understanting the Role of Internet Access on Health and Health Equity toward healthy Ageing in the Western Pacific Region (JAGES), Health in Japan: Social Epidemiology of Japan since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics (Oxford), and Transforming Food Environments (routledge).

Publication lists are available from: Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ESq4XuAAAAAJ&hl=en and Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Naoki_Kondo2