Japan-U.S. Program Seminars

Current State and Challenges of Youth Mental Health: A Japan-U.S. Comparison

Featuring Dr. Joshua Gordon, Former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health

Organized by : Sasakawa Peace Foundation
 

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Japan-U.S. Program will host a lecture featuring Dr. Joshua Gordon, former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the United States, on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

Dr. Gordon is a leading figure in the field of mental health in the United States, with extensive experience in clinical practice, research, and policy. From 2016 to 2024, he led the NIMH, the world’s largest research institution in this field, playing a crucial role not only in research but also in the formulation and implementation of U.S. mental health policies. His contributions include expanding suicide prevention programs and promoting early detection and intervention policies for mental illnesses.

In this lecture, Dr. Gordon will discuss the theme of youth mental health. Interest in the mental health of children and young people has been growing worldwide in recent years. In Japan, the number of suicides among elementary, junior high, and high school students has been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting youth mental health as a significant social issue. In the United States, mental health has become so severe that it is referred to as a “national crisis,” with youth mental health being one of the top priorities in healthcare policies. Recently, due to concerns about the impact on mental health, the Australian Parliament passed a bill banning the use of social media for children under the age of 16, which has become a topic of discussion.

With these circumstances in mind, following Dr. Gordon’s keynote presentation on the current state and challenges of youth mental health in the U.S., Professor Tadafumi Kato from Juntendo University and Dr. Hanako Jimi, a member of the House of Councillors and a physician, will join as panelists. They will discuss the issues that both Japan and the United States need to address, the necessary policies, and the potential for Japan-U.S. cooperation from a comparative perspective.

We look forward to your participation.

Registration

Please register from either the in-person participation or online participation registration form below by 17:00 JST on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

For those who registered for in-person participation, please come to the venue on the day of the event after receiving the registration confirmation email.  If you do not receive this email, please kindly also check the spam email box.

When registering, please kindly double check the email address provided in the form before submitting. After registration, you will receive a temporary registration confirmation email. Please click the registration completion URL in the email within 24 hours of receiving it to finalize your registration.

Those who registered for online participation will receive an email confirming registration after submitting this form, which will include the URL to access the webinar. If you do not receive this email, please kindly also check the spam email box.

We look forward to your participation.

*We will use your registration information for future invitations to seminars and lectures sponsored or supported by SPF.

Contact
Japan-U.S. Program
E-mail: japan-us@spf.or.jp
Tel: +81-3-5157-5140

For media inquiries:
E-mail: spfpr@spf.or.jp
Tel: +81-3-5157-5395

Description

16:00 JST Opening Remarks
Atsushi Sunami (President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation)
16:05 JST Keynote Address "Current State and Challenges of Youth Mental Health in the United States"
Joshua Gordon (Former Director, National Institute of Mental Health)
16:55 JST Panel Discussion
  • Tadafumi Kato (Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine)
  • Hanako Jimi (Member of the House of Councillors)
  • Joshua Gordon (Former Director, National Institute of Mental Health)
  • Moderator: Atsushi Sunami (President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation)
18:00 JST Closing

Speakers

Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D.
SPEAKER

Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D.

Former Director, National Institute of Mental Health; Chair and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Profile

Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., became the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University in August of 2024. This is his second stint at Columbia, having been a member of the faculty from 2004 to 2016, where he conducted research, taught students and residents, and maintained a general psychiatry practice. Immediately prior to re-joining Columbia, Dr. Gordon served as the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) from 2016 until 2024, where he oversaw the principal US Government agency responsible for mental health research. Dr. Gordon received M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco, and completed a psychiatry residency and research fellowship at Columbia University prior to joining the faculty in 2004.

Tadafumi Kato, M.D., Ph.D.
PANELIST

Tadafumi Kato, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine

Profile

Dr. Kato graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo in 1988. Following clinical training at the University of Tokyo Hospital, he began his career in 1989 as an assistant in the Department of Psychiatry at Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital, where he obtained a Ph.D. in 1994. From 1995 to 1996, he conducted research as a research fellow at the University of Iowa’s Department of Psychiatry sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education.

Dr. Kato returned to the University of Tokyo Hospital in 1997 as an assistant in the Department of Neuropsychiatry and was promoted to lecturer in 1999. In 2001, he joined the RIKEN Brain Science Institute (now the Center for Brain Science, as of 2018) as Team Leader of the Laboratory for Molecular Dynamics of Mental Disorders. Since April 2020, he has held his current position, and in September 2020, he was also appointed Director of the Center for Mood Disorders at Juntendo University.

Specializing in the neuroscientific study of bipolar disorder, Dr. Kato is also dedicated to public awareness of mental disorders and neuroscience and has authored numerous books for general readers and professionals. His publications include:

Bipolar Disorder, 4th Edition: From Understanding Pathophysiology to Treatment Strategies (Igaku-Shoin, 2023); Bipolar Disorder, 2nd Edition: Coping and Treatment for Bipolar I and II (Chikuma Shinsho, 2019); Clinical Brain Science: The Brain Seen from the Mind (Iwasaki Gakujutsu Shuppan, 2018); Psychiatry at a Crossroads: A Roadmap to Understanding Mental Disorders (Keiso Shobo, 2013).

Hanako Jimi, M.D.
PANELIST

Hanako Jimi, M.D.

Member of the House of Councillors

Profile

Dr. Hanako Jimi graduated from the College of International Relations, University of Tsukuba, and later from the Faculty of Medicine, Tokai University. She joined the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Tokyo Hospital and worked as a physician at a private hospital. Dr. Jimi was elected for the first time in the proportional representation block in the House of Councillors election in July 2016, currently serving the second term. She served as Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Labour and Welfare, Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet Office, and most recently Minister of State of the Cabinet Office.

Atsushi Sunami, Ph.D.
MODERATOR

Atsushi Sunami, Ph.D.

President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation

Profile

Atsushi Sunami is President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. He is also Adjunct Professor and Special Advisor to the President at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), and Guest Professor at the Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation at Waseda University. In the Cabinet Office, he serves as a member of the Economic Security Legislation Council, the Basic Policy Group under the Committee on National Space Policy, and chairs the Okinawa Development Council. He also serves as Chairman of the Committee for Examination and Evaluation of the Subsidy for Research and Study Projects on Diplomacy and Security in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He earned his BSFS from Georgetown University and MIA and Ph.D. in Political Science
from Columbia University.

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