Prof. Dr. Mitsunobu Kano

Japan

Executive Director, Honda Foundation

 

Dr. Kano has extensive experience in clinical practice, research, and education, as well as involvement in public activities. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tokyo in 1999 and gained clinical experience in various departments at St. Luke's International Hospital. He then obtained his degree from the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo (Gerontology), participated in a medical-engineering collaboration project, and became a full-time faculty member at the University of Tokyo's MD Researcher Training Programme, established to address the declining number of research physicians. 

 

Since 2012, he has been a professor at the Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, and in 2018, he was appointed professor at the Graduate School of Health System Integration Sciences, a newly established interdisciplinary graduate school he helped establish. He has also served as Vice President of the University since 2017. In this role, he has promoted the university's efforts toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), leading to the university's award from the Japanese government for its SDG initiatives. In 2025, the Okayama University Associated School Organisation, which oversees all Okayama University associated schools (kindergarten, elementary, junior high, and special needs schools), were established, and he has been appointed as its director. 

 

He has also held various public positions. In 2023, he was appointed chair of the Human Resources Committee and deputy chair of the International Strategy Committee of the Science and Technology Council of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). He is also the principal investigator for research related to the JST STS Forum, an external member of the Self-Evaluation Committee, and an advisor to the OECD Science and Technology Policy Transformative Agenda. Additionally, he has served as the Deputy Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (first term), a member of the Life Innovation Strategy Council in the Council for Science and Technology Policy under the Cabinet Office, and a Special Fellow at JST CRDS (until 2024), among other roles, and has pioneered new developments within the scope of his various responsibilities. 

 

Concurrently, he has been active in academic activities. Since 2010, he has been deeply involved in the establishment of the Japan Academy of Young Academicians, serving as its Vice-Chair from 2011 to 2016. He has been a member of the Global Young Academy (GYA) since 2010 and was elected to its Executive Committee in 2014. In 2016, he represented the GYA at the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), a global alliance of academies. From 2019 to 2022, he served as Deputy Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2020, he was appointed a member of the Science Council of Japan, and in 2024, he was appointed a Fellow in International Science Council (ISC).