The Department of Public Health* was founded in 1948 by Prof. Shuji Takiuchi. In 1961, Dr. Kunio Owada assumed office as the second chair of the department, and he commenced work on the epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Takeyuki Monna assumed office as the third chair in 1984, expanding the research areas of the department to include the epidemiology of liver disease. The fourth chair, Dr. Yoshio Hirota, came into office in 1999 and added the epidemiology of infectious diseases and intractable diseases to the department’s research areas. Inheriting this foundation of research built by the previous chairs, Dr. Wakaba Fukushima assumed office in 2015 as the fifth and present chair.

The mission of the Department of Public Health is “Protecting the Health of all people in the Public.” The focus is always on human populations, and supporting implementation of this is epidemiology, which is regarded as the study of public health diagnostics. The Department of Public Health conducts research based on epidemiological theory into a range of diseases, including infectious diseases, intractable diseases, liver diseases, and bone and joint diseases, in collaboration with other departments in the university and other institutions, for the purpose of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting good health.

*The department was named the Department of Environmental and Public Health until 1961, after which it became the independent Department of Public Health.