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Dr. Katsunori Kondo is a Professor of social epidemiology and health policy at the Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Japan. He also serves as the Director of the Department of Research, Institute for Health Economics and Policy through a cross-appointment.

He is the author of "Health Gap Society - what is undermining mental health and society?" and Igaku-Shoin, 2nd edition 2022, both of which were awarded by The Japan Association of Social Relations in 2024. He also edited and wrote "Advancing universal health coverage through knowledge translation for healthy ageing: lessons learned from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study“ (World Health Organization, Geneva, 2018).

He has been honored with the Medical Award 2020 of the Japan Medical Association, and 2025 with the Awards for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

Background:

In Japan, the world’s most advanced super-aging society, healthy ageing has long been a critical public health challenge. Initially, a high-risk approach was adopted, in which individuals identified through health screening were invited to three months health education programs. However, this strategy proved ineffective. Older adults with lower income and lower educational attainment were often unable to attend health checkups due to competing life demands and lacked transportation to program venues, raising concerns that health inequalities would be worsened. Moreover, after the completion of three-month programs, many participants lost opportunities for continued exercise or social interactions and experienced subsequent functional decline.

Policy Shift and new Intervention:

In response to these limitations, Japan’s long-term care prevention policy shifted toward a population-based approach. Without screening or exclusion criteria, a preventive form of social prescribing was introduced that targeted all older adults. Community-operated gathering places, known as kayoi-no-ba, were developed and established within walking distance of residential areas. They were located close to participants’ homes, allowing easy access on foot. Because these sites are locally managed, participation is not time-limited, enabling sustained participation beyond three-month interventions.

Results:

Empirical evaluations revealed that in many municipalities, participation rates were higher among older adults with lower income and lower educational attainment - groups that previously had few opportunities for social participation - compared with their higher-income and higher-educated counterparts. These findings indicate that equity was maintained or could be improved and that socially disadvantaged populations were successfully accessed.

Scale and Impact:

To date, kayoi-no-ba have been established in 98% of municipalities across Japan, totaling approximately 150,000 sites nationwide, with around 2.5 million older adults participating. Since the nationwide expansion of this preventive social prescribing approach, a decline has been observed in the proportion of older adults experiencing functional decline and being certified as eligible for long-term care insurance benefits.

Conclusions:

Japan’s population-based social prescribing model demonstrates a scalable and equitable strategy for promoting healthy ageing and reducing functional decline in a super-aging society.