The former National Institute of Public Health

The Institute of Public Health was established on March 29, 1938 under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare. It was founded with financial assistance from the American Rockefeller Foundation as an investigative research institution related to public health and as an institution to develop and train public health technicians to improve and enhance public health in Japan.

The former building of the Institute was designed by architect Yoshikazu Uchida (1885-1972) and was built in the Shirokanedai district of Tokyo. Uchida designed also buildings of the University of Tokyo, including the Daikodo (now called Yasuda Auditorium) at Hongo Campus.

The building has been designated a historic structure by the Architectural Institute of Japan in 1982. In 2002 the Institute of Public Health moved to Wako, Saitama Prefecture. In 2009 Minato Ward bought the former building and renovated in 2018 as a complex including museum of local history, home palliative service station, after-school children’s day-care center, and child care consulting office.

photos: Junko Nagata © Japanbyweb.com

Address: 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo