Prior to his current appointment on 1 June 2021, he was President and Trustee of Shizenkan University, a Postgraduate Professional University in Leadership and Innovation and Professor (Science and Technology Innovation). He is also Professor Emeritus and Senior Advisor of Ritsumeikan Trust, where he was Vice-Chancellor (2004-2012), and President of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (2004-09). He is also on the Governing/Advisory Boards of several leading Japanese universities, including Hokkaido University and Kyushu University, as well as the Vietnam-Japan University. He is also on the selection boards of some prestigious international awards for scholarship and practical pursuits in domains that bridge the natural and human sciences. He has long been an advocate for Japan’s increased engagement to strengthen science capacities in developing and emerging economies, including the promotion of citizen science.
His current research focus is on health, environment and life sciences, applying these scientific findings in real-life situations. He does this by drawing from the principles of Inclusive Innovation, which he presented to the G7 Ministers of Science and Technology in May 2016 at the invitation of GoJ’s Cabinet Office. As Invited Professor at Kyoto University, he is the Principal Investigator of the Biophotonics and Spectroscopy Laboratory at the Graduate School of Medicine.