Shiseido and Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine Jointly Establish Research Program “Department of Beauty Wellness Science”

Shiseido Company, Limited (President and CEO: Masahiko Uotani, hereinafter “Shiseido”) and Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine (Dean: Kazuyoshi Hirota, hereinafter “Hirosaki University”) have established a joint research program “Department of Beauty Wellness Science” effective as of April 1, 2022. The opening ceremony was held at Hirosaki University on August 5, 2022.
Driven by our corporate mission “BEAUTY INNOVATIONS FOR A BETTER WORLD”, we at Shiseido will actively engage in various innovations to help people realize their own beauty, making their lives with full of smiles and hope through the power of beauty.

Background of establishing the program

The advancement of science and technology has made it possible for us to observe and analyze the internal and mental states of the body, and their relationship to the skin is progressively becoming clearer. Meanwhile, beautiful skin is a factor affecting not only one’s appearance, but also behavior and a sense of happiness and fulfillment, leading to an improvement in their quality of life (QOL). In today’s society, a growing number of people are pursuing their own unique beauty based on diverse values and seeking new approaches to beauty that go beyond conventional skincare and cosmetic treatments. Under these circumstances, Shiseido and Hirosaki University have started collaborative work, aiming to make prompt, flexible responses to the changes in social environment and consumer needs with broader perspectives and technologies.
Hirosaki University has been conducting research with a focus on preventive medicine based on the super-multi-item big health data obtained through its “Iwaki Health Promotion Project*1”, which has been promoted since 2005. In 2013, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology acknowledged these efforts in establishing the Hirosaki COI*2, selecting for its national project. In the meantime, Shiseido has been proceeding with research in dermatology, sensory, and psychology fields, which are research areas of its strength, and in recent years, actively pursuing holistic research on the inside and outside of the body. By combining the know-hows and technologies in evaluation and analysis gained through those research activities with the super-multi-item big health data of Hirosaki University, we will advance research to scientifically elucidate the relationship between the skin, body, and mind.
*1 A health check survey conducted by Hirosaki University since 2005, targeting citizens in the Iwaki district of Hirosaki city, Aomori Prefecture. It consists of 2000~3000 question items, which is an unprecedentedly huge number, and has a large-scale database for health information.
*2 Hirosaki University Center of Innovation. The details are stated at the end of the release.

Program outline

In this program, we will utilize the super-multi-item big health data obtained through the “Iwaki Health Promotion Project” conducted by Hirosaki University, combining with Shiseido’s expertise and methods in basic research including dermatological research. Through these efforts, we will promote research and socially implement the science of the totality of the human being (the skin, body, and mind), aiming to contribute to the realization of beautiful, fulfilling life, along with the extension of healthy life expectancy and improvement of QOL for the people of Aomori Prefecture, of Japan, and around the world.

 
＜Program name＞ Department of Beauty Wellness Science
＜Participating members＞
Shigeyuki Nakaji：Specially appointed Professor, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
Koichi Murashita：Professor, Hirosaki University Research Institute of Health Innovation
Tatsuya Mikami：Professor, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
Ken Ito：Professor, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
Yoshinori Tamada：Professor, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
Kentaro Kajiya：Vice President, Business Core Technology Center, MIRAI Technology Institute, Shiseido Company, Limited
Tomoko Kimura：Director, Business Core Technology Center, MIRAI Technology Institute, Shiseido Company, Limited
Chieko Okamura： Business Core Technology Center, MIRAI Technology Institute, Shiseido Company, Limited
Kyoko Tsujita: Business Core Technology Center, MIRAI Technology Institute, Shiseido Company, Limited
Yuko Nakanishi: R＆D Strategy Department, MIRAI Technology Institute, Shiseido Company, Limited
＜Program term＞ April 1, 2022 ~ March 31, 2027
＜Location＞ Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine (5 Zaifu-cho Hirosaki city, Aomori Prefecture)

Reference: Hirosaki University COI (Center of Innovation)

The Hirosaki COI was established to run programs under the Center of Innovation Science and Technology based Radical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (“COI STREAM”) , which was launched by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) as a large-scale research funding program (2013-2022), offering long-term support (up to nine years) to help the COI teams to create major innovations by conducting research activities, back-casting from “the ideal society in 10 years’ time” (future vision), and socially implementing the research results. Currently, Hirosaki University Center of Healthy Aging Innovation is acting as an organization following the COI program system.
To date, the Hirosaki COI has analyzed big health data with the super multi-item of 2,000 ~ 3,000 items via the Iwaki Health Promotion Project, which has been conducted since 2005 in the Iwaki district of Hirosaki city, Aomori Prefecture. Through the data analysis, the team aim to realize early detection of dementia and lifestyle-related diseases, etc. and create and verify methods in preventive medicine and healthcare, leading to the social implementation of the results. In 2019, the Hirosaki COI received the Prime Minister's Award for the most outstanding initiative/project at the 1st Japan Open Innovation Awards, and the Grand Prize / the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Prize at the 7th Platinum Vision Award and was awarded the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Prize of the Innovation Net Award as well as the1st Asia Health and Longevity Innovation Award, Domestic Excellent Case Prize in 2020.