Announcement of the future establishment of the Institut Pasteur du Japon

The Institut Pasteur, an independent, non-profit international research institute, is the world leader in the research of viruses and micro-organisms, as well as in the study of diseases such as AIDS, malaria, dengue fever and dysentery, and in the development of vaccines. In recent years, it has achieved remarkable accomplishments in the fields of human and public health, including the isolation of the human immunodeficiency virus, the development of a vaccine for hepatitis B, and the identification of Helicobacter pylori and its strategy to target mitochondria during infection.

The Institut decided to launch IPJ to strengthen its collaboration with outstanding Japanese universities, research institutions, industry and public organizations to address a wide range of issues, including an aging society, climate change, marine pollution and loss of biodiversity.

The ambition of IPJ is to become a world-class institute dedicated to fundamental and public health research on immunology, with a focus on both aging-related and emerging infectious diseases. This vision is based on both the Japanese and the Pasteur Network contexts: Japan, with its high rate of centenarians, offers a singular research opportunity to study the mechanisms of extended healthy lifespan and immune resilience; the development of research on infectious diseases in the specific Japanese context offers capacity building and funding opportunities to the Pasteur Network members in the region and beyond.

The future IPJ will pursue four primary missions:

1. advancing fundamental research drawing on the strength of four newly established Pasteur Joint International Units at The University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM), and Kumamoto University;
2. conducting public health research in partnership with members of the Pasteur Network across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond;
3. fostering innovation by creating a technology and start-up ecosystem;
4. prioritizing education and training to cultivate opportunities for young scientists. 

Following its upcoming official establishment, IPJ intends to launch the Pasteur Aging Research Center (PARC) in collaboration with the Kyoto University, and the Planetary Health Innovation Center (PHIC) in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, initiatives for which Letter of Intents were signed with the Institut Pasteur, respectively in November and October 2023.

The establishment of IPJ is included in the Roadmap on France-Japan Cooperation under the "Exceptional Partnership", which was agreed by the leaders of France and Japan last December and is supported by the French and Japanese governments.

On this occasion, a reception was held at the French Embassy (Minato-ku, Tokyo) on Monday, June 24, with a signing ceremony including Ambassador Setton of the Embassy of France in Japan, Mr Sakoi, Chief Medical and Global Health Officer, Labour and Welfare, President Belkaid of the Institut Pasteur, President Fujii of the University of Tokyo and President Minato of Kyoto University. The future Institut Pasteur du Japon will conduct research activities to improve public health in Japan and beyond.

“The promising collaboration between the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University and the Institut Pasteur offers the opportunity to establish Institut Pasteur du Japon as a leader in life sciences and to ensure its worldwide impact in surveillance, prevention, and identification of emerging pathogens. As a scientist myself, I have been continuously collaborating with Japan over the course of my career, and I am convinced that uniting our expertise will enable us to tackle the global health challenges that lie ahead of us.” – Professor Yasmine Belkaid, President of the Institut Pasteur.