Expertise
Evidence-Based Policy Making (EBPM), evaluation of health-promoting interventions, mental health, and the role of emotions in shaping economic decision-making.
Research Projects
- Basic research for exploring ideal interventions in medicine and health (July 10, 2023 - December 31, 2025)
- Basic research for exploring the ideal medical intervention after the advent of the new coronavirus (August 3, 2020 - January 31, 2023)
- Comprehensive Research on Evidence Based Policy Making (EBPM) (October 29, 2018 - March 31, 2029)
- Research Project on Mental Health from the Perspective of Human Capital (April 15, 2014 - June 30, 2016)
- Research Project on Mental Health from the Perspective of Human Capital (July 23, 2012 - September 30, 2013)
Education
1994 Master of Arts, Stanford University, USA
1988 Bachelor of Law, the University of Tokyo
Experience
2008.7 Analyst for EPA, Economic Partnership Division, Trade Policy Bureau, METI
2006.7 Associate Professor, Institute of Social Science, the University of Tokyo
2004.7 Planning Director of Economic Partnership Division, Trade Policy Bureau, METI
2004.2 Deputy Director of FTA Negotiation Promotion Office, Trade Policy Bureau, METI
2001.7 Deputy Director of General Policy Division, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, METI
Selected Publications and Papers
- So, M., Sekizawa, Y., Hashimoto, S., Kashimura, M., Yamakage, H., & Watanabe, N. (2026). Effect of AI-Based Natural Language Feedback on Engagement and Clinical Outcomes in Fully Self-Guided Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression: 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 28, e76902. doi:10.2196/76902.
https://jmir.org/2026/1/e76902 - Sekizawa, Y. (2024). Japan's intensive health guidance program has limited effects on cardiovascular risk factors: a regression discontinuity analysis. Public Health, 232, 108-113.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.04.024 - Chen, F., Nakanishi, H., Sekizawa, Y., Ochi, S., & So, M. (2024). Investigating the causal effects of COVID-19 vaccination on the adoption of protective behaviors in Japan: Insights from a fuzzy regression discontinuity design. PLOS ONE, 19(6), e0305043.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305043 - Sekizawa, Y. (2023). Effects of being eligible for specific health guidance on health outcomes: A regression discontinuity analysis using Japan's data on specific health checkups. Preventive Medicine, 172, 107520.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107520 - Ochi, S., Mirai, S., Hashimoto, S., Hashimoto, Y., & Sekizawa, Y. (2023). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on exercise habits and overweight status in Japan: A nation-wide panel survey. PLOS Global Public Health, 3(7), e0001732.
- Sato, D., Sekizawa, Y., Sutoh, C., Hirano, Y., Okawa, S., Hirose, M., Takemura, M., & Shimizu, E. (2022). Effectiveness of Unguided Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and the Three Good Things Exercise for Insomnia: 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(2), e28747.
https://doi.org/10.2196/28747 - Sekizawa, Y., Hashimoto, S., Denda, K., Ochi, S., & So, M. (2022). Association between COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and generalized trust, depression, generalized anxiety, and fear of COVID-19. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 126.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12479-w - Sekizawa, Y., Konishi, Y., & Ikari, H. (2022). Who Are Free from Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, and Diabetes Mellitus in the Middle-Aged and Elderly Population of Japan? In M. Yano, F. Matsuda, A. Sakuntabhai, & S. Hirota (Eds.), Socio-Life Science and the COVID-19 Outbreak: Public Health and Public Policy (pp. 275-302). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-5727-6_12 - Ochi, S., So, M., Hashimoto, S., Denda, K., & Sekizawa, Y. (2021). Behavioral Factors Associated with COVID-19 Risk: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Japan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22), 12184.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212184 - Sekizawa, Y., Goto, Y., Noguchi, R., So, M., & Shimizu, E. (2021). Associations between Japan’s consumer confidence index and emotion-related variables such as depression, anxiety, and positive affect. Cogent Psychology, 8(1), 1897199.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2021.1897199 - Sekizawa, Y., & Konishi, Y. (2021). Are Consumer Confidence and Asset Value Expectations Positively Associated with Length of Daylight?: An Exploration of Psychological Mediators between Length of Daylight and Seasonal Asset Price Transitions. PLoS ONE, 16(1), e0245520.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245520 - Sekizawa, Y., Konishi, Y., & Kimura, M. (2018). Are the Effects of Blood Pressure Lowering Treatment Diminishing?: Meta-regression Analyses. Clinical Hypertension, 24(1), 16.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40885-018-0101-9 - Noguchi, R., Sekizawa, Y., So, M., Yamaguchi, S., & Shimizu, E. (2017). Effects of five-minute internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy and simplified emotion-focused mindfulness on depressive symptoms: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), 85.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1248-8 - Sekizawa, Y. (2009). Development of Industrial Parks by the Japan Regional Development Corporation in the 1990s: Is this a Failure of Regional Development Policy or Industrial Cluster Policy? In B. Ganne & Y. Lecler (Eds.), Asian Industrial Clusters, Global Competitiveness and New Policy Initiatives (pp. 107-119): WORLD SCIENTIFIC.
https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814280136_0004
