After a long career as a senior faculty at the School of Public Health in the University of Pittsburgh, including 10 years as the Chair of the Department, Prof. Steven Albert decided to take his first sabbatical with the Fulbright Program in Japan. “I was interested in seeing something different and having a breath of fresh air,” he says.

Prof. Albert’s research revolves around medicine and public health. He was interested in a special challenge in the field: “De-prescribing,” a process of rationally taking people off unnecessary medications, especially with advancing age. His initial discussions about the project with a friend and colleague in St. Marianna University, Japan, eventually turned into a research project proposal themed “Opportunities for preventing frailty in old age: Learning from a ‘Super-Aging’ society.”

In the 1980s, Prof. Albert—then a pre-doctoral student—had received his first Fulbright fellowship to travel to Papua New Guinea for field work. About 30 years later, his association with Fulbright was renewed and he visited Japan as a senior faculty for this lecturing-cum-research program, to pursue a comparative study of long-term healthcare in Japan and the United States. “Japan has made extraordinary policy progress in this area that I think the United States could learn from,” says Prof. Albert, speaking about the healthcare facilities available for people with chronic disease and disability.

He speaks highly of Japan for the country’s approach to public health and aging. He cites examples of the “long-term health insurance” and “universal health insurance” policies in Japan and how these can improve the quality of life for the elderly and others in general.

During his five-month stay in Japan, Prof. Albert had the opportunity to closely observe the primary care provided in clinics, visit homes of people with medical morbidity and disability, and begin some preliminary research on long term supportive care in Japan. He also discussed and collaborated with the geriatrics and gerontology faculty in his host institute—St. Marianna University—and the rest of the country, discussing the long-term healthcare systems in place. “I hope to return and develop this line of research,” he says.

Prof. Albert’s observations in a country which is “aging better” include greater life expectancy, availability of timely treatment, and lower disease morbidity. “Japan really is a very good model and lesson to see what works when it comes to old age,” remarks Prof. Albert. Another interesting revelation was how a country’s overall infrastructure can culturally result in broad differences of perspective—for example, his students in the USA considered 65 years to be the benchmark of old age; however, his students in Japan placed it at 75 years.

Prof. Albert and his wife tried to make the most of their short stay in the country. Alongside taking Japanese language classes with other international students, they made a few trips to Kyoto, Nikko, Hakone, Hokkaido, the historic port of Hakodate, and the Japanese Alps. They enjoyed the splendid views of flowering cherry blossoms, hydrangeas, and lotuses, as the seasons changed. The professor returned home enriched with memories of natural beauty, cultural heritage, foreign etiquettes, and an inclination towards cooking Japanese meals.

Prof. Albert encourages colleagues and young scholars to apply for the Fulbright Program, especially for the wonderful learning experience it is, culturally and academically. However, “you have to decide whether you really want to teach or whether you want to do more research. You will have a very different Fulbright experience, depending on what you choose,” says Prof. Albert.