Ataru IGARASHI is an associate professor at Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Unit of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. In 2002, he graduated from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo. He started his career at The University of Tokyo as an assistant professor, just after he received his Ph.D. degree in 2008. His areas of expertise are health economics and pharmacoeconomics. His research on vaccination policy, anti-smoking policy and pharmacoeconomics have been used in the governmental decision making process.