The declining birthrate in society is nothing short of the greatest crisis facing our country. The number of cases of child abuse and truancy is at an all-time high, and the coronavirus pandemic has aggravated various issues concerning children, youth, and families in Japan.

University of Fukui has a long history of working to elucidate the mechanisms of brain development and various issues related to children's minds. Under the current situation, University of Fukui, Osaka University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, and Chiba University have been founded the "United Graduate School of Child Development (UGSCD)" with Research Center for Child Mental Development project, and have promoted research activities to scientifically clarify child mental development and to overcome mental distortions in children.

Our center conducts the basic research on brain development at the molecular and cellular level, the imaging research to visualize human brain activity and track brain functional development, the epidemiological research to clarify the causes of mental distortions in children, and social implementation research focusing on child caregivers. With the support of Fukui Prefecture and Eiheiji Town, we are also striving to give back to education, clinical practice, and human resources.

University of Fukui sets forth the following policy at the 4th phase midterm goals and midterm plan period started in FY2022: "In order to contribute to the realization of a better society by solving social issues ranging from the local to the global scale, we aim to advance research and development aimed at putting the scientific theories and basic knowledge obtained through our research into practice in society, and to create innovations that lead to social change. Our center promotes the domestic and international joint research for "Children's Mind" with the UGSCD, based on multi-faculty collaboration within the university. We will also provide evidence and create innovations that can contribute to solving the various mental distortions in children. We are looking forward to your cooperation and support.