Greetings from the Director / Biography

We aim to be a research center that builds the future with the poultry industry.
Eggs and chickens in Japan are essential foodstuffs that support the nation’s diet.
We aim to research eggs’ nutrition, cooking, and health functions and to research and develop that will help maintain and promote human health.
In recent years, the poultry industry has suffered tremendous damage from infectious diseases such as avian influenza, and we aim to conduct research and development that will contribute to the future of the poultry industry, such as biosecurity research to identify infection routes and research on breeding methods and feed that activate the natural immune functions of chickens.
Professor Emeritus, Kyoto Women’s University
Director, Egg & Poultry Research Center
Hajime Hatta Ph.D. (Doctor of Science)
“We want to contribute to the world through our research on chickens and eggs.”
Chickens and eggs are animal products that are eaten all over the world, regardless of religion or culture.
Eggs, in particular, contain enough nutrients for a chick to be born and are rich in proteins and lipids that build animal cells, making them ideal for maintaining the homeostasis of the 37 trillion cells in our bodies.
Furthermore, its production efficiency is remarkable among animal products, with a unit price comparison of 1g of protein estimated at 3 yen for chicken eggs, 5 yen for chicken meat, 6 yen for milk, 8 yen for pork, and 20 yen for beef. Furthermore, eggs are compatible with various ingredients and have the most extraordinary culinary versatility of any animal food.
Currently, the earth’s population is 7.8 billion, and it is poised to reach 10 billion by 2050, with the population continuing to grow, especially in Asia and Africa. The world’s grain production is about 2.8 billion tons, half of which is consumed by developed countries, which account for about 20% of the world’s population, and 60% is used for animal feed and converted to animal products. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the world’s hungry population is about 800 million, 40,000 people die daily, and more than 70% are children. In this situation, about 2.1 billion people in developed countries are overweight, and about 600 million are obese.
The uneven distribution of food in the world is highly complicated by economic disparities, political conflicts, bioethanol and grain market issues, food waste, and environmental issues such as global warming and desertification. To prepare for the food crisis that will befall us in the future, each of the UN SDGs is an important initiative, but what should be addressed more directly is the expansion of egg and chicken production and consumption, which have superior feed efficiency as animal products. In particular, Japan’s egg production technology, hygiene management, and cooking and processing technology are among the best in the world. We want to spread these technologies from Japan to the rest of the world.
Biography Director Hajime Hatta
March 1979
Graduated from Osaka City University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology
April 1979
Researcher, Research Laboratory, Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd.
April 1983 – August 1984
Visiting Researcher, Institute of Food Science and Technology, Kyoto University
September 1984-December 1985
Visiting Researcher at the University of Brittish Colombia
April 1998
Assistant Professor, Department of Food and Nutrition, Faculty of Home Economics, Kyoto Women’s University
April 2005
Professor, Department of Food and Nutrition, Faculty of Home Economics, Kyoto Women’s University
April 2022
Research Professor, Center for Regional Collaboration, Kyoto Women’s University (to present)
April 2022
Director, Egg & Poultry Research Center (to present)
Award: April 1994
Technology Award from the Japanese Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology and Agrochemistry
“Development of technology for mass production and industrial use of chicken egg antibodies (IgYs)”