WALKING DEVELOPMENT GROUP - Key Persons
Dr. Kayoko Okamoto became the first subject of her father's EMG experiments when she was one year old. She has continued gait research and development together with her father, Dr. Tsutomu Okamoto, and won the Incentive Prize from the Japanese Society of Biomechanics. She has researched and developed a unique walking method and exercise program for preventing falls and avoiding becoming bed-ridden based on her own grandfather's experience. Her lectures on anti-aging walking are extremely popular among middle-aged and elderly persons. She teaches the theory and practice of "exercise and walking for a healthy life" at university.
Dr. Tsutomu Okamoto has researched electromyographical gait studies for fifty years. He was a member of the gait research project at the Center for Rehabilitation Medicine at Emory University, Atlanta, USA. His papers have been published in many professional journals and his EMG data on infant walking is cited widely internationally. He won the All Japan Canoe Championships, served as one of the Tokyo Olympics Special Coaches and the President of the All Japan Intercollegiate Canoe Federation. He has received many awards, including the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award, the Osaka Governor Award and the Japan Emperor Award.