Masaya Okamoto

Masaya Okamoto is Director of IASCC Global (Institute for Applied Sciences of Consciousness and Culture) and President of the Global Institute for Integrative Sciences (GIIS). He is an interdisciplinary educator-researcher dedicated to advancing science and practice in understanding how human consciousness, virtue, and wisdom shape individual lives, institutional systems, and the future direction of humanity. His work is guided by an integrative vision linking fundamental scientific inquiry into the nature of reality with cultural and moral insights into humanity’s epistemological, ontological, and teleological quest.

His background includes academic training and research in cognitive neuroscience and psychology at the University of Manchester, and in psychology, linguistics, and philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. He also holds an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of East London, grounding his work in empirically robust approaches to wellbeing, character development, and human flourishing.

At the VIA Institute on Character, he serves as Master Trainer and Consultant, supporting the global dissemination and cultural adaptation of Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP). He pioneered VIA’s first Spanish-language MBSP certification program for practitioners in Latin America and is currently contributing to its expansion across Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. In higher education, he has played a leading role in contemplative science, character education, and integral wellbeing initiatives, most notably through large-scale train-the-trainer programs in MBSP that supported systemic implementation across university settings, training more than 1,300 educators and positively impacting over 135,000 students, faculty, and staff.

As founder of GIIS, Masaya leads a research-oriented think tank and education center dedicated to developing integrative scientific and philosophical frameworks addressing macro-scale questions concerning humanity’s trajectories, including existential knowing (who we are), value–meaning systems (what matters most), and civilizational ideals (where we are going). Concurrently, as Director of IASCC Global, he leads an applied institute translating research insights into education, consulting, and professional development across academic, organizational, and leadership contexts, situating the cultivation of consciousness and virtue as foundations for practical wisdom and flourishing.

Originally from Japan, Masaya has lived in the UK, Hong Kong, India, Australia, Chile, Mexico, and the United States. With professional experience spanning more than 60 countries, he brings a multicultural perspective to the enduring human pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty.