Japan's National Institute of Public Health was established in 1938 under the administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Japanese Government for the purpose of training public health personnel and performing research works on public health. In 1940, it was renamed the Institute of Health and Welfare Science and consolidated the Institute of Nutrition under the Ministry of Interior, and in 1941 it was consolidated again in the Department of the Institute of Physical Training under the Ministry of Education. In 1942, the Institute of Population Problems and the Institute of Industrial Safety joined with the Institute of Health and Welfare. In 1949, the name of the institute was changed to National Institute of Public Health with 14 departments and a library. In 1965, the World Health Organization accredited the institute as a school of public health.