On Tuesday afternoon, December 2, IMSUT welcomed a delegation of young and promising Chinese researchers, healthcare professionals, students, and members from the Japan China Medical Association. The group consisted of 31 persons was invited by the Japan China Medical Association under the Japan Science and Technology Agency’s (JST), “Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science (Sakura Science Plan)”, and the visit to IMSUT was the first part of a week-long study program in Japan.

They first visited the Medical Science Museum and were briefed on a history of the institute by the Head of the Museum, Professor Toshio Kitamura. After that, they moved to a conference room on the 8th floor of the hospital and received introductions of IMSUT, hospital, and programs that are implemented at the Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases by Professor Hiroshi Kiyono (Dean of IMSUT), Professor Keiya Ozawa (Hospital Director), and Professor Aikichi Iwamoto (Head of Research Center for Asian Infectious Diseases) respectively. The delegation was very active raising wide-ranging questions which led to exchanging views and experiences among all participants. Lastly, they visited the BioBank Japan where they received a brief introduction of the facility and its projects by Associate Professor Koichi Matsuda.

Although the visit took only two hours, the feedback obtained by both Japanese and Chinese was positive that they all appreciate the opportunity given to interact with each other. IMSUT will continue to promote international exchange and expect a further expansion of friendly and cooperative ties between Japan and China.