MEXT Minister Comments on Nobel Prize Award Ceremony

It is a great honor that Kyoto University Professor Shinya Yamanaka has received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony held in Stockholm on December 10.

It is also a great pride and joy for the people of our nation to be able to show Japan’s high academic level at such a prestigious event as the Nobel Prize Ceremony.

I would like to most respectfully congratulate Prof. Yamanaka for his achievements in the discovery of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells which has spurred a new generation of laboratory research in various medical fields. It is our hope that iPS cell research will continue to advance so that it can be put into practical use as soon as possible in the areas of regenerative medicine and in the development of new pharmaceuticals.

MEXT is committed to providing concentrated and long-term support in the advance of this research. Through strengthening the level of academic research and education at universities and research organizations, MEXT will work to create and strengthen policies aimed at supporting iPS cell research and nurturing young researchers.

December 11, 2012
MEXT Minister
Makiko Tanaka