150th Anniversary
Website

Yamamoto

Thank you all for being here today. I'm excited to have this opportunity to speak with you, the members of the younger generation. It is you who will go on to create the future of Shimadzu. Let's discuss frankly.

First, I'd like to ask all of you: what do you see as Shimadzu's strengths?

Murabayashi

I would have to say its history. I joined two years ago as a mid-career hire, so I feel this especially keenly. A century and a half of history means that much accumulated knowledge in the company. And those achievements have created a foundation of trust. I think that's a very important factor.

Yamamoto

Yes, there are strong bonds of trust between Shimadzu and its customers, sales representatives, partner companies, and clients. That truly is a major asset.

Kawamura

I think the word "sincerity" fits Shimadzu perfectly. I work in the Manufacturing Center. Everyone there is sincere about manufacturing. Having met everyone from other divisions today, I feel everyone has a sincere stance. I think this is a strength.

Tsutsumida

I feel that too. Many members of my group, which develops software and applications for medical equipment, are strongly oriented toward making something personally. Throughout its 150 years of history, Shimadzu has invented things that never existed, and I think there are many who are proud to be able to say, "I made this product, I made this technology."

Baba

Since I joined Shimadzu six years ago, I've been involved in auto-sampler development-related work in the LC Business Unit, which handles analytical and measuring instruments. Recently, I've had the opportunity to lead development for several products, which I think has given me a certain amount of confidence when it comes to auto-samplers.

Yamamoto

That's impressive. I hope you'll continue to hold that attitude.

Yamamoto

That's an opinion to ponder. In any case, we will face numerous challenges as we go through life. These will likely include social challenges that are more serious than they are today, and we will be the ones who address them. Let's try to come up with ideas about what kinds of challenges will arise in the future, and how we should address them.

Baba

I hope to see us create measuring devices and services that apply to everything on Earth, from the depths of the oceans to outer space.

Murabayashi

Yes, right. With devices that are something like Earth health meters, we could measure the overall heath status of Earth, in collaboration with companies and governments all over the world. As we accumulate knowledge, we might be able to derive scientific support for earthquake predictions based on, for example, unusual swimming patterns of fish in the ocean. It would be wonderful if Shimadzu could be involved in that.

Yamamoto

The optical lattice clock we are involved in researching will likely be useful for earthquake prediction. As research progresses, we should be able to measure tectonic plate movement down to the millimeter. That could transform with way people view disaster prevention.

Silvey

Energy supplies are a major problem. As a result of continuing to use fossil fuels, climate change is impacting many regions. But if fusion power can be put to use, I believe that would be a solution.

Yamamoto

I really hope fusion power can be realized. I researched it when I was a student. Several Shimadzu divisions were once involved in fusion power research. Back then, it was thought that the technology would be realized more quickly. I hope that efforts to do so will continue.

Murabayashi

We believe these have ample future potential, and we hope to contribute actively to making fusion power a reality.

Yamamoto

What about health? The gap between absolute lifespan and healthy lifespan is a current concern. Roughly speaking, men need someone to care for them for the last eight years of life, while for women the figure is ten years. How do we extend healthy lifespan and reduce the number of years that care is necessary?

Baba

I think prevention is important, because becoming ill, undergoing surgery, and recovering in a hospital can't be said to be healthy. Most of the gap between healthy and absolute lifespan starts with lifestyle-related illnesses. I think we can help create a society where people try to avoid illness with diet, exercise and so on.

Yamamoto

That would be excellent. If we can detect symptoms of illness at an extremely early stage, we can take preventative steps like diet and exercise. But we also need to know what illness is involved. It would be good to have a mass spectrometer in each household, so people could test their blood and urine daily. But with as many devices as households, maintenance becomes a challenge. And for home use, the equipment would have to be smaller.

Baba

I'd like to achieve that and develop a product to produce consistent results for anyone by inserting a sample and pushing a button.

Silvey

People could use wearable devices every day that would measure the constituents of perspiration and blood, check heart rhythm and so on. If some metric was slightly abnormal, you could go to a pharmacy and have blood work done with a mass spectrograph. Such a scheme would eliminate the need to visit hospitals, and could solve the problem of costly health insurance in the U.S.

Baba

Exercise is important, but even if you understand that, it's something many find difficult to do actively. The problem is, they don't have information about the positive effects of exercise. That may be an area where Shimadzu can help.

Kurata

For example, after exercise it would be great if an AI could predict how healthy you will be at 70, etc., based on changes in your body, its constituents and so forth, if you keep training—though we can't yet link exercise-related metabolic changes to specific outcomes.

Yamamoto

How does exercise promote health? Is it because of perspiration? Blood flow? A rise in body temperature? Muscle hypertrophy? As we understand more, we may find ways to link metabolic changes to health outcomes.

Tsutsumida

Gamifying exercise might generate motivation to continue. It might be interesting to collaborate with game companies to create an app like that.

Kurata

Going forward, science and technology may also contribute actively to the field of mental health. Depression and alienation are seen as rooted in the social environment, but we're starting to understand that mental health problems may originate in the physical metabolism of specific substances. If these substances can be accurately identified, and appropriate medications and treatment can be provided through personalized therapy, I think mental health care will change significantly.

Kawamura

The COVID-19 pandemic is still fresh in our memories, but it seems to me that if we could create a mechanism to globally predict the appearance of new viruses and the spread of infection, we could mitigate the impact on the economy and everyday life.

Baba

My conclusion is that considering human health ultimately leads us back to the health of the planet. If the planet is healthy, healthy plant life will thrive, and by eating those plants, human health will be preserved. For people to maintain vitality and health to the end of their lives, the health of the planet must be maintained as well.

Yamamoto

Human life is sustained by a multitude of organisms. The soil contains countless bacteria, and by metabolizing them, plants derive nutrients and can grow, and in turn become nutrition for animals. There is a trend toward producing agricultural products independently from ecosystems, such as in buildings and factories, to ensure a safe and sufficient supply of food. But is it really possible for humans alone to survive outside natural ecosystems? We may need to consider the energy problem, food supplies, and healthy lifespan as aspects of the same dimension.

Kawamura

That's exactly what "Realizing Our Wishes for the Well-being of Mankind and the Earth" means, isn't it?

Yamamoto

The color of Earth seen from space is truly beautiful, like an oasis floating in a vast universe, an island of serenity. I hope you will all go on working hard so our planet will always be healthy. Thanks very much for your time today.