Holding a 150th Anniversary Appreciation Celebration
A Future Built with Global Partners

On October 31, Shimadzu Corporation held “Excellence in Science—150 Years of Innovation—,” an event to convey our gratitude to customers and collaborative research partners both in Japan and overseas, in commemoration of our 150th anniversary. More than 130 customers from various international regions gathered at the Kyoto International Conference Center, the venue for the event.

“We’re still only halfway to the future.”

In his opening address, Yasunori Yamamoto, President and CEO of Shimadzu, expressed his gratitude, saying, “Our 150-year corporate history would not have been possible without the support of our customers and partners both in Japan and abroad.” While introducing “We’re still only halfway to the future,” the promotional video for our 150th anniversary commemoration, he talked of our continuing challenges, as we seek out what we can do for the well-being of mankind and the Earth, and for the future.

The event consisted of three parts. In the second part of the first half, lectures were presented by researchers from various international regions.

Part 1: Special Lecture Session

Part 1 was entitled “Special Lecture Session—Stories of Excellence—.” In this part, customers introduced examples of co-creation with Shimadzu, leading to the creation of innovation.

“Near infrared photoimmunotherapy of cancer”
Distinguished Professor Hisataka Kobayashi (Kansai Medical University)
In his lecture, Distinguished Professor Kobayashi discussed near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT), a new therapy that activates immunity to selectively destroy cancer cells. NIR-PIT was developed through a 20-year collaborative relationship between Shimadzu and the professor’s team. In April 2025, Kansai Medical University and Shimadzu began clinical research for the purpose of visualizing the therapeutic effectiveness of NIR-PIT.

Distinguished Professor Hisataka Kobayashi (right)

Video of the lecture by Distinguished Professor Kobayashi

“Singapore General Hospital-Shimadzu Personomics Centre in the Fight Against Superbugs: Ten Years of Innovation”
Dr. Lim Tze Peng (Singapore General Hospital)
The theme of the lecture by Dr. Lim of Singapore General Hospital (SGH), which was established in 1821, was antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR refers to the ability of bacteria and other microorganisms that cause infectious diseases to resist the effects of antimicrobials. Microbes that are resistant to multiple antimicrobials are referred to as “superbugs.” The number of people who pass away from superbugs is increasing, and a significant impact on the medical field and the economy is expected. In 2024, SGH and Shimadzu (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd., the Shimadzu Group’s base in Singapore, collaboratively established the SGH-Shimadzu Personomics Centre. The Centre has evolved its research theme from collaborative studies on antifungal therapeutic drug monitoring to mass spectrometry technologies for antibiotics.

Dr. Lim Tze Peng (right)

Video of the lecture by Dr. Lim

“Molecular Insights into Analytical Chemistry Challenges for the Sustainable Energy Transition”
Dr. Pierre Giusti (TotalEnergies SE)
The energy transition presents challenges such as evaluating the effective use of bioresources, and the monitoring of battery degradation. Dr. Giusti lectured on the role of analytical chemistry in supporting decarbonization, through molecular-level insights. The Shimadzu ELEM-SPOT element selective gas chromatograph mass spectrometer, which was released in 2024, was created through collaborative development with TotalEnergies SE.

Dr. Pierre Giusti (right)

Part 2: 150th Anniversary Appreciation Celebration and Commemorative Lectures

The commemorative lectures in Part 2 were presented by Koichi Tanaka, Executive Research Fellow of Shimadzu Corporation, and Professor Hidetoshi Katori of the Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo.

“Lessons from the history of Shimadzu’s Instruments Development”
Koichi Tanaka (Executive Research Fellow of Shimadzu Corporation)
For 40 years since joining Shimadzu, Koichi Tanaka has participated in research and development related to mass spectrometry. In his opening remarks, he said, “Getting to this point has, no doubt, been thanks to the support of many people across the world.” He then discussed what we have learned from the history of instrument development and our contributions to the instrument industry and science.

“A Clock Measuring Curved Spacetime”
Professor Hidetoshi Katori (The University of Tokyo)
In his opening remarks, Professor Katori said, “Shimadzu has been supporting me in realizing the dream of developing an optical lattice clock.” In his lecture, Professor Katori introduced the mechanism behind optical lattice clocks, which he invented, as well as related experimental results. Shimadzu began collaborative research with Professor Katori’s group in 2017. In March 2025, Shimadzu released Aetherclock OC020, a strontium optical lattice clock.

Video of the lecture by Professor Katori (Japanese)

From this point, we at Shimadzu will continue to challenge ourselves to contribute to society as we pursue the well-being of mankind and the Earth.