Ja p a n A s s o c i a t i o n f o r Fe m a l e E x e c u t i v e sNEWS L e tte r

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2016.06.01

h t t p: // w w w.jaf e.jp /The 6 th JAFE Seminar
The 6th JAFE Seminar was held on May 12, 2016 where we were honoured towelcome Professor Shinya Yamanaka, the Director of the Center for iPS Cell
Research and Application at Kyoto University as our guest speaker, and wereprivileged to hear Professor Yamanaka talk about “ a new medical window
opened up by iPS cells ”. Our members were fascinated by Professor Yamanakaʼsspeech on the history of iPS cell development, its potential value in regenerative
medicine and drug discovery, and efforts to realize these visions, and moreover,
his witty episodes regaled the venue with laughter.

Summary of the speech given by Professor Shinya Yamanaka,Director of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University
The winding road to medicine,and the mentors on the roadof basic medical research
My father, who ran a small factory, developed
osteomyelitis through a sewing machine
needle which got stuck in his shin, andthen contracted hepatitis C from a bloodtransfusion during surgery. Even though
I became a doctor at my father ʼs behest,I wasn ʼ t able to cure him since there wasno established medical treatment for thisdisease at the time. It was from profoundremorse that I was unable to save my father
that I felt compelled to find the cause of thisdisease and to develop medical treatment for
it, and therefore, I embarked on a journey toconduct basic medical research, which led tome studying abroad as a postdoctoral fellow
at the Gladstone Institute affiliated with theUniversity of California when I was 31 years
old. This is where I adopted a maxim for mywork as a scientist in basic medical researchfrom Dr. Robert Mahley, the President of theInstitute. This maxim was the initials “ V ”
and “ W ”. The “ V ” stood for “ vision ” and the“ W ” was for hard work. When asked what
my own vision was by Dr. Mahley, I recalled

the aspirations that I had forgotten – as aresearcher, to save patients, like my father,
who were suffering from a disease. This visionbecame my compass.

The road to iPS cell discovery
At the Gladstone Institute, I had one more
important encounter. This was with ES(embryonic stem) cells. In 1981, Professor
Martin Evans and his colleagues at theUniversity of Cambridge were successful
in culturing ES cells from the fertilized eggof a mouse. ES cells can become any type ofcell, and can proliferate almost indefinitely.
I felt that this had great potential in clinicalmedicine and decided to conduct research inthis field. In 1996, we returned to Japan timed
with our daughters entering school here,
and I continued with my research at Osaka
City University Medical School. At times, Ifelt like I was constantly fumbling aroundin the dark, experienced despair almost on
a daily basis and, on occasion, came close
to feeling defeated. In 1998, the technolog yfor human ES cell generation was developed
leading to even greater potential in the field of
regenerative medicine, but we were faced withethical obstacles.
In the following year of 1999, I got aposition at the Nara Institute of Science andTechnolog y (NAIST), and I came to organize
my own laboratory in a perfect research
environment. At the age of 37, I became an
independent researcher. Here I drew up avision of resetting (reprogramming) othercells without using fertilized eggs and of
establishing cells which showed the samemechanism as ES cells, and I carried out thisresearch with the help of a number of young
graduate students and technicians. I preparedmyself for the reality that my vision might notcome true for 20 or 30 years, or even during
my lifetime, but with the collective efforts of
the laboratory, we were able to establish cells
which were very similar to ES cells. These
were the iPS cells, leading to me receiving

the Nobel Prize in Physiolog y or Medicine in2012.

Why run a marathon?
What flummoxed me when writing a paperon these new pluripotent stem cells waswhat name I should give to these cells, but
fortunately, I was able to come up with a namewhich seemingly gained global acceptance.
Actually, to tell the truth, I was inspired by theiPod, which was such a huge hit at the time.
Although research in iPS cells has progressed
dramatically, we are still only half way down
the road in terms of actual applications inmedicine. My current vision is to see iPScell technolog y used for medical application
at the earliest possible date. Obviously thismeans application in regenerative medicine,but I also want the cells to make a large
contribution to developing medicine. To
promote this vision, the Center for iPS
Cell Research and Application (CiR A) wasestablished at Kyoto University. Today, I am
pushing forward towards a common vision
together with 400 of my fellow colleagues.
Which is why I am passionate about runninga marathon. In actual fact, CiR A researchrequires a large amount of funds to continue
with the operations. We do receive funds fromthe government, but the current situationmeans that it isn ʼ t possible to provide stable
employment for talented scientists. In orderto overcome these challenges, CiR A has
established the iPS Cell Research Fund. I
personally run around explaining the Fundand asking for donations. If you are interested
in our work, we do hope you will give us yourwarm support.

www.give2asia.org/ku-ips*Through Give2Asia, U.S. and Hong
Kong residents are now eligiblefor tax deductions when donating tothe Center for iPS Cell Research andApplication, Kyoto University, JapanOr alternatively, please searchon the Internet for “ iPS Funds ” .

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Re por t

Introduction of Members◇JAFE Special Seminar, April 4

JAFE Special Seminar

S ak ie Tachibana-Fukushima
President & Representative Director G&S Global Advisors Inc.

Ms. Fukushima was formerly the President ofJapan operations of a U.S. human resources
consulting company, and ser ved on its
global board of directors for 12 years. Ms.
Fukushima has also ser ved since 2001 as anexternal director on the boards of nine Japanese companies
including Kao, Sony, Benesse, Mitsubishi Corporation,Ajinomoto, J. Front Retailing, and Bridgestone. Former Vice
Chair of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives.

Hiroko KawamotoSenior Vice President, Inflight Services
All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.

Ms. Kawamoto was appointed Director ofANAʼs In-f light Ser vices Center in 2009,
and was appointed Senior Vice President
and Director of Women ʼs Empowerment
Promotion in 2014. In the following year,
Ms. Kawamoto ser ved as Managing Director of ANAʼs Inf light Ser vices and is currently ser ving as Director for thePromotion of ANA Group Diversity as well as Promotion
Officer for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

◇ The 6 th JAFE Seminar, May 12

The guest speaker for the special seminar held on April 4, 2016, was Mrs. Akie Abe,the wife of the Japanese Prime Minister. Mrs. Abe talked about life as First Lady.

Summary of the speech given by Mrs. Akie Abe (wife of the Japanese Prime Minister)

Demeanour of a Firs t L ady
When my husband first became a politician, I wascaught up in what I thought an ideal politician ʼs wife
should be. Now 20 years on, I believe that I should
accomplish the mission ascribed to me.
Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi prefecture is myhusband ʼs constituency, and as an excellent example
of local creation, I am planning to build a comfortable
guest house called UZU HOUSE which will be
for backpackers and other tourists. I am hopingthat this will become a friendly place for culturalcommunication where a variety of people from allwalks of life such as tourists visiting from abroad
and local elderly people will be able to gather andcommunicate with each another. I hope those of you
who are interested will pay us a visit.

Individual ac tivities

Yumi Yamaguchi
JAFE Honorary Member
Managing Officer, Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
President & CEO, Mitsui Global Strategic Studies InstituteMs. Yamaguchi ser ved as Vice Governorof Okayama Prefecture and Minister ʼsSecretariat Counsellor of the Ministr y ofLand, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism,
and also contributed to international
communications as Vice Commissioner of the Japan Tourism
Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport until
July 2014. Ms. Yamaguchi has ser ved in her current position
since 2015, and is responsible for an in-house think tank,which researches methods to connect theoretical knowledge
with practical knowledge.

At suko Hirooka
JAFE Corporate Member
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.Executive Officer
Animal Nutrition Division Environmental Health Division

Ten years ago, Ms. Hirooka made a careertransition from a German company to
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., and has since
been leading the division conducting businessprimarily in “ Olyset Net ”, insecticide-treatedmosquito nets to prevent malaria. Ms. Hirooka plans in thefuture to expand the division ʼs business to include infectious
diseases other than malaria. As well as environment health,Ms. Hirooka is also responsible for animal nutrition.

This upcoming August 22, I plan to hold a forum on the marine environment in Hawaii.
Rather than on a government level, this is an event which was born from personal links. I
would like to convey the importance of protecting the sea as a part of the bigger picture ofenvironmental issues,
In addition, following the Great East Japan Earthquake, high seawalls are being built inmany places without careful consideration being given to the impact on the environment,and this construction can ʼ t be stopped after approval has been given for construction
despite concerns being raised by stakeholders. I am striving to change this situation.
I would also like to engage in activities so that women, the disabled and other minorities
are able to take center stage and support each other. In the past, during wartime, womensilently sent their loved ones onto thebattlefield and could only pray for theirsafety. I think that from now on womenmust raise their voices to be heard sothat no more loved ones are sent to war.
I would like to engage in activities, ina form which differs from that of myhusband, to contribute to peace. If all ofthe JAFE members join with each other,
our combined power will increase manytimes over. Let us all work together toform a wonderful society.

A d v a n c e a n n o u n c e m e n t : 3 rd s u m m e r c a m p t o b e h e l d i n Ta t e s h i n a .
Date and time: To start at 13:00 on Saturday, July 23, 2016 and end at 13:00 on Sunday, July 24.
Location: Poppins Tateshina Training Center
Capacity: 12 members
Participation fee: 30,000 yen (excluding transportation expenses, four meals for one night inclusive of consumption tax,
Additional charge of 5,000 yen for individual use of a single room)

For more information, please refer to the following link. http://www.jafe.jp/seminar/160723.html

JAFE Administration Office
Inside NPO Poppins 5F, Hiroo Plaza, 5-6-6, Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0012
Ph: 03-6450-4880

Email: info@jafe.jp

www.jafe.jp