The Future of the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Law (CBEL)
Report. Some reflections upon retirement.

CBEL Report Volume 5, Issue 2Greetings

The Future of the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Law (CBEL) Report.
Some reflections upon retirement.
Akira Akabayashi *Greetings to our readers. It has been approximatelyassessment. Similarly, students who complete a thesis infive years since the first issue of the Center for Biomed-

the Department of Health Sciences, and students who

ical Ethics and Law (CBEL) Report was published. Iare assigned a research project in the Graduate Schoolwill retire from my position as Professor at the Univer-of Public Health also have the opportunity to submit.

sity of Tokyo on March 31, 2023. Thank you all for yoursupport over the years.

The CBEL Report is the result of my experience ofpublication in academic journals. Taking advantage ofthe features of electronic journals, we are able to submit,

Some history

review, and publish articles in a timely fashion. As it isOver the past five years, the CBEL Report has madenot a commercial journal, we do not charge publication

great strides. We have successfully published five vol-fees. Nevertheless, the original articles are peer-re-umes which are now indexed in Ichushi, J-Stage, J-

viewed by our distinguished Editorial Boards, thus en-

GLOBAL, Medical Online, and Google Scholar, and wesuring high quality publications.

have applied for the CBEL Report to be indexed in PubMed.
The number of submissions has also increased signif-

The PresentOn April 1, 2019, the University of Tokyo Bioethics

icantly, and we are receiving more submissions fromCollaborative

leading Japanese bioethics professors, young research-(https://bicro.u-tokyo.ac.jp/), was created with partici-ers, and scholars from abroad. We are now consideringpation from many faculties of the University of Tokyo.

publishing papers not only in Japanese and English, but

The CBEL Report remains a core part of this organiza-

also in other languages, as long as they are translatedtion and will also become the official publication of

into both English and Japanese.

BICRO in April 2023. Moreover, Asia's largest bioeth-ResearchOrganization(BICROThe CBEL Report includes an Invited Article category,ics reference center will become part of BICRO. At thiswhich enables students to publish their work. In partic-time, Eisuke Nakazawa, the current deputy director ofular, students at the University of Tokyo Medical School

BICRO, will take over as the director. Eisuke Nakazawa

who undertake a research elective are able to submit

will become the Editor-in-Chief of the CBEL Report.

their research essays to the CBEL Report as part of their

Makoto Udagawa will remain as Associate Editor. I will

*Director, CBEL and BICRO, Department of Biomedical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo
Division of Medical Ethics, School of Medicine, New York University5

CBEL Report Volume 5, Issue 2

remain as Founding Editor.

Akira Akabayashi

this basis, she decided to write a picture book that would

At CBEL and BICRO we encourage interdisciplinary

make it easier for them to understand. CBEL Reportresearch. I focus here on two recent outstanding and in-readers should listen to the 7-minute reading by TBS an-

novative examples

nouncer

AiEto.

(https://www.screens-lab.jp/arti-

cle/25850# http://www.yomo-ehon.com, English subti(1) Research on Japanese altruism and vaccination
In collaboration with Drs. Komada, Lee andtles are uploaded to the CBEL Report website
https://youtu.be/4Y3R09AEkBE.)

Watanabe, at Tokyo University of Health Sciences, weThis book has been translated into 14 languages inpublished a research paper on altruism amongst the Jap-addition to the Japanese original, with the cooperation

anese and the issue of vaccination, on December 13,of Yale University. This means 44.3% of the world’s

2022 (Vaccine X: Elsevier, Note). This paper is an ex-

population can access this resource.

ploratory epidemiological study using secondary data

It is poignant that this work was translated into bothfrom a health survey with statistical analysis. The Edi-Ukrainian and Russian. Parents in both countries cantorial, below, describes how these methods connect withread this book for free if they have access to the Internet,ethics, and shows how the CBEL Report examines theexemplifying the commonality shared by all families,ethics inherent in epidemiological studies of this kind.

even during war time.

The reviewers and editors evaluated and accepted thisFinally, I would like to report on our other publica-paper. In addition, it became the subject of commentarytions. My colleagues and I have published Introductionin the mainstream press, (Mainichi Shimbun, January 16,

to Medical Ethics I (Keiso Shobo, 2005, revised edition

2023, evening edition and on its English language web-2017), Introduction to Medical Ethics II (Keiso Shobo,site.

2007), and Introduction to Medical Ethics III: Public

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230124/p2a/00m/

Health Ethics. (Keiso Shobo, 2015), which have been

0sc/017000c)

very well received. Furthermore, we have published Introduction to Ethics (Keiso Shobo, 2018), a book com-(2) The World Caught a Coldprising the theoretical chapters of the introductory series,

Our second example concerns a picture book written

hoping that readers would be able to access the basics

by Dr. Shizuko Takahashi, a part-time lecturer whoof ethics from a wide range of diverse disciplines. The

wrote her dissertation in our department and teaches

Casebook of Medical Ethics (Igaku Shoin, 2002) is in its“Global Bioethics” at the University of Tokyo. She is a

27th printing. And as for translated books, Johnsen etmother of three, a wife, a childcare provider, an obste-al.'s Clinical Ethics (Shinko Igaku, 1997, 3rd edition,trician/gynecologist, a researcher, and an activist. The2006, 5th edition) has been published. The 9th edition

World Caught a Cold in part results from Dr.

translation (McGraw-Hill LANGE, 2021) will be pub-Takahashi’s firsthand experience of the difficulty par-lished by the end of this year. I have also published aents have in explaining coronavirus to their children. On

monograph in English, Bioethics Across the Globe:

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The Future of the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Law (CBEL)
Report. Some reflections upon retirement.

CBEL Report Volume 5, Issue 2

Rebirthing Bioethics (Springer Nature, 2020). Thiswork is available through open access, and was downloaded 20,000 times in 2021 in Africa, South Americaand West Asia.
I am writing a 2nd version now. Maybe within ayear…… Stay tuned, there is more to come!!

I wish you all the best.
March 31, 2023
Akira Akabayashi Director, CBEL and BICRO

Note
Komada TM, Lee JS, Watanabe E, Nakazawa E, MoriK, Akabayashi A. Factors of influenza vaccine inoculation and non-inoculation behavior of community- Factors of influenza vaccine inoculation and non-inoculation behavior of community- dwelling residents in Japan: Suggestions for vaccine policy and public healthethics after COVID-19. Vaccine: X 13: 2023
(https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jvacx.2022.100245)

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