When I was a resident during my medical training, my father passed away.

When he fell ill, we did not even know the cause.

However, the year after he passed away, the virus causing the disease was discovered.

And then it took more than 20 years, but researchers and companies finally developed a drug treatment.

In other words, finding cures for diseases is not an easy task.

I believe we can eventually cure any intractable disease.

We are around the halfway point of reaching the practical application of iPS cells since they were discovered 15 years ago.

We have come this far thanks to the hard work of researchers and companies and the support of the government and many people.

We will continue to work hard to overcome the challenges that will make iPS cell technology available to many patients.