Between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, forensic medicine programs
began to emerge throughout Europe and established the academic discipline
of forensic medicine based on actual practice. However, forensic medicine in Japan
belongs to the discipline of basic medicine, which requires preclinical education;
consequently, the discipline is increasingly and excessively moving away from performing
autopsies, a key element of forensic medicine. Meanwhile, experiments on
animal models are prominent, especially among young researchers, due to the ease
of conducting research and the likelihood of the resulting manuscript being accepted
for publication in academic journals. Many researchers have negative opinions
about data from human studies claiming that there are differences when comparing
the data with experimental findings from animal models. The ability and skills
required to accurately examine autopsy findings are at the core of forensic medical
practice and I believe that they are fundamental in all aspects of medicine. In other
words, many researchers who claim that there is variability in the data obtained
from autopsy cases are, in many instances, not capable of establishing autopsy diagnoses
themselves. If there is variability in the cause of death, inevitably there will
be variability in the data. To outperform other countries in conducting more highly
accurate autopsies and practical research, a great deal of determination, effort, and
innovation will be needed.