Science and Technology
Prof. MATSUMOTO Yoichiro, Science and Technology Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, participated in the 24th Session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD)
On May 17, Prof. MATSUMOTO Yoichiro, Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, participated in the high-level round table on the role of science, technology, and innovation in a sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, at the 24th Session of the CSTD held online.
Prof. MATSUMOTO stated that it was certainly important to have “Plan A”, that is namely, research and development in the medical field for solutions such as vaccines and therapeutic agents. On the other hand, in order to make a sustainable and resilient recovery, he also emphasized the importance of adopting a “Plan B”-that is taking measures in non-medical fields including technologies of deactivating viruses through Deep-UV LEDs. Furthermore, Prof. MATSUMOTO introduced an advanced example of genomic medicine in Japan and he stressed that genomic medicine utilizing genomic information should be further developed as one of the preventive measures focusing on health care so that people do not get ill in the first place, or can prevent severe symptoms in the case that they do contract COVID-19 or other diseases, and international cooperation in this field should be promoted.
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