Bioethics was established in the United States in the 1970s. The Encyclopedia of Bioethics provides the following definition: “Bioethics is a systematic study of various moral aspects of medicine and the life sciences, and utilizes various methodologies of ethics in the academic environment. Research topics include the issues of the protection of personal information and informed consent in clinical ethics and research ethics, regenerative medicine which utilizes induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and embryonic stem cells (ES cells), and the study of ethical aspects of neuroscientific research.

At Kyoto University we plan to construct a network of scholars engaged in bioethics-related research and to carry out a variety of research and educational initiatives. These specifically include promoting the study of clinical and research ethics, preparing an education program for bioethics within the University, holding international workshops and seminars, and outreach initiatives. Through these efforts we aim for the research and education initiatives in bioethics at Kyoto University to be one of the best at the international level.