Katsuji Ishihara, Ph.D.

Executive Officer

The season has arrived for plum blossoms and cherry blossoms, and with them, Japanese cedar pollen as well. I feel a little sorry for my younger son whose nose won’t stop running; he seems to have inherited the genes for pollen allergy from my wife. I am also starting to show some slight signs of the allergy. Although that is not the only reason, as my annual family duty, this year I decided to redesign our yard by cutting down about a dozen 6-meter high conifers that had been firmly rooted there. Back when we were creating our yard, planting conifers was in style. We also took up this trend, which is now just a cause of trouble. I feel ashamed when I see people wearing allergy masks walk by my house. Even if my family contributes to the reduction of cedar pollen, it alone won’t have much effect. So, thinking that all the cedars in Japan should be felled, and broadleaf trees planted in their place, I went Internet surfing and found that apparently a lot of people were thinking the same. Several pages hit. The conclusion was that this would not be realistic because it would take over a century to replant all the trees. However, instead of focusing on symptomatic treatment or superficial preventive measures, this is something we should work on even if it does take a hundred years. It is with this perspective that I hope to also apply myself to everyday work.