Glycome Project, led by Dr. Kenji Kadomatsu of Nagoya University, has been adopted as a roadmap project by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The results obtained from this project, which will form the basis for glycoscience research, are expected to lead to a better understanding of life and disease, new developments in life sciences, and applications in medical treatment. I had the opportunity to read anew on the Foundation's website the welcome addresses delivered by the founder, Mr. Masakane Mizutani, and Mr. Ken Mizutani. The keyword emphasized in the two addresses was "basic research". I believe that, amid the rage of COVID-19 infections this time, the Japanese people has widely achieved enlightenment about the fact that the results of sophisticated basic research have been actually used in our daily lives. In addition, it is well known that many kinds of medicines have been created from basic research on complex carbohydrates, such as the anticoagulant heparin, special effects for influenza infection and functional modulation of antibody medicines. I am convinced that the further promotion of basic research, including glycoscience, will accelerate the emergence of new mutant strains and responses to new and re-emerging infectious diseases, as well as the development of new drugs and treatments for diseases for which no curing methods exist yet.We hope you will enjoy the lectures by distinguished researchers, scheduled for this commemorative event. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for the support given by the Mizutani Foundation for the promotion of glycoscience research in our country and around the world, and wish for the Foundation's continued and ever growing prosperity in the years ahead.the pace of spread of the new coronavirus disease was overwhelmingly rapid around the globe 'in the blink of an eye'. This speedy expansion was obviously due to the factors such as the increase in global population and changes in the patterns of population movement. However, basic infection control measures remained almost the same as during the Spanish flu epidemic period, with basic preventive measures consisting of the use of masks, hand sanitization, and isolation of infected patients. At the same time, scientific advances during this period have made it possible to identify the causative virus, detect mutant strains and diagnose by means of PCR and genome sequencing. In addition, the development of mRNA vaccines, a new method for inducing immunity, and the development of antibody drugs and oral medicines have helped to considerably control the viral infection situation and the disease state of infected individuals. Needless to say, the results of basic research in biochemistry, molecular biology, virology, and immunology have made a significant contribution to these developments.Nowadays, IT (Information Technology), AI (Artificial Intelligence), social networking and other factors are significantly changing our daily lifestyles. In the field of science and technology, The 6th Science, Technology, and Innovation Basic Plan addresses the promotion of open science and data-driven research as an approach for building a new research system in Japan. In the domain of life sciences, several projects under the name of Bio-DX (Digital Transformation) have been launched, and the direction of utilization of the data accumulated in public databases has been made distinct. Although the construction of databases on complex carbohydrates is still in an unfledged stage due to their complexity, it is hoped that new research on complex carbohydrates will unfold through the utilization of these databases after they have been developed. In a related development, the Human 15
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