Plus ratio quam vis (Reason before force) Medal Award Ceremony at Jagiellonian University

It is truly a great honor to be conferred this prestigious medal today from Jagiellonian University.

I have been involved in various activities with the goal of fostering an “Inclusive Society”. As you have seen in the short film, one of them is to realize a world free of leprosy and the stigma associated with it.

Leprosy is a disease that has tormented humanity for centuries. With the development of medical science, it can now be cured, and we are just a step away from the elimination of this disease.

However, people affected by leprosy continue to be exposed to and suffer discrimination even today because of the ingrained image of the disease from the days of old.

Earlier, I expressed to The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff) fellows my high expectations of the cross-disciplinary perspective that they bring to their research. I believe that such a cross-disciplinary approach must also be applied to leprosy, to cure it medically and to eliminate the discrimination that persists socially.

I myself am committed to a world free of leprosy and the stigma associated with it, and I will continue to work until I achieve this goal.

Once again, I feel very humbled to have been granted this honor from such a distinguished university, and I am grateful for your support.