Medical Doctor – Diagnostic Pathologist & Researcher
MD, PhD

I am a board-certified diagnostic pathologist based in Japan, currently engaged in both clinical practice and academic research.

My primary focus lies in the intersection of diagnostic medicine, institutional ethics, and health policy.

This project originated from a growing concern about ethical opacity and unexamined authority in diagnostic practice.

In co-authoring several papers, I discovered that a collaborator had falsely claimed to be an “MD,” despite holding only a DDS degree. Initially overlooked, this prompted a deeper reflection on institutional complicity and the silence surrounding professional misrepresentation.  

This is not a personal campaign—it is a structural response.  

It asks: Who diagnoses? Who is responsible?

And how can global medicine regain its ethical integrity?

Note: Takuma Hanabuchi is a pen name.
The author has chosen to write under this name to focus attention on the structural issues rather than personal identities.

All professional qualifications and experiences described are factual.

The author’s recent academic work focuses on ethical risks in diagnostic practice and structural analysis of medical legitimacy.  

For publications in this area—including articles on pseudoprofessionalism, diagnostic authority, and institutional accountability—please refer to the Ethics & Legitimacy page (under preparation).

To support the author’s clinical credentials and track record in non-ethics research, the following peer-reviewed publications are provided:

1. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 2025 (PMID: 39483112)

2. Cancer Science, 2011 (PMID: 21790895)

3. Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America, 2018 (PMID: 29157612) ※

These three articles were selected because they represent:

1. publication in leading international journals,

2. high impact factors, and

3. the author’s most highly cited work — which also happens to touch directly on the problem detailed in the book *Who Diagnosed You?*  (explored in Volume 1). 

※ If you’ve read Volume 1, you’ll know this article pertains to a case that has since been officially categorized as academic misconduct by Elsevier (†) and is one of 19 publications associated with Mr. X (see appendix of Volume 1). The author was personally involved as a co-author in that particular case.

This publication is included here not to assign blame, but to demonstrate the author's direct professional involvement in the issue — and to support institutional credibility by acknowledging his dual role as both a witness and a participant.

†“Deliberately misrepresenting a scientist's relationship to their work is considered to be a form of misconduct that undermines confidence in the reporting of the work itself.”

— Elsevier Ethics in Research & Publication, 2017 
[https://researcheracademy.elsevier.com/uploads/2018-02/2017_ETHICS_AUTH02.pdf]

Contact Policy

This project is not intended for individual correspondence or media requests.
At this time, we are not offering support in English.

Those who can understand Japanese may find further information and contact options on our Japanese site—

especially journalists or media professionals seeking to cover the issue.

Thank you for your understanding.