Medical Doctor – Diagnostic Pathologist & Researcher
MD, PhD

I am a board-certified pathologist based in Japan, currently working in both diagnostics and academic research.
This project is not born from a desire to criticize individuals, but from my deep concern about the systemic ambiguities surrounding medical authority and responsibility in Japan.

In the course of co-authoring several academic papers, I came to realize that one of my collaborators had consistently identified himself as an “MD” despite holding only a DDS degree. Initially, I overlooked this. But over time, as I became more engaged with international publication standards, research ethics, and scientific responsibility, I began to understand how dangerous silence can be—especially when institutional structures quietly support it.

This project is a structural response—
a principled call, not a personal campaign.
It seeks to clarify who diagnoses, who bears responsibility,
and how global medicine can regain its integrity.

Because I was part of the silence,
I must be part of the reckoning.

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.

For institutional analysis and academic commentary on medical legitimacy published under the author’s real name,  

please see the [Hanabuchi Medical Legitimacy Initiative (MLI) project] page. (Under Construction) 

To maintain academic transparency while writing under a pen name, the following peer-reviewed publications are listed to verify the author’s professional background in non-ethics medical research.

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.