President's address

The Japan Radioisotope Association was established in 1951 when radioisotopes were first imported to Japan, thanks to the untiring efforts of the late Dr. Y. Nishina, with a view to ensuring safe and secure operation and improving technical competence, and disseminating this knowledge to researchers throughout Japan. In 1959, the Association, which was organized by researchers, also established a collection service for radioisotope waste. Since then, we have been ensuring the safety and well-being of society by conducting investigations and research on radioisotopes and radiation, and maintaining an integrated system from the supply of radioisotopes through to their disposal.

Currently, radioisotopes and radiation play an important role in a variety of fields, helping save lives and improving our quality of life. In the medical field, radioisotopes facilitate accurate diagnoses and radiation is used for cancer treatment. In the industrial field, radioisotopes are used in the quality control of a range of materials, allowing gauging the thickness of various materials such as iron or paper to be carried out promptly and accurately. They are also used in safety testing and measurement applications, such as determination of the amount of water in soil or finding cracks in power plants by means of non-destructive testing. Furthermore, in the research field, radioisotopes are used as chemical reagents and tracers for basic research in educational organizations and research institutions.

The Japan Radioisotope Association is determined to continue disseminating the technologies associated with radioisotope and radiation use and promoting their safe handling, based on a firm commitment to benefit the users of this technology and society as a whole.