[Building a future society that helps female scientists and physicians thrive]

Japan is now at a major historical turning point with its shrinking population. While conventional wisdom is no longer applicable, we have an excellent opportunity for a new social transformation. Promoting diversity is an effective way to achieve this, but this requires recognition of the intergenerational gap in diversity. The medical community has its own unique problems, but also broader problems shared with other fields. In medicine specifically, there is an urgent need to improve the working environment of physicians and realize sustainable medicine and patient-centered care. To solve these problems, reforms are needed that encompass not only the medical community, but also the entire citizenry as patients. More broadly, the main issue is the promotion and development of women leaders. We must refer to examples in Europe and the United States, and implement reforms in work styles. The medical community, which solves the essential problem of maintaining and improving human health, is well positioned to create a new society that coexists with artificial intelligence based on scientific evidence to ensure a bright future beyond this historical turning point.