[Perspective of clinical pathology/laboratory medicine in Japan]

More than 45 years' history of the Japan Society of Clinical Pathology was reviewed. The term of clinical pathology has been raising much confusion, particularly many anatomic pathologists being hesitant to accept the term as reported in non-English speaking European countries. The roles of clinical pathology/laboratory medicine were discussed from four different standpoints; 1) clinical pathology as a medical practice, 2) clinical pathology in medical education, including undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing educations, 3) clinical pathology in medical research, 4) guild activity in clinical pathology, including national and international activities. Future of clinical pathology will be characterized by continuing increase of needs in clinical medicine. In order for clinical pathologists and laboratory scientists to keep their active roles continuously in clinical medicine, they must be revolutionalized by themselves for their changing roles in the 21st century.