National Taiwan University President Chen Wen-chang (right) presents his university's honorary degree to Kyoto University professor Tasuku Honjo. Photo courtesy of National Taiwan University
Taipei, April 24 (CNA) A ceremony was held at Kyoto University on Tuesday to celebrate the awarding of an honorary degree to Japanese Nobel laureate Tasuku Honjo by National Taiwan University (NTU).
According to the Taiwanese university's Wednesday press release, NTU President Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) visited the Japanese university to personally present the first-ever NTU honorary degree conferred to a Japanese national.
At the ceremony, Chen said that Honjo was awarded the NTU honorary degree for his achievements in the field of molecular immunology.
Chen also lauded Honjo as an academic pioneer who reached a medical milestone in his work related to cancer therapy. He added that Honjo's commitment to research and his contribution to humankind were exemplary.
During his speech on Tuesday, Honjo said he was honored to have received the degree from NTU.
The Japanese immunologist said while Taiwan and Japan's relationship as neighbors means both countries face comparable challenges, it also means both countries share similar advantages.
As such, Honjo said he looks forward to seeing academic partnerships between Kyoto University and NTU where friendships could be cultivated in the future.
Honjo is a renowned Japanese physician-scientist and immunologist with a range of honors under his belt, including the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2018, which he shares with fellow immunologist American James P. Allison.
The scientists were recognized collectively by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute "for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation."
Before their Nobel prize, the scientists were first honored with the inaugural Tang Prize for Biopharmaceutical Science in 2014.
Currently, Honjo serves as a professor at the Department of Immunology and Genomic Medicine at the Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine.
On Tuesday, the Nobel laureate also touched on the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that rocked Taiwan on April 3, in which 17 people were killed and more than 1,100 injured.
Honjo said he fondly remembers the beauty of Hualien County when he visited in 2016 and that he hopes all of the areas rocked by the quake recover as soon as possible.
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