A facility at the University of Osaka is gearing up operations to train forensic pathologists who perform autopsies amid a shortage of medical professionals who can determine the cause of death in suspected crime cases.

Established last summer, the university’s Education and Research Institute for Death Control and Prevention (iDeaC) has been training participants from across the nation with Hiroshi Matsumoto, the university’s professor on forensic medicine, as the chief.

“It’s a top priority to nurture people who can perform autopsies and medical examinations without an assistant,” said Matsumoto.