Life science such as basic biology, medical science, agriculture, and pharmacology is hoped to solve serious problems in health, food production and environment that we, human, are facing in the 21st century. For research in life science, experimental materials, often referred to as "Bioresources" or "Biological resources" are essential elements, in addition to human resources, equipments and facilities. Life science in Japan, however, used to depend on bioresources developed in the United States or in European countries. As a consequence, creativity of Japanese scientists and development of unique and independent research in Japan has been severely limited. In recent years, research products in Life science frequently result in industrialization and commercialization. Thus, not only advanced counties but also developing counties have started to claim their intellectual property rights on bioresources. Under these international circumstances, Japan should establish a solid intellectual infrastructure to develop, preserve and distribute her own biological resources for promotion of life science and bio-industry in Japan and also for contribution to the global life science.

   In the light of the importance of bioresources as mentioned above, the RIKEN BioResource Center (BRC) was established in 2001 with an aim to become the finest core bioresource facility in the world. Under the direction of the founding director, Dr. Kazuo MORIWAKI, the Center has been operated by three principles "Trust", "Sustainability", and "Leadership" since its establishment. All employees in the BRC have been making all the efforts they can make to reach the goals of the Center.

   The RIKEN BRC, working closely with universities and institutions in Japan and overseas, has been engaging in collecting bioresources developed mainly by Japanese scientists. Those are living strains of experimental animals and plants such as mice and Arabidopsis, cell lines of human and animal origin, genetic materials (DNA) from humans and animals, and microorganisms. By preserving these bioresources under strict quality control, the Center will provide scientific community with these resources together with information regarding to location and characteristics of the bioresources. Since 2002, four Divisions of the RIKEN BRC; Experimental Animal, Experimental Plant, Cell Engineering and Gene Engineering Division have been appointed as the core facilities in the National Bioresource Project established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan. Since 2003, The Center has been also selected as a core facility for human cells including stem cells. In addition the center has been selected as adjunct facilities for experimental animal (rat) and pathogenic microbes.

   To establish and maintain "Trust" and "Leadership", the RIKEN BRC has been engaging in development of novel technologies necessary for quality control, collection, preservation and distribution, and for characterization of bioresources as well as development of new bioresources required for advancement of life science. In addition, the BRC has commenced training courses for best use of bioresources since 2004.

   The RIKEN BRC has started gaining recognition as one of the major resource centers in the world. The BRC will continue to be an intellectual foundation for life science in Japan and hopes to gain respect and admiration from the national and international scientific community.