It is with great sadness that the RIKEN BioResource Center (BRC) has announced the death of Dr Kazuo Moriwaki on November 23rd 2013.
Dr Moriwaki was the founding director of BRC in Tsukuba, and a pioneer in mouse genetics. He was a member of the committee to investigate the establishment of a bioresource center in RIKEN, and was appointed as the director of the BRC, the first specialized center focusing on biological resources in Japan, in 2001. Up until the time of his death he continued to serve as a special consultant to BRC.
Dr Moriwaki died of colon cancer at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife, Sachiko, two daughters and four grandchildren.