Statement of Purpose

１）　What Is Forensic Radiology and Imaging?

Forensic Radiology and Imaging is a discipline that combines Forensic Medicine (Legal Medicine) and Radiology and Imaging.
For many people, forensic medicine may not be a familiar field, and it is sometimes misunderstood as a discipline that deals only with the deceased.
According to the Japan Society of Legal Medicine (1982, Education Committee Report),
“Forensic medicine is a field of medicine that contributes to the protection of fundamental human rights and to the maintenance of social safety and welfare by making scientific and impartial medical judgments on legal matters and cases requiring medical expertise.”
This definition notably does not include the word “death,” indicating that forensic medicine encompasses much more than postmortem investigations.
While much of its practical work involves determining causes of death—since legal issues often arise around the deceased and their families—there is also a significant clinical aspect, including the assessment of violence, abuse, or trauma in living individuals, which is referred to as clinical forensic medicine. In Japan, however, this area remains relatively underdeveloped and is often managed by general clinicians.
Forensic Radiology and Imaging is a subfield of forensic medicine that explores how diagnostic imaging modalities such as X-rays, CT, ultrasound, and MRI—traditionally used in clinical medicine—can be applied to forensic investigations.
In particular, postmortem imaging (postmortem CT, PMCT, and postmortem MRI, PMMR) has become widely used in recent years as an important tool in determining causes of death.
Although the term “forensic radiology” may sound modern, its history dates back to the late 19th century. Shortly after Röntgen’s discovery of X-rays in 1895, radiographic evidence was already being used in both civil and criminal trials in 1896—including cases involving injury verification, radiation-related litigation, and ballistic examinations. Thus, the origin of forensic radiology can be traced to the very beginning of radiological science.
In Japan, an increasing number of university forensic medicine departments now have dedicated CT scanners, allowing pre-autopsy imaging to supplement autopsy findings.
However, postmortem imaging has limitations—it cannot, for example, identify toxicological causes of death or always determine whether an injury occurred before or after death. Therefore, autopsy remains indispensable.
Furthermore, since forensic medicine also involves living subjects, clinical imaging should be interpreted from a forensic perspective—focusing on mechanisms of injury and the type of causative object, rather than therapeutic diagnosis.

２）The Japanese Study Group of Forensic Radiology and Imaging

To advance and promote forensic radiology and imaging as both a scientific and practical discipline, we held the first Forensic Imaging Study Meeting in August 2011.
Since then, biannual meetings have steadily grown in participation and scope.
In 2014, to further strengthen and expand these activities, we formally established the Japanese Study Group of Forensic Radiology and Imaging.
Through academic meetings, workshops, and collaborative research, the society continues to promote scientific development in both clinical and forensic fields.

３）Forensic Imaging Study Meetings

Before this initiative, there had been few systematic opportunities in Japan to study forensic aspects of both clinical and postmortem imaging.
Our study meetings were therefore created as a platform to learn from specialists across multiple clinical disciplines—such as radiology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, pediatrics, and pathology—and to foster mutual understanding and collaboration between clinical and forensic experts.
We regularly organize educational lectures, case presentations, and research sessions aimed at improving diagnostic and interpretive skills.
These gatherings serve not only as opportunities for professional development but also as venues for active discussion and exchange of knowledge among participants from various backgrounds.
Currently, the Japanese Study Group of Forensic Radiology and Imaging holds study meetings twice a year (around March and September), continuously working to expand the academic and practical foundation of this growing field.