My own research on mycobacteria began with a chance encounter while I was enrolled in the Master’s Program at the Graduate School of Science, Shizuoka University. Since then, I have moved my research places to the Institute of Microbial Diseases, Osaka University; the Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health; the Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University; the Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University; the International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University; and the Institute for Vaccine Research and Development, Hokkaido University and continued the research for 44 years focusing on mycobacteria. In this mini review, my research activities on the ribosomal RNA operon, drug resistance associating mutations, the development of gene diagnostic methods for tuberculosis, methods for drug susceptibility test for tuberculosis and Hansen’s disease, Hansen’s disease survey in Zambia, and the development of new quinolones effective for ofloxacin resistant Hansen’s disease.
