Abstract
This paper aims to introduce the concept of "Treatmentalization" to Japanese researchers of medical philosophy, medical ethics, and bioethics by focusing on regenerative medicine with induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Treatmentalization is coined by Fujii (2012) to deseribe a phenomenon where an individual places great emphasis not on prevention but on treatment of disease. Treatmentalization is the "dependency" on medical treatments in which people assume that medical treatment is a remedy for all illinesses ("If I have a disease, I can treat it."), and which is tolerated at individual or social level. When these technologies of regenerative medicine are used to treat not only intractable diseases but also for common discases, people may increasingly become negligent toward preventing discases that are able to be addressed by primary and secondary prevention. First, known issues of iPS cell research and attitude of Japanese government toward these issues are surveyed. Second, other possible issues surrounding iPS cell research including Treatmentalization are discussed, and in particular the relationship between Treatmentalization and some ethical theories are analyzed. Finally, hypotheses on cause and consequence of Treatmentalization are further analyzed.
