I would like to express my deepest condolences on the passing of Sir John Gurdon.
I first met Sir John nearly forty years ago, shortly after I returned to Japan from the United States and had just begun my research in developmental biology. At that time, I had only recently started experiments using animal caps at the University of Tsukuba. During one of his visits to Japan, he kindly came to Tsukuba University. I still remember having lunch with him and Professor Satoru Kobayashi (University of Tsukuba) and some other colleagues at the hotel nearby, where we discussed the heterogeneity of animal caps. He also visited my laboratory, and the photograph we took together on campus remains a treasured keepsake for me and for the lab members of that time.
In the years that followed, Sir John visited Japan on several occasions—for the International Xenopus Conference, meetings of the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on “Dynamics of Developmental Systems,” and conferences to promote genomics research on Xenopus laevis. On each occasion, he provided great inspiration to Japanese researchers. His receipt of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012, together with Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, was a tremendous encouragement to all of us working in developmental biology.
Sir John was a thoughtful and calm scholar, yet when it came to scientific discussions, he spoke with remarkable enthusiasm and passion. Although he was a great scientist, I will never forget the innocent, boyish smile that he would occasionally show.
I sincerely pray for the repose of his soul.

Naoto Ueno,
National Institutes of Natural Sciences, National Institute for Basic Biology