is a plastic surgeon based in Tokyo.Katsuya Takasu. (2010). Encouraging Positive Thinking. Retrieved July 31, 2010, from http://katsuya.takasu.co.jp/index.html He has attracted controversies regarding his stances of Holocaust denial and Nanjing Massacre denial.
Takasu is a member of Japan Medical Association, Japan Society of Aesthetic Surgery, Japanese Association of Cosmetic Surgeons, Japan Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and is a former member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.Takasu Clinic. (2010). Takasu Clinic Official Website. Retrieved July 31, 2010, from https://www.takasu.co.jp In January 2011, Takasu was also appointed to be a visiting professor of cosmetic surgery at Showa University School of Medicine.
Life Takasu studied at Showa University School of Medicine in Tokyo.Showa University School of Medicine Alumni Association. (2006). Alumni List, Heisei 18, 189. As a graduate student, Takasu went to Germany and Italy, where he studied plastic and cosmetic surgery.Takahashi, H. (2003). Nando No-to Iwaretemo (No Matter How Many Times I Am Told No). Aera, 836, 60-65. In 1974, he established the Takasu General Hospital in his hometown, and in 1976, Takasu Clinic in Nagoya. As of 2010, Takasu Clinic has its branches in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka.
In 1987, Takasu performed liposuction in Japan for the first time, having learned the technique from Pierre Fournier in Paris, France.Flynn, T. C., Coleman, W. P., Field, L. M., Klein, J. A., & Hanke, C. W. (2000). History of Liposuction. Dermatologic Surgery, 26(6), 515-520. Takasu has been President of Japan Society of Liposuction Surgery since 1987.Aronsohn, R. B. (1991). Contributing Editors. The American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery, 8(1), iv.
Rejuvenation project In 1999, at the age of 54, Takasu started to feel it strange that cosmetic surgeons looked older than their patients. He also thought it odd that surgeons actually did not know how painful each procedure was. Takasu made a resolution to experience a series of cosmetic surgeries himself and rejuvenate by 20 years. Within a year, Takasu underwent facelift, buccal fat removal, phenol peel, upper and lower blepharoplasty, hair transplantation, liposuction, and golden thread implant.Cullen, L. T. (2002, August 2). Changing Faces. Time, 160, 4.Takasu, K. (Producer/Director). Rejuvenation of Myself [Motion Picture]. Retrieved July 31, 2010 from http://katsuya.takasu.co.jp/movie.html
As of 2010, at the age of 65, his rejuvenation project is still in progress. Takasu later referred to the resolution as life changing, because it brought him back to the starting point of a medical doctor, "share the pains with patients."
Philanthropy Takasu is a philanthropist. Immediately after the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, which killed 6,434 people and injured 43,792, Takasu established the Organization of Cosmetic Surgery Volunteers, in cooperation with surgeons from 9 other clinics. The organization offered plastic and reconstructive treatment to the earthquake victims for free.Organization of Cosmetic Surgery Volunteers offering plastic and reconstructive treatment to the earthquake victims for free. (1995, January 31). The Asahi. p.7.Offering plastic and reconstructive treatment for free. (1995, February 1). The Yomiuri. p.24.Free surgical treatment for injured victims. (1995, February 10). The Mainichi. p.19.
Guinness World Record In August 2011, Dr. Takasu together with his friend Koji Ishida (aged 71) established a Guinness World Record, of most golf holes played by a pair in 12 hours (cart). The pair completed 261 holes at Kyowa Country Club, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Controversies In 2017, the Simon Wiesenthal Center was made aware of Tweets made by the doctor in 2015, wherein he praised Nazism for the progress made in German technology under the Nazi regime. He conceded that there was no doubt the Jews were persecuted by the National Socialist German Workers' Party, but claimed that the toll of Auschwitz and the Holocaust victims had been exaggerated by Allies.The Jerusalem Post Leading Japanese surgeon urged to step down for praises of Nazism , Retrieved August 31, 2017Global Voices A Popular Japanese Cosmetic Surgeon Is Called Out for Admiring Nazism . Retrieved August 24, 2017 The Simon Wiesenthal Center announced that the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery had responded to the center, that an investigation about his membership would be completed in a few weeks.Simon Wiesenthal Center .Retrieved August 29, 2017American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery .Retrieved August 29, 2017
On November 8, 2017, the Simon Wiesenthal Center announced that the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery had expelled him due to Holocaust and Nanjing Massacre denial.Wiesenthal Center: American Academy Of Cosmetic Surgery Has Expelled Prominent Japanese Surgeon For Praising Hitler, Denying Nazi Holocaust And Nanjing Massacre .Retrieved November 8, 2017
Takasu has posted articles denying sexual slavery by the Japanese imperial military during World War II and defending Unit 731.
After the controversial Yasukuni war memorial in Tokyo was vandalised by a protestor, Takasu called for the suspect to be abducted and delivered to the Japanese embassy, and offered a reward of 10 million yen.
Forgery controversy In 2020, Takasu initiated a formal petition to recall the governor of Aichi prefecture, Hideaki Ōmura because of an art exhibition held in Aichi which Takasu considered degenerate. In February 2021, it was found that 83% of the signatures on the petition were fraudulent, many of them being written by the same person in the same handwriting. On May 19, four of Takasu's collaborators were arrested, while governor Ōmura called on Takasu to take personal responsibility.
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