Dr Nakanishi gives the following reason for his initiation of this award:

Through our respiratory system, we are constantly taking in oxygen from the outside world and emitting carbon dioxide. Therefore, the existence of clean air is a crucial factor in sustaining our health.

However, we are now facing a big crisis; the problem of air pollution. With civilization’s development, industrialization has progressed and various cultures have been born. Air pollution as a consequence of industrialization has increased and also the habit of cigarette smoking, a negative legacy of civilization, has taken root. Air pollution is a major contributor to the development of respiratory diseases such as COPD, respiratory infections, ILD and lung cancer.

Today, respiratory diseases are the number one killer of humans, and the APSR is an academic society whose major mission is to protect lung health. The Clean Air Award is to fulfill the mission of our Society to eliminate air pollution and tobacco smoking, including e-cigarettes, to prevent respiratory diseases and elucidate their pathogenesis caused by air pollution and smoking.