Between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, forensic medicine programs began to emerge throughout Europe and established the academic discipline of forensic medicine based on actual practice. However, forensic medicine in Japan belongs to the discipline of basic medicine, which requires preclinical education; consequently, the discipline is increasingly and excessively moving away from performing autopsies, a key element of forensic medicine. Meanwhile, experiments on animal models are prominent, especially among young researchers, due to the ease of conducting research and the likelihood of the resulting manuscript being accepted for publication in academic journals. Many researchers have negative opinions about data from human studies claiming that there are differences when comparing the data with experimental findings from animal models. The ability and skills required to accurately examine autopsy findings are at the core of forensic medical practice and I believe that they are fundamental in all aspects of medicine. In other words, many researchers who claim that there is variability in the data obtained from autopsy cases are, in many instances, not capable of establishing autopsy diagnoses themselves. If there is variability in the cause of death, inevitably there will be variability in the data. To outperform other countries in conducting more highly accurate autopsies and practical research, a great deal of determination, effort, and innovation will be needed.