TOKYO (TR) – Aimi Kuroda, a doctor at the Tokyo Cosmetic Surgery clinic, has updated her blog to apologize for a post on social media about her cadaver dissection training in Guam that caused outrage online.
The social media post, which she has since deleted, included at least one photo of cadavers donated for study. She wrote, “Now, I’m off to dissect a fresh cadaver!” and “There are lots of heads.”
However, some of the donated cadavers were not obfuscated in the photo, which caused a stir online. As well, Kuroda is shown flashing the “peace” sign.
In the blog post on Monday, Kuroda apologized. She wrote, “I’m very sorry for causing discomfort to everyone with my post about my dissection training in Guam.”
She continued, “I thought I had blurred out all the corpses that were in the photos, but there were some that I hadn’t, and I sincerely apologize for posting something that lacked ethics as a doctor. I’m truly sorry.”

She also explained the circumstances surrounding the visit to Guam. “I have received comments such as ‘Don’t post about your anatomy training’ and ‘That’s insensitive,’ but I would like to explain the circumstances that led to my posting on social media below,” she began.
“As a doctor, the opportunity to dissect a fresh corpse in order to improve my anatomical knowledge and skills is extremely rare, and is basically not available in Japan. I decided to participate in this training in order to improve myself as a doctor and to increase patient satisfaction. Many doctors don’t know that such opportunities exist, so when I talk about this training, many say they want to go,” she explained.

She continued, “I actually learned a lot from participating in the training, and I am already using it in my daily practice. I am convinced that I am providing safer and better treatment,” and added, “The number of cosmetic surgeons is increasing in Japan these days, and more people are receiving cosmetic treatment. At the same time, the number of problems is also increasing. In this situation, being able to learn from these corpses is a very valuable opportunity. I wanted more doctors to know that such an opportunity exists, and by letting more doctors know, we can make things safer and increase the satisfaction of more patients, so I posted this.”
She concluded by saying, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who donated their bodies and their families, as well as all those involved in organizing this training. Once again, I apologize for making a post that lacked human ethics. I am very sorry.”
Yasushi Aso is the director of the clinic. He took to X to defend Kuroda. “We are very sorry,” wrote Aso on Tuesday. “I apologize as one of the organizers. However, performing dissections is very important for a surgeon. Unlike the dissections they performed as students, performing dissections by clinical doctors is a big part of being able to give back directly to patients. I think it is an essential part of producing skilled surgeons. I believe that it is all for the benefit of the patients. This photo shows a dissection in America, where the rules are different to those in Japan. The post has already been deleted. I hope that this does not extinguish the flame of clinical doctors being able to perform dissections.”
Some pointed out that Aso’s claim about the United States is incorrect. In the United States, cadavers are expected to be treated with dignity and respect, and taking photos of them and posting them on social media is considered unethical. In fact, medical schools and educational institutions in the United States have strict policies that prohibit sharing images of cadavers on social media.