yumiko oishi attended the symposium. she works in cellular and molecular medicine. she is the mom of a five-year-old boy. oishi spent time in the united states where she was involved in leading medical technologies. she's now studying treatments for lifestyle diseases at tokyo medical and dental university. oishi found it difficult to take time off from work to give birth and raise her child. >> translator: there are experiments that only i can do. i had to suspend the experiments to take time off. time is the highest hurdle for female researchers like myself. >> reporter: oishi's university is working on these issues. it -- it has hired assistants to support scientists who are raising children. when they need to leave early to take care of their children, the assistants take up the slack. this support means oishi can go home at around 5:00 in the evening and spend time with her son. she says she's happy with this arrangement. >> translator: i am happy when i can continue the research that i love within the time constraints i have. the new support system is a great