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KUALA LUMPUR: Renowned Japanese cataract surgeon Dr Akahoshi Takayuki is ready to assist local institutions of higher learning on the latest aspects of education and research and development in eye treatment.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said Dr Akahoshi agreed to this following the recent visit of two Malaysian public university lecturers to Japan.

He said that for a start, Dr Akahoshi, who is set to visit Malaysia next April, would assist three public universities -Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).

"Dr Akahoshi has also agreed to conduct free eye surgery to the poor living in rural areas during his visit here.

"So, we welcome any contribution from the corporate sector so that we can jointly help the ruralfolks," he said in a statement yesterday.

"Dr Akahoshi operates using his own invention known as 'Phaco Akahoshi Prechop', which can shorten surgery time from between 20 and 30 minutes to an average of just four to five minutes," he said, adding that the Japanese surgeon's method was well known in 67 countries.-Bernama