The 58th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology President Kazuichi Okazaki Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kansai Medical University

The 58th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology is to be held for 3 days from 3rd November (Thu.) to 5th November (Sat.), 2016 at Kobe Convention Center. It is great pleasure and honor for me to organize this prestigious society meeting. As it is the first experience for Kansai Medical University to host such a huge conference, all of my colleagues in the department will do their utmost to make this conference fruitful.

JDDW used to be a four-day event, but it was shortened to three days from JDDW 2015 as the Educational Program was held on the 4th day.

In order to make satisfactory programs, five societies, the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology (JSGE), the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES), the Japan Society of Hepatology (JSH), the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery (JSGS) and the Japanese Society of Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening (JSGCS), cooperated together to make up satisfactory programs. In particular, we have produced Integrated Programs together with JSGS and joint theme sessions with other participating societies; therefore, we expect you can acquire the latest information and expertise in the whole field of gastroenterology and hepatology.

Asian Pacific Digestive Week (APDW) 2016 is to be held for the first time in 9 years from 2nd November (Wed.) to 5th November (Sat.) at Kobe Convention Center, where JDDW 2016 is being held. Since we would like all delegates to appreciate JDDW’s programs, those who have registered on APDW 2016 will be able to attend JDDW 2016 without making re-registration. Taking this into account, all the slides for International Poster sessions as well as theme sessions are presented in English. In each member society’s International Sessions at JDDW 2016, careful attention is paid not to present the same contents as those of APDW 2016; thus, I would like to encourage all authors to submit their English papers as many as possible. Above all, International Session organized by JSGE has chosen the themes of chronic pancreatitis, and nerve, metabolic and immune systems. I hope all delegates will deepen their cross-cultural relationship through active discussions in these sessions.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my strong will to work for JDDW 2016 and hope a large number of participants join this fruitful event.