My name is Hiroto Miwa from the Hyogo College of Medicine, and it is my pleasure to be appointed president for the 61st Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology, which will be participating in JDDW 2019. It is a great honor to preside over a meeting with such a rich tradition, and we, the staff, intend to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to planning a fruitful meeting. The 61st Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology will be held as part of JDDW 2019 in conjunction with the respective meetings of the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society, the Japan Society of Hepatology, the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery, and the Japanese Society of Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening from November 21-23, 2019 at a site centered on the Kobe International Conference Center and the Kobe Portopia Hotel. Kobe is our hometown and I hope we can bring even more enthusiasm to this meeting than ever before.

The world has undergone rapid change in recent years. From society to economics, industry, culture, and sports, everything in our world is changing, and the study and practice of medicine are no exceptions. Ripples from the spread of IT have pressed relentlessly on into the world of medicine, while awareness of medical safety has increased and approaches in clinical research are also changing. There have also been many paradigm shifts in the understanding and treatment of diseases, even as the Westernization of our lifestyle alters the very structure of gastroenterological disease here in Japan. In this way, the environment surrounding the study and practice of medicine is changing even faster than we realize, and the change is accelerating. I want everyone who attends JDDW 2019 to experience this change for themselves.

The Japanese Society of Gastroenterology is a large society with over 33,000 members. Our members come from diverse backgrounds, which is a unique strength of this organization. And in order to let everyone feel the currents of change in the medical study and treatment of the digestive organs, we have prepared a wide selection of interdisciplinary topics on the gastrointestinal tract, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. We are including AI, regenerative medicine, food, etc. as JDDW Integrated Programs, as well as biomarkers, advances in chemotherapy, intestinal bacteria, geriatric gastroenterology, etc. as topics in gastroenterology. With an eye toward globalization, we have also arranged for talks from many world leaders in the field of gastroenterology.

I highly encourage as many of our members as possible to participate and liven up this meeting and JDDW 2019 with your presentations and discussions. At the same time, I hope that you will be thinking of the future of gastroenterological medicine. I look forward to seeing you all there.