The 64th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology
President: Kazunari Murakami
Department of Gastroenterology,

Oita University Faculty of Medicine

I am Kazunari Murakami of the Department of Gastroenterology in the Faculty of Medicine at Oita University. I will be hosting the 64th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology (JSGE) at JDDW 2022. JSGE was established in 1898, and it is truly an honor for me to be appointed President of JSGE Annual Meeting. At the same time, I brace myself as I take on this responsibility. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to those of you who recommended me to this role.

While we celebrate the 30th anniversary of JDDW this year, it is the first time for Oita University to be hosting JSGE Annual Meeting. However, Oita University has hosted other JDDW meetings in two previous occasions. In 2007, Dr. Seigo Kitano, from the surgery department, hosted the 74th Congress of the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society, and at JDDW 2021, Dr. Masafumi Inomata, also from the surgery department, hosted the 19th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery.

JSGE Annual Meeting will be organized with the cooperation of and in partnership with four other gastroenterological societies. There will also be the Integrated Program, the Seminar on Medical Issues, and the Medical Staff Program. Gastroenterology research covers a wide range of organs, including the upper gastrointestinal tract, lower gastrointestinal tract, liver, biliary system, and pancreas, and extends from basic research to clinical research. The advances in each research field have been remarkable in recent years. In the post-COVID world or as we try to coexist with COVID, moreover, health care will be required to raise infection control to unprecedented levels. The JSGE Annual Meeting not only specializes in specific organs, but also incorporates topics that cut across multiple organs. To add a global flavor, we also plan to listen to lectures given by leaders from Europe, the United States, and other Asian countries.

We hope that many of you will visit Fukuoka in the Kyushu region in Japan in the autumn of 2022 and enliven the meeting through your participation.