It is a great honor for the Department of Ophthalmology of the University of Tsukuba to host the 77th Annual Congress of Japan Clinical Ophthalmology. I sincerely thank the Board of Trustees of the Japanese Ophthalmological Society (JOS) for appointing us to host this event. I am also deeply grateful to the Program Committee, the JOS members and many others who are involved in the congress design.

The theme of this Annual Congress is “IMAGINE THE FUTURE.” Scientific and academic progress is unceasing and always future-oriented. We hope this Annual Meeting will help us envision the future of ophthalmology.

Yet, there is another, somewhat ambitious, objective behind this theme. During the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic, we have been completely preoccupied with our day-to-day commitments and unable to take the time to develop a long-term vision. With the pandemic now subsiding, we would like to encourage you to envision a post-crisis future together.

An invited lecture will be given by Dr. Yoichi Ochiai, a media artist and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Library, Information and Media Science, University of Tsukuba, who is interested in exploring what a new society should be like through his research on visual, audio, and tactile presentation methods and digital fabrication. He is the ideal person to speak on this theme, and we eagerly await his lecture.

Special lectures will be given by Dr. Mineo Kondo, Professor at Mie University, and Dr. Masayo Takahashi, President of Vision Care Inc. I greatly respect their forward-thinking mindsets and, if given a chance to host an Annual Congress, I have always hoped to invite them to deliver lectures. It is very fortunate that their schedules allow us to invite them both as special lecturers for 2023.

As an additional special lecturer, we have also invited Dr. Oliver Findl from Austria, who has long been engaged in world-leading research in the field of cataract surgery. He is a clinician scientist with an established reputation for reliable data. He is also acclaimed for having played a leading role in providing medical support to Ukraine as President of ESCRS. It is our great pleasure to be able to invite him to Japan for our Annual Congress.

The period of the Annual Congress, from October 6 (Friday) to 9 (Monday, a national holiday in Japan) 2023, includes a three-day weekend, which will give you many opportunities to reconnect with colleagues and friends from both Japan and around the world, in the dynamic city of Tokyo that also boasts rich traditions in art and culture. We look forward to seeing many of you at the Annual Congress.