WELCOME MESSAGE

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

On behalf of the Asia Pacific Society for Medical Mycology (APSMM) and the Japanese Society of Medical Mycology (JSMM), it gives me great pleasure to invite you to the 8th Congress of APSMM, which will be held jointly with the 68th Annual Meeting of the JSMM, in Kyoto, Japan from November 6th to 9th, 2024.

APSMM was established in 1997 to promote professional and social exchanges among medical mycologists in the Asia-Pacific region. The very first congress was held in Bali, Indonesia in 1997 (Professor Unandar Budimulja). Since then, successful congresses have been hosted in Kunming, China (Professor Duanli Wang) in 2001, Bangkok, Thailand (Professor Preya Kullavanijaya) in 2005, Seoul, South Korea (Professor Byung In Ro) in 2009, Chengdu, China (Professor Yuping Ran) in 2013, Bali, Indonesia (Professor Kusmarinah Bramono) in 2016, and Guangzhou, China (Professor Liyan Xi) in 2019.

The APSMM Congress will be hosted in Japan for the first time, and we have chosen the city of Kyoto, one of Japan's most beautiful and popular cities as the venue. Kyoto is one of the ancient capitals of Japan and is home to many historic architectures and offers a glimpse into Japan's rich culture and traditions. The city has lovely landscapes that change according to the seasons, with November being an ideal time of the year to enjoy the autumn foliage. At the same time, Kyoto is also well known for its exceptional cuisine, which is one of the highlights of our food culture.

I look forward to seeing you in Kyoto and am happy to have the opportunity to facilitate fruitful professional and social exchanges among scientists from all over the world.