Greeting

It is a great honor for me to be appointed as the Congress President of the 78th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery (JATS). This is the sixth time that the esophageal surgery section has served as the Congress President of JATS, which has a long history, following Prof. Shigetsugu Katsura (Tohoku University, the 11th), Prof. Komei Nakayama (Chiba University, the 12th), Prof. Ichiro Akakura (Keio University, the 19th), Prof. Yuzo Uchida (Oita Medical University, the 53rd) and Prof. Hiromasa Fujita (Kurume University, the 65th). And the 78th annual meeting in 2025 will mark the 77th anniversary of the first meeting held in 1948. Furthermore, this will mark the end of the congress president system and the transition to the three-section president system. I fully understand the responsibility of being the Congress President of this meeting that marks such a milestone, and without stopping the progress and development of thoracic surgery, I hope to be able to bridge the gap between the three sections to cooperate and integrate more strongly toward the future and to grow into a society with even greater power to disseminate our messages to the world.

The Japanese theme of the scientific meeting was “勠力共振” (rikuryoku-kyoushin). The original idiom is “勠力協心”, which means “to gather the strength of all the members and work together in unison to accomplish a task”. In order to further improve the quality of thoracic surgical treatment and to further develop and disseminate JATS to the world, it is not enough for the three sections to simply cooperate; the wisdom, technology, and creativity of the three sections must organically fuse and resonate with each other to create an additive-synergy effect, which should extend to Asia and the world. Therefore, I have changed “協心 (cooperation)” to “共振 (resonance)” with our wish that Japanese thoracic surgery will make further progress in resonance with each other and greatly improve its influence on the world. In response, the English theme was decided to be “Advancing together with solidarity, collaboration, and resonance”.

The poster embodied the theme of the conference. The three surrounding ripples represent the transmission and influence of each of the three sections, and the triangle connecting them expresses cooperation and solidarity among the three sections. The large ripples spreading out from the logo of JATS express the great power and influence of JATS toward the world, merging with the ripples created by the three sections. Incidentally, the silhouetted figures are the presidents of each section.

I am currently working with Prof. Minatoya (Kyoto University), who is the president of the cardiovascular surgery section, and Prof. Iyoda (Toho University), who is the president of the thoracic surgery section, together with the secretariat and congress members, to make preparations in the spirit of “勠力共振”. At first, as a member of the minority section of esophageal surgery, I was a bit apprehensive about serving as the Congress President, but Prof. Minatoya, Prof. Iyoda, and everyone were very positive and cooperative, and we are freely exchanging opinions and cooperating to discuss the program in accordance with the theme of this scientific meeting. The attractive program structure and smooth operation of the 77th meeting planned and managed by the Congress President Takemura were very helpful. We are planning to organize the program for the 78th annual meeting in such a way that there will be no overlap between advanced and general presentations. In addition, we plan to take advantage of the fact that the scientific meeting will be held in the same venue, the Osaka International Convention Center, by fixing the cross-disciplinary and JATS committee planning sessions in the main hall, the cardiovascular surgery sessions in four rooms on the 10th floor, the thoracic surgery sessions in three rooms on the 12th floor, and the esophageal surgery sessions in one room on the 3rd floor, and by making it easier for participants to move freely from session to session to allow more sessions to be attended. Although this may seem to be a fragmentation of the three sections and contrary to the theme of the meeting, “勠力共振”, what is important is not to have a mix of venues for each section, but to integrate each section in terms of content and to participate in heated discussions at the same time. Currently, the program committee for each section is working out the themes for the advanced abstracts, and we plan to include many cross-disciplinary themes in the 78th meeting, so we hope that surgeons with different specialties will come together and share their experiences and techniques with one another to further improve their performance. We are planning to organize a reception for all participants, so we hope that you will be able to get to know each other beyond the boundaries of your section and enjoy a night of gourmet food in Osaka afterwards.

We, the three presidents, will combine our strength and wisdom to welcome and entertain you with the spirit of “勠力共振”. We sincerely hope that many of you will register your abstracts and participate in the 78th annual meeting.

As of this writing, we are diligently preparing for a successful academic conference in collaboration with Dr. Takushi Yasuda, the Congress President, and Dr. Akira Iyoda, the President of the Thoracic Surgery Section. Despite our different fields of expertise, we are in complete agreement regarding our goal of hosting an engaging and informative conference. Our interdisciplinary team, comprising members from various universities, is working exceptionally well together.

Numerous academic conferences, including those held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have been conducted both domestically and internationally. However, our conference stands as one of the most significant in the field of cardiovascular surgery within Japan. While our conference boasts a rich history, we aim to create sessions that foster open and candid discussions, reflecting the vibrant spirit of Osaka.

Our primary objective is to organize a conference that provides participants with valuable insights that can be applied to their daily clinical practice and contributes to the discovery of groundbreaking technologies for future generations. We understand that there may be differing opinions, but following the success of last year's 77th conference, we will continue to group advanced sessions by field to maximize attendance and avoid conflicts with general presentations.

We believe that the most crucial aspect of any academic conference is the active exchange of ideas. We invite all participants, from young researchers to seasoned veterans, to join us in engaging in passionate discussions both inside and outside the conference venue. Your active participation is instrumental in making this conference a resounding success.

I have been appointed as the President of the Thoracic Surgery Section of the 78th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery (JATS). It’s a great honor for me to become the president of the Thoracic Surgery Section of the 78th Annual Scientific Meeting of JATS, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for all those involved in giving me this opportunity. Toho university was established by Dr. Yutaka Nukada and Dr. Susumu Nukada in 1925, and Toho university will cerebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2025. I greatly appreciated all members to become the president of the Thoracic Surgery Section of the 78th Annual Scientific Meeting of JATS in 2025 (the 100th anniversary).

It is my hope that by arranging cross-disciplinary presentations and engaging in lively discussions with a view to the future of thoracic surgery in line with this year’s theme “Advancing togerther with solidarity, collaboration, and resonance,” and we will generate new viewpoints and many ways of thinking that would be unattainable at conferences focused solely on individual disciplines. Advanced Sessions in the Thoracic Surgery Section will adhere to the existing framework with six categories: “Lung - Neoplasms,” “Lung - Non-Neoplasms,” “Lung-Transplantation,” “Mediastinum,” “Chest Wall and Pleura,” and “Surgical Procedures, Minimal Invasiveness, Extended Surgery, and New Techniques.” We are planning more than 25 attractive symposia, panel discussions, workshops, techno-academies, surgical colosseum, and debates with a focus on the surgical viewpoint in all these categories with more than 30 distinguished program members.

AATS (American Association for Thoracic Surgery) / JATS International Thoracic Surgical Oncology Summit (ITSOS) has started from the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting in 2024, and it had a great success. We will make efforts to continue this AATS / JATS International Thoracic Surgical Oncology Summit (ITSOS) in the 78th Annual Scientific Meeting.

In the end, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the directors of the JATS, the members of the Program Committee, and members of JATS. I will work together with the Congress President, Prof. Takushi Yasuda, and the President of Cardiovascular Surgery Section, Prof. Kenji Minatoya, on the preparations to ensure that this will be a meaningful Annual Scientific Meeting. In 2025, we look forward to meeting many members of JATS, medical staffs, residents, and medical students in Osaka.