1The 68th Annual Congress of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology“Succession and Standardization for the Next Generation”

Keiichi Isaka, Tokyo Medical University
We will be holding the 68th Annual Congress of the Japan Society ofObstetrics and Gynecology at Tokyo International Forum from April 21-24,
2016.
The main theme of this congress this year is “Succession and Standardization for the Next Generation”. When I was learning medicine, my guidelines were basically the actions of senior doctors. However, times have changed,
and with the accumulation and analyses of data both in Japan and abroad, weare now able to provide highly reliable medical treatments developed from evidence-based medicine,and we are close to establishing a medical system that is acceptable to everyone. I believe that weshould continue to further upgrade the evidence and pass our knowledge on to the next generation.
Furthermore, I believe the need for standardization, to enable the provision of quality medical carewithout any regional differences.
At this congress, Professor Shuji Nakamura from the Materials Department of the University of California, Santa Barbara, who is the 2014 winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, will give us aninvited lecture, and not only share with us his story about the invention of efficient blue light-emitting
diodes, but also tell us about the differences in research approaches between Japan and the UnitedStates. The Keynote address will be by Professor Satoru Takeda of Juntendo University and Professor
Fumiki Hirahara of Yokohama City University. The symposia will be on topics from the fields of cancer
and perinatal medicine, for which there were a large number of abstract submissions, namely, “Establishment of minimally invasive surgeries for malignant tumors of the uterus” and “Investigating evaluation methods for the well being of the fetus from the view of the intrauterine environment”. We areplanning to have speakers chosen from throughout Japan, to share with us their recent researchachievements.
The main characteristic of this yearʼs congress is internationalization. This is also something
we must pass on to the next generation. Among people from Asian countries, we Japanese are not particularly good at communicating freely in English；however, English is essential for young doctors, whowill become leaders in the future. Medicine in Japan is in no way inferior to that of other countries.
However, because of our lack of English communication skills, we are currently unable to debate anddiscuss freely with doctors and scientists around the world. Aiming for a bright future for our JapaneseSociety of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a society with a proud history, we hope this congress will be thefirst step towards its internationalization. I am confident that Japan has the potential to become a leader
within Asia. Towards this, it is necessary for us to communicate with and share information with Asiancountries. For this purpose, we have planned the “Asian session collaborating with AOFOG”, as anopportunity for doctors, particularly those from Asian countries, to hold discuss on various issues. We

2have also planned an International Session, International Seminar, and International Workshop for
Junior Fellows, in hopes that participants from abroad will come listen to the English presentations. In
this yearʼs congress, many society members have supported our vision towards internationalization, andwe received over 300 abstract submissions in English.
As another characteristic of this congress, we have planned many programs that fulfill therequirements for receiving credits from the Japan Medical Specialists Board. Furthermore, we haveincluded a new President-planned event called “Stump the Professor〜comparing wits with the Professor”. During this event, we encourage young doctors to put pressure on the Professor team to relieve
their everyday stress.
Finally, on behalf of all the medical staff of my department, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all society members and persons involved, not only for giving us this wonderful opportunity to host this congress with such a proud history, but also for their kind support and guidance
towards creating the program for this years congress.