The 61^st Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society of Japan (BSJ) will be held from November 14^th to 16^th, 2023 at the Nagoya Congress Center. "Biophysics" is the science used to understand biological phenomena by applying physical techniques, and is therefore an enterprise for which the collaboration of researchers from different fields is a vital requirement. Therefore, the annual meeting is the most important event in the BSJ’s calendar, as it is here that we present and discuss the latest research results. The 61^st annual meeting will be organized by the Executive Committee composed of society members from Aichi, Shizuoka, Gifu and Mie Prefectures. Although academic conferences have previously faced great difficulties due to COVID-19, we are currently preparing for this year's annual meeting to be held in person.

The BSJ is a society with a long history, and indeed it has already reached kanreki (60^th birthday), however it is always full of both the energy, and the desire, to create cutting-edge new fields amid new trends in life sciences. Nagoya, in particular, is an area that can be called the “birthplace” of the society, and it has provided strong support to the BSJ ever since its formation. The English catchphrase for the meeting “Relaunching Biophysics: From Nagoya to the world” has the meaning of overcoming difficulties such as COVID-19, but it also signifies the intention to restart in-person discussions on biophysics. In June 2024, the IUPAB International Biophysics Congress will be held in Kyoto, and this meeting will also jointly serve as the annual meeting of the BSJ. The catchphrase includes our hope that the society members, including students, will once again enjoy the chance to interact with many international researchers in 2024 based on their presentations given in Nagoya in 2023. All applicants for the Student Presentation Award must make an oral presentation in English.

The highlight of any annual meeting is the banquet. The spectacle of eminent senior researchers and graduate students dueling for limited food at the BSJ banquet (just like the Qatar World Cup) is burned into the minds of many of the senior generation. However, rest assured, this is a memory consigned to the past. Over recent times we have acquired enough funding to provide food for everyone at the banquet (despite there being no banquet at recent meetings in Takasaki, Sendai, and Hakodate). It's been a long time since we last enjoyed eating together at the Miyazaki annual meeting, so please allow yourself to enjoy the local cuisine.

We look forward to meeting you at the Nagoya Annual Meeting.