It is our great pleasure to invite you to participate in the 52^nd Annual Meeting of the Immunology Society of Japan from January 17-19, 2024, in Makuhari Messe in Chiba.

During the COVID-19 pandemic that lasted for more than three years, several optimal strategies, such as “social distancing,” “lockdown,” or “stay home,” were implemented to control the spread of the disease. These strategies led to a worldwide loss of human connections even within our scientific community. On the other hand, with the global dissemination of various vaccines, including mRNA vaccines, and the development of new treatments, European and American societies are now focusing on post-corona and are regaining the “lost” human connections.

Under such social situations, our meeting aims to revitalize international exchanges, with the theme of “Pioneering Approaches for the Global Scientific Community,” and reconnect immunologists. We are taking this opportunity to develop Japanese immunological research further. For researchers, it is indispensable to enter a community formed by top-notch researchers.

Immunological research constantly evolves by incorporating different research fields and innovative technology. While the latest hot spots are Mechanical Sensing, Neuro-immune Linkage, Metabolic Regulation of Immune Function, and Regulation of Chronic Inflammation, we also witness discoveries from research that actively adopted single-cell analysis and AI. In the field of clinical research, we see growing expectations and hopes for antibody treatments for intractable asthma and atopic dermatitis, and new immunotherapy for intractable diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. International joint research is essential in any collaborative scene: basic and clinical, industry and academia, and science and engineering to boost the research and development of next-generation treatment in the era of rapid change. We know it is our responsibility to make this meeting trigger such an encounter.

Throughout this meeting, we aim to promote gender balance and diversity to enhance JSI's presence in the international community and inspire new collaborative research exchanges. We also set our global strategic directions as an academic society.

Our efforts include fostering young researchers from neighboring countries and offering an environment for future collaborative research. The Federation of Immunological Societies of Asia-Oceania (FIMSA) Advanced Training Course will be exactly the place. With the efforts of Professor Kiyoshi Takeda, FIMSA will be held at the same venue as JSI from January 15-16, 2024. We have prepared more travel awards than the usual year, to make it easier for young researchers from outside Japan to participate.

Our symposium program covers the fields that are garnering recent attention and that are expected to develop in the future. Thanks to the program committee members, you will see attractive guest speakers and high-level science. Our first attempt at the 52^nd JSI is an introduction to the International Scientific Advisor System: we received advice to make this symposium enticing from International Scientific Advisors: Dr. Hiroshi Kiyono (UC San Diego, USA), Dr. Mitch Kronenberg (LJI, USA), Dr. Andreas Radbruch (DRFZ, Germany), and Dr. Alfred Singer (NIH, USA).

We hope you enjoy this brand-new JST at the Chiba Makuhari Messe, a gateway to Japan with great access from Narita Airport and Haneda Airport.

Toshinori Nakayama
President, the 52^nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Immunology
(President, Chiba University)