The Physiological Society of Japan (PSJ) was born in 1922 at the Annual Congress of the Japanese Association of Medical Sciences, when a quorum of members came together in their desire to hold a meeting exclusively focused on physiology. The first annual meeting was held in Tokyo in the same year. Since then, the society has met annually except for in 1944 and 1945. The 2023 meeting will thus mark the 100^th meeting of the society – the 100^th Memorial meeting.

Physiology aims at clarifying the governing principles of the life, and thus contributes to medical sciences at the most fundamental level, aiding our ability to care for the health of our bodies and minds. Physiology also contributes to development of therapeutic strategies including drug development, prevention of diseases, and health education. Through improved understanding of how living things solve complex problems, physiology also contributes to the development of human-like robots and artificial intelligence.

In this memorial 100^th meeting of PSJ, we look back over the 100-year history of physiology in Japan, and look forward to the next 100 years in anticipation of further development. Looking back over the past century, we can see that physiology has clearly contributed to the promotion of health in society. The most obvious marker of this is the extension of the healthy lifetime of humans. On the other hand, the Covid-19 pandemic, ongoing since 2020, has markedly changed human society and brought new issues to light for the field of physiology to address. In light of this, we must consider how physiology can contribute to the sustainability of our world, both for humans and for the natural environment. Therefore, the 100^th memorial meeting will be themed “Homeostasis for Sustainability – Toward the Next Century of Physiological Sciences”. We invite all participants to share this opportunity to prospect and discuss the future of physiology. Please join us in Kyoto and experience the breadth of physiology- we are excited to welcome you with a superlative program on this special occasion!