I am Takayuki Matsumoto, from the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Iwate Medical University. It is my privilege to be appointed president of the 105th Congress of the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society. It is also my great pleasure to announce that the Congress of the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society is scheduled to convene for three days from May 25th to 27th, 2023, at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa. For bestowing on me this honor of becoming the president for this 105th congress, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to former President, Haruhiro Inoue, President Shinji Tanaka, and everyone else concerned. I am truly humbled at being offered this position as president of the premier Congress of the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society and am determined to bring together the capabilities of all our staff as one body to make this meeting a grand success. I sincerely seek the unwavering support of all the members of the society.

The theme of the 105th congress has been decided as "Advance in evidence- and experience-based endoscopy." Gastrointestinal endoscopy is a technology that elucidates a pathological condition through an endoscope and helps provide patients with minimally invasive and highly therapeutic treatment, making it an essential testing tool in the clinical practice of digestive diseases. Under these circumstances, it is important to look back on the practices and experiences of our predecessors. Additionally, I request our members to present as evidence the results of clinical research on new technologies employed in Japan as well as across the world that would chart the course of gastroenterological endoscopy in the future. In accordance with the above-mentioned theme, we, namely, the program committee members, have worked together meticulously to give a definite shape to the program. In particular, the focus of this academic meeting would be on on-site activities to commemorate the first academic meeting after the COVID-19 pandemic. We urge our members to visit our site in person and hold earnest face-to-face discussions on the status quo of gastroenterological endoscopy and the advances in endoscopy.

The congress would comprise five special lectures, sixteen educational lectures, a JGES-ESGE Joint Symposium, and a JGES-ASGE Joint Symposium. Related to the main theme, we have chosen five topics on the entire digestive tract and ten topics covering each of the upper, lower, and biliary-pancreatic regions so that a wide range of studies encompassing the practice and evidence can be presented. Incorporated into them is the main theme related to "stenosis of the digestive tract and bile pancreas," which is the theme of the core session. We hope that these preparations provide ample opportunities for many of you to make presentations.

We earnestly hope that this program will be fruitful in producing more advancements in the field. For this, we sincerely seek your enduring support and cooperation.