It is my honor to serve as Congress President of the 20th Congress of the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine. Our theme of “Back to the Basic, Look to the Future” reflects our aspiration to once again focus on basic research—the foundation of regenerative medicine—and to translate the insights gained from basic science and clinical research into better medical and health care.

We initially planned to hold the 20th Congress with a hybrid format that enables us face-to-face interaction; however, the continued COVID-19 pandemic made us to host the meeting virtual and online in consideration of the safety of all participants.

From the very beginning, we have put number one priority in offering the novel and rich Web platform for the attendance and have employed various tools and approaches in our platform for every participant to be able to access to a wide range of knowledge and to share in-depth discussion.

We will cover a full spectrum of topics in consideration of importance of collaboration among academia, medical institution, industry, government agencies, regulators, and other regenerative medicine-related societies world-wide. Involvement of young generation such as junior high school and high school students are also important for the future of regenerative medicine. We are hoping that our platform would serve as a model for the next generation congress.

The Special Lectures will be delivered by three world’s leading scientists—Dr. Paolo Martini, Prof. Josef Penninger, and Prof. Feng Zhang—and by an investment management firm representative Dr. Evan Rachlin. Two of those lectures will address subjects related to SARS-Cov2. Our four Invited Lecture speakers, all preeminent authorities in their respective fields, will offer us perspective that can give valuable insight into the future direction of regenerative medicine. We also provide 54 attractive symposium sessions and many oral/paper sessions to discuss such topics as the latest regenerative medicine research, clinical practice, regulations, commercial development, ELSI, and other related areas.

We will host a 20th Anniversary Ceremony in the morning of the second day, March 12th. This will become a valuable opportunity for us to look back on the path our society has taken, and to look ahead to our ways that are determined to develop further. I cordially invite you to join the ceremony and listen to the messages that will be delivered by many of our supporters in Japan and across the world.

We are grateful to be able to hold our congress this year amidst the challenging time with pandemic. In particular, I would like to thank the Board and Program Committee Members for assisting us with the planning, and the many corporations that graciously provided their sponsorship.

Efforts continue to bring the growing pandemic under control. I hope that you, our society colleagues, will be able to take part in this new style of congress and enjoy engaging in lively and enriching discussion.

I very much look forward to having you join us.