I am pleased to announce that we will host the 59th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery in July 2023 (Pacifico Yokohama North, Yokohama, Japan). It is a great honor for me to have this opportunity, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all members.

Main Theme of the 59th Annual Scientific Meeting

Treatment options for congenital heart disease have increased dramatically over the past decade. For example, the development of catheterization technology, revision of the Organ Transplantation Law, health insurance coverage of the pediatric ventricular assist device, and the development of drugs for pulmonary hypertension have all contributed to the treatment of pediatric cardiovascular diseases. The passion of people in all areas of the world, not only medical professionals working in the field, is being poured into the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The main theme of this year's meeting is "Perpetual Harmony behind the Smile," which reaffirms the importance for medical professionals to provide lifelong support to patients with congenital heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases in harmonious manner. We believe that medical care should be provided continuously to patients and their guardians from birth through growth to adulthood, and that the roles of a various kind of medical professionals should be brought together to support each patient's life in harmony. These thoughts are expressed in the poster of the conference, so please look at the details.

Academic Program

The field of cardiology is becoming increasingly segmented and specialized. While this has undoubtedly contributed to the advancement of individual fields, a multidisciplinary approach that straddles the boundaries between fields is becoming increasingly important. For example, treatment based on fetal diagnosis, various imaging techniques and hybrid or combined treatment strategy have greatly assisted surgical treatment, and catheter ablation has become indispensable in the treatment of arrhythmias not only in childhood but also in adulthood patients with congenital heart disease. Pediatric cardiovascular care has been a model of team medicine that eliminates the barriers between the professions, and it is at this meeting where the wisdom of these various fields is gathered. We are preparing the program to provide a forum for lively discussions on themes drawn from a variety of fields. We hope that many of you will take an interest in topics with which you are not familiar, and we look forward to your active participation.

COVID-19 Infection Control

The venue for the conference is Pacifico Yokohama North, which has a vast space. We will take advantage of this space to provide less "dense" area and take basic infection control measures.

Three years have passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the world is now facing a new threat: Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Both events have caused damage to the globalized supply chain of medical supplies and medicines. Under these circumstances, I would like to express my respect and gratitude to all the members of this society who are continuing their daily medical services without interruption, even though they are at the mercy of COVID-19. I look forward to seeing you all in Yokohama.