Greeting

Akifumi Takaori-Kondo,M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Hematology and Oncology,
Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University

It is our great pleasure to announce the convocation of the 86th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Hematology (JSH), to be held in Kyoto, Japan from October 11th to 13th, 2024. It is furthermore my honor to help make the event as successful as possible in my position as President.

Nearly four years have passed since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, now commonly known as COVID-19, in December, 2019. Since May of 2023, with the Japanese government's reclassification of the disease to a Class 5 infectious disease, people's daily lives have, in some ways, reverted to how they were before the pandemic. However, this period since late 2019 has brought about unprecedented societal changes, which can also be attributed to a tense global balance, including the developments in Ukraine.

Under these circumstances, we held our 85th annual meeting. As symbolizing our first face-to-face meeting in earnest since the start of the pandemic, the theme "Reunion" was set by then-President Teshima. We are grateful to have benefited from the lively engagement and face-to-face discussions with the many participants joining us at the venue, making the event a great success.

In order to further deepen these connections, we have decided to set the theme of the coming year's annual meeting as "Deepening Connections."

This theme does not refer only to deepening the resumption of exchanges between people amid the pandemic, but also to deepen various other connection. We would like to deepen connections between those engaged in basic research and clinicians, between the Japanese Society of Hematology and hematology societies in other countries, between young physicians and more experienced physicians, between large cities and rural areas, between physicians and other healthcare practitioners, between physicians and patients, between male and female physicians, and so on.

With the hope these various connections will reunite (resume) and further deepen (evolve) in the process of recovering from the pandemic, it is my wish that you all will join us at this conference to engage in passionate discussions, while enjoying deeper connections and autumn season in Kyoto.