I find it a great honor to be the chair of the 17th Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Society of Anti-Aging Medicine. I would like to humbly thank all society members for bestowing me with this opportunity.

As you all are aware, the Japanese Society of Anti-Aging Medicine has academically evolved considerably during the last more than 10 years. In a rapidly aging society such as Japan, there is more of a desire to implement anti-aging medical knowledge gained from basic research compared to other countries.

I believe that the chair of the 16th Meeting, Professor Tatsuya Yamasoba, connected evidence from basic research and human epidemiological studies with his theme, “Antiaging Science: from Molecule to Life.” I would like to branch off this with the 17th Meeting’s theme, “Anti-aging Breakthroughs,” in a way that reveals research results clinically. We have yet an arduous path ahead toward clinical usage, however the momentum abroad is outstanding. To use anti-aging medicine in a clinical setting, we need substantial basic research and epidemiological studies. I am currently devoted to creating an exciting program with Professor Hiroshi Ito, the Program Committee Chair, and I am thrilled for a large number of participants to attend and exchange knowledge on anti-aging research from basic to clinical.

I feel that for anti-aging medicine to develop it is necessary to galvanize people from different fields to do research and work toward the same goal. Our destination is yet unknown. That is why the design of the Meeting’s poster is illustrated by ships heading toward an unknown goal in the galaxies. I await the time when people understand anti-aging medicine at a deeper level – that will be the remarkable, lasting future of Japan.

The 17th Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Society of Anti-Aging Medicine will be held at the Tokyo International Forum; we will return to Tokyo after several years. Tokyo is thriving with countless construction projects in preparation for the 2020 Olympics. I am thus greatly looking forward to the participation of all society members at the Meeting during this incredibly exciting time.