The 47th annual meeting of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan (MBSJ) is fast approaching. It has been five years since the annual meeting in Fukuoka organized by Prof. Sasaki, and I am sure many members are looking forward to its return to Fukuoka. Although this announcement is a bit delayed, we have planned two special events for this year’s meeting. One is a panel discussion on research funding issues on the evening of the 28th, and the other is an introduction to overseas research fellowships for young researchers during lunchtime on the 28th. Light refreshments will be provided, so please feel free to attend.

In the panel discussion titled “Current status and challenges of research funding”, Prof. Kyosuke Nagata (University of Tsukuba / President of the Japan Association of National Universities) will discuss the allocation of operational subsidies, and Prof. Yukiko Goto (University of Tokyo / President of MBSJ) will provide insights on the campaign to increase KAKENHI grants. Additionally, in the session for young researchers, “Messages and Fellowship Opportunities to Young Researchers from EMBO-JSPS-HFSP”, representatives from the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) will discuss recent publication trends, and EMBO, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) will introduce fellowship opportunities. A forum with the JSPS will also provide an update on the KAKENHI system and the special research fellowship program (both scheduled for the evening of the 27th). For the public lecture on the afternoon of the final day, our next meeting president, Prof. Takehiko Kobayashi (University of Tokyo), will moderate, with Prof. Yoshinori Ohsumi (Institute of Science Tokyo) also participating.

This year’s meeting does not feature high-profile entertainment; however, we believe that the symposia, mini-symposia, association- and conference-planned events, and forums are well-rounded. Online participation in the symposia is also available. Please consider joining symposiums from different or emerging fields. In MBSJ meeting, we typically see lively discussions during poster sessions, so we have opted not to assign discussants. We hope that natural exchanges will spark new research ideas and collaborations. Additionally, this year we are introducing a poster award for young researchers, and we thank those who applied for the award and the judges who took on the role. Secondary evaluation will take place on-site, so we appreciate your continued support. Also, please participate in our photo contest and cast your votes.

The conference abstracts are now accessible, with 146 symposium sessions, 18 forums, and about 3,000 poster presentations. Reviewing these in advance may help you navigate the sessions efficiently on-site. Many companies will also be exhibiting, and we will again hold our popular stamp rally, which we hope you will participate in to discover the latest in their products.

This year’s annual meeting incorporates a hybrid format, so even those unable to travel to Fukuoka can join online. While online participants cannot view on-site poster presentations, you will have access to the online poster presentations on Tuesday, November 26, and the symposium sessions from November 27-29, so please participate! Undergraduate students can attend free of charge, regardless of membership status, so we encourage undergraduate students in your lab to join online or in person if they are nearby.

Let’s work together to elevate life sciences!

Thank you for the many submissions to our open call for symposia. Thanks to all of you, we will be able to hold symposia on a variety of topics covering a wide range of fields. Due to venue limitations and other reasons, we were unable to adopt all symposium proposals, so we had no choice but to hold some proposals in the mini-symposium or forum slots. We received many applications for the forum, and we believe that we will be able to hold the annual meeting with substantial content.

As for the registration fee, we have set the same fee as last year's annual meeting: ¥13,000 for regular members for early registration (July 1st to Oct 1st) and ¥20,000 for late and on-site registration. The registration fee for student members is ¥3,000 for early registration and ¥4,000 for late and on-site registration. Please do not forget to register in advance. Registration is free for undergraduate students who are not presenting a paper.

The Science Pitches held at the previous annual meetings were well received, but due to the hectic schedule, we have decided not to hold the Science Pitches at this year's meeting. We hope that you will fully discuss your work at the poster session. As an alternative, we will have the MBSJ-EMBO Poster Award at this year's annual meeting with the cooperation of EMBO. The award is open to general abstracts by students and post-doctoral fellows. Please submit your entry for the Poster Award at the time of abstract submission. We may also ask members to serve as poster award judges, and we would appreciate it if you would accept the request.

Registration for general abstracts (open symposium oral presentations and posters) is during the month of July: from July 1st (Mon) till 17:00 on July 31st (Wed), with no extensions. Graphical abstracts are not required (later, you can upload them). There will be an online poster presentation on Nov 26th (Tue), the day before the on-site meeting, so that those living overseas or unable to attend on-site for various reasons can also present. The symposia will also be streamed live. For a small number of young researchers residing abroad, we will also provide travel grants, although only partially.

We encourage everyone to register their abstracts (7/1 - 7/31 17:00) and advance registration (7/1 – 10/1 17:00), after which the registration fee will increase.

Thanks to the hard work of President Shigeo Hayashi and the Organizing Committee, the 46th Annual Meeting was successfully concluded in the end of last year. The 46th Annual Meeting was held as online symposia followed by local events at Kobe, due to the uncertain state of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of planning. The symposia, poster presentations, and corporate exhibitions held locally seemed to regain the activity seen before the pandemic. Additionally, timely plans such as the ‘Generative AI and Scientific Research’ forum and seminars on paper publication and open science provided information on recent trends in science and society. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Hayashi san.

As for the 47th Annual Meeting, it will be held in Fukuoka as a hybrid event, combining both in-person and online formats. We hope to create an environment where as many members as possible can participate and engage in lively discussions. As I felt again in Kobe, the opportunity to discuss face-to-face is wonderful. I hope you will join us in Fukuoka. However, I understand that many will not be able to attend in person due to various circumstances. We would like to request that oral presentations be delivered on-site in principle, but viewing will be available in a hybrid format with both on-site and live online streaming, allowing participation from anywhere, both domestically and internationally. Additionally, for poster presentations, it is possible to choose a slot for online presentation on the day before the on-site event (November 26th). The application period for open symposia has ended, but we plan to start recruiting for forums from late February. As usual, plans organized by the Career Development Committee and the Ethics Committee will also be held. We are currently considering unique plans for the annual meeting. While we are not planning anything too extravagant, we hope to create timely and unique events characteristic of the MBSJ, and we hope you look forward to them.

I believe the MBSJ Meeting is a valuable opportunity where deep discussions can be held in each specialized field, while also exposing participants to research in other fields. We hope many of you will participate and present your latest research findings.