It is my great honor to greet you as the Chairperson of the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Orthodontic Society. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to the Annual Meeting Steering Committee and the Directors, Auditors, Representatives, and members of the Society for granting me this inestimable opportunity to supervise the organization of an Annual Meeting of this prestigious and long-standing Society.

The 82nd Annual Meeting, the first in Niigata in 20 years since the 2003 edition was held with Niigata University serving as the host institution, will be held from Wednesday, November 1 through Friday, November 3 (a public holiday in Japan), 2023, at Toki Messe Niigata Convention Center and Hotel Nikko Niigata. At the moment, preparations are being made for an on-site in-person Annual Meeting, although the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet subsided and uncertainties still remain. 

The main theme of the 82nd Annual Meeting is “Reconsider the Ideal Situation in Orthodontics－Tradition & Evolution,” reflecting that the old and the new are both essential as the Society enters its 97th year of existence this year. Over the years, both academic and clinical orthodontics have achieved remarkable progress, as exemplified by the range of diagnostic techniques, new appliances, and mechatronic applications. At the same time, less than adequate orthodontic practices have also been detected here and there. While reform and novelty must be pursued for continued development, it is equally important to revisit traditional, orthodox care while clarifying the positive and negative points of new treatment approaches with innovative apparatuses. It is my hope that the 82nd Annual Meeting will be a forum for active debate with such an outlook for further progress and good orthodontic care.

Regarding the program of the 82nd Annual Meeting, as an International Special Lecture, Dr. Ravindra Nanda, Professor Emeritus at the University of Connecticut, will speak under the title of “Reflections on the Last Five Decades and Predictions for the Next Fifty Years of Clinical Orthodontics,” while an International Educational Lecture will be delivered by Dr. Peter Ngan, Professor and Chair of the West Virginia University School of Dentistry, under the title of “Impact of Dental Technology on Orthodontic Treatment Strategies.” We will also have another Special Lecture, by a Japanese speaker, Mr. Atsushi Makino, the video art director who directed the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo (held in 2021) and created the opening video clip of the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen (an annual New Year’s Eve TV show) in the same year. Moreover, Symposiums and Clinical Seminars will feature themes and topics that the Society is working on in preparation for its centennial. Preparations will be made to the best of our ability to realize an Annual Meeting that will be enjoyable and rewarding for both long-time and young members.

I would like to close with a few words on the host city. The Annual Meeting period, early to mid-November, is the best time to view beautiful turning autumn leaves in Niigata City. I hope that you will all come to Niigata in person to enjoy its scenic spots and its rich food culture, including the prized variety of rice Koshihikari, fresh seafood, and local sake (Niigata has the country’s largest number of sake cellars).

 

Looking forward to seeing you all in Niigata!