During this annual meeting, we would like to continue the English initiative which the Biophysical Society has adopted ahead of other societies. Concurrent sessions will be in poster format, and we will allow the use of both Japanese and English, so as to promote understanding between different fields. We have also shortened the abstract with the aim of appealing to researchers from different fields with clearer and more topical abstracts which make conclusions more immediately apparent. For the symposia we have received applications from all members, and we have actively approached researchers in charge of big projects, with the aim of introducing members to current trends and topics in Biophysics.

We have also programmed a public symposium on the 27th October, which will explore the collaboration between the two fields that originated from the Biophysical Society (single molecule detection) and from Kyoto (applied iPS cell technology).

Biophysics is a profound discipline that combines Biology and Physics, and one of the biggest challenges for the expansion of our field is whether we can provide clear and elegant solutions to our problems. Our aim is to create an environment where members have the opportunity to give simple and elegant explanations of their research.

Furthermore, there are countless sight-seeing sites throughout the city, and I hope you will enjoy the city during your stay. I look forward to seeing you in Kyoto!