Greetings from the Chairperson

　On behalf of the organizing committee, I am pleased to announce the 70th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Virology which will be held in Sendai City, Japan, from September 26th, 2023 (Tue) to September 28th, 2023 (Thu) at Sendai International Center.
　This society comprises of members in broad area of virology, including basic and applied sciences. Many state-of- the art research from various areas will be presented and active discussions will be expected in this 70th meeting.
　Three years have passed since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the research has been accumulating a huge amount of knowledge of the disease, its pathogen, and epidemiology and has been shared publicly in a very short time. The knowledge that will be presented in this meeting should also have great social significance and play important roles in the world.
　A word made up of four Chinese letters (流行不易), interpreted as “Cores and developments in Virology”, was selected as the theme in this meeting and many activities are planned according to this theme. This word is referred, and slightly edited, from a famous word by the Japanese poet, Basho Matsuo, who traveled around the Tohoku area (old Northern Japan), encouraging the poets to “Keep the tradition but be innovative”, and we believe that the virology should also follow the word: In the wake of the pandemic, not only the great developments of applied studies of COVID-19 but also universal studies that form the core of science should be explored, as they represent the two wheels for the progress in virology. We intend that the meeting will provide good opportunities for presentation and discussion that encourage both sides.
　It is the first time for Sendai to host this meeting of virologists in about 50 years since it was last held here in 1974. In addition, the year 2023 is the 70th anniversary since the first isolation of Sendai virus in Sendai, which had lead the basic virology in its early days.
　Therefore, we are planning to open a commemoration symposium on Sendai virus, from its history to its cutting-edge applications. Various topics in workshops, educational lectures and symposia, as well as general presentation sessions (oral and poster) will be given. Sponsored Luncheon seminars and exhibition by relevant companies will be also available.
　Moreover, free lectures open to the public in order to deliver science to them are also planned before the meeting, where the famous scientist, Keiko Nakamura, the honorary director of JT Life Research Institute, is invited as one of the speakers.

　We sincerely hope that all of you will visit Sendai and join the meeting in September, 2023.

About the design of the meeting poster

　The theme of this meeting is “流行不易～変わるもの変わらぬもの～” in Japanese, which can be directly translated as “exploring things changing and unchanging” and interpreted as “Cores and developments in Virology”. This word was referred and slightly edited, from a famous word by the Japanese old poet, Basho Matsuo, who traveled around the Tohoku area (old Northern Japan), encouraging the poets to “Keep the tradition but be innovative”.
We chose two pieces of print art that symbolize the theme from the portfolio, the “Basho Matsuo’s Oku-no-Hosomichi Haiku-pictures series” by the Japanese artist, Chikkyo Ono. We chose prints of safflowers in summer as a symbol of change and the Sunset in Japan Sea as the eternal.　The choice of the “Basho Matsuo’s Oku-no-Hosomichi” expreses our gratitude to professors of all over the Tohoku area that this meeting was realized by their great help and cooperation.