Welcome Message

Greeting Message from the Chairman

The 69th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Virology will be held at the Dejima Messe Nagasaki over three days from November 13th (Sunday) to November 15th (Tuesday) 2022. While there is still uncertainty about how the pandemic will develop from here, we are currently preparing to hold the Meeting in person with appropriate infection prevention measures in place.

I believe the pandemic that has now lasted for three years has forced scientists to confront many issues including competing social norms, the significance of science, and the relationships between science and politics. It almost goes without saying that as the most closely involved party, virology researchers are being seen in a new light, not only for their contributions in research achievements, but also for their roles in the wider spheres of informing society and making policy recommendations.

The forthcoming Meeting takes as its theme “Virology in the Post COVID-19 Era.” It is possible that eventually the world will come to coexist with COVID-19, and daily life will return as if nothing has happened; however, I believe it is more likely that instead of returning to the life before the pandemic, the world, which has already changed so much, will change in many more ways to accommodate the impact of COVID-19. This will include changes in scientific research as well.

In July 2021 work was completed on Nagasaki University’s long-hoped for high-level biocontainment BSL-4 facilities. This facility represents a vital pillar in the foundations of research into all types of viruses by Japanese virology researchers. I would exhort those of you who are able to find the time to come and see what we are doing here at Nagasaki University’s Sakamoto Campus (School of Medicine), though it is not possible, unfortunately, to enter the BSL4 facility itself.

The keynote speech at the Meeting will be delivered by Dr. Heinz Feldmann of the United States’ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Dr. Feldmann worked on the Ebola virus for many years, making world-leading discoveries, and is also a global authority on COVID-19 research. In addition, we plan to hold a symposium on BSL-4 pathogens and a symposium on arthropod‐borne viruses jointly held through the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program (U.S.-Japan CMSP), as well as other educational lectures. I sincerely hope that this Meeting will prove to be an event at which there is lively debate not only at the research discussions in each section, but also among the meetings of the young, old, and future virology researchers.

I very much look forward to meeting everyone here in Nagasaki.

Kouichi Morita
Chairman, 69th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Virology
Nagasaki University DEJIMA Infectious Disease Research Alliance
Institute of Tropical Medicine