Greetings

It is my great honor and pleasure to introduce the 8th ISMRM-Japanese Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting. ISMRM is the world's largest research organization for MRI, and we have much to learn from its open attitude and cooperation among researchers, physicians, technologists, and manufacturers. The ISMRM-Japan Chapter was established as the Japanese organization of ISMRM and has been holding annual meetings in Japan. This year's conference is co-hosted with the Japanese Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (JSMRM), and we hope to bring together all Japanese scientists involved in MRI to promote the development of MRI research and products and international relationship.

The COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 has changed the nature of academic conferences. The world seems smaller now that online makes it easier to interact across time and place. However, I believe that face-to-face interactions and serendipity have also been reaffirmed for the development of research. This year’s meeting will be a hybrid format, and I hope that we can resume the convenience of online and local human communication.

We hope many our members, especially young colleagues, will present your latest research. We plan to the sessions for introducing the activities of ISMRM and the upcoming ISMRM meeting in Asia (Singapore) in 2024. We look forward to seeing many of you in Karuizawa in early autumn.