Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce that the 67th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Surgery of the Hand will take place at Nara Prefectural Convention Center, Japan, on April 25-26, 2024. This is the third time meeting organized by Nara Medical University: the 24th meeting (1981) by Dr. Kenji Masuhara, and the 41st (1998) meeting by Dr. Susumu Tamai.

We would like to invite you to participate in the scientific program under the theme “Functional Anatomy and Innovation in Hand Surgery”, decided by the Annual Meeting Scientific Committee. We also aim to encourage as many hand surgeons and therapists as possible to present their scientific experience through the free paper sessions.

We have invited 7 international guest speakers who has made an outstanding contribution in hand surgery, and those speakers will provide various interesting topics in their invited lectures as well as in international symposium sessions.　These invited guest lectures and symposiums can be viewed on demand after the meeting.

Since its foundation in 1957, the Japanese Society for Surgery of the Hand has been dedicated to continue making social contributions through basic research and clinical practice in the field of hand surgery. With over 1,000 certified hand surgeons in Japan actively involved in this field, and continuing to acquire new skills is a lifelong effort. We expect to have in-depth discussions with international hand surgeons and therapists regarding the recent technology and innovation in hand surgery.

As for the poster of this meeting, we have chosen the feature of many hands trying to relieve the people from difficult situation, which is a part of the statue of the "Senju Kannon” (the “thousand-armed" Goddess of Mercy) at Toshodaiji Temple. The temple was established in 759, founded by the high priest "Ganjin", who overcame numerous difficulties to visit Japan for the spread of Buddhism. I imagine these hands in the poster vividly emerging continually one after the other, leading to cures for patients' diseases and injuries.

We are diligently preparing for this event with the invaluable support of the corporate sponsors and those involved. We eagerly await your participations in the beautiful spring season in Nara and sincerely hope that many of you will join us.

Please submit your abstracts via the 67th JSSH homepage, that will help raise the level of excellence of the meeting. Abstract submission will be open on September 25, 2023. Social events are planned in collaboration with local professional organizers. We believe the participants have the benefit of discovering three World Heritage sites in Nara, where is the oldest capital of Japan.

Again, I would like to encourage all of you to consider early registration. I look forward to meeting you in Nara next year for our profession's future!