“The 31st General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress 2023 Tokyo” along with its affiliated Scientific Exhibition and public expo “The 31st General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress 2023 Tokyo Expo” took place in Tokyo in April 2023. Congrès Inc. operated both the congress and the Expo.
This edition of the Japan Medical Congress, held as an open forum for discussion, welcomed the attendance of physicians, medical professionals, researchers, and students. In addition to hosting exhibitions and events for the general public, the congress concluded successfully with approximately 40,000 participants in academic meetings and exhibitions, including online participation, and approximately 530,000 participants in the expo, contributing to a vibrant conclusion.

On Friday, April 21st, the opening ceremony of the academic conference was held at the Tokyo International Forum in the presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan. Prime Minister Mr. KISHIDA Fumio and other distinguished guests were also in attendance.

Mr. KASUGA Masato, president of the 31st General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress, reflected on how the COVID-19 pandemic initially cast doubt on the feasibility of holding the congress. Many academic meetings during that period faced challenges with in-person attendance and switched to online formats. He emphasized the significance of attendees being physically present to exchange opinions directly and expressed gratitude to stakeholders for enabling the hybrid format that combines both in-person and online attendance for this conference.

The president KASUGA also noted the need for societal consensus on emerging ethical, legal, and social issues arising from the implementation of innovative technologies in medicine. He mentioned that the program was designed to allow broader citizen participation in the congress, with the hope that the event would encourage citizens to take more responsibility for managing their own health. These were his opening remarks.”

The medical meetings of the 31st General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress aimed to bring together medical and healthcare researchers and practitioners to discuss important issues in medicine from both academic and practical perspectives. The purpose is to contribute to the advancement of medicine and related fields, as well as to promote human health and well-being. This year, the program was structured around the following five pillars:

1. Transformations in Medicine and Healthcare Brought About by Big Data
2. Cutting-edge Medical Technologies
3. Medicine and Healthcare for the Age of 100-Year Lifespans
4. Sustainable New Healthcare Systems and Human Resource Development
5. Challenges from an Innovative Nation to Combat Pandemics and Major Disasters

In addition to programs aimed at medical professionals and other specialists, many sessions were held that allowed participation from the general public. The opening commemorative special lecture and public seminar, held on the day before the opening ceremony, were hosted by Professor OKIE Hiroko, Executive Director and Vice President of Teikyo University, who served as the chairperson of the ceremony committee. The event featured a keynote speech, a panel discussion, and a concert, drawing a large audience to the venue’s hall.

For the public program, special lectures by distinguished individuals such as Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine, Dr. OHSUMI Yoshinori and Dr. YAMANAKA Shinya, Director of the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation and IBM Fellow, Dr. ASAKAWA Chieko, Professor TSUDA Yuichi from the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science at JAXA, and Dr. OMI Shigeru, chairman of the COVID-19 task force, were held. These programs were available both on-site and via online streaming, allowing a large audience to engage with high-interest topics and learn from content appealing to a wide range of ages.

The medical exhibition aimed to view Japanese medicine and healthcare from a broad perspective, facilitating cross-industry matching to achieve win-win-win outcomes for academic exhibition-related companies, new entrants, and academic stakeholders. Zones based on research and medical challenges were set up specifically for healthcare professionals.
Additionally, the “Smart Work Style Planning Exhibition” corner, which aimed to demonstrate how healthcare professionals are addressing work style reform, was open to the general public for viewing.

The 31st General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress is not simply a congress for medical professionals. During the period, various events and programs on themes related to health, medicine and wellness took place as part of the affiliated “Japan Medical Congress Expo,” geared for the general public, across multiple venues and open spaces around the Otemachi/Marunouchi/Yurakucho area from April 15 to 23.
In recent years, these area’s commerce and DMO organizations are seeking to promote the potential of “Area-wide MICE*” in inviting and operating international and domestic meetings & events in Tokyo, not only to enhance the offerings to meeting organizers/participants, but also to enable the entire area to benefit from convening meetings & events there. Furthermore, this connects to vitalizing communication between businesses, workers and the local community.

*Area-wide MICE: A style of holding business event programs that is not limited to simply utilizing a conference hall building, but rather covers an entire area using all the various facilities and resources available there.

The Expo’s aim was to offer approachable spaces and fora for learning more about “Health and Medicine” and featured the latest information as well as experiential programs. Admission was free of charge and some 540,000 people attended. Even after the physical Expo and related events had finished, the organizers continued to provide Expo-related content for about 1 month online, open to all.

In Marunouchi Naka-dori, various events such as town concerts, radio calisthenics, ambulance ride experiences, and a stamp rally were held. The Otemachi, Marunouchi, Yurakucho Naka-dori Tug-of-War Tournament also took place, featuring the “Medical Congress Team” in lab coats competing against teams from companies and organizations in the Marunouchi area. In the finals, thanks to the connection with Teikyo University’s School of Medicine, the Teikyo University Rugby Team, champions of the university championship, participated in an exhibition match against the tournament’s winning team, drawing a large and enthusiastic crowd.

The expo were held at multiple venues including the Tokyo International Forum, KITTE, and Marunouchi Building. In Hall E of the Tokyo International Forum, thematic exhibitions were set up, offering a range of interactive displays that allowed visitors to experience different aspects of healthcare.

In the “Learning with Children: Discovering Medical Science!” corner, workshops were held where children could enjoy learning about medical science through interactive experiences. Activities included programming, surgery simulations, hands-on classes, and career experiences, all allowing the children to learn in an engaging and fun way.

Additionally, there were numerous opportunities to share medical and health information with the public. These included the “Public Lecture Series” conducted online continuously before the event, “Pre-Seminars” held at corporate offices in Marunouchi with medical experts as lecturers, an online expo accessible for participation and viewing online, and information dissemination via social media.

Congrès looks forward to working closely with clients and associations to delivery “Area-wide MICE” meetings & events into the future, as part of our corporate commitment to delivering quality meetings while simultaneously striving to contribute to vitalizing communities.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved for their cooperation and support in the successful operation of this large-scale convention held in the heart of Tokyo.

Congrès sincerely thank everyone who attended the General Assembly. We are grateful to all stakeholders for their cooperation and support, which enabled us to successfully conclude this large-scale convention held in the heart of Tokyo.