My name is Tooru Shimosegawa. I am president of the JDDW. It is my honor and great pleasure to announce the JDDW 2020. The JDDW 2020 will be held at the Kobe Convention Center for 4 days from November 5th to 8th in 2020. As usual, academic programs will be provided in the first 3 days, and the 4th day will be reserved solely for an educational program. In the JDDW 2020, Prof. Keiichi Kubota, professor of the 2nd department of surgery, of Dokkyo Medical College, will host the 62nd autumn meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology (JSGE), Prof. Takashi Kawai, professor of the department of gastrointestinal endoscopy, of Tokyo Medical College, will host the 100th general meeting of the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES), Prof. Yoshiyuki Takei, professor of the department of gastroenterology, of Mie University, will host the 24th autumn meeting of the Japan Society of Hepatology (JSH), Prof. Soji Ozawa, professor of the department of gastrointestinal surgery, of Tokai University, will host the 18th autumn meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery (JSGS). Dr. Yosuke Iriguchi, the Vice President of the Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer Detection Center, will host the 58th autumn meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening (JSGCS). At present, under the leadership of Prof. Keiichi Kubota as chairperson of the steering committee, the congress presidents of the respective academic societies are working together smoothly for the preparation of the meeting.

A special project of the JDDW 2020 is the “Strategic International Session”. This session is planned by the respective constituent societies based on the respective societies’ global strategy in academic promotion, particularly from a point of view of collaboration with Western countries. Another interesting feature is publication of daily news during the meeting. It will be designed by the JDDW and will inform attendees the attractive programs of the day and important and notable information discussed on the day before in the form of a newspaper. We will ensure to prepare the articles appropriately and impartially.

Various contents will be provided in the JDDW 2020, such as the main session dealing with the latest topics in the respective fields, the digital poster session, the international session in which many invited guests from Asian countries will give attractive lectures, and the 4th JDDW-KDDW-TDDW joint session that will be hosted by the JDDW for the second time. In addition, the following programs unique to JDDW are planned in an attempt to make the meeting rich and attractive for wider audiences; the integrated program, the medical seminar, the medical staff program, the program for female doctors and researchers, and so on.

In order to encourage and support many doctors and researchers in and out of Japan to participate in JDDW 2020, we will prepare various awards and travel grants, such as the Young Investigator Award, the Excellent Poster Award, the President Award, the Best Presenter Award of International Session, the Travel Award Program for excellent abstracts from overseas, and the Travel Grant for those who submit abstracts from overseas and who require support for travel.

Although the JDDW 2020 will be held for the third consecutive time in Kobe, we will make best efforts so that every attendee can make new discoveries in the meeting. I hope many doctors and medical staffs across the country and overseas will attend and learn from the latest knowledge in gastroenterology. I hope also that all of you attendees will enjoy your stay in Kobe and nearby scenic places. I am looking forward to seeing you in Kobe.