General Information | 第17回日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会学術大会

Professor, Department of General Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University

Welcome, colleagues from across Japan and around the globe—those of you who are deeply committed to providing comprehensive, holistic care through general medicine and primary care. It is a great honor to welcome you to the historic city of Kyoto for this year’s annual scientific meeting.
We are currently facing an unprecedented reality: a society that is rapidly aging and shrinking. Japan is already recognized as a super-aging society, a term the WHO uses when over 20% of the population is aged 65 or older. But we have now gone even further—we are a super-super aging society, with nearly 30% of our population categorized as being of advanced age.

In this context, patients are more multimorbid than ever before. Social fragmentation is increasing. Health disparities are widening across the socioeconomic spectrum. Meanwhile, medicine continues to grow more specialized. And in the midst of all this complexity, the need for generalists is greater than ever.

Too often, patients find themselves under the care of multiple specialists, yet without anyone truly committed to seeing and understanding them as whole persons—individuals who need their care to be integrated and coordinated. We are being called to fill this gap.

The theme of this year’s conference is:
“Collaborating for Care. Connecting for Change.”
This theme reflects our hope to reaffirm and strengthen horizontal connections—connections that cut across specialties, professions, and community boundaries. Healthcare should be a democratic endeavor, shaped by the voices of patients, communities, health professionals, social organizations, and across medical disciplines. Together, we seek to re-emphasize the essential value of collaborative practice.

But our theme also speaks to the importance of vertical connections—linking the wisdom and legacy of those who built the foundations of community medicine with the vision and fresh perspectives of the next generation of leaders. This merging of experience and innovation is essential for transforming care.

Collaboration and connection are not merely about making referrals. They require dialogue, empathy, and the courage to share our personal stories.

We believe in care that honors the patient's background, values, and preferences—core principles now formally recognized in our national health policy. Even in the realm of health economics, person-centered, evidence-based care is increasingly seen as the gold standard, guiding how healthcare services should be evaluated and reimbursed.

In Japan, the model of family and community-based care is being redefined. Our shared vision for a healthy society encompasses community-based integrated care, primary health care, and preventive medicine.

Whether you work in clinical practice, education, or research, we all encounter moments of uncertainty and challenge. It is our sincere hope that this conference will serve as a space for reflection, renewal, and inspiration—an opportunity to reaffirm your passion for primary care and to spark new ideas for the future.

Collaborating for Care. Connecting for Change.
By collaborating, we redefine care.
By connecting, we transform care.

It is with this spirit that we hope to co-create a truly meaningful and forward-looking experience together.

This year’s venue—the Kyoto International Conference Center—is a special place. It hosted the WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference six years ago, a gathering that left lasting inspiration for many of us. The energy from that time still lingers in this space. Let us breathe new life into those memories and carry forward our daily commitment to primary care into a new era.

Finally, I’d like to leave you with this thought:
We are specialists… in being generalists.
This path is not easy. It often runs counter to the current of ever-increasing medical specialization.
But I believe the core values of general medicine—seeing the patient as a person, understanding their illness through their eyes, walking beside them through their hopes, joys, and struggles—are the key to building a better healthcare system and, ultimately, a better society.

With deep respect and heartfelt gratitude to all of you who share this vision, I warmly welcome you to Kyoto. I hope this conference will be both meaningful and memorable.

Thank you.