◆ Shun Wumoto
May 11th. In early summer, Tokyo is full of fresh greenery and flowers. More than 100 experts and scholars in forest medicine and forest health care from all over the world gathered at the Tachibana Sakura Kaikan Hall near Nezu Shrine in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, to participate in the first academic meeting of the Japan Society of Forest Medicine.
During the two-day conference, guests from all over the world gave wonderful academic speeches using three Chinese Chinese, Japanese and English, fully exchanged suggestions and opinions on the development of forest medicine, and left one unforgettable moment after another.
On the 11th, Professor Li Qing used concise and powerful words to kick off the first academic meeting of the Japanese Forest Medical Association. Subsequently, he gave an easy-to-understand and in-depth report on the past, current situation and future of forest medicine in Japan.
President Li Qing delivered the opening declaration
Experts and scholars in related fields, including Ori Takayama, researcher at the National Forest Research Institute, Shigeki Kumeda, honorary director of Nagano Prefectural Kiso Hospital, Tomohiko Kashimoshita, director of Yakushima Clinic, Yoshihiro Fukushiro, director of the Japan Institute for Pre-Disease Studies, and Akio Kobayashi, professor emeritus of Osaka University, reported on the latest achievements of their respective projects.
Four teachers from National Taiwan University of China reported on the practical activities of forest health care and forest healing in Taiwan, China. Wang Zhiling, associate professor of Shanxi Agricultural University, Cui Wansuo, senior agronomist of Shandong Badi Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and other guests brought refreshing insights on the development of China's forest health care industry, organic agriculture and urban construction.
Six keynote speeches and five sub-keynote speeches fully demonstrated the latest achievements of forest medicine research from multiple perspectives and levels, leaving a deep impression on the guests.
On May 12th, entering the second conference day, 21 wonderful speeches triggered a heated discussion among the guests, and the meeting scheduled to end at 17 o'clock was extended by two hours in the continuous applause one by one.
In the academic atmosphere of frank communication and enthusiastic sharing, the conference came to an end, and the organizer presented the proceedings of the first academic conference of the Japanese Forest Medical Association to the participants, and the guests agreed to meet again next year.
Group photo of some participants at the Closing Ceremony (12 May)
Akihiko Karuma, President of Japan Medical University, sent a congratulatory letter for the convening of the first academic conference of the Japanese Forest Medical Association. Nine units, including Tsingtao Brewery and Hou Jun of the Little Edo Club Health Tourism Company, provided strong support for the smooth holding of the first academic conference of the Japanese Society of Forest Medicine.
The Japan Forest Medicine Association is a legal entity officially registered in April 2023 by Li Qing, a well-known overseas Chinese forest medicine expert in Japan, founder of forest medicine, and clinical professor of the Affiliated Hospital of Japan Medical University, together with experts such as the famous mountaineer and female physician Tsuko Imai.
It is understood that the first academic conference held by the Japanese Forest Medical Association was originally planned to be a small-scale academic exchange activity for experts and scholars in the field of forest medicine and forest health care in Japan, but with the increasing number of applicants and consultants, the organizers had to expand the scale to respond to the enthusiasm of their counterparts at home and abroad. In the end, 32 experts and scholars from Germany, Taiwan and mainland China, and 75 experts and scholars from Japan participated in the event.
On May 13, eight scholars from Taiwan, China, who missed the first academic meeting of the Japanese Forest Medical Association, made a special trip to visit Professor Li Qing, listened to his speech and conducted academic exchanges.
Although the exchange activities are over, the exploration of forest medicine and forest health will not stop. (The author is the secretary general of the Japan Forest Medical Association)