We are pleased to announce that the 40th Annual Research Meeting of the JOA will be held for two days, on October 16 (Thursday) and October 17 (Friday), 2025, in Aomori City.

This meeting began in 1973 as “The Meeting for Discussing Bones and Joints Research” and has evolved into the current scientific meeting, which will be the 40th meeting this year. It is our great honor and privilege for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Hirosaki University to host this significant event. We would like to express our gratitude to all members of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association and related parties.

The theme of this meeting is “The sun shines in the direction of growth（伸びて行く方向に陽が当たる）~ without losing your enthusiasm~”. The main theme is taken from the novel Pandora’s Box by Osamu Dazai, a great writer from our Tsugaru district. The subtitle is a line from Winston Churchill’s famous words, “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”. We believe these concepts embody important attitudes for those involved in clinical medicine and basic research.

We are pleased to note that participation in the annual meeting has been steadily increasing, particularly among young orthopaedic surgeons and researchers. We aim to create a program that is both attractive and meaningful for all participants, contributing to the future of orthopaedics. We are honored to welcome several outstanding guest speakers from overseas. Additionally, joint international symposiums with AO Sports and the Japan-Germany Orthopaedic Society are on the program.

October will be the best season to visit Aomori City, because the Hakkoda mountains and Lake Towada will be displaying their beautiful autumn colors. We look forward to welcoming you to an inspiring and fruitful conference.