It is our great pleasure to invite you to the joint meeting of the 30th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society and the 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Society of Electrocardiology. Following on from the success of the previous meeting, this will be held as a joint meeting at the Kyoto International Conference Center and the Grand Prince Hotel Kyoto from July 28 to 31, 2015.

It has already been decided that the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society and the Japanese Society of Electrocardiology will be consolidated in 2015 as the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society (JHRS). It is a joint meeting, but it is the final annual meeting as independent societies, and we have been making meticulous preparations to make this meeting befitting of our last hurrah. The theme of the meeting is “Prologue to Glorious Future” as an indication for our hope in the future.

The Japanese Heart Rhythm Society is a society established primarily for the purpose of practical implementation and treatment, while the Japanese Society of Electrocardiology is a society mainly aimed at clinical investigation based on fundamental and theoretical research on electrocardiographic phenomena. Both societies holding joint meetings is the natural course of events, and could be considered both seamless and complete.

At this annual joint meeting, we would like to provide a comprehensive update from diagnosis to treatment incorporating not only electrocardiology but also everything from the basics to clinical aspects of arrhythmia. Furthermore, to promote further globalization of the society, we plan to establish sessions for encouraging interaction with societies not only in Europe and America, but also Asia, in addition to numerous sessions aimed at the enhancement of team-based medical care. However, the success or failure of the meeting will mainly depend upon the general presentations. With all this to look forward to, we are very hopeful of seeing a large turnout of doctors, allied professionals and students at the meeting.

Finally, we would also like to express our gratitude to the doctors who have developed the two societies with great passion. We are working to make this meeting the best in our history in terms of a final accounting of the societies, and we would appreciate your ongoing support and guidance.

September 2014