We are honored to announce that the 110th Congress of the Japanese Society of Legal Medicine will be held in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, from Wednesday, June 10 to Friday, June 12, 2026. We sincerely appreciate the support and cooperation of all those involved.

The academic congress of the Japanese Society of Legal Medicine was first held in 1914. After three cancellations during difficult times such as wars, we are now approaching the 110th meeting. The previous meeting held in Asahikawa took place in June 2004 (the 88th meeting), hosted by Professor Hiroshi Shiono, Emeritus Professor of Asahikawa Medical University.

Forensic medicine is defined as the branch of medicine that aims to contribute to the protection of fundamental human rights, public safety, and welfare by providing scientific and impartial medical judgments on legal matters that require medical clarification and advice. With the congress theme “Onko-chishin — Learning from the Past, Opening the Future,” we intend to examine forensic medicine from interdisciplinary perspectives and help pioneer its future societal contributions. We are planning one special lecture and one invited lecture, two symposia, and three educational lectures. We also ask members to actively contribute to the program through oral and poster presentations and lively discussion.

Early June in Hokkaido is a season when the northern land, having emerged from a long winter, comes alive toward early summer. Asahikawa is Hokkaido’s second-largest city, located roughly at the geographic center of the island, and is home to Japan’s northernmost national medical university.

A brief note on Hokkaido’s history: human settlement began more than 30,000 years ago, with Paleolithic cultures arriving from Siberia, the Korean Peninsula, and southern islands. This was followed by Jomon, Post-Jomon, Okhotsk, and Ainu cultures, each valuing coexistence with nature. During the Edo period, the Matsumae Domain administered southern and coastal areas; after the arrival of Perry and the Meiji Restoration, the Hakodate War concluded the Boshin War. The Meiji government created the Kaitakushi (Development Commission) and renamed the region “Hokkaido” — a name proposed by explorer Takeshiro Matsuura.
The Kaitakushi promoted settlement, resource development, and modernization by training engineers, adopting Western-style agriculture, and recruiting specialists from abroad. From ancient times, this land has carried a “frontier spirit” — we hope this congress will act as a frontier in building the future of forensic medicine.

We warmly look forward to welcoming many of our members to Hokkaido.

July 2025

The 110th Congress of the Japanese Society of Legal Medicine
President: Keiko Shimizu
(Professor, Department of Forensic Science, Asahikawa Medical University)

Program Committee
(Responsible for ethical decisions regarding abstracts and poster presentations)