58th Annual Meeting of the Japan Epilepsy Society

We are pleased to announce that the 58th Annual Meeting of the Japan Epilepsy Society will be held over three days, from Thursday, October 2 to Saturday, October 4, 2025, at Light Cube Utsunomiya in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture. We have received an impressive total of 126 sessions and 488 presentations from many members of our society. I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your active participation.

The theme for this year’s meeting is “Epileptology and Epilepsy Care in an Era of Transformation.” We are currently in the midst of a period of rapid change in healthcare. While work style reforms demand greater efficiency and reduced working hours, the prolonged decline in Japan’s economic strength has undermined the financial foundations of universities and public medical institutions. This has led to shortages of research funding in medicine, a worsening environment for nurturing young researchers, and a significant drop in our international research competitiveness. These challenges affect the entire Japanese medical community, and the circumstances surrounding the Japan Epilepsy Society are no exception.

To open Symposium I, which will set the tone for the meeting, we are honored to welcome Dr. Ryozo Nagai, President of Jichi Medical University, as a leading figure in Japan’s medical academia, and Dr. Masami Sakoi, Director-General for Medical Affairs at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, as a leader in medical policy. They will lead us into discussions on the challenges facing epileptology and epilepsy care.

The symposia and planned sessions will address ongoing challenges in epilepsy care, initiatives from our society’s committees, the rapidly expanding use of SEEG and the latest surgical treatments, as well as AI applications in epilepsy. We have also prepared sessions on supporting epilepsy care in Asia. Twenty-two educational lectures will cover a wide range of topics, delivered by leading experts at the forefront of their fields. The JES-KES Joint Session and the YES program also promise to be highly engaging, and I strongly encourage you to participate.

From abroad, we welcome Professor Eugen Trinka, representing the new executive committee of the ILAE, who will speak on acute symptomatic seizures and their treatment. Professor Aileen McGonigal, a leading authority on epilepsy networks and semiology, will lecture on cingulate and insular epilepsies and their seizure manifestations. Professor Sarat Chandra, President of the Indian Epilepsy Society, will share his experience in pediatric epilepsy surgery and the latest surgical techniques, based on a vast number of cases published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Saadi Ghatan will present on responsive neurostimulation (RNS), a treatment eagerly awaited in Japan.

An era of rapid transformation confronts us with many challenges, but it also presents opportunities to gain new perspectives and shift our thinking in both research and clinical care. I sincerely hope that the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Japan Epilepsy Society will serve as a catalyst for fresh ideas, new collaborations, and joint research efforts to ride the waves of change. I look forward to welcoming many of you to Utsunomiya for lively discussions that will shape the future of our field.

Kensuke Kawai, M.D., Ph.D.
President, The 58th Annual Meeting of the Japan Epilepsy Society
Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Jichi Medical University
Director, Jichi Medical University Hospital
Director, Epilepsy Center, Jichi Medical University Hospital