日本動物実験代替法学会 第35回大会

The Japanese Society for Alternatives to Animal Experiments (JSAAE) is an academic organization for the people working on the research, development, education, etc. for the 3Rs (Reduction, Refinement, and Replacement), which is an international principle for the proper implementation of animal experiments. This 3Rs principle is adopted not only in the laws and guidelines of each country related to the welfare of laboratory animals in recent years but also in international standards and guidelines. Meanwhile, in the EU, animal experiments in the development of cosmetics were banned in 2013, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in 2019 that the agency will reduce animal experiments in near future, and the need for animal experiment alternatives is thus strongly increasing. Along with this, research on alternatives to animal experiments has become active worldwide, and a number of large-scale research projects by industry, government, and academia have been carried out in Japan and other countries. And in these large-scale research projects, collaborations by researchers from various fields have led to the development of innovative technologies. Under these circumstances, we believe that our society JSAAE will play an important role in promoting 3Rs and developing and disseminating alternatives to animal experiments.

The Society was established in 1989 as a place for academic exchange of researchers involved in 3Rs research, and in January 2022, it has become a General Incorporated Association to return the results obtained by JSAAE to society. The JSAAE 35th annual meeting will be the first academic conference to be held as a General Incorporated Association.

As you all know, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many academic meetings have been held online since the spring of 2020. The JSAAE’s 33rd meeting in 2020 was held online and the 34th meeting in 2021 was held in a hybrid manner. Although there is no sign that the pandemic will end at this moment, discussions on how to stimulate social activities in the “with-corona” and “post-corona” are also becoming active. I know that there are many merits for participants in online meetings/events because they can participate in meetings held in various places in Japan and overseas and collect information without going to the sites. On the other hand, it is also true that conversations at academic conferences often lead to collaboration and/or new research ideas. Therefore, I think that missing such communication opportunities for more than two years is a great loss to the entire scientific community.

Considering these issues, I have decided on the theme of the 35th meeting as "3Rs in a new era developed by collaboration and cooperation", and we are preparing for this meeting as a completely on-site event. A social gathering is also planned. I hope that not only the members of the JSAAE but also people from various research fields participate in this conference and enjoy the meeting with active scientific and social exchanges.

We would like to ask all of you for your understanding of the purpose of this annual meeting and for your support and cooperation.