The theme of the 100th Annual Congress "Act now for the future" is based on the words of Yukichi Fukuzawa, the founder of Keio University, when addressing students at the time of the Meiji Restoration and as organizers of the Congress we feel they are still as true now as when first spoken.

Prof. Kitajima as President of the 100th Congress suggested that it should serve as a bridge between the 20th and 21st centuries in much the same way that Yukichi Fukuzawa's words served to link his students studies with modern surgery.

For this reason we wish our centennial meeting to be a spur to understanding what is happening in surgery today and what will happen in the future.