History of the Japanese Respiratory Society

The year 1960 was an extremely significant year for the study of the respiratory tract in our country. In April of that year, the 35th meeting of the Japan Tuberculosis Society was held in Fukuoka, and there were proactive discussions concerning the foundation of several societies that are making important contribution today. These are the Lung Emphysema Research Association (presently the COPD Research Association), the Lung Function Seminar (presently the Clinical Respiratory Function Society), and the Japan Society for Diseases of the Chest (presently the Japanese Respiratory Society). In the following year, in 1961, the establishment of all of these societies was realized.

In October of 1960, the First Symposium on Diseases of the Chest was held in Nagoya, on which occasion it was decided to establish the Japan Society of Diseases of the Chest. The Second Symposium on Diseases of the Chest held in October 1961 in Tokyo was designated as the First Congress of the Japan Society for Diseases of the Chest. Since then, the general annual meeting of the society has been held every year, and in 2005, the 45th annual meeting will be celebrated.

Before 1955, pulmonary tuberculosis occupied a major position in respiratory tract studies in Japan, but thereafter the importance of other chronic diseases came to be recognized. At around that time, pulmonary function examination methodologies began to be introduced and there was a surge in research on respiratory physiology. The importance of non-respiratory lung function was gradually increasingly recognized and there was great progress in research related to pulmonary surfactants, function of the lung as a secretory organ, and progress was also made in cell and molecular biology of the lung. These came to occupy the main themes of the annual meetings and academic lecture sessions.

In 1976, 15 years after the establishment of our society, our members numbered 3,030, and now we have grown to a membership of over 10,000. In 1989, we introduced the board-registered tuition system (presently the specialist registration system) and in 1997, we changed the name to the Japanese Respiratory Society. In that year, we also announced our support for smoking cessation. In 1999, we designated the 1st of August as the Day of the Lung and have continued to strive for social education and enlightenment. We became recognized as a social foundation in 2002, and published our declaration against smoking in 2003.

Progress has also been made in the international area, with meetings and initiatives beginning in 1986 concerning the development of an international society for the Asian-Pacific region, and in 1988 the first congress of the Asian-Pacific Society of Respirology was held in Tokyo. In 2003, the Japanese Respiratory Society joined the APSR en bloc. At the 41st Annual Congress, we began our integrated international program, which we have been continuing with exchange and liaison with the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS).

The Japanese Respiratory Society is not devoted only to its own development and growth, but is also extremely dedicated to cooperating with patient groups, citizens groups and any other groups whatsoever with an interest in respiratory diseases, in order to work together towards better understanding and better communications and liaisons to promote the study of respiratory diseases by disseminating information and promoting academic achievements in this field.