On behalf of the organizing committee, it is my great pleasure and honor to extend this invitation to take part in the coming XXXVI th International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS), to be held in the beautiful and historic city of Kyoto, Japan from July 27 to August 1, 2009.

Since it has been forty years since the XXII IUPS was held in Tokyo, Japan, we are understandably thrilled and elated to be able to host this prestigious meeting once more in our country. In considering a suitable theme for the congress, we arrived at "Function of Life: Elements and Integration." We believe we are now in the midst of developments leading to a new era in physiological research, fueled by the recent revolutionary progress in biological sciences. We have witnessed sequencing of the human genomeand dramatically rapid progress in computer technology and bioinformatics, as well as the structural biology of various proteins including membrane receptors and channels.

We are clearly on the threshold, and a bold new future awaits us. Yet even as information technology has increased the volume and speed of information flow astronomically, it is still no substitute for face-to-face communication. We will gather in Kyoto to share and pursue knowledge.