SPIO
The Society for Promotion of International Oto-Rhino-Laryngology

Message from the President

It was one of the important issues for the SPIO to become a Public Interest Corporation.
We received the approval from the Prime Minister of Japan on March 19, 2012 and the SPIO was registered as a public interest corporation on April 1, 2012. As a result, we can continually support international researches and medical researchers in the Oto-Rhino-Laryngology field.

I, Kimitaka Kaga, M.D. was appointed to serve as the President of the Society for Promotion of International Oto-Rhino-Laryngology (SPIO) on June 8, 2022. I would like to make efforts for our projects with Vise-President Kaoru Ogawa, M.D. and other board members during the next two years. I appreciate your very generous understanding and cooperation to the SPIO in future.

Kimitaka Kaga, M.D.
President
Society for Promotion of International Oto-Rhino-Laryngology (SPIO)

Project 2024

• Institution of a scholarship for international researchers
• Subsidy for international academic exchange
• Subsidy for organization of international congress
• Subsidy for international collaborative research
• SPIO Award (for Auris Nasus Larynx)
• Support for academic seminar or session by foreign visitor
• Publication of the SPIO Newsletter

The SPIO Scholarship 2025 for International Researcher

There was no applicant to The SPIO Scholarship in 2025

The Announcement for Applying for the SPIO Scholarship 2025

Guideline　application form

Young medical professionals or medical trainees from abroad who intend to conduct and/or participate in research in Otolaryngology at any Japanese University may apply for this scholarship. They must contact the SPIO secretariat by the end of August so that we can send them an application form. The SPIO committee will select and decide the awardees and the amount of scholarship. Past awardees are also eligible to re-apply. A recommendation letter from any member of the SPIO is a pre-requisite.

The SPIO Award 2025

In 2025, 87 original papers were published by the journal Auris Nasus Larynx (ANL), Vol.52 (No.1 to No.6), and the selection was made by the Editorial Board members of ANL and the SPIO Award Selection Committee.

The recipient of SPIO Award for the year 2025 that was selected is as follows:

Application for the SPIO Award 2026

The SPIO will select the most outstanding paper among the original papers submitted in the journal Auris Nasus Larynx, Vol.53 (No.1 to No.6), and will award a certificate and a cash prize (Japanese 500,000 yen). The first author of the paper should be younger than 45 years of age at the time of manuscript submission.

Subsidy for organization of international congress

The year 2025, the SPIO subsidized 5 organizations. Details are as follows;

• The 70th Congress of Japan Audiological Society: President; Prof.
  Yoshihiro Noguchi, International University of Health and Welfare.
• The 35rd Annual Meeting of the Japan Otological Society: President; Prof.
  Takashi Nakagawa, Kyushu University.
• The 64th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Rhinologic Society: President; Prof.
  Nobuyoshi Otori, The Jikei University School of Medicine.
• The 16th Asia Oceania ORL-HNS Congress: President; Prof.
  Shigeru Hirano, Kyoto Prefectural University
• 20th Japan-Korea Joint Meeting of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery : President; Prof.
  Akihiro Homma, Hokkaido University.

About the SPIO

Mission Statement:

To promote international scientific/academic exchange in the field of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and its related field
To contribute forward the advancement of scientific issues in Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
To enhance international friendship, mutual understanding and cultural exchange

Establishment:

November 28, 1969

Shift to Public Interest Corporation:

April 1, 2012

Chartering Agency:

Cabinet Office - Public Interest Corporation Commission (PICC)

BOARD MEMBERS (As of April 1, 2026)

Position	Name	Institution
President	Kimitaka Kaga	Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo Director Emeritus, National Institatlg Sensory Orgins Specially Appointed Professor, Dokkyo Medical University Advisor, Kamio Memorial Hospita
Vice-Presidenr	Kaoru Ogawa	Professor Emeritus, Keio University Director of OTO Cllnic Tokyo
Executive Director	Yukiko Iino	Directer of Deafness・Middle Ear Surgicenter, Tokyo Kita-Medical Center Emeritus and Visiting Professor of Jichi Medical University
Executive Director	Harumi Suzaki	Professor Emeritus, Showa Medical University
Executive Director	Ken Kitamura	Vice-President, Shonan University of Medical Sciences
Director	Makito Okamoto	Professor Emeritus, Kitasato University
Director	Syun Kanehara	President, IGAKU-SHOIN Ltd.
Director	Shigeru Kikuchi	Professor Emeritus, Saitama Medical University
Director	Taeko Okuno	Special Advisor, Mitsui Memorial Hospital
Auditor	Hiroshi Moriyama	Professor Emeritus, The Jikei University School of Medicine
Auditor	Yoshiomi Takada	Ex-Secretary-General, Honjo International Scholarship Foundation
Council Member	Toshio Yoshihara	Visiting Professor, Tokyo Medical University Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University of Technology
Council Member	Koichi Omori	Specially Appointed Professor, Kyoto University
Council Member	Masaaki Hayashi	President, Daiichi Medical Co. Ltd.
Council Member	Hidenori Inohara	Professor, Osaka University
Council Member	Hitome Kobayashi	Specially Appointed Professor, Showa Medical University
Council Member	Shin-ichi Usami	Professor Emeritus, Shinshu University
Council Member	Hiromi Kojima	Professor, Jikei University School of Medicine
Council Member	Toshimitsu Kobayashi	Sen-en Rifu Hospital
Council Member	Masashi Sugasawa	Directer of Head and Neck Surgery, Kameda General Hospital & Clinic Professor Emeritus, Visiting Professor, Saitama Medical University
Council Member	Nirou Tayama	Tayama・Sarai ENT・Voice clinic Visiting Professor, Juntendo University School of Medicine Department of Otorhinolaryngology -Head and Neck Surgery Visiting Professor, Saitama Medical University Hospital Otorhinolaryngology
Council Member	Tatsuo Matsunaga	ORL Director, Tokyo Medical Center
Council Member	Kimihiro Okubo	Professor Emeritus, Nippon Medical School Hospital Professor, Department of Pollinosis, Nippon Medical School
Council Member	Takeshi Tsutsumi	Professor, Institute of Science Tokyo

Contact: SPIO Secretariat