The 29th Annual Conference of the Japan Society of Medical English Education (JASMEE) will be held on July 11–12, 2026, at Kansai Medical University. As someone who first attended in 2022 and has returned every year since, I would like to share why this conference has become an important part of my professional life. If you are engaged in medical English education or related fields, and still on the fence about participating, then I hope this article will help persuade you to join us in July.
A supportive community for researchers and practitioners
When I first joined JASMEE, I had just recently started a new job at my current university. Although I have always considered myself a teacher first, the job transition placed academic research at the center of my responsibilities. At the same time, I began teaching on my university’s medical campus and contributing to the development of medical English teaching materials with colleagues. The JASMEE conference provided a space that helped me to navigate these new demands.
The society has been very welcoming to me, as I entered the academic research world later than most. I have found that members were encouraging and generous with feedback, and I have received assistance on various research projects from members over the years.
Perspectives from medical doctors
One of JASMEE’s unique features is its interdisciplinary nature where medical doctors and language educators participate in the same conference. As an English teacher not primarily based on a medical campus, being able to attend presentations by doctors has been very valuable in helping me design curricula based on clinical realities. My current research focuses on vocabulary acquisition for medical contexts, and to this end, JASMEE has been invaluable in terms of framing my views on how to select words when creating vocabulary lists.
Opportunities for collaboration
My involvement in JASMEE has also been marked by several personal milestones. A couple of my “firsts” as a researcher happened through this conference. I co‑authored and published my first full research article in the Journal of Medical English Education (JMEE). Prior to this, I had only published in in-house journals and conference proceedings. Then in 2024, I received the 18th Kenichi Uemura Award for a presentation I made in 2023. As someone who has always felt insecure about my academic abilities, this recognition was very meaningful to me.
These experiences reflect not only academic outcomes but also the supportive environment provided by the JASMEE members, an important reason I continue to participate.
An invitation
Looking towards the meeting this July, I hope you will consider joining the conference. JASMEE has been a valuable source of collaboration and encouragement in my career. I believe it can have a similarly meaningful impact for others as well.
For information, please visit the conference website:
https://indico.global/e/jasmee29
Why I will be joining the next JASMEE Conference (and hope you do as well) © 2026 by Marshall Higa is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0 
