Japan-US Seminar in Plant Pathology

The Japan-US Scientific Seminars grew from a joint program initiated by US President John F. Kennedy and Japanese Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda to encourage scientific cooperation between the two countries in the postwar 1960s. The first Seminar, held in May 1966 in Gamagori, Japan, was organized by Drs. Ikuzo Uritani of Nagoya University and Chet Mirocha of the University of Minnesota. The Seminar has since been held in 4 or 5-year intervals in alternating countries, fostering many international partnerships in the field of molecular plant-biotic interactions. The first Seminar focused on the dynamic changes in the plant cytoplasm, cell wall, water status, and metabolism during plant infection, topics that will be revisited in the 12th Seminar.