Written by
Dr Keiji Moriyama
President, The Japanese Orthodontic Society
Executive Committee Member, Asian Pacific Orthodontic Society
Past Executive Committee Member, The World Federation of Orthodontists
JOS/LOC Members

After viewing the streaming video of the opening ceremony at Pacifico Yokohama on October 4, 2020
The countdown of the opening ceremony of the 9th International Orthodontic Congress (IOC) / the 12th Asian Pacific Orthodontic Conference (APOC) / the 79th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Orthodontic Society (JOS), the first-ever completely virtual-formatted internationally sponsored orthodontic event, started at 3:59 pm JST on 4th October 2020 on the congress website. Congress Chairman Dr. Takashi Ono, the local organising committee (LOC) members, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief as we watched the streaming video of the opening ceremony projected on the screen in the originally planned congress venue, Pacifico Yokohama.
It was back in May 2012 when JOS won the bidding for the 9th IOC in 2020 at the WFO President’s Breakfast during the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Congress 2012 in Hawaii. This was the beginning of our long journey. Years later, we were given a chance to plan the 12th APOC in conjunction with the 9th IOC in 2020 with the approval of the Asian Pacific Orthodontic Society (APOS) Executive Committee Members (ECM) in September 2016. In 2018, all the WFO ECM and the APOS Office Bearers gathered in Yokohama for the site inspection of this joint meeting and since then, the preparations were proceeding very smoothly.


Dr. Yanheng Zhou, President APOS (2018-2020)
However, the unexpected pandemic of Covid-19 caused never-seen-before disasters and totally changed the world just a few months prior to the congress. After dozens of Zoom meetings, we made a challenging decision to completely reformat the congress from “physical” to “virtual” within a very limited time period. This seemed like “MISSION IMPOSSIBLE”.
We were nonetheless fortunate enough to be blessed with goodwill of more than 100 invited speakers who generously contributed to the scientific program on a voluntary basis. The congress was also vitalised by poster sessions, the resident forum, board symposium and exhibition by companies on a virtual platform. Finally, it concluded with great success with a gathering of more than 6000 registrants.
I, on behalf of all the members of the JOS, would like to extend our special gratitude to all the APOS members who provided cooperation and support for the 9th IOC / 12th APOC / 79th JOS. I would also like to wish a great success to the fellow organisers on the upcoming of the 13th APOC in Seoul, Korea in 2022, as well as the 10th IOC in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2025.
Congress Summary
Congress Period
- Virtual Congress Period: Oct. 4 (Sun.) - Oct. 6 (Tue), 2020
- 9th IOC/12th APOC/79th JOS On Demand: Oct. 7 (Wed.) − Nov. 3 (Tue.), 2020
Program
Opening ceremony
- WFO Keynote Lecture
Prof. Takayuki Kuroda delivered the lecture.
Doctors’ Program
- 78 speakers
APOS Program
- APOS Oration
Prof. Eric Liou delivered the lecture. - APOS Lectures
13 speakers - APOS Trends Awards
5 awards recipients - WFO International Boards Symposium
9 speakers - JWFO Journal Session
4 speakers - JOS Session
3 speakers - Allied Health Professionals Program
4 speakers delivered a lecture - Closing Ceremony
- Poster Session
726 abstracts (General Poster: 421, Residents Forum: 305) were presented. - Educational Grant
7 applicants were awarded for the Educational Grant. - Exhibition/Sponsorship
43 companies
Opening Ceremony

Dr. Allan R Thom, President WFO (2015-2020)

Dr. Nikhilesh Vaid, President WFO (2020-2025)
WFO Plenary Lecture

Dr. Takayuki Kuroda
APOC Oration

Dr. Eric Liou