From December 12 to 17, the 2023 Annual Conference of the Asian Synthetic Biology Association (ASBA) was successfully held in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The ASBA Annual Conference is hosted on a rotating basis among China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore, adopting a small-scale, high-quality, invitation-only format. Each year, it selectively invites synthetic biology researchers from across Asia who have delivered outstanding work in the preceding year to present their academic findings. This year, 26 invited Chinese scholars from institutions including the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, Tsinghua University, the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong University, East China Normal University, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory attended the conference. Professor Chenli Liu, Co-Chair of ASBA and Vice President of SIAT, led the delegation to the event.

On December 18, the SIAT delegation held a presentation at the University of Tokyo, providing a detailed introduction to the institute’s research environment, laboratory facilities, and various research programs, with the aim of attracting outstanding graduate students and researchers to join SIAT. Following the presentation, the delegation visited the laboratory of Professor Norikazu Ichihashi at the University of Tokyo, as well as the laboratory of Professor Daisuke Kiga (founder of the Japanese Society for Synthetic Cell Research) at Waseda University. Both sides engaged in in-depth discussions on cooperation in the design and application of artificial cells.

On December 19, the delegation was invited to the headquarters of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan, where they met with representatives from NEDO and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). The parties jointly explored future plans and collaboration opportunities in the field of biomanufacturing.