LAUSR

T he American Pancreatic Association (APA) and the Japan Pancreas Society (JPS) officially signed a sisterhood agreement on August 5, 2016, during the 47th Annual Meeting of the JPS in Sendai, Japan. Dr Tooru Shimosegawa, President of the JPS and International Association of Pancreatology (IAP), andDrAshok Saluja, Secretary-Treasurer of the APA, signed theMemorandum of Understanding (MOU). Drs Shuji Isaji, Carlos Fernández-del Castillo, Tadashi Takeuchi, and Vay Liang W. Go served as witnesses of the occasion (Fig. 1). The ceremony occurred during the Gala Party at the Koyo Grand Hotel, coinciding with the 20th meeting of the IAP and the sixth meeting of the Asian Oceanic Pancreatic Association. The Board of the APA, with participation from members of the JPS, initially approved the formation of the sisterhood on November 6, 2015, during the APA's 46th annual meeting held in San Diego, California. Since their concurrent founding 4 decades ago, the APA and the JPS have always held strong ties, which have only been strengthened by their co-sponsorship of the journal, Pancreas. The APA and the JPS together heldmeetings inHawaii in celebration of their 40th and 45th anniversaries and plan to meet again in 2019 in celebration of their joint 50th anniversaries. The MOU signed by Drs Shimosegawa and Saluja and a speech given by Dr Takeuchi at the ceremony reflect the nature of the new connection forged between the APA and the JPS.