.jpg)
Greetings to all from us in the Western Pacific Region. I hope you have all been off to a good start in the new year. May it bring you new inspirations, a refreshed spirit and a sense of renewed passion in life to continue your journey ahead.In this update, I would like to begin with some notable news from Japan. The development of the music therapy scene over the past 15 years since its establishment has been strong and promising. The Japanese Music Therapy Association (JMTA) was founded in 2001 and has been the largest music therapy organisation in Japan ever since. Currently, there are over 5,500 members, and its annual conference attendance reaches 1,500 to 2,000 participants each year, at times more depending on the conference site. Recently, the JMTA conducted a research study that offered some valuable insights to the Japanese society on the issue of aging. The results were reported during the last annual conference held back in September 2016.The research project, titled "Effect of music therapy on frail prevention in elderlies: Controlled crossover study” involved eleven music therapists working at different sites. They collaborated in this research to find relating factors in music therapy that helps in the prevention of dementia. As the aging population in Japan has increased dramatically over the past few decades, the subject of this study has had great relevance to the Japanese society. This research was also one of the first large-scale research projects led by the organisation.In addition to having such an outstanding contribution the society, the JMTA has also been working extremely hard in the organisation of the upcoming 15th World Congress of Music Therapy, to be held in Tsukuba, Japan from July 4th to 8th, 2017. As of now, over 1900 people from over 40 countries have registered for the congress. There are over 17 symposia, 55 workshops, 25 roundtables, 269 oral presentations, and 190 poster presentations (subject to change) for attendees to choose from. For further details, inquiries and registration, please visit www.wcmt2017.com/en/information/index.html or check it out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wcmt2017/.This will be a rewarding experience not to be missed! Grasp this opportunity to indulge yourself in learning and socialising with fellow colleagues. See you in Tsukuba this summer!I have certainly not covered everything that has happened in this region therefore, stay tuned for the next update. If there is anything you have to add to the blog updates for this region or if you have any thoughts about how the WFMT is doing as an organisation and would like to share them with me as your Regional Liaison, please email me at westernpacific@wfmt.info.Vivian Chan, MTA, MT-BC, NMTHong KongWFMT Regional Liaison, Western Pacific Region
