In recent months, there has been a gradual shift in the direction of the journal Minimally Invasive Therapy and Allied Technologies (MITAT). Eiji Kanehira has retired as editor-in-chief but will remain active as editor emeritus. It is customary for the new editor to say something about his predecessor. In many cases, the relationship between the two is limited to occasional meetings during professional events. This is not the situation here, as with Eiji we share the privilege of a common mentor, Gerhard Buess, founder of this journal, thus having enjoyed a dear personal friendship for many years.
Eiji is originally from Kyoto but has worked in different cities around the world. Having graduated from Kanazawa University, he studied there to become a surgeon. Immediately feeling the need to delve into minimally invasive techniques in 1991, he decided to move to Tuebingen in 1991, where he worked in the Minimally Invasive Surgery Section, Department of Surgery, under the direction of Prof. Gerhard Buess. After returning to Japan, he focused on endoscopic and organ-preserving surgery as one of the pioneers at the dawn of the new era of endoscopic surgery. As Japan’s first freelance surgeon, he did not belong to any institute and travelled all over Japan and even abroad to perform invited surgeries for about 250 cases per year. Many media and television programs have picked up and broadcasted these unique activities. He has been assigned the role of director of a virtual laboratory, ELK (Endosurgery Laboratory Kanehira), since 2002. Furthermore, he founded AMESA (Ageo Medical Group Endosurgery Academy) in 2009 and became its chief director. Since 2012, he has been the managing director and senior consultant surgeon at Medical Topia Soka, where he performs organ preservation surgeries. Among the ‘organ preservation interventions’, he mainly dealt with complete preservation of the stomach for possible tumours of the gastric submucosa and transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) for rectal pathologies. In Japan, he is considered a sort of national hero, so much so that a series of cartoons entitled ‘Be a maverick!’, is dedicated to him (https://www.drsgate.com/company/c00042/kanehira_index.php?).
Eiji Kanehira has been editor-in-chief of the MITAT journal since 2010. He took over the journal directly from Gerhard Buess, before Gerhard left us forever. Eiji put his utmost effort into continuing and expanding on the path to increasing success that had been started by Gerhard’s years as editor-in-chief. We will be eternally grateful. During Eiji’s leadership, we saw a marked increase in the impact factor and gained a lot of visibility, particularly in Asia, which has now overtaken Europe for submissions. When MIT, the Official Journal for the Society of Minimally lnvasive Therapy, was first founded, it was a publication for predominantly clinical articles related to minimally invasive procedures. When we expanded the title to MITAT and thus added the focus of ‘Allied Technologies’, a new concept for a unique, mainly technology-related publication was initiated. MITAT has since developed into a journal dealing with technological innovations relevant to many disciplines. Over the next few years, we intend to stabilise the role of the society and the role of the journal in order to crystalise this objective. Eiji has to be thanked from the heart for constantly transforming this journal over the years and regaining great importance among clinicians fond of technology. Eiji went beyond his usual responsibilities as an editor to revise and improve papers he believed had something novel to present. This was especially helpful to young writers or those whose native language was not English. His own writing style is direct and clear. His attitudes toward surgery and new technologies give him a balance to judge results, knowing the benefits and shortcomings of the two approaches. His leadership provided the quality essential to a journal with an extensive distribution among clinicians and scientists.
This is not the forum to make remarks about my personal regard for Eiji. Many qualities stand out, but one attribute cannot pass without comment: his constant, gentle wit.
The editorial board is extremely appreciative of Eiji for his service as editor. Its members are grateful that he will continue as Editor Emeritus, taking an active role as senior advisor. I am personally grateful for his help during the transition period and for many other things left unsaid.
Correction Statement
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