On behalf of the organizing committees, we welcome you to Kanazawa, Japan for the 29th international tRNA conference.

The first tRNA conference (previously we call "tRNA workshop") was held in Cambridge, England in 1969. Since then, this biennial meeting has been an important venue for us to share our latest results and achievement in tRNA biology and its application. We had tRNA conference twice in Japan, 10th in Hakone and 17th in Chiba. This is the third meeting in Japan. tRNA has been recognized as a central molecule in protein synthesis. There still remain many unsolved questions in this attractive molecule, not only in biogenesis, processing, modifications, and functions in translation, but also as a signaling molecule and a regulatory factor for gene expression. Physiological impact of this molecule has been demonstrated by human diseases caused by tRNA dysfunction. In addition, tRNA is now recognized as a novel modality for future therapy. tRNA is still an attractive molecule to study.

In the beautiful and historical city, Kanazawa, we hope you enjoy science, talking and drinking with friends, building new/old scientific networks, and some Japanese culture. We are delighted to host you in the 29th tRNA conference in Kanazawa city of Japan.

Tom Suzuki
Osamu Nureki
Hiro Suga