At the 91st Congress of the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES), there were three international sessions, which enabled our Japanese colleagues to exchange opinions with colleagues from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE), and Asian societies including Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (KSGE). Themes of the joint symposiums with ASGE, ESGE, and Asian societies / KSGE were 'East versus West: Differences and similarities in endoscopy', 'Device-assisted endoscopy', and 'Up-to-date diagnosis and treatment in endoscopy', respectively, and wonderful lectures and fruitful discussions were made between JGES and each Society. This Editorial summarizes these sessions, divided into gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and pancreatobiliary endoscopy, as shown below.