The safety committee has been undertaking activities, such as conducting regular workshops at the annual congresses, managing the "Safety Measures Website for Acupuncture and Moxibustion," researching the literature, conducting multicenter prospective studies on acupuncture and moxibustion-related adverse events, collecting information about medical accidents involving acupuncture and moxibustion in Japan, addressing the media pertaining to false information regarding the safety of acupuncture and moxibustion, and formulating the Safety Guidelines for Japanese Acupuncture and Moxibustion Practice. At the 71st annual Tokyo congress workshop, activities conducted over the past decade were summarized.　Regarding the studies on acupuncture and moxibustion-related adverse events, a literature review of reports concerning acupuncture- and moxibustion-associated adverse events published globally from 2004 to 2019 was introduced. Furthermore, the results of a multicenter prospective study conducted by the safety committee were also introduced. Additionally, the Safety Guidelines for Japanese Acupuncture and Moxibustion Practice were introduced, and the results of a questionnaire survey determining the degree of recognition of these guidelines were simultaneously reported. Moreover, regarding future developments, plans to create and publish a safety manual for acupuncture and moxibustion (provisional name) were reported.　In the second half of the workshop, reports on the past cases of needle breakage and retained needles were introduced under the topic "precautions and preventive measures regarding needle breakage and retained needles." Furthermore, the number of needle breakage claims filed under the liability insurance of acupuncture and moxibustion practitioners was reported. These details demonstrate that despite the common use of single-use acupuncture needles, accidents involving needle breakage still exist. Lastly, measures for reducing the difficulty in needle removal and preventing needle breakage were summarized, and opinions on the same were exchanged with the participants.

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the awareness and perceptions of cosmetic acupuncture among ordinary women.[Method] A questionnaire method was adopted, with a target population of 1,000 ordinary women living in Shizuoka prefecture, which is considered a suitable location for test marketing in Japan.Questionnaires were distributed through the Chambers of Commerce in the prefecture by age group, according to the population ratio, and responses were obtained. The items included (1) basic information; (2) presence and type of facial cosmetic concerns; (3) experience of acupuncture, awareness of cosmetic acupuncture, the medium through which they learned of it, perception of effects, and experience of cosmetic acupuncture; (4) effects and types of cosmetic acupuncture, presence or absence of adverse effects, current treatment status, desired treatment outcomes and reasons for seeking treatment, wishes from treatment clinics, and wishes from practitioners; and (5) 1 month's investment in beauty.[Result] The response rate was 56.2%, and 91.8% of the participants perceived that they had facial cosmetic concerns; 28.8% had experience with acupuncture, whereas 42.0% had knowledge regarding cosmetic acupuncture. Television (45.3%) was the primary source of information regarding this. The most prevalent perception of the effects of cosmetic acupuncture was lifting (44.8%), and 43.2% of the 521 participants inexperienced with cosmetic acupuncture consented to treatment. Participants mostly reported being somewhat interested in the procedure as their reason for wanting to receive treatment (45.3%). The most common reason for opting out of treatment was due to pain (52.6%). Of those who experienced cosmetic acupuncture, 60.0% said they experienced positive effects, and lifting (62.5%) is the most frequently perceived outcome, which matched the commonly held perception. However, among the participants, 45.0% reported negative effects, while 47.5% received the treatment two or more times in the past but did not continue. Participants mainly wanted clean treatment centers and skilled practitioners. The most common monthly investment in beauty was between 3,000 yen and 5,000 yen (28.5%).[Discussion/Conclusion] The results suggest that many women have cosmetic concerns regarding their faces and expect lifting from cosmetic acupuncture. The low treatment rate among women and their reasons for not seeking re-treatment were elucidated in this study, despite their degree of awareness. Further, the problems associated with the development of cosmetic acupuncture were clarified.