On behalf of the organizing committee of the International Symposium of Brain Tumor Pathology and local committee of the Japan Society of Brain Tumor Pathology, it was my great pleasure and honor to hold the 5th International Symposium of Brain Tumor Pathology in Hakone (ISBTP2018) following the 36th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Brain Tumor Pathology (JSBTP) in Tokyo from 27th to 28th, September, 2018.