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Letter from the president for the Year 2000
February 14, 2000

Tatsuo Sugiyama
JSPP President

The Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists was founded in 1959 by Professors Ashida, Tamiya and other plant physiologists of Japan. As mentioned by the former president Asada last year, in the special issue to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Society (Japanese newsletter No. 76, July 20, 1999), the aim of our society has consistently been for multi-disciplinary studies on a global basis. As the elected president for this year, I would like to realize further this aim of our Society.

There are at least two basic issues toward the development of our society. One is the function or role of the Society. This is probably an issue shared by other societies as well. This was the central topic of the special 40th anniversary commemorative issue and the symposium "Future Outlooks of JSPP" organized by Tadahiko Mae at the Sendai Meeting last March. It is a demand of the global public. Our Society has been exchanging scientific information among its members, that is, through the annual meetings and through the publication, Plant and Cell Physiology (PCP). During the past few years since the Basic Law for Science and Technology was established in Japan, several Ministries started major research projects in the field of plant sciences. The results of these projects are being critically evaluated. The ties between science and the public are becoming ever stronger. Not only the researchers but also staffing in the field of plant sciences is being strongly affected; that is, the institutions accepting the young people who want to receive education and those who want to work as researchers. Along with the marked progress in information and media, the use of scientific material will greatly change, with further extensive globalization.

Another issue is the management of the society and the financial problem. The financial problem is especially critical to the development of the major activity of the society: the publication of PCP. PCP has been published since the establishment of the society. Editor-in-Chief, Mikio Nishimura will be responsible for this year's Volume 41. The journal has been supported by the readers and editorial staff over the years, and has come to be regarded highly as an esteemed international journal. Owing to this high reputation, the Japanese government has been graciously funding the Journal. However, during the past few years, due to a policy change, the financial support for publications to domestic academic publications has been reduced. Furthermore, with the rising yen the major source of the society's income from abroad has actually reduced. For future development of our society, we must attend to such financial matters. If we are to pursue the Society's roles, we must respond to the marked and drastic changes facing us. The activities of our society now reaching a mature age must meet the global demands. We will be discussing the future development of the Society at the "Committee for the future of JSPP", which was approved by the Executive Committee, and will soon start activity.

The officers for this year are Masayoshi Maeshima as Secretary General, Jun-ichi Obokata as Secretary, and Chiharu Ueguchi as Treasurer, who will be serving with Shingo Hata, Secretary and Kazuyuki Hirazuka, Treasurer from last year. Finally, I look forward to the continued active support of the members of our Society.
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