以下は「理事長就任のご挨拶」をGoogle翻訳（https://translate.google.co.jp/?hl=ja&sl=auto&tl=en&op=translate）を用いて英訳し、加筆修正を加えたものです。
Greetings on my appointment as president：
I am Yoshihiro Kubo in the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, who was appointed as the president of the Physiological Society of Japan (PSJ) at the General Assembly on March 29, 2024. Until now, I have served as Vice-President in charge of international affairs and meetings under three presidents, Prof Satoshi Kurihara, Prof Yoshinori Marunaka, and Prof Yoshihiro Ishikawa. Over the next four years, I would like to strive toward further flourishment of physiology and PSJ, by taking on new initiatives in line with the times, while upholding the traditions of over 100 years built by the past presidents and others. I would like to ask you for your continued support.
After careful consideration, I have selected six vice-presidents. First of all, I have asked Prof Katsuya Hirano to continue to be in charge of “General Affairs and Secretary General” from the previous term, and Dr. Satomi Akahane to be in charge of “Academic Affairs and Research”. In addition, I have asked Professor Tomoe Nishitani (Nakamura) to take charge of “Treasurer and Diversity”, Professor Reiko Hanada to take charge of “Publication and Information transmission”, Professor Fumihito Ono to take charge of “Education and Career Development,” and Professor Akiyuki Taruno to take charge of “International Affairs and Future Planning”. Fortunately, all of them readily agreed, and I was able to build the team I had envisioned. I would like to communicate closely with the vice-presidents, and with the cooperation of the council members, auditors, chairpersons of various committees and the society secretariat, I would like to carry out management activities.
Physiology is the foundation of functional life science and medical science, and the fields it encompasses are extremely broad in their original meaning, and I believe that its importance will continue through the ages. However, PSJ is at a crossroads where we are concerned about the decline due to the aging of members and the decrease in their number. Therefore, it is an important task to strengthen the centripetal force in order to promote the admission and retention of diverse new members.
Below, I will write about the roles that PSJ should play, future challenges, and the direction I think it should take.
(1) A forum for presenting and appreciating excellent research results: I believe that the lifeblood of the academic society is being able to hold lectures on fascinating research results that are world-leading, to present the results of thorough research based on individual interests, and to present results achieved through new interdisciplinary approaches, and to hold constructive and useful discussions.
(2) Inclusion of various fields: For the future of physiology, it is important that people from various fields related to physiology in a broad sense feel that PSJ is their home ground and participate in it. In addition, I believe that increasing PSJ’s centripetal force and including various fields is an urgent task, given the concern that the number of members will decrease in the future.
(3) Contribution to nurturing the next generation: Various educational activities are also an important role that PSJ must play. In addition to improving physiology education at undergraduate schools and nurturing the next generation of researchers, we would like to contribute to nurturing diverse career paths.
(4) Promotion of diversity: Promoting diversity is a natural progression, and it will strengthen and enrich society and PSJ. We aim to promote this in committee activities and in formulating conference programs, and to strengthen various necessary support.
(5) Promoting internationalization: Promoting internationalization is also a natural progression. We will work even harder than before to collaborate with PSs in other countries, IUPS, FAOPS, etc., to increase the presence of physiology in Japan and to become an internationally open society. As one of the leading major PSs in the world, we will also consider contributing to the global promotion of physiology.
(6) Activating regional meetings: One of the major features of PSJ is that it has a wide range of regional meetings. I would like to have these meetings become even more active, as an opportunity for young researchers, including graduate students, to make their first oral presentations. I would also like to continue to cherish the tradition of holding conferences in various parts of Japan.
(7) Effective use of the budget: A long time ago, the financial situation of PSJ was critical, but now we have a certain amount of net assets. I think it is important not only to carefully secure these funds for the future, but also to use them effectively for various activities and to revitalize the society. By doing so, we hope to increase our appeal, increase our membership numbers, and further stabilize our financial situation in the future.
(8) Enhancing member benefits: PSJ is run almost entirely by membership fees, and it is important that members feel the benefits of being a member. Members can participate in fulfilling conferences, present their results, and gather information on research and education, receive the PSJ membership magazine, and obtain qualifications as a Physiology Educator. We would like to think about what we can provide so that members with various needs can feel the benefits of being a member.
(9) Outreach activities: On the other hand, PSJ does not exist only for its members. I believe that contributing to society, that is, transmitting information about physiology to the general public, outreach activities for elementary, junior high, and senior high school students, and expressing opinions on academic matters, are important roles that PSJ should play.
(10) New information transmission: The methods of disseminating information are changing. While continuing to steadily transmit information through print media, our website, and emails, we would like to carefully consider using various SNS to transmit information, especially in cooperation with society.
As mentioned above, we would like to carry out various activities with the aim of becoming an all-inclusive, highly attractive society, with the core of contributing to the promotion of high-level and wide-ranging academic research and education in physiology in a broad sense. It will not be easy to achieve all, but we would like to move forward by gathering our wisdom and searching for the optimal solution as a whole.
I still vividly remember the tension and excitement I felt when I made my first presentation at the PSJ annual meeting. This memory is linked to the sense of the season, and I recall it when spring is approaching. I was fascinated by the passion of the “academic meeting”, where many people who share an interest in the academic field of physiology gathered together to make sincere presentations, discuss, and exchange information. I believe it is fundamentally important that participants obtain useful information at the meeting, have fulfilling personal interactions, feeling that their participation was meaningful and enjoyable, and also that members feel pleased to have joined the society. I would like to sincerely cherish them.
The future development of PSJ and physiology cannot be achieved without the cooperation of our members. We appreciate your support.
April 2, 2024
Yoshihiro Kubo
President, The Physiological Society of Japan
Professor, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
