President's Message
1. Introduction
As President of the Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP) for the 2008–2009 term, I have had occasion to look back on the history of JSAP—its establishment by such eminent researchers as Masatoshi Ohkouchi, Hantaro Nagaoka, Kotaro Honda, and Torahiko Terada and its emergence as one of the leading scientific societies in Japan—and I have become acutely aware of the importance of the President's responsibilities. I would like here to discuss some of JSAP’s activities and to describe our efforts to enhance the contributions that can be made by JSAP.
2. Changes at JSAP
In August of 2007, under the wise direction of its previous President, Kenjiro Oura, JSAP sponsored an event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the journal OYO BUTURI (Applied Physics) . It included ceremonies, symposia, and exhibits, as well as a vision map for the future of the field of applied physics that provided an overview of trends which might be expected to be seen over the next 30 years in fields related to applied physics. These activities may be found described in detail in the August–December, 2007, issues of OYO BUTURI.
The year 2007 saw a marked change with respect to our English-language journals.. Part 2 of the Japanese Journal of Applied Physics (JJAP) achieved its independence and began to be published as a separate journal, Applied Physics Express (APEX). It is a pleasure to note that a large number of high-quality papers have been submitted to date, both from home and abroad.
There has also been a major change in the system for publishing our English-language journals. Previously, both JJAP and APEX had been published by the Institute of Pure and Applied Physics (IPAP), which was established in collaboration with the Physical Society of Japan (PSJ). However, in order to adjust to new regulations concerning public interest corporations (see Section 3 below), it was judged necessary to reorganize IPAP and to initiate discussions with PSJ and IPAP. The result of these discussions was a draft plan for the “developmental reorganization of IPAP” that was approved by the IPAP general assembly which convened in March of 2008, and as of April 1st the publishing bodies for the journals have been under the aegis of an in-house organization (IPAP; the name in English remains unchanged). There have, however, been no changes with respect to location, personnel structure, submission system, or organizational features so far as the new in-house organization is concerned, and the procedures needed for members to submit papers is exactly the same as before.
Since last year, in order to speed up the dissemination of information regarding JSAP, press releases have been being sent out before the convening of our spring and fall academic meetings. Also, at a previous spring meeting, for example, two symposia and five out of the 4,500 presentations given were selected for press release, and their work was subsequently introduced to the media by the respective researchers concerned. These efforts have resulted in JSAP’s being frequently cited in newspapers and other publications. Of particular note is the fact that the wearing at meetings of a “Career Explorer Badge” by postdoctoral researchers and other members seeking career opportunities was covered by both the Asahi Shimbun and Nature, and this coverage attracted considerable attention.
3. Adjusting to new regulations concerning public interest corporations
Three laws related to reforms in regulations concerning public interest corporations were approved by the Cabinet in May, 2006, and, for the purpose of transitioning to a system based on the resulting new regulations, work has begun on the consideration of such specific issues as the standards to be set for recognition by the Public Interest Corporation Commission.. Under the new system, it will be possible to create general nonprofit corporations simply by registering them, and registered corporations subsequently deemed by the Public Interest Corporation Commission to offer considerable benefit to the public will be recognized as public interest corporations by the Prime Minister or by Prefectural Governors. While corporations which have received such recognition will receive preferential status with respect to taxation, they will also be subject to information-disclosure and activity-report requirements, and they may undergo onsite inspections by the Public Interest Corporation Commission.
As previously noted, as of April, 2008, JSAP has been reorganized so that its three journals are all published from the same in-house center, and it has been decided that their respective accounting departments should be combined into one. These changes, along with the fact that “activities to promote academic studies and scientific technology” are the first specific examples cited in the laws for recognition as a public interest corporation as “activities in the public interest,” mean that a JSAP request for recognition will certainly, in the end, be granted, even though a few problem areas may be pointed out as needing to be addressed beforehand.
While some have expressed the view that the strictness of supervision exerted over a public interest corporation outweighs the advantages to be gained by becoming one, the enhanced standing to be enjoyed by JSAP as an academic society, as well as the resulting tax benefits, convince me that it is in our best interests to follow the path toward recognition, and I intend to judge what would be the best timing for an application on the basis of opinions voiced by our members and the extent of progress made toward unification of the accounting departments. Your understanding in this matter will be greatly appreciated.
4. Continued improvements in JJAP and APEX
Though, as previously mentioned, the independent journal APEX has got off to a very smooth start, it is crucial to ensure that this momentum continues, as it is crucial to improve the quality of JJAP, so that it will maintain its impact as a journal despite the loss of its Part 2. To this end, its editorial committee is making a constant effort to encourage authors of high-quality review papers in OYO BUTURI to submit English-language versions for publication in JJAP. In my mind, however, it is even more important that our members submit high-quality original papers directly to JJAP and APEX, and that they cite other high-quality papers published in these journals. In this area, as well, I would like to ask our members for their continued support.
5. Conferences
Our conferences continue to be lively and productive, with, for example, large meeting halls being filled to near capacity for academic road map symposia and symposia those devoted to the development of human resources through partnerships between industry and academia. Also highly successful have been symposia organized by newly formed groups for both functional oxides research and research into integrated micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).
By way of contrast, with respect to general research presentations, some of our members, particularly those working for private companies, have voiced the complaint that these lecture gatherings have merely become venues for graduate students to give practice presentations; and that many lecturers are unable to provide meaningful answers to questions from the audience. Such general gatherings are venues in which the seeds of future important research can be sown, and it is crucial to create an atmosphere within which lecturers and questioners are able to conduct serious discussions in a mutually beneficial way. I would like to ask all our experienced members, especially our Fellows, to lend their support to the creation of such an atmosphere. I also hope to expand the framework of the Young Scientist Awards so as to add to the encouragement given young researchers who have offered particularly excellent presentations.
In addition, it is also important to provide meetings in which senior members feel free to participate. As a senior member myself, I find very appealing the idea symposia at which I might learn of the latest trends in cutting-edge research. We might also increase senior member participation by providing venues at which they were able to meet researcher colleagues, renew old friendships, and make new research connections. I would like to establish such venues for senior members. Finally, there seems to be a strong desire among members to have conference proceedings recorded and made available in DVD form, and we are assessing the possibility of this being done in such a way as to maintain the relatively low cost to attendees that has been a hallmark of our society.
6. Ensuring a balance between income and expenses
JSAP’s financial framework was designed to maintain a balance between the income generated from our conferences and journal publications and the expenses arising out of these activities, as well as to ensure that costs associated with management, education, and public service be covered by our membership fees. The last few years, however, have seen a marked decline in the income generated from advertising in our Japanese language journal, and as a result, expenses exceeded income by approximately five million yen in fiscal year 2008. The decrease in income generated from paper-media advertising may be unavoidable because of the widespread use of the search-friendly Internet, but since such income has been such so significant in supporting JSAP; we cannot allow the situation to remain unaddressed. In order to maintain advertising income, we now provide web banner advertising to sponsors who have placed advertisements in our Japanese language journal.
With regard to expenses, there has been a gradual increase reflective of the increasing scope of our activities. I strongly feel the need to take fuller advantage of the “Refreshing Science Lab,” the signal attraction among our special projects in education and public services, as well as of the study meetings and other activities of our regional chapters, whose members are so very enthusiastic. These things need to be accomplished, however, with the maintenance of a balance between income and expenses in mind, and I would ask for member understanding in this area, too.
7. In conclusion
Among other important tasks being carried out by JSAP, we are continuing an international exchange program in which lecturers from Korea and Taiwan are invited to participate in our meetings. We would like to prosmote this internationalization by hosting joint meetings. Enhancing our English-language website is another immediate need. Further, in activities conducted in collaboration with the Science Council of Japan, we also hope to contribute to the development of human resources and to the realization of gender equality.
As President, I will continue, until the end of my term, to do my best in working with the membership and administrative staff in our effort to further JSAP goals and maintain JSAP’s importance in the scientific community, and I would like to express my appreciation to all who have been so generous with their support and very valuable advice in this work. Thank you very much.
