I have been appointed to the office of president for the 55th term of the Japanese Society of Tribologists.
I am looking forward to working with vice presidents Mr. Yoshiro Iwai and Mr. Yoshio Kumada and other directors
of the board to contribute to the management of the Society.Looking back on the past few years, the policies advocated by the respective presidents have been faithfully implemented, including services to our members and society, responses to globalization, cooperation between industry, academia and the government, and fostering of human resources. I am determined to continue implementing these policies and to further expand and enhance our activities in the field. Specifically, we will provide up-to-date information to our members through Tribology Conferences in spring and fall as well as through our bulletin called "Tribologists" and the international journal "Tribology Online." We will also further enhance related activities by way of conferences, symposiums or study groups of tribologists in order to provide opportunities for information exchange on science and technology related to tribology through industry-academia-government collaboration.
The fourth World Tribology Congress held last year was a great success. This is solely due to the ingenuity and efforts of the members of the Organizing Committee and the Executive Committee. The high appraisal given by participants from other countries to the Japanese Society of Tribologists made me very proud to be a member of the organization. It seems to me that the past activities of the Japanese Society of Tribologists at ITC and Asiatrib have developed a high international reputation. Preparations are under way for next year's ITC2011 in Hiroshima, in which we hope many of our members will participate. In the area of human resource development related to tribology, we are providing opportunities for education through seminars and workshops and information exchanges at research meetings, and are making efforts to enhance interest in tribology through awards and commendations. Study groups of our young researchers have also been formed and are starting up activities. At the international forum held in tandem with the Tribology Conference Spring 2010 Tokyo, active young tribologists invited from Korea, China, Singapore, India and Japan read research papers as part of international exchanges. We intend to continue running international forums in the future in the hope of allowing next-generation tribologists to build bridges that join countries together.
In the future, globalization will continue to gain momentum. We are in an age when information can be acquired apparently free of charge instantaneously over the Internet. The Japanese Society of Tribologists, while responding to this trend of globalization, will make efforts to provide good-quality information in Japanese to our members and ensure that the Society becomes a richer place for exchanging information on cutting-edge research projects as well as for technological development.
With the help of our capable directors this term as well as members of various committees and the experienced personnel of the secretariat, I am committed to ongoing invigoration for the activities of the Society. I hope that our members will continue to give their understanding and support in the future.
