Message from the President

“Passing the baton”

At Ecological Society of Japan, the president term ends every other March during the general assembly. So, as of 15 March, Tsutomu Hiura is the president, who already had posted his first message. Well, it is better late than never, so, please let me post my last message as the most recent past president and thank all members, especially those who contributed to the very successful ESJ73 in Kyoto. I would like to mention how much I appreciate Ms. Suzuki who has managed the ESJ business office and all others who contributed to various business and publication-related matters. I will continue to help President Hiura and Vice President Satake in specific tasks, including liaison with ecological societies outside of Japan and renewal of the ESJ home page. I sincerely hope to have younger members to volunteer to renewal and management of the ESJ webpages in future. I hope that my experience of leading webpage renewal for the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, as well as for university units. In running academic societies, it is important to make new initiatives while maintaining its traditional strength. The growing membership of ESJ is a testimony to the fact that it has been successful in both. During ESJ73, we held a casual meeting of the past presidents and executive members, whose comments on historical backgrounds made me re-appreciate efforts by generations of ESJ members. I sincerely wish that ESJ as a social ecosystem will continue to thrive so that it will continue to ensure the sustainability of living organisms and natural ecosystems.

Kaoru Kitajima, President Past, 13 April, 2026