Message from the President

Toru Inoue, JAMS President

I am Toru Inoue of Hiroshima University, and I will be serving as the President of Japan Association of Mineralogical Sciences (JAMS) for two years from the end of September 2024.

JAMS was established in 2007 through the merger of the Japanese Association of Mineralogists, Petrologists, and Economic Geologists (established in 1928) and the Mineralogical Society of Japan (established in 1952). In 2016, the society became a general incorporated association, and currently has over 800 members.

The main activities of the society are (1) publication of academic journals (Japanese journal “Genseki Koubutsu Kagaku (GKK)” and English journal “Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences (JMPS)”, etc.), (2) holding of academic conferences, general meetings, lectures, and research meetings, and (3) encouragement of research and awards. Through these activities, we are working to develop and popularize mineralogy and related fields.

There have been some major changes in the last two years, such as the outsourcing of the secretariat, but thanks to the efforts of the previous executive board, directors and secretaries, the management system is now on track. We hope to continue this system and make JAMS even more open and active in the future.

By the way, the decline in membership numbers has been a hot topic in academic societies recently. In JAMS, this trend continued until 2022. However, from 2022, the number of members began to increase, with a particularly noticeable increase in young members. I felt this vitality at the annual meeting, general meeting, and reception held at Nagoya University in September 2024. I am delighted by this trend and feel that JAMS has great potential. One of the most important activities of a society is the exchange of people through annual conferences and social gatherings, and I feel that this important function is also working effectively in JAMS.

My involvement with JAMS began when I participated in the first YMO Summer School, held in Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture, in 1988 (I was a fourth-year undergraduate student at the time). By participating in this event, I was able to meet many new friends. The following year, in 1989, I joined JAMS. It was the first academic society I joined. I realize the importance of such activities, so I would like to continue to provide them for young people in the future. In addition, with an eye to the future, I would like to consider establishing junior members and amateur members.

The activities of JAMS are based on the idea of beneficiaries-pay principle for the services they receive, and are funded by appropriate membership fees and article submission fees collected from members. However, as we are a non-profit organization, the funds available for management and activities are limited, and it is difficult to undertake new activities. We have set up a “Request for Donations” on the upper right of JAMS website. We would be grateful for your support and donations to promote the activities of JAMS. Thank you for your cooperation over the next two years.