It is my great pleasure to be appointed as the President of the Japan Society of Information and Communication Research. This association was founded in 1983, and this year marks the 25th anniversary of the association. I would like to start my remark by briefly reflecting on 25 years ago.

1983 was named “World Communication Year” with the initiative from the United Nations, ITU and UNESCO. On December 23rd of that year, during the memorial lecture of the association’s founding Professor Michio Nagai, the first President of the Japan Society of Information and Communication Research, described its significance as follows.

“We often witness something like a city festival when it comes to any ‘World Year.’ With regard to communication in particular, as seen in the term ‘information society,’ there is no doubt that it will become one of the most essential issues. Therefore, the voices have been heard that we need an association for the broad research and discussion about issues involving communication.

Professor Nagai, who was also the chairperson of the National Committee of the World Communication Year at that time, hearing those voices in the committee, became the founding President of the Japan Society of Information and Communication Research. In his remark, the section “an association for the broad research and discussion about issues involving communication” describes this association well.

The Japan Society of Information and Communication Research was founded in the aim of conducting research and discussing critical issues of communication not only from one academic perspective but also from a broader point of view. This can be considered this association’s identity. Judging from the recent activities, the broad perspective can be well recognized.

At the same time, however, in the last 25 years, the communication in society, the research and discussion subject of our association, has dramatically transformed. We have witnessed the rapid change in communication policies as well as in the communication technologies in the last 25 years. Particularly in 1990s, the Internet achieved the critical mass while the mobile phones have prevailed rapidly; today, the two media frequently appear in the news reports as daily incidents or accidents. From this point of view, we can say that subjects for research and discussion in this association have been accumulated.

Another change can be seen in the last 25 years: A number of new faculties and departments related to communication have been established in Japanese universities. At the same time, numerous associations regarding communication have been founded. While each association has a slightly different founding mission, most of them involve in conducting broad research and discussion on issues surrounding communication. That is to say, within the last 25 years, the Japan Society of Information and Communication Research has faced the academic competition, and therefore, some type of reform may be required.

I believe the following two elements are crucial for revitalizing this association, which already mentioned in the board meeting:

Firstly, we need to reinforce the importance of conferences and journals of the association. Many people may find it the very basic activities of the association, but we need to make efforts by coming up with new ideas in order to create satisfactory symposiums where we could receive constructive comments and encounter intriguing reports. Not only having conferences and forums but also presenting research papers and providing discussion opportunities are important. We start publishing quarterly journals this year. By publishing high-quality articles and editorials, we hope to see more contribution especially from younger researchers.

Secondly, we need to deal with globalization. More specifically, it is ideal that we create an opportunity to discuss common issues involving communication in Asia, beyond the language barriers, possibly as a permanent installation in this association. In recent years, both in the realm of academic research and education in universities, communication in English as a universal language of Asia has been prevailing. It is essential for the association to officially deal with globalization.

Lastly, we have a task to solve during my tenure: the reform of public corporation. It is such a critical issue for the Japan Society of Information and Communication Research that what kind of choice this association is required to make as a foundation with the new public corporation policy. This issue requires member’s input and contribution to be solved. Thank you very much for your cooperation for the issues mentioned earlier.