More than 80 years have passed since Japan became a member of the
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Currently, 41 Company
Associates and 73 affiliate members (individuals) have joined the IUPAC. The
Science Council of Japan is one of the 44 National Adhering Organizations of
the IUPAC worldwide. The IUPAC is in particularly close contact with the Liaison
Committee for Chemistry of the Science Council. Akio Yamamoto of Waseda
University is chairman and has been dealing with IUPAC-related general affairs
for such specific matters as membership, current topics discussed within the
IUPAC and management of international conferences.
Many Japanese delegates have
contributed to the IUPAC activity as President, Vice Presidents, and other
Bureau Members. Their names are shown in the table below.
| Bureau |
Names(period) |
| President |
Suburo Nagakura(1981-83) |
| Past President |
Suburo Nagakura(1983-85) |
| Vice President |
Joji Sakurai(1928-30)
Koichi Matsubara(1934-38)
Saburo Nagkura(1979-81)
Kazuko Matsumoto(2006-2006) |
Members/
Elected Members |
San-ichiro Mizushima(1955-57, 1959-63)
San-ichiro Mizushima(1963-65)Elected Member
Shibata(1967-69, 1969-71, 1971-73, 1973-75)Elected Member
Saburo Nagakura(1975-77, 1977-79)Elected Member
Sho Ito(1985-87, 1978-89, 1989-91, 1991-93)Elected Member
Hitoshi Ohtaki(1996-97, 1998-99, 2001-01, 2001-03)Elected Member
|
| Division Presidents |
Nobuyuki Tanaka(1973-75)Division V (Analytical)
Sho Ito(1979-81)Division III (Oragnic)
Kazuo Saito(1985-87)Division II (Inorganic)
Takeo Saegusa(1985-87, 1987-89)Division IV (Macromolecule)
Kozo Kuchitu(1994-95)Division I (Phisical)
Michinori Oki(1994-95)Division III (Organic)
Junshi Miyamoto(1996-97, 1998-99)Division VI (Chemistry & Environment)
Minoru Isobe(2006-2007)Division III (Organic & Biomolecule)
Kazuyuki Tatsumi(2008-)Division II (Inorganic)
|
Japanese members
who have contributed as members of the International Association of Chemical
Societies (IACS founded in 1911) are Nagayoshi Nagai, Joji Sakurai, and
Toyokichi Takamatsu, who were members of the Tokyo Chemical Society. Joji
Sakurai was elected as the first Japanese Vice President from 1928-30. The
position of Vice President was assigned to Koichi Matsubara from 1934-38 and to
Saburo Nagakura from 1979-81. Saburo Nagakura was elected as the first Japanese
President from 1981-83 and then Past President from 1983-85.
The Bureau, elected by the IUPAC Council in 1919, then consisted of 6 people (the President,
four Vice Presidents, and the Secretary General). The number of Bureau members
was increased to 17 in 1947 and to 20 in 1951. San-ichiro Mizushima was among
the 6 Members of the Bureau for 1955-57. He served again as a Bureau Member from
1959-65. In 1963, a further increase in representation on the Bureau was
achieved by the Council resolution stating that there would be twelve Elected Members of
the Bureau for the next biennium in addition to the Officers of the Union. Since
then, 5 Japanese delegates have been Elected Members, as is listed in the
table above.
In 1949, there were 6 Sections in the Bureau; I. Physical
Chemistry, II. Inorganic Chemistry, III. Organic Chemistry, IV. Biological
Chemistry, V. Analytical Chemistry, VI. Applied Chemistry. Each Section with a
Section President had some Commissions with Section Committees. In 1963,
Sections became Divisions and the Divisions in former Section VI became Sections
according to the new Statutes.
Nobuyuki Tanaka was elected Division President
of Division V (Analytical) from 1973-75 and from 1975-77. In 1979, the Clinical
Chemistry Section was moved to Division VII. The title of Division IV was
changed to Macromolecular Chemistry. In 1996, Division VI was merged into the
Division of Chemistry and the Environment, and a new Division VII, Chemistry and
Human Health, was formed to combine the Clinical Chemistry Division and the
Medicinal Chemistry Section (former Commissions of Division III). The Commission
on Biotechnology was moved to Division III in 1999, and the name of the Division
was changed to Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry. Most changes were in response
to continuous advances in chemistry and interdisciplinary chemistry in
particular.
Some Japanese contributors are also mentioned in the message from
Professor Steyn, the current IUPAC President to CSJ's 125th anniversary. In
addition to those high-ranking officers, numerous CSJ members have been past, or
are acting as, Titular Members, Associate Members, National Representatives, or
Observers in the IUPAC Divisions, Committees, and Commissions at the IUPAC
General Assembly held every other year.
The CSJ has organized many
IUPAC-sponsored Congresses, Conferences, and Symposia in Japan, as listed
below:
· September 1977, 26th IUPAC Congress
· May 1987, CHEMRAWN VI World
Conference
· May-June 1993, 2nd Workshop on Safety in Chemical
Production
· June 1993, 2nd International Symposium on Bioorganic
Chemistry
· July 1999, 26th International Conference on Solution
Chemistry
· August 2001, ICAS-2001
Reports prepared through in-depth
discussions within the IUPAC are normally published in its key journal, Pure and
Applied Chemistry. Two recent reports, in which Japanese delegates were deeply
involved, were on Green Chemistry and on Endocrine Disruptors.
Such IUPAC
recommendations as "Physical Quantities and Units," "Atomic Weights," and
"Nomenclature of Compounds" have been and are being scrutinized by subcommittee
members (Kazuo Hata and Kazuo Yamazaki et. al.) within the CSJ. The edited
contents are regularly published in Chemistry and Chemical Industry or in
booklets. The most recent booklet is a concise book language book, "The Units
and Symbols of Quantities Used in Chemistry", written in Japanese and edited by Kozo
Kuchitsu, Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo. It was published in
September 2002.
At the 43rd IUPAC Council Meeting on the 21st of August, Prof. Kazuko Matsumoto of Waseda University
was elected to be a Vice President of IUPAC. However she resigned the vice predident dut to personal reason in June 2006.
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