My name is Akihiko Hirose (Chemicals Assessment and Research Center, Chemicals Evaluation and Research Institute, Japan) and I am honored to be nominated as the 18th President of the Japanese Society of Toxicology (JSOT). I will serve for 2 years from July 2024.
　In 2020, I had been appointed as a chair of the annual meeting of the JSOT. This time, I am involved in the management of the JSOT as a whole, and I feel a greater responsibility. In the management of the Society, which was threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020, I introduced the online system for the Society's activities, including the establishment of the first web-only annual meeting procedure. Since then, the management of the annual meeting and various events have recovered to the situation before the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the efforts of all society members and supporting companies, including the directors and members of various committees. However, I feel that the new challenges associated with the post-COVID-19 have also come to light: the necessity of using an efficient IT environment while emphasizing face-to-face meetings has increased.
　In order to promote and develop research in the field of toxicology in accordance with the by-law of the JSOT, it is of course most important to promote basic research that clarifies the reactions of various stressors, including chemical substances, on living organisms. However, for safety assessment, which is one of the goals of toxicology, it is important to collaborate with research from multiple fields, including applied sciences and sociology. In other words, I believe it is important to incorporate knowledge from diverse fields and communicate with people from diverse groups. Such diversity-oriented activities are also necessary for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are the recent international goals. And I believe that they are also important for the SDGs of the JSOT.
　In order to make effective use of the IT environment described above, a variety of action policies are necessary. I believe that one of the important issues related to maintain diversity is to continuously work on improving the management of JSOT, which makes it easier for young and female researchers to participate in the society activities, as suggested by the former President, Dr. Mutai. In addition, from the perspective of diversity, I believe that it is necessary to further contribute to international activities by strengthening cooperation with other academic societies in Japan or world-wide. We also need to be constantly aware of the appropriate management of the various educational seminars and the certified toxicologist system that we have been working on as an academic society, in accordance with the situation in the post-COVID-19 era.
　I feel that the introduction of new communication tools is essential for an efficient IT environment to maintain such diverse academic activities. In other words, I would like to set as one of my goals the development of a system that enables faster access to the acquisition of knowledge and exchange of opinions in various society projects in toxicology, as well as a wide range of information collection methods in Japan and overseas. For example, in addition to the current website and e-mail, I would like to consider the introduction of a system that enables more efficient information sharing with society members. I believe that one of the missions of this term is to create a foundation for a sustainable and progressive society through such structural development of information sharing. I would like to ask for the continued support and cooperation of the members of the Society of Toxicology of Japan.

August 5, 2024,
Akihiko Hirose, President of the Japanese Society of Toxicology