Constitution of The Phytopathological Society of Japan


Chapter 1 :　General Rules
　Article 1 : This Society, founded in 1915, shall be named the Phytopathological Society of Japan.
　Article 2 : The objective of the Society is to promote the increase and diffusion of all aspects of knowledge relating to plant diseases and their control.
　Article 3 : The Society shall pursue the following undertakings to achieve its objective:
(1) To host an Annual, Divisional, and other academic meetings where members of the Society can report the findings of their studies.
(2) To publish the Society's English and Japanese journals and other publications.
(3) To honor members for their academic achievements and contributions to the Society.
(4) Other undertakings necessary for the attainment of the objective of the Society.
　Article 4 : The Society shall establish the Office in the Shokubo Building, 1-43-11 Komagome, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170, Japan.

Chapter 2 :　Membership
　Article 5 : The Society shall consist of Regular Members, Student Members, Honorary Members, Emeritus Members, Sustaining Members, and Associate Members. A Regular Member is an individual who, accepting the Society's objective, joins the Society and pays the membership fee. A Student Member must be enrolled in a university or college in Japan and are required to file a certificate signed by their supervisor every year. They have the same rights as regular members. The maximum term as a student member is six years. A Sustaining Member is an individual, or an organization, who, on accepting the Society's objective, joins the Society and pays the Sustaining Membership fee. An Associate Member is an organization which, accepting the Society's objective, joins the Society and pays the Associate Membership fee. An Honorary Member is an individual who has contributed significantly to the progress of the science of plant pathology and to the development of the Society. An Emeritus Member is an individual who has been engaged in the Society's activities for a long period of time. Honorary and Emeritus Members shall be recommended by the President and approved by the General Assembly. The regular member who receives the journals outside of Japan is defined as a foreign member.
　Article 6 : The members shall have the following rights:
(1) To receive the Society's journals, Journal of General Plant Pathology and Japanese Journal of Phytopathology, and to have the privileges of purchasing the Society's publications.
(2) Regular, Student, Honorary, and Emeritus Members are eligible to submit manuscripts for publication in the Society's journal.
(3) Regular, Student, Honorary and Emeritus Members may attend the Society's academic conferences, lectures, and other meetings, and they are entitled to report the findings of their studies at these meetings.
(4) Regular, Student, Honorary and Emeritus Members may submit their opinions on the management of the Society.
(5) Only Regular and Student Members living in Japan have the right to vote and be candidates in the election of the Council Members as shall be specified in Clause 3 of Article 11.
　Article 7 : An individual or an organization willing to join the Society must complete the application form and submit it to the President, with the membership fee for one year, to obtain his or her approval.
　Article 8 : A member wishing to withdraw from the Society must notify the President.
　Article 9 : A member may be expelled from the Society or have his or her rights restricted when the following behavior became apparent to the Society.
(1) A member has performed an act that may seriously stain the Society's honor and dignity.
(2) A member has become delinquent in the payment of the membership fee.
　Article 10 : The annual membership fee for each category of members shall be decided by the Council and determined by a vote at the General Assembly. The membership fee must be paid in advance, and fees already paid shall not be refunded.

Chapter 3 :　Officers and Committee Members
　Article 11 : The Society shall select the following Officers and Committee Members:
1. The Officers shall consist of the President, Vice President, the Council Members and Auditors. The Committee Members shall be the members of the Editorial Committee, the Disease Nomenclature Committee, the Award Selection Committee, the Award of Distinction Committee, the Election Administration Committee, the Secretaries, and members of other Special Committees that are deemed necessary and shall be appointed by the President upon approval by the Council.
2. The Vice President of the preceding fiscal year shall assume the office of the President. The Vice President shall be elected from among members of the Council. The candidate must be under 65 years of age at the year of election. The election procedures for the Vice President shall be prescribed in the Bylaws.
3. The Council shall consist of members elected from among regular and student members in each Division, the President, the Vice President, the chairman of the Editorial Committee, the Secretary-General, and those appointed by the President. The election procedures for the Council Members shall be specified in the Bylaws. The President may appoint a few Council Members when such appointment is judged instructive to the Society by the Council.
4. The President shall appoint a few members as Councilors-at-Large among the Council Members from each Division based on the number of memberships in each Division. A Councilor-at-Large who moved from one Division to another shall resign, and the Council Member with the next highest number of votes shall assume the position.
5. The Auditors shall be elected from among the Council Members and the candidate must be under 65 years of age at the year of election. The procedure for election shall be prescribed in the Bylaws.
6. The President shall appoint the members of the Editorial Committee and nominate one of the members for the Editor-in-Chief.
7. The President shall appoint the members of the Disease Nomenclature Committee and nominate one of the members for the chairman.
8. The President shall chair the Award Selection Committee. The members of the Committee shall be the Vice President and the Presidents from each Chapter Division.
9. The President shall appoint the members of the Award of Distinction Committee. One of the Committee Members shall be assigned to be the chairman of the Committee.
10. The President shall appoint the members of the Election Administration Committe. One of the Committee Members shall be named the chairman of the Committee.
11. The President shall appoint the Executive Officers which consists of secretaries for general affairs, the treasurer, and the editorial secretaries. One of the secretaries for general affairs or Treasurer shall be named the Secretary-General and one of the editorial secretaries shall be named Chief Editorial Manager.
　Article 12 : The President shall represent the Society and supervise all the Society's affairs.
2. The Vice President shall assist the President and shall assume the office of the President in case of emergency that prevents the President from performing his or her duties.
　Article 13 : The Society shall have the following organizations:
The Council, the Board of Councilors-at-Large, the Editorial Committee, the Disease Nomenclature Committee, the Award Selection Committee, the Award of Distinction Committee, and other Special Committees deemed necessary.
2. The President shall call a Council Meeting to discuss matters concerning the management of the Society.
3. The President shall call a meeting of the Board of Councilors-at-Large to discuss urgent matters associated with the management of the Society.
4. The meetings of the Editorial Committee shall be called by the Editor-in-Chief to make final decisions as to the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts submitted to the journal and to discuss other matters related to the publication of the journal. The rules for editorial procedures shall be specified separately.
5. The meetings of the Disease Nomenclature Committee shall be called by the chairman of the Committee and deal with the subjects related to naming of plant diseases.
6. The Award Selection Committee shall conduct the primary selection of candidates for the Fellows and the Young Scientist Award of the Society. Procedures for the selection and recommendation of the candidates for the Awards shall be prescribed in the Bylaws.
7. The Award of Distinction Committee shall recommend to the Council the candidates for Honorary, Emeritus, and Award of Distinction members. Honorary and Emeritus members shall be recommended as specified in Article 5, and Award of Distinction members shall be recommended according to the rules specified separately.
8. The members of the Special Committees in charge of dealing with matters specified by the Society shall be appointed by the President and shall discuss subjects related to the Committee. One of the members shall be named the chairman of the Committee.
　Article 14 : The Auditors shall audit the financial management of the Society.
　Article 15 : The Secretaries are entrusted by the President to be responsible for the general affairs, accounting, and editorial activities.
　Article 16 : The terms of the Officers and Committee Members shall be two years, but Officers and Committee Members may be reappointed. The terms of the President and the Vice President, however, shall be one year, concluding at the end of the General Assembly of each fiscal year. The terms of the Council Members appointed by the President shall be the same as those of the elected Council Members. The terms of the Editorial Committee Members and Editorial Secretaries shall be determined separately.

Chapter 4 :　General Assembly
　Article 17 : There shall be a regular or an extraordinary General Assembly which shall be called by the President. The regular General Assembly shall be called once a year. An extraordinary General Assembly shall be called in case the following situations become applicable:
(1) When the President has judged it necessary.
(2) When a majority of the Council Members have so requested.
(3) When at least one-third of the regular members have so requested indicating a specific issue for discussion in the Assembly.
　Article 18 : The following matters must be approved by the General Assembly:
(1) Summary of the past activities and financial statement of the Society.
(2) Plans for future activities and budget proposal.
(3) Nomination of Honorary and Emeritus Members.
(4) Amendment of the Constitution of the Society.
(5) Amendment of the Bylaws of the Society.
(6) Other matters for which the approval by the General Assembly is deemed necessary.
　Article 19 : A decision at the General Assembly shall be made by votes by the Regular, Student, Honorary, and Emeritus Members present in attendance. In case of a tie vote, the President shall make the decision.

Chapter 5 :　Meetings
　Article 20 : An Annual Meeting hosting award lectures, research reports and others is to be held each year at such place and time as the Council may decide. The Meeting shall be organized by the chairman of the Annual Meeting Executive Committee.
　Article 21 : The chairman of the Annual Meeting Executive Committee shall be appointed by the President after deliberation by the Council.

Chapter 6 :　Accounting
　Article 22 : The expenses of the Society shall be financed by membership fees and other income.
　Article 23 : The fiscal year of the Society shall start on January 1 and end on December 31 of each year.
　Article 24 : The Society shall keep the following items up-to-date.
(1) Membership Directory
(2) Accounting Book
(3) Other books and documents deemed necessary for the Society.

Chapter 7 :　Division Chapters
　Article 25 : The Society may establish Division Chapters.
　Article 26 : A Division Chapter shall have a Division President and a few secretaries. The Chapter President shall be recommended by the Division Council and appointed by the President of the Society.
　Article 27 : Rules of Division Chapters shall be set by the respective Division and approved by the President of the Society.

Chapter 8 :　Discussion Groups and Study Groups
　Article 28 : The Society may, after deliberation by the Council, recognize certain Discussion Groups and Study Groups as a part of the Society's activities.
2. The Discussion Groups and the Study Groups shall, with the support of the Society, pursue independent research activities in respective fields.
3. The Discussion Groups and the Study Groups recognized by the Society shall be as follows:
Physiological Plant Pathology Group, Soilborne Disease Group, Bacterial Disease Group, Biocontrol Study Group, Viral Disease Study Group, Pesticide Tolerance Study Group, Plant Disease Ecology Group.

Chapter 9 :　Symbol Mark (Logo) of the Society
　Article 29 : The symbol mark of the Society shall be as follows:
(The ratio of the diameters of the outer and inner circles shall be 3:2)


Chapter 10 :　Affiliated Scientific Societies and Organizations
　Article 30 : The representative of the Society to the Science Council of Japan, the Association of Japanese Agricultural Scientific Societies, the International Society for Plant Pathology, the International Plant Protection Congress, and other Scientific Societies and Organizations associated with the Society shall be deliberated by the Council or the Board of Councilors-at-Large and shall be recommended by the President. Procedures for selecting the representatives and their terms of office shall be prescribed in the Bylaws.
Amendment
1. This constitution was adopted on March 28, 1958, and was amended on January 1, 1967; September 1, 1968; January 1, 1970; March 26, 1973; April 4, 1974; April 4, 1975; April 6, 1976; April 1, 1982; April 2, 1986; April 3, 1994; March 31, 1995; May 20, 1998; April 2, 1999; January 1, 2000; January 1, 2001 and April 3, 2002.
2. This amended constitution shall be adopted on January 1, 2003.


Bylaws and Regulations of The Phytopathological Society of Japan

The Bylaws for the Election of the Vice President
　Article 1 : There shall be one Vice President. The Bylaws for the election of the Vice President as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 11 of the Society's Constitution shall be as follows:
　Article 2 : The election shall be done by mail ballots nominating a single candidate.
　Article 3 : A nomination ballot and two envelopes prepared by the Society shall be sent to all council members eligible to vote. The voter's name shall be written on the larger envelope, and not on the small envelope in which the ballot is enclosed.
　Article 4 : A ballot falling under any of the following cases shall be invalid:
(1) A ballot infringing Article 2.
(2) A ballot infringing Article 3.
(3) A larger envelope contained more than one small envelope.
(4) A ballot arrived after the specified return date.
　Article 5 : Unless prevented by overriding reasons, the election shall be conducted in November.
　Article 6 : In case of tie ballots, the elder candidate shall be elected.
　Article 7 : The election shall be administered by the Election Administration Committee.
　Article 8 : The elected candidate cannot decline to assume the office unless overriding reasons such as poor health or other exceptional personal circumstances are recognized as such by the Council.
　Article 9 : A special election shall be held by the Council in case the elected Vice President is unable to assume the duties of the office.

Amendment
1. The Bylaws were adopted on March 30, 1959, and were amended on June 1, 1968; March 26, 1973; April 6, 1976; April 5, 1977; and April 3, 1993.
2. These amended Bylaws shall take effect April 3, 1993.


The Bylaws for the Election of Council Members

　Article 1 : The Bylaws for the Election of the Council Members as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 11 of the Society's Constitution shall be as follows:
　Article 2 : The election shall be held in each of the eight Divisions approved by the Society as shall be described below. The number of Council Members shall be determined on the basis of number of regular and student memberships in each Division, and shall not exceed 45. The regular and student members shall be registered in a designated Division based on their affiliation.
　Hokkaido Division (Hokkaido), Tohoku Division (Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Fukushima, Yamagata), North Kanto Division (Ibaraki, Gunma, Tochigi, Saitama, Niigata), South Kanto Division (Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi), Chubu Division (Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie), Kinki Division (Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama), Chugoku-Shikoku Division (Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi), Kyushu Division (Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Okinawa).
　Article 3 : The register of qualified voters shall be compiled as of September 1 of the fiscal year in which the term of the Council Member expires, and the election shall be held in October.
　Article 4 : A regular member reaching the age of 66 or above in the fiscal year in which election is held shall not be eligible for election.
　Article 5 : A regular member delinquent in paying the membership fee up to the fiscal year in which the election is held shall not have the right to vote, nor shall the member be eligible for election.
　Article 6 : The Council Members shall be elected in each Division by mail ballot. A voter shall nominate as many candidates as specified by the Election Administration Committee for each Division and mail the ballot to the Society headquarters.
　Article 7 : The election shall be conducted according to the procedure prescribed in Article 3 of the Bylaws for the election of Vice President.
　Article 8 : A ballot falling under any of the following cases shall be invalid:
(1) A ballot infringing Article 5.
(2) A vote infringing Article 6. However, a ballot shall be valid if the number of candidates written on the ballot is less than the specified number of Council Members for each Division.
(3) A ballot arrived after the specified return date.
　Article 9 : The candidates with the larger number of votes shall be elected within the number allocated to each Division.
　Article 10 : The election shall be administered as prescribed in Article 7 of the Bylaws for the Election of the Vice President.
　Article 11 : The elected candidates cannot decline to serve in the Council unless such considerable reasons as prescribed in Article 8 of the Bylaws for the Election of the Vice President are accepted by the Council.
　Article 12 : A vacant Council Member position shall be filled by the candidate with the next highest number of votes in the Division.

Amendment
1. These Bylaws were adopted on March 30, 1959, and were amended on April 1, 1965; June 1, 1968; March 27, 1983; April 3, 1994 and April 3, 2002.
2. These Bylaws shall be adopted on March 28, 2003.


The Bylaws for the Election of Auditors

　Article 1 : There shall be three Auditors in the Society. The Bylaws for the Election of the Auditors as prescribed in Clause 5 of Article 11 of the Society's Constitution shall be as follows:
　Article 2 : The election shall be conducted by mail ballot with three candidates nominated.
　Article 3 : The election of the candidates shall be conducted according to the procedure as prescribed in Article 3 of the Bylaws for the Election of the Vice President.
　Article 4 : A ballot falling under any of the following cases shall be invalid:
(1) A ballot infringing Article 2. However, a ballot with two entries shall be valid.
(2) A ballot infringing Article 3.
(3) Such a ballot as prescribed in Clause 3 or 4 of Article 4 of the Bylaws for the Election of Vice President.
　Article 5 : The nomination of a candidate shall be invalid if the candidate has been delinquent in the payment of the membership fee up to the year of election.
　Article 6 : Three candidates with the higher number of votes shall be elected. In case votes are tied, the elder candidates shall be elected. The elected Vice President shall not be eligible to the position of Auditor.
　Article 7 : The election shall be administered by the Election Administration Committee.
　Article 8 : The elected candidate cannot decline to serve as an Auditor unless such considerable reasons as stated in the Bylaws for the Election of Vice President are accepted by the Council.

Amendment
1. These Bylaws were adopted on March 30, 1959 and were amended on June 1, 1968, and April 3, 1994.
2. These Bylaws shall take effect April 3, 1994.


The Regulations for Awards of the Phytopathological Society of Japan

1.　 As provided by Clause 3 of Article 3 of the Society's Constitution, the Society has established the Fellow and Young Scientist Award. The regulations for the selection of each award candidate shall be as follows:
2.　 The Fellow of the Society shall be awarded to those members who have made an outstanding academic achievement in the field of plant pathology or have significantly contributed to the development of the Society. The Young Scientist Award shall be given to a young member (under 35 years of age as of March 31 of the commendation year) who has conducted an excellent academic research and is expected to be a promising scientist.
3.　 The achievement stated in the preceding clause shall be in the form of either publications in academic scientific journals or books.
4.　 The candidates for the awards shall be recommended by the Council Members and selected by the Council.
5.　 The Award Selection Committee shall conduct the first screening as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 13 of the Constitution.
6.　 The Council shall conduct the second screening of the candidates by vote from those who had been recommended by the Award Selection Committee.
7.　 There shall be no more than three winners for each Award in a single year.
8.　 The Award consists of a certificate and monetary prize which shall be commended at the General Assembly.
9.　 The fund required for awarding the Fellows shall be financed by the annual expenditure of the Society and those for Young Scientist Award shall be disbursed from the Research Encouragement Fund of the Society.

Amendment
1.　 These regulations were adopted on March 30, 1959, and amended on April 5, 1977; April 1, 1982; April 2, 1986; April 3, 1993 and April 3, 2002.
2.　 This amendment shall be adopted on March 28, 2003.


The Regulations for Recommending Committee Members to Affiliated Scientific Societies and Organizations

1.　 The procedures for electing members representing the Society in the committees of the affiliated scientific societies and organizations and their terms of office shall be prescribed as follows:
(1) A suitable candidate for the member of the Science Council of Japan shall be elected by the Council Members by mail ballot.
(2) The President and the Vice President shall assume responsibility to recommend to the Science Council of Japan a candidate for the member of the Research-Liaison Committee in the Plant Protection Division of the Council, and the Secretary-General shall do the same for a candidate for the member of the Research-Liaison Committee in the Microbiology Division. The reserve recommender shall be the past President and the past Secretary-General, respectively.
(3) The member of the Research-Liaison Committee of the Science Council of Japan may be re-elected up to two consecutive terms of the Council.
(4) The President and the Vice President of the Society shall serve as Council Members, and the Secretary-General shall do the same as a member of the Steering Committee, of the Association of Japanese Agricultural Scientific Societies.
(5) The term of the Council Members and the Correspondent for Newsletters of the International Society for Plant Pathology shall be five years. Their terms shall not be renewed.
(6) The selection and the terms of members representing the Society in the Committees of the International Society for Plant Pathology shall be determined by members specialized in each relevant field.
(7) The terms of members in the Standing Committee of the International Plant Protection Congress shall not exceed two terms, for a total of four years.
(8) The selection and terms of members representing the Society in the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses and the International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology of the International Union of Microbiological Societies shall be determined by members specialized in their respective fields.

Amendment
1.　 These Regulations shall be adopted on April 3, 1994. The replacement of Committee Members shall take place when their terms expire after April 3, 1994.
(1) 　A special membership fee for students (5000 yen/year) was established. Student members must be enrolled in a university or college in Japan and are required to file a certificate signed by their supervisor every year. They have the same rights as regular members. The maximum term as a student member is six years.
(2) 　The page charge was reduced. If total printed pages of an article are within the specified limit, there is no page charge for non-Japanese members; for nonmembers the charge is $25 per printed page. Reprints are provided in units of 100 at an additional charge.
(3) 　The number of issues was increased for both the Journal of General Plant Pathology (JGPP) and the Japanese Journal of Phytopathology (JJP). JGPP is published bimonthly as a printed journal and online. JJP is published quarterly as a printed journal.
 

President
The Phytopathological Society of Japan