Dear Members of the Zoological Society of Japan

This year, elections for board members, branch committee members, and others will take place, and membership dues for fiscal year 2024 will be billed around June.

For the preparation of the voter list and the determination of the membership dues for fiscal year 2024, those who wish to transition to senior membership or lifelong membership based on Article 4 and Article 5 of the Detailed Regulations of the Articles of Incorporation (*1) are requested to notify the Zoological Society of Japan Secretariat by "the end of March" ( zsj-society@zoology.or.jp Please inform us by ).

When you become a senior member or a long-standing member, your annual membership fee will be changed or waived based on Article 2 of the Membership Fee Regulations (*2). However, at the same time, in accordance with Article 8 of the Bylaws of the Articles of Incorporation (*3), you will lose the eligibility to become a director "candidate" in elections (passive suffrage). Please note that your right to vote for candidates (active suffrage) will be retained.

Although I should ideally be contacting you individually, there are also opinions suggesting that birthdate and gender information at the time of member registration should be optional, so please kindly forgive us for reaching out to all members in this manner.
If you have any questions, please contact the Zoological Society Secretariat.

*1: Bylaws of the Zoological Society of Japan
(Senior Member)
Article 4. Based on Article 7, Paragraph 1, Item 4 of the Articles of Incorporation, members aged 65 or older may become senior members upon request.
(Long-term member)
Article 5. Based on Article 7, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the Articles of Incorporation, members who are 70 years of age or older and have a membership history of 35 years or more may become permanent members upon request.

*2: Regulations on Membership Dues of the Zoological Society of Japan
Article 2. The annual membership fees for members other than general members shall be as follows:
(3) Senior members (aged 65 or older) shall be 9,800 yen, of which members with a membership history of 30 years or more shall be 5,300 yen.
(4) Life members (members aged 70 or older with at least 35 years of membership) shall be exempt from fees.

*3: Bylaws of the Zoological Society of Japan
(Fixed Number of Directors)
Article 8. Director candidates shall be elected from general members and student members, excluding honorary members. The election of director candidates shall be conducted by members on a branch-by-branch basis, with each branch except the Kanto branch having a fixed number of 2 directors, and the Kanto branch having a fixed number of 6 directors. The President and Vice-President may nominate a certain number of director candidates in addition to the director candidates elected by the branches.

Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, Zoological Society of Japan