Dear Members of the Zoological Society of Japan

As announced at the general assembly of the Nagoya Congress last year, the Board of Directors has spent the past year discussing the introduction of a delegate system to our society, and yesterday the Board approved the proposed amendments to the Articles of Incorporation. In light of this, we would like to submit this for your deliberation at the general assembly on September 4th next month. The Articles of Incorporation will only outline the basic framework: the number of delegates will be approximately one for every 30 members, the term of office will be two years, and elections will be held in July (with the first election in July 2028). Other specific details will be determined in the future through detailed bylaws and regulations. Please see the proposal document to be sent shortly for details.

With this revision, the member rights as corporate members, which almost all members have held until now, will no longer apply to non-delegate members. However, we intend to hold delegate elections on a branch-by-branch basis so that the opinions of each member can be reflected in the general meeting through the delegates elected by each branch. The articles of incorporation will grant non-delegate members rights such as viewing general meeting minutes and exercising voting rights. Until now, we have operated under a rule unique to the Zoological Society where all members, excluding organizational and sustaining members, were corporate members. However, in light of the recent circumstances where a great deal of effort is required to establish a quorum for the general meeting, the Board of Directors proposes this draft. We kindly ask for your deliberation.

Revising the articles of incorporation requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the members. We kindly ask all members to make sure to attend the general meeting, submit a proxy, or exercise their voting rights, following the instructions in the email that will be sent after this one.

I look forward to seeing you at the Sapporo tournament.

Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, Zoological Society of Japan
Chairperson Muko Shiga