Bylaws of the Zoological Society of Japan, Public Interest Incorporated Association

Revised June 12, 2026

Chapter 1: Members and Dues

(Purpose)
Article 1. Regulations concerning the members of the Zoological Society of Japan, a Public Incorporated Association (hereinafter referred to as "this Corporation"), shall be governed by the provisions of these bylaws, in addition to those provided for in the Articles of Incorporation of the Zoological Society of Japan (hereinafter referred to as the "Articles of Incorporation").

(Member Rights)
Article 2. Members shall have the following rights.
(1) To attend academic meetings such as annual conferences and give research presentations and lectures in accordance with the objectives of this corporation.
(2) Free online viewing services for the academic journal, or receiving distribution of it
(3) To state opinions at the general meeting of shareholders with the permission of the chairperson.
(4) To submit opinions regarding the business and operations of this corporation through the branch or directly to the Board of Directors or the General Meeting of Members; provided, however, that as a rule, such submission shall be made in writing in advance.
(5) To elect or be appointed as an officer of this corporation
(6) To use the books and other materials of this corporation
(7) Other activities related to the business of this corporation
2 Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, organizational members and supporting members do not have the rights set forth in items 1 and 5 of the preceding paragraph.

(Elementary, Junior High, and High School Teacher Members)
Article 3. Based on Article 7, Paragraph 1, Item 3 of the Articles of Incorporation, individuals working as teaching or administrative staff at elementary, junior high, high schools, or equivalent schools may, upon request, become elementary, junior high, and high school teacher members.

(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.

(Notification of Transfer and Notification of Change)
Article 6 If a member changes their address, affiliation, or other information, they must immediately update their registered member information by electronic means.
If an organization that is a group member or supporting member changes its representative, it must promptly notify the board of directors to that effect.

(Withdrawal, etc.)
Article 7 Members who withdraw from the association pursuant to Article 10 of the Articles of Incorporation shall not be relieved of any unfulfilled obligations.
When membership status is lost pursuant to the provisions of Articles 11 and 12 of the Articles of Incorporation, already paid membership dues shall not be refunded.

Chapter 2 Election of Officers

(Quota of Officers)
Article 8. The fixed number of directors shall be two for each branch excluding the Kanto Branch, and six for the Kanto Branch. Director candidates shall be elected from general members and student members, excluding honorary members, and separately, at least one external director as prescribed in Article 5, Paragraph 15 of the Act on Authorization of Public Interest Incorporated Associations and Public Interest Foundation Associations shall be appointed. Director candidates other than external directors shall be elected by members on a branch-by-branch basis and appointed at the general meeting of members. The President and Vice Presidents may recommend a certain number of director candidates in addition to the branch-elected director candidates. External director candidates shall also be recommended by the President and Vice Presidents, and external directors shall be appointed at the general meeting of members from among the candidates so recommended.
2. The number of auditors shall be two. Of these, at least one external auditor as provided for in Article 5, Paragraph 16 of the Act on Authorization of Public Interest Incorporated Associations and Public Interest Incorporated Foundations shall be appointed, and shall be elected at the general meeting of members.
3 If the fixed numbers of persons set forth in Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2 are to be changed within the number of persons provided for in Article 22 of the articles of incorporation, it shall be subject to a resolution of the board of directors.

(Method of electing officers)
Article 9. The election of officers stipulated in Article 22 of the Articles of Incorporation shall be conducted as follows:
(1) Elections for branch-elected board member candidates shall be held by secret ballot with multiple votes allowed up to the fixed number of seats for each branch, and candidates with the highest number of votes up to the fixed number of seats shall be elected. In the event of a tie in the number of votes, the member with the later date of birth shall be elected.
(2) Candidates for directors recommended by the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be selected taking into consideration diversity in terms of age, gender, field of expertise, region, etc., and it shall be a requirement to obtain the consent of the candidate and the branch manager of the branch to which the candidate belongs.
(3) The Chairperson shall be elected by mutual vote of the Board of Directors based on Article 23 of the Articles of Incorporation. The Board of Directors shall conduct a single-choice secret ballot, taking into consideration the wishes of the members, and the person with the most votes shall be the Chairperson.
(4) The vice-chairperson shall be elected by mutual election among the directors based on Article 23 of the Articles of Incorporation. If the chairperson resigns due to an accident or other reasons, the vice-chairperson shall become the chairperson, and their term of office shall be the remaining period.
(5) When a director elected by a branch resigns due to an accident or other reasons, the runner-up in the branch's director candidate election who elected said director shall be declared elected to fill the vacancy, and their term of office shall be the remaining term. If there are candidates with the same number of votes, the member with the later date of birth shall be declared elected.
(6) Auditors shall be appointed at the general meeting of members.

Chapter 3: Officers and Committee Members

(Duties of Directors and Committee Members)
Article 10. Directors shall be in charge of general affairs, accounting, public relations, education, gender equality programs, libraries and publications, future planning, promotion of zoology, public relations (external liaison), international exchange, and other matters.
Committee members shall examine specific matters upon consultation by the Chairperson. Committee members shall be appointed by the Chairperson upon resolution of the Board of Directors.
Directors and committee members commissioned by the chairperson to examine specific matters shall constitute a committee to examine problems, draft proposals, conduct investigations, and the like.

Article 11. This corporation shall have a Zoological Science Editorial Board.
(2) The editorial committee shall consist of the editor-in-chief and editorial members.
3 The Chairperson shall appoint the Editor-in-Chief upon a resolution of the Board of Directors.
4. The editor-in-chief assumes ultimate responsibility for the peer review and acceptance or rejection of manuscripts.
5 Editorial board members shall be appointed by the chairperson based on the designation of the editor-in-chief.

Chapter 4 Awards

(Award)
Article 12 The Zoological Society of Japan shall establish awards such as the Zoological Society of Japan Award.

Chapter 5 Branch

(Branch)
Article 13. Based on Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Articles of Incorporation, the following branches shall be established.
(1) The Hokkaido Branch shall be established in the Hokkaido Region, which consists of Hokkaido.
(2) The Tohoku Branch shall be located in the Tohoku region, consisting of Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Miyagi, Yamagata, and Fukushima prefectures.
(3) The Kanto Branch shall be located in the Kanto region, which consists of Tokyo, Tochigi, Gunma, Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Niigata prefectures.
(4) The Chubu Branch shall be located in the Chubu region, consisting of Nagano, Shizuoka, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Yamanashi, Toyama, Fukui, and Ishikawa prefectures.
(5) The Kinki Branch shall be located in the Kinki region, consisting of Shiga Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, and Hyogo Prefecture.
(6) The Chugoku-Shikoku Branch shall be located in the Chugoku-Shikoku region, consisting of Okayama Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture, Shimane Prefecture, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Kagawa Prefecture, Tokushima Prefecture, Kochi Prefecture, and Ehime Prefecture.
(7) The Kyushu Branch shall be located in the Kyushu region, which consists of Fukuoka, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Saga, Nagasaki, and Okinawa prefectures.
2 Each branch shall have a branch manager.
3 Committee members, etc., may be appointed at each branch.

Chapter 6: Convention

(Tournament)
Article 14. The venue for the tournament shall be selected based on the districts set forth in the items of Paragraph 1 of Article 13.
2. When selecting tournament candidate sites and tournament chairperson candidates, the Board of Directors shall fully consult with the chapters in advance.
3. Participation fees may be collected to cover the operating costs of the tournament.

Chapter 7 Amendments to Detailed Regulations

Abolition and revision
Article 15 These bylaws may not be amended without the majority consent of the Board of Directors.
(Note)
Article 16 Matters necessary for the implementation of these Detailed Regulations shall be prescribed separately by the Chairperson with the approval of the Board of Directors.

Chapter 8 Supplementary Provisions

Article 17 These Detailed Regulations shall come into effect on July 2, 2012.
2 Amended September 16, 2015
3 Amended June 1, 2019
4 Amended June 12, 2026