Articles of Association of the Japanese Society for Mathematical Biology

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 "Name" The name of this Society is the Japanese Society for Mathematical Biology.
Article 1-2 "Establishment date" The establishment date of this Society is September 20, 2003.
Article 1-3 "Location" This Society is located in the home of the president.
Article 2 "Purpose" The purpose of this Society is to promote the development and spread of mathematical biology research.
Article 3 "Activities" This Society is engaged in the following activities to fulfill its purpose.
  1. Holding of research meetings and other events
  2. Management of prizes
  3. Liaison with domestic and foreign academic institutes and other organizations
  4. Issuance of newsletters
  5. Management of the biomath mailing list and the Society's website
  6. Other activities necessary to fulfill the Society's purpose

Chapter 2 Membership

Article 4 "Members" Members of this Society shall be full members (general members and students) and honorary members.
  1. Full members are individuals admitted to this Society under the specific procedure who support its purpose and pay the membership fee.
  2. Honorable members are those recommended by the steering committee and approved at the general meeting who are selected from among individuals credited for the advancement of mathematical biology as well as of this Society. Honorable members do not need to pay the membership fee.
Article 5 "Admission" A person wishing to join this Society shall fill out the application form with the necessary information, including name, job and address, and submit it to the president, along with an annual membership fee.
Article 6 "Withdrawal" A person wishing to withdraw from this Society shall submit a withdrawal notice to the president.
Article 7 "Rights of members" Members are entitled to participate in the activities conducted by this Society, present their achievements at research meetings, contribute their work to the newsletters and receive publications issued by the Society. Members may also express their opinions toward the steering committee or at the general meeting with regard to the activities and management of this Society.
Article 8 "Expulsion" This Society may expel a member if he or she is deemed to have hindered its activities or significantly damaged its reputation, after a resolution of the steering committee is obtained.

Chapter 3 Officers and Organization

Article 9 "Areas" The country shall be divided into six areas: Hokkaido/Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku/Shikoku and Kyushu.
Article 10 "Officers" This Society shall have the officers stated below.

1) President (1 person), 2) Vice president (1 person), 3) Steering committee members (15 people), 4) Secretary-general (1 person), 5) Secretaries (several people), 6) Chief editor (1 person), 7) Editors (several people), 8) Accounting auditor (1 person), 9) Okubo Prize Nomination Committee members (3 people), 10) Accountant (1 person)

Article 11 "President" The president shall represent this Society and preside over its affairs. The president shall be elected by mutual vote among full members. The term of office for the president shall be two years and start in January. The election method of the president is specified separately.
Article 12 "Vice president" The immediate past president and the next president shall serve as the vice president in the first year and second year of the current president's term of office, respectively, to assist the current president.
Article 13 "Steering committee" The steering committee shall consist of 15 members elected by mutual vote among full members, and the committee members shall deliberate the affairs related to this Society. The term of office for a steering committee member shall be two years and start in January. The president and vice president are prohibited from doubling as steering committee members. The election method of the steering committee members is specified separately. A vacancy in the steering committee shall not be filled until the next election.
Article 14 "Secretary-general, secretaries and accountant" The secretary-general, secretaries and accountant shall be appointed by the president from among full members, based on the resolution of the steering committee. They shall assist the president in the management of this Society. Their term of office shall be two years.
Article 15 "Chief editor and editors" The chief editor and editors shall be appointed by the president from among full members, based on the resolution of the steering committee. They shall be responsible for editing this Society's newsletters. Their term of office shall be two years.
Article 16 "Accounting auditor" The accounting auditor shall audit activities and accounting. The term of office for the auditor shall be two years. The auditor shall be elected at the general meeting based on the recommendation of the steering committee.
Article 17 "Okubo Prize Nomination Committee members" This Society shall have three Okubo Prize Nomination Committee members (hereinafter referred to as "nomination committee members"). The nomination committee members shall be responsible for selecting the winner of the Akira Okubo Prize jointly organized by the Society for Mathematical Biology. The term of office for the nomination committee members shall be three years and start in October. A new member shall be elected to replace an existing member every year. Nomination committee members shall be elected at the general meeting, based on the recommendation of members, after a resolution of the steering committee is obtained. These nomination committee members do not need to be members of this Society. The nomination committee member who is at the end of their term of office shall represent the Japanese committee.
Article 18 "JSMB Early Career Award Nomination Committee members" This Society shall have the JSMB Early Career Award Nomination Committee consisting of six members. The JSMB Early Career Award Nomination Committee members shall be responsible for selecting JSMB Early Career Award winners. The JSMB Early Career Award Nomination Committee members shall be elected by the steering committee.
Article 19 "Scientific advisory board" This Society shall have the scientific advisory board made up of 10 or so members. The scientific advisory board shall consist of members appointed by the president based on the resolution of the steering committee, and the members shall provide the president with scientific advice in organizing research meetings and others. The term of office for the scientific advisory board members shall be two years.
Article 20 "Special committee" This Society may have a special committee, as needed, after a resolution of the general meeting is obtained. The special committee shall consist of members appointed by the president based on the resolution of the steering committee, and the special committee members shall report the results of their deliberations to the president. The name of the special committee and the term of office for the committee members shall be decided at the general meeting.

Chapter 4 Prizes

Article 21 "JSMB Early Career Award" The JSMB Early Career Award is intended to encourage the development of research and promote the study of mathematical biology in Japan even more, by honoring this Society's young members contributing to mathematical biology. The necessary rules pertaining to the JSMB Early Career Award are specified in detailed provisions.
Article 22 "Akira Okubo Prize" This Society awards the Akira Okubo Prize jointly with the Society for Mathematical Biology to researchers who have played a major role in the advancement and the development of new research in the fields of theoretical biology including mathematical biology. The rules pertaining to the Akira Okubo Prize are specified separately in English through discussions with the Society for Mathematical Biology.

Chapter 5 Meetings

Article 23 "Research meeting" A research meeting shall be held once a year in principle. The meeting shall be administered by the designated area. The area responsible for administering the research meeting shall be designated at the general meeting, in principle two years before the actual research meeting, after a resolution of the steering committee is obtained.
Article 24 "General meeting" A general meeting shall be convened by the president once a year. The president shall convene a general meeting on an ad hoc basis if the steering committee deems it necessary or if a third or more of the full members demand such a meeting. The president shall notify the members about the budget, financial results and other important matters at least 10 days prior to the general meeting.
Article 25 "Steering committee" The steering committee shall be convened and chaired by the president. The president shall convene this committee if a third or more of the steering committee members demand it. The steering committee may be held by means of electronic mail.

Chapter 6 Accounting

Article 26 "Membership fee" Membership fees and other revenues shall be used to cover the expenses of this Society. The amount of the membership fee shall be decided at the general meeting. In principle, the membership fee shall be paid in advance and be non-refundable. If a member fails to pay the membership fee for two consecutive years, the delivery of publications to that member shall be suspended. A member who is delinquent for three consecutive years shall automatically be deemed to have withdrawn from this Society.
Article 27 "Fiscal year" The fiscal year of this Society begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 every year.
Article 28 "Financial results" The president shall have the accounting of this Society audited by the accounting auditor in advance and report the financial results to the general meeting for approval.
Article 29 "Special account" This Society shall have a general account and a special account. The special account shall primarily be used to supplement the travel expenses of Akira Okubo Prize winners, and the necessary funds shall be transferred from the general account every year.

Chapter 7 Miscellaneous Provisions

Article 30 "Change to the articles of association" In order to make any change to the articles of association of this Society, a draft describing the planned change shall be sent to members by postal mail, electronic mail or other means at least 10 days prior to the general meeting and a resolution shall be made at the general meeting with the approval of two-thirds of its participants.
Article 31 "Management of biomath and this Society's website" The biomath mailing list and this Society's website shall be managed by the secretary-general or secretaries.
Article 32 "Notification to members" The means of notification to members shall be postal mail in principle. In an emergency, this may be substituted for by electronic mail or posting to the biomath mailing list.
[Supplementary provisions]
(Inheritance of activities and assets)
1 This Society inherits the activities and assets of the Japanese Association for Mathematical Biology established in 1989.

(Transitional measures)

2 Notwithstanding Articles 11 to 17, the officers at incorporation shall be designated at the general meeting, and their term of office shall be until December 2004, except for the chief editor, editors and Okubo Prize Nomination Committee members. The steering committee shall have 10 members until December 2004.
3 Notwithstanding Articles 10 and 12, this Society shall not have a vice president until the president whose term of office begins in January 2005 is elected.
4 Notwithstanding Article 20, the venues of the 2004 and 2005 research meetings shall be decided as soon as possible.
5 These articles of association shall come into effect on September 20, 2003.
6 The partially revised articles of association shall come into effect on September 15, 2005.
7 The partially revised articles of association shall come into effect on September 17, 2006.
8 The partially revised articles of association shall come into effect on July 31, 2014.
9 The partially revised articles of association shall come into effect on August 28, 2015.

Detailed Provisions on the Election of Officers of the Japanese Society for Mathematical Biology

(Established on September 20, 2003)

Article 1 (Election administration committee)

The president shall establish an election administration committee by appointing a member other than the secretary-general, secretaries and officers as the member of that committee. The election administration committee shall take care of election affairs.

Article 2 (Election of the president)

  1. The president shall be elected in a secret single ballot.
  2. The candidate with the most votes shall be elected as the president. If there is more than one such candidate, the youngest one shall be elected.
  3. The current president is prohibited from being re-elected.
  4. The next president shall be elected at least one year before the start of his or her term of office.

Article 3 (Election of the steering committee members)

  1. The election of the steering committee members shall be held at the same time as the election of the president.
  2. The steering committee members shall be elected in a secret multiple-entry (15 names) ballot.
  3. First, a total of six winners shall be identified by choosing the candidate with the most votes from each of the six areas.
  4. Next, from the remaining candidates, the nine top vote earners shall be elected, regardless of the area.
  5. If there are multiple lowest vote earners with the same number of votes, the order of precedence shall be candidates who have never served as officers and younger candidates.
  6. If the 15 winners mentioned above include the person elected as the president or the person who will be the vice president, the candidate who has earned the most votes after that person shall be elected.
  7. No steering committee member shall be elected for his or her third straight term.

Article 4 (Miscellaneous)

In addition to these detailed provisions, the necessary rules pertaining to the election of the president and steering committee members shall be specified by the election administration committee.

[Supplementary provisions]

(Transitional measures)

1 Notwithstanding Article 2, the election of the president whose term of office begins in January 2005 shall take place as early as possible in 2004.

Detailed Provisions on the JSMB Early Career Award

(Established on September 15, 2005)

Article 1 The JSMB Early Career Award (hereinafter referred to as the Early Career Award) shall be given to self-appointed applicants or applicants recommended by other members of this Society who are Society members, who have made significant contributions to mathematical biology and who are chosen through the nomination process mentioned below. The award shall be given to not more than two applicants a year.

Article 2 The term of office for the Early Career Award Nomination Committee members (hereinafter referred to as the nomination committee members) shall be one year. The nomination committee members are allowed to be re-elected.

Article 3 The nomination committee shall nominate not more than two candidates and report the nominations to the president along with the reasons why those candidates have been nominated. If there is no candidate, the nomination committee shall notify the president as well.

Article 4 If any nomination committee member is recommended and short-listed for the award, that member shall be removed from the nomination committee.

Article 5 The president shall consult with the steering committee as to the pros and cons on each candidate nominated by the nomination committee. A candidate who gains two-thirds or more of valid approving votes shall be decided to be a winner of the award and notified immediately. If there is no candidate, the nomination committee shall announce it to the Society members with approval of the steering committee.

Article 6 The award ceremony shall be held at the annual meeting.

Article 7 Each award winner shall, in principle, deliver a lecture on the research for which he or she has received the award, at the annual meeting where the award ceremony is held.

Article 8 Any change to these detailed provisions shall require consent of two-thirds or more of the steering committee members.

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