I am grateful for the opportunity to have served as the President of the Database Society of Japan (DBSJ) in 2024, following two years of service starting in 2022. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all the past presidents who have provided invaluable guidance and support, as well as to the vice presidents, directors, committee members, and everyone involved who have dedicated themselves to the management and operation of the DBSJ.

 In particular, since 2022, we have established a system where each vice president is responsible for chairing multiple committees in order to stimulate the activities of each committee through a more unified and coordinated approach. The DBSJ has run very smoothly thanks to the outstanding efforts of the vice presidents. As such, I am deeply grateful to the vice presidents for their contributions, which have been invaluable to the DBSJ.

 Given these circumstances, and to avoid placing excessive burden on certain individuals,　we have decided to appoint new vice presidents to replace those who have served since before 2022. We kindly ask the support and cooperation of the newly appointed vice presidents. However, to help ensure continuity within the committees, we have also requested that the outgoing vice presidents continue to serve as advisors to the committees. We are grateful for their continued guidance and advice. As a token of our appreciation, we had the privilege of presenting letters of gratitude to the outgoing vice presidents and directors for their invaluable contributions to the DBSJ at this year’s general assembly.

 In addition to appointing the new vice presidents, several other changes have also been implemented. Previously, the Diversity/Harassment Committee was chaired by a specially appointed vice president. However, having recognized the long-term nature of this mission, we have taken the step of appointing an additional vice president and renaming the committee to the “Harassment Prevention and Diversity & Inclusion Promotion Committee”, with the vice president serving as its chair. In addition, to further invigorate the DBSJ’s activities, we believe that it would be beneficial to consider ways to expand interactions among members, including not just industry-academia, but also academia-academia and industry-industry connections. We also recognize the value of creating an environment that supports the activities of our younger members. In light of these considerations, we have decided to appoint a new specially appointed vice president with the objective of fostering engagement among young members and enhancing their interactions with other members. We are delighted to report that a number of initiatives have already commenced, and we eagerly anticipate the positive impact they will bring.

 In recent times, we have also observed a notable increase in activities in areas related to the DBSJ such as digital transformation (DX) and generative AI. It is becoming increasingly evident that the relationship between generative AI and the data and information management processes that forms the backbone of the DBSJ is becoming increasingly more intricate, with the potential to transform the environment surrounding our society. In light of these developments, we strive to maintain our activities in a manner that will ensure our members continue to benefit from being part of the DBSJ. Together with all our esteemed members, we will stay active and dynamic to advance our data-related academic activities.

July 2024

Haruo Yokota (Josai University, Tokyo Institute of Technology)
7th President of Database Society of Japan