Greetings from the New President

I have been appointed as the President of the Communications Society for fiscal year 2026. With the role of leading a Communications Society that values both tradition and innovation, I am once again deeply aware of the weight of this responsibility. I am committed to making every effort to provide a better platform for academic exchange for all those involved in the Communications Society. Although my term is limited to one year, I sincerely appreciate your support and cooperation.

Now, 2026 marks a year in which the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE), and the Communications Society, will undergo a major shift in terms of its operational direction from a financial perspective. Until now, IEICE has been primarily supported by the membership fee income from the members. However, due to a declining membership base caused by factors such as an aging population and a declining birthrate, the conventional operational model is becoming unsustainable in a financial point of view. In particular, this trend is expected to become more serious in the coming years as members of the baby boomer generation, who constitute a large portion of our membership, retire. This is not a simple issue that can be solved by raising the membership fees; rather, it is rooted in structural challenges. Therefore, in order to make our academic activities sustainable, the headquarters has decided to significantly shift its strategy toward supporting operations through revenue generated from the technical committees, workshops, and international conferences. I kindly ask for your understanding, as this may impose additional burdens and inconveniences on both participants and organizers of these events.

At the same time, developing academic exchange—our society’s core mission—remains an equally important issue. In the Communications Society, we intend to actively discuss and invest in initiatives that will contribute to future growth and vitality.

With regard to technical committees, we will implement measures to reduce the burden on organizers while initiating discussions on initiatives that promote collaboration across multiple specialized fields. Addressing the complex challenges of modern society from a technological perspective requires cooperation and integration across diverse technical domains. Within the Communications Society, three Type-3 technical committees are working to fulfill this role. In addition, collaboration among different fields has been promoted through joint meetings among regular and ad-hoc technical committees, and we aim to further advance such initiatives through continued discussion.

Regarding editorial activities, we will continue discussions—while coordinating with the institute’s central policies—toward strengthening the international presence of our journals. The Communications Society has been disseminating its research globally by publishing the Transactions on Communication and the Communications Express (ComEX) journal on IEEE Xplore. As a result, access to our papers by overseas researchers has increased significantly, and this is beginning to be reflected in rising the impact factors. We intend to further reinforce these efforts.

In terms of international activities, we aim to enhance our global presence by successfully hosting the first overseas edition of ICETC, the flagship international conference of the Communications Society. ICETC 2026, the 7th conference in the series, will be held in Taipei in November 2026. Furthermore, we will strengthen our cooperative relationship with the Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences (KICS) through bilateral academic exchange, and promote our activities as a hub in Asia.

In order to implement these initiatives, the understanding and cooperation of all members of the Communications Society are essential. At the same time, new ideas and perspectives are also needed. I sincerely ask for your continued support and contributions.