ASIATOX
 

History of ASIATOX

History of Asian Society of Toxicology


Tetsuo Satoh, Ph.D.

Origin: Japan-Korea Joint Symposium. The Japan-Korea Joint Symposium on Toxicology had been held in Japan and Korea alternatively every two years since 1987. This symposium is the roots of Asian Society of Toxicology (ASIATOX).

1992: Preliminary meeting of the formation of ASIATOX. Representatives of Japanese Society of Toxicology(JST, formerly Japanese Society of Toxicological Sciences) and Korean Society of Toxicology(KST) met to discuss the formation of Asian Society of Toxicology(ASIATOX) at the 6th International Congress of Toxicology(ICT-VI) in Rome, Italy. After long discussion, it was concluded that formation of ASIATOX was needed to promote the toxicological research, and to foster the specialists of toxicology in Asia.

1993: Preparatory meeting of the formation of ASIATOX. The preparatory meeting of the ASIATOX was held in conjunction with the 3rd Japan-Korea joint symposium in large on November 27 at the Cultural Center of Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Song Dae Park (Korea) and Dr. Tomoji Yanagita (Japan). The number of participants was 15 including 6 from Korea, 7 from Japan, 1 from Taiwan and 1 from Singapore. At the meeting, the necessity of ASIATOX was actively discussed.

1994; Formation of ASIATOX. ASIATOX was formally founded in 1994. The founding meeting and the first councilor meeting of ASIATOX was held on June 8, 1994 at the Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. The number of participants from each member society was 16 including 8 from Japan, 3 from Korea, 2 from China, 2 from Taiwan and 1 from Thailand.

Founding Member societies
  • Japanese Society of Toxicology(JST)
  • Korean Society of Toxicology(KST)
  • Chinese Society of Toxicology(CST)
  • Thai Society of Toxicology(TST, formerly Toxicological Society of Thailand)
  • Toxicology Society of Taiwan(TSTA)
The founding ASIATOX Executive Committee members (1994-1997)
  • President: Tomoji Yanagita(Japan)
  • 1st Vice President: Sang Dai Park(Korea)
  • 2nd Vice President: Jion Lin Zhou (China)
  • Secretary General: Tetsuo Satoh(Japan)
  • Treasurer: Kyu-Hwan Yang(Korea)
  • Auditor: Jen-kun Lin (Taiwan); Songsak Srianujata(Thailand)
Application of ASIATOX for the IUTOX Membership. ASIATOX sent the application for the International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX) Membership on October 7, 1994. The completed application form was signed by Dr. Tomoji Yanagita (President) and Tetsuo Satoh (Secretary –General).

1995: Acceptance of the application for the IUTOX membership. The application of ASIATOX for IUTOX Membership was unanimously accepted at the IUTOX Executive Committee on July 2, 1995.
ASIATOX Councilor meeting. The councilor meeting of ASIATOX was held on July 1 at the 7th International Congress of Toxicology (ICT-VII) in Seattle, Washington, USA.

1997: ASIATOX congresses (1997-2009). ASIATOX congress has been hosted by the member societies by rotation every three years.
1st:
June 29-July 2, 1997, Yokohama, Japan(Chair: Dr. Tomoji Yanagita)
2nd:
August 23-25, 2000, Cheju-Do, Korea(Chair: Dr. Il-Moo Chang)
3rd:
February 1-6, 2004, Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand(Chair: Dr. Songsak Srianujata)
The congress was originally planned on August 7-9, 2003. However, due to epidemic of SARS, the congress was postponed to November 30-December 5, 2003. Then, it was postponed again to February 1-6, 2004, and finally decided to be February 1-6, 2004.
4th:
June 18-21, 2006, Zhuhai, China(Chair: Dr. JunShi Chen)
5th:
September 10-13, 2009, Taipei, Taiwan(Chair: Dr. Jou-Fang Deng)
The first rotation of ASIATOX congress starting in 1997 in Japan was completed at the 5th congress in Taipei. The 6th congress will be held on July 17-20, 2012, Sendai, Japan

2007: ASIATOX Councilor Meeting
The meeting was held on October 27, 2007 in Taipei, Taiwan. The main topic of the meeting was to discuss the draft proposal of ASIATOX-V to be held in 2009 in terms of the scientific program and the Continuing Education Courses. In addition, ASIATOX By-Laws was amended to clarify the following Articles. (1) number and term of the councilors (Article 4), (2) the member of the Executive Committee(Article 5), and (3) Formation of the Membership Committee(Article 6). The amendment of By-Laws was unanimously approved.

2009: ASIATOX Councilor Meeting
The meeting was held on September 11, 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan. Main agendas include (1) Discussion of poster Awards, (2) Treasurer’s report by Dr. Anong Bintvihok, Thailand, (3) Preliminary progress report of ASIATOX-VI by Dr. Akira Naganuma, Japan, and (4) Future task of ASIATOX by Dr. Tetsuo Satoh, Japan.

2010 and future perspectives: ASIATOX consists of 5 national societies including Japan, Korea, China, Thailand and Taiwan in 2010.

2012: ASIATOX Councilor Meeting
The meeting was held on July 20, 2012 in Sendai, Japan. Main agendas include
(1) New member application, (2) Amendment of By-Laws, (3) Election of Executive Committee members, (4) Preparation report of upcoming congresses of Asia.

Mission: ASIATOX has fulfilled the necessary matters to promote the aim proposed by founders. Future perspectives of ASIATOX include (1) Recruitment of new member societies, (2) Education and Training program, (3) Certification and accreditation of toxicologists, (4) Publication of Newsletter, (5) Establishment of awards(Merit Award, Young Toxicologist Award, Best presentation Award), and (6) Establishment of the permanent headquarter.

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