From establishment to the present

The Phonetic Society of Japan was founded in 1926 under the name Onsei-gaku Kyokai. At the tenth anniversary (1935), its name was changed to Nihon Onsei-gaku Kyokai. Finally, right before its 25th anniversary (1946), it was renamed to its present name Nihon Onsei Gakkai (Phonetic Society of Japan).When the society was first established, its purpose was “to study the sounds of the Japanese language and languages spoken within Japanese territory” (from article 1 of the regulations of the society). Currently, the society’s purpose is “to promote the study of sounds in languages, and to foster communication and interaction among society members” (from article 2 of the regulations of the society).

List of past and present presidents of the society

1st president	Kazutoshi Ueda	October, 1926	–	October, 1937
2nd president	Izuru Shinmura	November, 1937	–	October, 1949
3rd president	Kaku Jinbo	November, 1949	–	October, 1957
4th president	Masao Onishi	November 1957	–	December, 1987
5th president	Teruo Hirayama	January, 1988	–	March, 1992
6th president	Miyoko Sugito	April, 1992	–	March, 1995
7th president	Tamotsu Koizumi	April, 1995	–	March, 1998
8th president	Hiroyuki Umeda	April, 1998	–	March, 2001
9th president	Ichiro Oshima	April, 2001	–	March, 2004
10th president	Shigeru Kiritani	April, 2004	–	March, 2007
11th president	Shosuke Haraguchi	April, 2007	–	March, 2010
12th president	Zendo Uwano	April, 2010	–	March, 2013
13th president	Hirokazu Sato	April, 2013	–	March, 2016
14th president	Satoshi Imaizumi	April, 2016	–	March, 2019
15th president	Kikuo Maekawa	April, 2019	–	March, 2022
16th president	Isao Ueda	April, 2022	–	March, 2025

History of the combined journal Onsei Kenkyu (Journal of the Phonetic Society of Japan)

When the society was established in 1926, the first issue of Onsei-gaku Kyokai Kaiho (The Bulletin) was published. The No. 76 issue (1950) was named Onsei Kenkyu. From the No. 77 issue, the publication was renamed to Onsei Gakkai Kaiho (The Bulletin). Publication of The Bulletin continued for 70 years until the No. 213 issue in 1996. In the meantime, the first volume of Onsei no Kenkyu (The Study of Sounds) was published in 1927. In 1997, The Bulletin and The Study of Sounds were combined into a new journal, Onsei Kenkyu or Journal of the Phonetic Society of Japan. Through the journal, the society continues to disseminate society activities and phonetics research in Japan to the world. The journal preserves the serial number of The Bulletin and the serial volume of The Study of Sounds. For example, Vol. 11, No. 1 of Onsei Kenkyu, published in April, 2007, is No. 244 of The Bulletin and Vol. 54 of The Study of Sounds. The impressive calligraphy of the title Onsei Kenkyu was drawn by the late Dr. Izuru Shinmura.

Foundation anniversary conventions in the past

10th anniversary convention	Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (October 7, 1935)
25th anniversary convention	Tokyo YMCA (November 23, 1950)
30th anniversary convention	Aoyama Gakuin University (October 22, 1955)
40th anniversary convention	Gakushi Kaikan (October 2, 1965)
50th anniversary convention	Hotel New Otani (August 23 ,1976)
60th anniversary convention	Hotel Century Hyatt (October 5, 1985)
70th anniversary convention	Tokyo Metropolitan University (September 28-29, 1996)
80th anniversary convention	Juntendo University (September 22-23, 2006)
90th anniversary convention	Waseda University (September 17-18, 2016)

Past annual conventions of the Phonetic Society of Japan

1st	Nov. 29, 1987	Sophia University (Tokyo)
2nd	Oct. 1 – 2, 1988	Showa Women’s University (Tokyo)
3rd	Sep. 30– Oct. 1, 1989	Komazawa University (Tokyo)
4th	Sep. 29–30, 1990	Chiba University (Chiba)
5th	Sep. 28–29, 1991	Osaka Shoin Women’s University (Osaka)
6th	Oct. 3–4, 1992	Dokkyo University (Saitama)
7th	Sep. 25–26, 1993	Gunma Prefectural Women’s University (Gunma)
8th	Sep. 24–25, 1994	Doshisha University Tanabe Campus (Kyoto)
9th	Sep. 30– Oct. 1, 1995	Meikai University (Chiba)
10th	Sep. 28–29, 1996	Tokyo Metropolitan University (Tokyo)
11th	Sep. 20–21, 1997	Kansai University of Foreign Studies (Osaka)
12th	Sep. 26–27, 1998	Chuo University Surugadai Memorial Hall (Tokyo)
13th	Sep. 25–26, 1999	Tohoku University (Miyagi)
14th	Sep. 30– Oct. 1, 2000	Reitaku University (Chiba)
15th	Sep. 29–30, 2001	Kobe Kaisei College (Kobe)
16th	Sep. 28–29, 2002	Tokyo Woman’s Christian University (Tokyo)
17th	Sep. 27–28, 2003	Kansai University (Osaka)
18th	Sep. 25–26, 2004	Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Tokyo)
19th	Sep. 24–25, 2005	Prefectural University of Hiroshima (Hiroshima)
20th	Sep. 30– Oct. 1, 2006	Juntendo University (Tokyo)
21th	Sep. 22–23, 2007	Nagoya University (Aichi)
22th	Sep. 14-15, 2008	Meikai University (Chiba)
23th	Sep. 26-27, 2009	Kyushu University (Fukuoka)
24th	Oct. 9-10, 2010	Kokugakuin University (Tokyo)
25th	Sep. 24-25, 2011	Kyoto University (Kyoto)
26th	Sep. 29-30, 2012	Daito Bunka University (Tokyo)
27th	Sep. 28-29, 2013	Kanazawa University (Ishikawa)
28th	Sep. 27-28, 2014	Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Tokyo)
29th	Oct. 3-4, 2015	Kobe University (Hyogo)
30th	Sep. 17-18, 2016	Waseda University (Tokyo)
31st	Sep. 30-Oct. 1, 2017	Tokyo University (Tokyo)
32nd	Sep. 15-16, 2018	Okinawa International University (Okinawa)
33rd	Sep. 28-29, 2019	Seisen University (Tokyo)