The 85th Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association will be held from September 1 (Wed.) to 8 (Wed.), 2021, will be managed by the members of the Faculty of Psychology, Meisei University. The Meisei University, located in Hino, Tokyo, is a university with 9 faculties and 12 departments, and 6 graduate schools and 12 majors. The Faculty of Psychology was established in 2017, but the history of psychology at Meisei University dates back to 1965, when the "Psychology Course in the Department of Psychology and Education" was established and Prof. Saburo Abe was appointed as the first chairperson. Since then, for more than 55 years, faculty members specializing in a wide range of fields, from basic fields to applied and clinical fields, have conducted research and education for scientific and multifaceted understanding of human beings. We believe that this mission is clearly reflected in the following points: continue to manage the animal lab following a tradition since the establishment of our university, both the experimental analysis of behavior and the applied behavior analysis can be studied, and the School of Psychology and the Graduate School of Psychology work together to train certified psychologists in a consistent manner.

As you know, the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic is still unclear. Initially, we had planned to hold meetings on our campus in the usual manner, but we are currently in the midst of various efforts to implement face-to-face classes, and for the moment we are unable to offer classrooms for use by outside members in order to ensure the safety of students. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to make preparations for both face-to-face and web-based sessions at the same time and to make a final decision about the method of implementation given the current situation regarding the pandemic. In consequence, we have decided to hold web-based sessions.



The members of the Toyo University successfully completed the 84th Annual Convention, which was the first convention of the Japanese Psychological Association to be conducted online. They demonstrated that even online, it is possible to present content that is comparable to or even superior to what can be achieved in face-to-face sessions. I would like to express my respect and gratitude to them. The Members of the Organizing Committee for the 85th Annual Convention will make every effort to offer opportunities for meaningful academic exchange to all the members of the Japanese Psychological Association and the participants of the Annual Convention by respecting the essence of academic meetings and taking advantage of the web-based format. We look forward to seeing many of you there.

Atsushi Sakai
(Professor, School of Psychology, Meisei University)
President 
Organizing Committee of the 85th Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association