NEWS in 2025

We participated in the Hakozaki-gu Hojoya Memorial Prayer Festival.

The Hojoya festival at Hakozaki-gu shrine (Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture) is one of the Three Great Festivals of Hakata. It is an event held to cherish the lives of all living things, prohibit the taking of life, and give thanks for the autumn harvest.

Everyone participated in the Hojoya Memorial Prayer Festival to express our gratitude for the laboratory animals used in our daily work. During the ceremony, the ringing of the bells (suzu) echoed beautifully—it was a wonderful sound. Afterward, hundreds of street stalls lined the shrine's approach (sando), and we all enjoyed walking along the path at night.

We have deeply engraved the preciousness of life in our hearts, and we are committed to continuing our research with sincerity.

September has arrived, and the fall semester has begun.Both of our fourth-year students successfully passed their graduate school entrance exams and are resuming their research. We held a delightful tea gathering, enjoying sweets brought back by Professor Matsushima, while each of us shared our goals for the new semester. We will devote ourselves wholeheartedly to our research so that we can present truly remarkable and exciting results.

Mr. Takashi Kajiyama, a first-year Master's student, gave an oral presentation at the 8th International Conference on DV-Xα Method held at the HARRIS Hotel & Residences Sunset Road on Bali Island, Indonesia. It was Mr. Kajiyama's first English oral presentation, and he was apparently very nervous!　At the conference, students and professors from various countries presented posters and oral presentations. It proved highly educational, covering the latest approaches in quantum chemical calculations, including the DV-Xα method, and the cutting edge of materials science. Despite some incidents caused by heavy rain, he shared that presenting at his first international conference was an excellent experience.

He resolved to apply the insights gained from engaging with cutting-edge quantum chemical research to make his future studies even more fruitful.

We held a farewell party for the summer internship student who had come to our lab. We shared memories of Japan over souvenirs from student who had been on business trips to Taiwan and sweets of local specialties from students who had returned home for the Obon holidays. According to her, she enjoyed her first research life and visited Kyoto and Nagasaki during the holidays, enjoying the culture of each place. Although we will miss her as friend who worked together on our research for about a month, we hope she will make the most of her overseas internship experience and play a very active role at METU (Middle East Technical University

On Sunday, August 3, an open campus event was held in the School of Science. Many high school students visited our laboratory, and we introduced them to our research. We hope to welcome some of these students to our research projects in the future.

We received mid-year gifts (ochugen) from our graduated seniors. Everyone was delighted with the wonderful items, including a variety of Western sweets and premium ham. We roasted the ham in the lab oven and enjoyed it together—it was absolutely delicious. We’ll continue doing our best to live up to the support we receive from everyone.
Also, today we celebrated the birthdays of our seniors born in June and July! It’s said that birthdays are a day to express gratitude to one’s parents. Along with our appreciation, we enjoyed some delicious cake.

From late July to late August, we are hosting internship student from Turkey in our lab. Shortly after her arrival in Japan, we held a welcome party as part of our exchange activities. While making takoyaki together, we introduced ourselves and our research topics, which helped deepen our mutual understanding and friendship. She brought traditional sweets from her country, such as kral and Turkish Delight, as souvenirs. Everyone was fascinated by the unique flavors, which are rarely experienced in Japan. Although her stay is limited, we hope this one-month period will be a meaningful and fruitful experience for her.

Mr. Takeru Kajiyama and Mr. Kohei Kanazaki, first-year master course students, gave poster presentations at the 62nd Joint Conference of Chemistry-Related Branches in Kyushu, which was held at the Kitakyushu International Conference Center (Kitakyushu-shi, Japan). Researchers from various fields of chemistry gathered here, and it was a good opportunity to ask questions and receive advice from people outside the field of biochemistry, and to think about our research from new perspectives. We will do our best to further develop our research in the future.

The 2025 Japanese Biochemical Society, Kyushu Branch was held at the Miyazaki Citizen’s Plaza in Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture.
Master’s first-year students Takeru Kajiyama and Kohei Kanazaki from our laboratory presented posters on their research regarding hazardous environmental chemical substances. By engaging in direct discussions with researchers and students from across Kyushu about their work, they received numerous valuable suggestions from new perspectives. It was a fruitful conference experience that allowed them to encounter cutting-edge research and greatly increased their motivation for future research activities.

Two new fourth-year students have joined our lab. We held a fun tea party, enjoying the sweets that Professor Matsushima brought back as souvenirs. Each of us shared our ambitions for this year. We will do our best to carry out our research and aim to present surprisingly interesting results. Thank you very much for your continued support this year as well.