International symposia and seminars that the National Museum of Nature and Science co-sponsored since the fiscal year 2006. The Conference on Secondary Adaptation of Tetrapods to Life in Water is an interdisciplinary research workshop held once every three years. The first conference was held in France, followed by conferences in Denmark, New Zealand and America. The fifth conference hosted by the National Museum of Nature and Science was the first to be held in Asia. As part of activities to commemorate the 130th Anniversary of the National Museum of Nature and Science, the International Symposium on Systematics and Diversity of Fishes was held on March 3rd and 4th, 2008, at the Japan Gallery jointly with the Ichthyological Society of Japan (ISJ). Over a period of two days, 23 researchers from Japan and overseas presented the latest results of their research. Posters prepared by general participants on 46 topics were also presented.
Click here for abstracts of the presentations made at the symposium (2.5MB PDF file) This symposium was held with the objective of providing an opportunity for Orchidaceae researchers from Asia to meet and discuss research technologies and share other relevant information in order to step up research in Asian countries, which until then had been lagging due to the absence of a centralized research organization. It also sought to solicit the support of a wide variety of people in Japan, from experts and researchers in the field to the general public. Presentations at this seminar were made on 18 different topics (by 8 researchers from Japan and 10 from overseas), with approximately 70 researchers participating. On the two days prior to the seminar, participants toured the National Museum of Nature and Science, the University Museum of the University of Tokyo, and the Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science of the University of Tokyo. During the seminars that were made open to the public, a total of 45 people including researchers held discussions on three topics to raise public awareness regarding the purpose of research and collection of specimens. Participants also viewed the biological specimen collections of the Museum’s Zoology Department and Anthropology Department. This symposium was held to promote debate from a comprehensive perspective regarding museums as places of sustainable learning in science and technology through collaboration with society, and the creation of future systems that will support this collaboration and enable development of human resources.
Click here for abstracts of the presentations made at the symposium (8.7MB PDF file) Specialists were invited from Japan and overseas to discuss the diversity of Asian orchids and their conservation methods from several different perspectives, based on the discussion theme “Orchids of Metropolitan.”
Click here for details of the symposium. (Japanese only)

As part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (an international marine research program), Micropaleontological Reference Centers have been set up at 16 locations worldwide for the joint utilization of microfossil specimens. The National Museum of Nature and Science has established centers at five locations around the world, and also plays the role of a full Micropaleontological Reference Center for joint usage of collections.

The Museum is working to increase the number of microfossil specimens that are collected as part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (Foraminifera, Radiolaria, and Bacillariophyceae), and is taking the following steps to promote internationally shared usage of specimen collections.

• - Make specimen preparations and send them to overseas centers
• - Provide research facilities to researchers who wish to utilize the Museum’s specimen and material collection
• - Publicize information regarding microfossil specimens
• - Leasing of microfossil specimens in accordance with international guidelines

In order to transmit information from Japan to GBIF, the Museum has created a website, the Science Museum Net, where biodiversity specimen collections belonging to all natural history museums in Japan can be accessed via the Internet.

In 2007, Keiichi Matsuura, Collection Director at the Museum, was appointed deputy chairman of the GBIF, enabling the Museum to make a greater contribution to the activities of the GBIF.