ALIVE Newsletter No.104 Topic

At the present time, ALIVE is facing two major challenges.

— By Takashi Kitamura (Director of ALIVE)

The first challenge is to strengthen our operations. Under the late Fusako Nogami's leadership, we dealt with animal issues in a wide variety of areas and we achieved major successes in a number of these areas. Through these achievements, ALIVE has earned a high degree of public recognition. However, for an extended period we have faced the issue of who would succeed Ms. Nogami. When Ms. Nogami took a long sick leave, we were forced to address this issue urgently. So in order to prepare for any eventuality, Ms. Nogami and her senior staff worked together to plan a new administrative system for ALIVE.

Yasuhiro Seino has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors and the Director Administrative and we are confident that Seino's contribution will be vital to the new system (see p.30). Mr. Seino is an expert on organizational management. In fact, within a short time, he has created the strategies for restructuring ALIVE's regulations and improving the organization's local networks. Together with out new leader, we will do our best to expand our activities as an NPO. We appreciate your continuing support.

The second challenge is that we have been reassured that our activities have become even more significant in the wake of the amendment of the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals. Although animal experiments and livestock issues were not reflected in the most recent revision of the law, animal issues in many areas that ALIVE has been working on for a long time have been improved. Now ALIVE has to ensure that we effectively utilize the revised law and further strengthen our activities. We appreciate your continuing support for our activities and we hope that you can participate in them in the near future.