Dr Koichi Nishimoto (1925-2023)

 

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In memory of Professor Dr. Koichi Nishimoto

Dr. Koichi Nishimoto, former president of Japan Wood Protection Association and professor emeritus at Kyoto University, passed away on March 18, 2023 after 98 years of life.

Professor Nishimoto was born in 1925 in Kyoto City, Japan, and graduated from the Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University after graduating from the Science Department of the former Yamaguchi High School. In 1950, he was appointed as an assistant professor at the Wood Research Institute of Kyoto University, where he was engaged in research and education on wood preservation as an associate professor and then as a professor.

Professor Nishimoto has been more energetic in his research activities, including the establishment of Japan's first artificial termite breeding room in the institute and a termite field test site at Fukiage Beach in Kagoshima. This laboratory still operates today as one of the most important laboratories at Kyoto University.
Japan Wood Protection Association was established in 1974 as a voluntary organization and became an incorporated association in 1978. Professor Nishimoto served as vice president from 1985, and then as president from 1991 to 2000, managing the business of the association. In particular, Professor Nishimoto focused on improving the efficiency and appropriateness of the review process for the certification of wood preservatives, and in 1985 he established a review organization for wood preservatives. Since then, as chairman of the Performance Evaluation Committee, he has been involved in the creation of evaluation criteria and test methods as well as the examination of the performance and safety of preservatives.

In 2002, Dr. Nishimoto received the award of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.

Prof. Nishimoto attended firstly IRG14 (1983, Australia), where he was made an honorary life member in 1995. He has also twice invited IRG meeting to Japan, in Kyoto and Nara, and was in charge of the chairman of local organizing committee. In particular, IRG32 in Nara (May 2001), to which Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko were invited, was a memorable event that attracted the attention of researchers in the field of wood protection in Japan and abroad

This Memorial was written for inclusion with the July 2023 IRG Newsletter.