Introduction to the themed issue in honour of the contribution of Japanese scientists to photochemistry

In the summer of 2009 we decided to honor Professor Yoshihisa Inoue on the occasion of his 60th birthday with a special issue to highlight his many accomplishments in photochemistry, in particular supramolecular photochirogenesis. The response to our invitations was overwhelmingly enthusiastic and our colleagues' contributions are included in this special issue. In March 2011 the Tohoku area in north-eastern Japan was affected by the triple tragedy of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. We are all aware of the many lives that have been tragically affected, including colleagues in their personal and professional lives. In view of these events we decided to change the focus of this special issue to honor the contribution of Japanese scientists to photochemistry and to dedicate the issue to those affected by these events.

As scientists we have the ability and responsibility to create knowledge and solutions to the natural and human-made challenges that we face. This special issue exemplifies the quality of research and knowledge that our community is able to accomplish, and Yoshi is certainly a leader among us. We hope that as natural scientists we will be able to provide the tools that will mitigate future events such as the ones in Tohoku last March. Photochemistry will certainly play an important role.

Finally, as guest editors we would like to thank the Royal Society of Chemistry, the partner societies of Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences and Professor Frans De Schryver, Editor-in-chief, for their support and understanding while this special issue was compiled.

 

Cornelia Bohne, University of Victoria, Canada

Tadashi Mori, Osaka University, Japan

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