It is with the deepest sadness JOICFP announces that Prof. Toshio Kuroda, President, Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP) passed away of heart failure at 4:26 p.m. on December 30th in Tokyo at the age of 97.

Prof. Toshio Kuroda in a relaxed moment

Prof. Kuroda was the world's most senior and experienced demographer, and he considered demography as more than just numbers, including the 'human aspect' as well. He was the first demographer in Japan to take this holistic approach, and he was an inspiration to others and remained active right up to his death.

Prof. Kuroda was a leader among demographers, and his long experience, warm character and consideration of people as human beings with many influencing factors rather than as statistics will be greatly missed.

Born in 1909, Prof. Kuroda graduated from the Department of Economics and Commercial Sciences, Nihon University in 1936, and gained a Ph.D. Economics, from Keio University in 1974.

It was in 1947 that he began population research and study at the relatively late age of 37. He noted that his interest in the field was supported by great mentors such as Prof. Philip Hauser, Chicago University, Prof. Frank Notestein, Princeton University, and Prof. Alfred Sauvy, Director, INED.

From 1947 to 1976, Prof. Kuroda worked for the Institute of Population Problems (IPP), Ministry of Health, and was the Director-General of IPP from 1974 to 1976.

He then joined the Department of Economics, Nihon University as a professor, and from 1979 to 1980 was Director, Nihon University Population Research Institute.

During his working life, Prof. Kuroda gathered several awards, including Doctor-Emeritus from Dong-A University Korea, Director-Emeritus, Nihon University Population Research Institute, and Professor-Emeritus, Jilin University, China.

UN Population Award

His most prestigious recognition was to receive the United Nations Population Award in 1997. In his acceptance speech, Prof. Kuroda commented that the 50 years of research he had conducted on population had led him to work with every person as an individual regardless of background of ethnicity, and he stressed the need for all of us to build a society to maintain the integrity of the planet.

Prof. Kuroda was known for his extensive research in population studies, including migration, urbanization, fertility, population environment, and especially ageing. He was also a prolific writer and penned many books and articles on population, longevity, migration, and population structures.

Other activities include government representative for the UN Population Commission, expert adviser for Asian parliamentarian's meetings on population, and adviser to several Japanese population study groups and NGOs.

Since JOICFP's inception, Prof. Kuroda was an adviser, and he also served on the JOICFP Board of Directors, was Chairman from 1999, and President since 2003.

He is survived by his wife Shizuko Kuroda and two daughters.

Last respects

Around 200 people, including politicians and ministry officials, attended his funeral on 5th January 2007, in Tokyo. Messages of condolence were received from all over the world, including from UNFPA, IPPF, and the East-West Center.

His death was reported in all Japan's major daily newspapers as well as in many local ones.

Prof. Kuroda's last message was delivered two days before his death at a year-end gathering of JOICFP staff. He told everyone that 2007 was a year of challenge, to work hard, and that the secret to staying young was to be curious about new information all the time.