Greetings

I am glad to invite you to attend the 5^th Asian NIR Symposium (The ANS2016 and The 32^nd NIR Forum). The Symposium will be held in Kagoshima city, Japan from November 30 to December 3, 2016. The meeting is co-organized by the Asian NIR Consortium (ANC) and the Japan Council for Near Infrared Spectroscopy (JCNIRS).

Asia is one of the most important territories in the international NIR community. Over the past decades, several international conferences under the auspices of The International Council for NIR Spectroscopy (ICNIRS) were held in this continent including The 2^nd Conference in Japan (1989); The 10^th Conference in Korea (2001); and the 14^th Conference in Thailand (2009). For sure, more international conferences shall be organized in this area.

Back in 2006, the ANC was established as a consensus among participants from China, Japan, Korea and Thailand during the Japan-Korea Joint Symposium on NIR Spectroscopy that was held in Seoul, Korea. One of specific missions of the consortium is to promote the communication and transfer of knowledge and know-how on NIR Spectroscopy among Asian countries through the organization of the Asian NIR Symposium (ANS).

Over the past eight years, we have rotated the host cities of the ANS to Tsukuba, Shanghai, Bangkok and Daegu. The Symposium had been serving as a great platform to strengthen the collaboration between researchers in Asia. On top of that, the Consortium is not limited its members to the original four countries but open to all other Asian members.

As for the venue, Kagoshima city is the southernmost city of Kyushu island; it is a beautiful city with an active volcano called Sakurajima. We are looking forward to welcome you to our Symposium and our exotic city where both great academic experience and delightful memory are awaiting.

Sumio Kawano (Dr.)
Chairman
Asian NIR Consortium (ANC)

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