Noboru Sakashita, the former president of the Ryutsu Keizai University and Professor Emeritus of the University of Tsukuba in Japan, passed away on August 13, 2003. He was very active in RSAI, serving as President of the Regional Science Association during 1987-1988 and his work in the fields of Regional Economics and Econometrics are well-known. He was one of the founders of Applied Regional Science Conference in Japan, and served as the managing editor of the Review of Urban &  Regional Development Studies.