| Foreword | Foreword on LAB | Fusao Tomita | Hokkaido Study Center, The University of the Air |  |
| Feature Articles: Forefront of Science on Lactic Acid Bacteria: Where are we going? | Diversity of Lactic Acid Bacteria | Koichi Watanabe | Yakult Central Institute for Microbiological Research |  |
| Moloecular Cloning of Genes from Lactic Acid Bacteria Based on RAPD-PCR | Toshio Fujii | Central Laboratories for Key Technologies, Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd. |  |
| Nobuyuki Hayashi | Research Laboratories for Brewing, Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd. |
| Energy Generation Coupled with Decarboxylation Reactions in Bacteria | Keietsu Abe | Laboratory of Enzymology, Department of Molecular and Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University |  |
| The Adhesion of Lactic Acid Bacteria to Intestine and Their Glycosidases | Kenji Yamamoto
Takane Katayama | Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University |  |
| Bacteriocins of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Their Applications | Shinichi Kawamoto | Food Hygiene Team, National Food Research Institute |  |
| Jun Shima | Yeast Laboratory, National Food Research Institute |
| Immunomodulatory Functions and Prevention of Viral Infections by Lactic Acid Bacteria | Hisako Yasui | Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University |  |
| Production of Antihypertensive Peptide by Lactic Acid Bacteria | Naoyuki Yamamoto
Tadashi Shinoda | Food Research Laboratory, Calpis Co., Ltd. |  |
| The Development of Functional Cosmetics and Food Using Lactic Acid Bacteria | Katsutoshi Ara | Kao Corporation Biological Science Laboratories |  |
| ArtTaste | A Feast in a Country at Latitude 50 Degrees North | Hiroto Ishida | President, Kanazawa Gakuin University |  |