Theme Issue in Memory to Prof. Jiro Tsuji (1927-2022)

<p><span style=color: rgba(23 43 77 1)>This reprint is dedicated to Professor Jiro Tsuji who passed away on April 1st 2022. He pioneered the discovery of transition metal-catalyzed reactions and showed the general idea of developing these reactions in organic synthesis. Well-known reactions include several types of Pd-catalyzed reactions e.g. substitutions of allylic substrates based on the stoichiometric reaction of ?-allyl palladium with carbon nucleophiles; reactions of allyl ?-keto esters resulting in allylation olefin formation and reduction; reactions of propargylic substrates; and methyl ketone formation from 1-olefins based on the Wacker process of ethylene. It is noteworthy that olefin formation is used as the key step in the industrial synthesis of jasmonate. Other reactions catalyzed by Pd Ru and Cu are carbonylation of olefins dienes acetylenes and allyl compounds; decarbonylation of acid chloride and aldehydes; oxidative decomposition of catechol to muconic acid etc. Tsuji focused on the carbon-carbon bond forming reaction from the very beginning of his research.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(23 43 77 1)>The significance of the reactions found by Tsuji was proven by their widespread adoption in academic and industrial laboratories. Consequently it is not surprising that Tsuji was honored with the Chemical Society of Japan Award in 1981 the Japanese Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon in 1994 the Japan Academy Prize in 2004 and the Tetrahedron Prize in 2014. He received Honorary Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.</span></p>