Professor Hideto Tsuji and Assistant Professor Yuki Arakawa at the Toyohashi University of Technology have developed a method for synthesizing a “pure” alternating copolymer of L- and D-lactic acids in which L- and D-lactic acids are alternately arranged, i.e., a syndiotactic poly(lactic acid). The results of the present study were published on April 10 in Polymer Chemistry, a journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). The results of this study make it possible to synthesize syndiotactic polyesters in which L- and D-type monomers are arranged alternately. These polyesters were traditionally considered to be difficult to synthesize. The present results are expected to facilitate the development of novel polyesters with unprecedented characteristics, such as good productivity due to a fast crystallization rate.