2018. 3. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.65
Report on 2017 Geo Risk Management Study Mission to UK
The Geo Risk Society of Japan began its activities as a
web-based virtual academic society in January 2010
and it has been functioning formally as an academic
society since January 2012. The executive office isestablishedwithinthe

Geological

Information

Utilization and Promotion Initiative NPO, and it
promotes various activities for dissemination ofgeological risk management.
As a part of its activities, and with the cooperation of
the Japan Geotechnical Consultants Association, from Commemorative Photograph with UK Section Members
October 22 to 29, 2017, the Geo Risk Society of Japan

Taken in front of the venue for the Discussion Session

studied movements in academic research in geological risk management in the UK, and implemented the “2017
Geo Risk Management Study Mission to UK,” aimed at clarifying future trends. Having a total of 15 participants,
the delegation included the author, acting as delegation leader, Masatsugu Ogasawara (National Institute ofAdvanced Industrial Science and Technology), acting as the deputy delegation leader, as well as delegates fromthe geological survey industry, consultancy companies, etc.
For this study mission, in addition to participating in the conference on “Ground Related Risk to Transportation
Infrastructure,” hosted by the Geological Society of London and held in London on October 26-27, 2017, there
were visits to general insurance/financing companies involved with world-leading UK survey/design consulting
firms and companies involved in global risk management businesses, providing opportunities for exchange of
opinions, and there was also a discussion session held with Japanese engineers working in local companies.
The discussion session with the Japanese engineers was held with the cooperation of the UK Section of Japan
Society of Civil Engineers, and took place over dinner on October 25th, with participants sat around circular
Chinese banquet tables at the “Phoenix Palace,” located in central London. The six participants from the UK
Section* were Section President, Mr. Daisuke Saito (Senior Bridge Engineer, Mott MacDonald), Mr. Takafumi
Nakada (Bridge Engineer, Atkins, seconded from Obayashi Corporation), Ms. Manika Maharjan (AssistantGeotechnical Engineer, Atkins), Mr. Kensei Yamada (Manager, Technical Department, Giken Europe), Mr. Jinta
Takino (General Manager, Giken Europe) and Mr. Takahiko Ikeda (Managing Director, Giken Europe). [Theaffiliations are those from the time of the UK visit.]* For details of the UK Section established in October 2001, see Special Issue No. 11 of IAC News issued in March 2017.

During the discussion, each attendee contributed details of their valuable experiences and a wide range of topics
were introduced including: 1) geological risk management, 2) the roles of clients (public institutions,1

infrastructure companies), 3) the roles of private enterprises, 4) the roles of engineers, 5) general technology, 6)
working styles, 7) communication styles, 8) mastery of languages and 9) engineer qualifications. As it waspossible to converse in Japanese, a great deal of information could be obtained, not only concerning the technicalaspects of geological risk management, but also about the differences between the UK and Japan over a wide
range of subjects which could not be thoroughly probed in the meetings with UK companies. The following is apartial summary of the report by Mr. Kyo Fujiwara (Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd.) and Mr. Takafumi Ida (OYO
Corporation). (For details, see the report “2017 Geo Risk Management Study Mission to UK,” pp. 29-34,(Japanese) http://www.georisk.jp/research/report201711.pdf)
To list a number of the points: 1) In terms of geological risk management, prior investigations may notnecessarily be sufficient, and if there are problems with the contractual relationships between the three parties
represented by the ordering party, the design consultant, and the contractor, there is a tendency to avoid what ismutually disadvantageous, and the project in general will not progress rapidly. 3) With regard to the roles ofprivate enterprises, those of designers and constructors are clearly divided in the UK, and major construction
contractors have no design department and specialize solely in construction. 4) With regard to the roles ofengineers, it is not common for one engineer to work in multiple fields in the UK, which can be contrasted withJapan, where designers are often involved with designs from super-structural to foundational levels. Also,
because calculations for temporary structures are not covered by general insurance, it is rare for a major design
company to be responsible for construction-related design. 5) With regard to overall technology, in the UK,
according to design standards, there are sections for which designers entrust judgments to different individual
designers, and the variations in the design results according to the persons responsible can be considerable. Thiscan truly be described as a difference in design culture. 6) Regarding working styles, the effects of being acontract-based society are great. Overtime is not recommended and there is flexibility in working styles. Unlike
Japan, a work environment exists in which non-managerial staff feel able to return home at the scheduled time.
9) With regard to engineer qualifications, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) of UK etc. issue thequalification of Chartered Engineer (CEng) to engineers, but it is broader than Japanese professional engineer
qualifications and, while it leads to an improvement in services for members, there are fears that technologicalskills of UK civil engineers will decline. In the UK, there is the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS)
providing certified qualifications for various skills in the construction industry, and although it is not a legal
requirement, most construction work requires the use of persons in possession of such qualifications (Reference:https://www.cscs.uk.com/applying-for-cards/types-of-cards/).
Regarding our current theme of geological risk management, there are aspects that depend on the scale of projects,
but this does not necessarily apply to all British projects, where private companies play an important role.
However, when inquiring about the circumstances in which this does generally apply, the effects of the British
contract-based/rationalist way of thinking seem to extend, like the musical accompaniment of a basso continuo,
from the division of roles for the project as a whole to the working styles of individual engineers.
Although the discussion session was relatively short, lasting only a few hours, the extent to which attendees fromthe UK Section of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers were striving hard for their businesses on a day-to-day
basis, first and foremost in the UK, but also further afield in Europe, and feeling pride both in themselves and intheir technologies, left a deep impression. As the Section President Mr. Daisuke Saito said, I hope members of
the UK Section to recount their experiences in the UK when they are back in Japan. I would like to thank all
those involved, particularly those at the International Activities Center.
【Reported by Tsunemi Watanabe (Kochi Univ. of Technology), President of Geo Risk Society of Japan】
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Joint Company Information Session in Civil Engineering forInternational Student 2017
The IAC International Student Network Group, held its Joint Company Information
Session in Civil Engineering for International Student at the Headquarter of Japan
Society of Civil Engineers on December 16, 2017, with the aim of informinginternational students studying in Japan about Japanese companies working in relation
to civil engineering. This year’s session, held in the Kanto area, marks the fifth. With
cooperation from seven companies, presentations were given, individual consultations
provided via corporate booths, and brochures distributed. There were 37 international
students participating and, in addition to those from the Kanto area, there were also Masato Saitoh(Saitama University)

participants from more distant locations such as Hokkaido.
Participating Companies
Dai Nippon Construction, Eight-Japan Engineering Consultants Inc., NIPPON KOEI CO., LTD.,
Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd., TODA CORPORATION, Obayashi Corporation, HAZAMA ANDO CORPORATIONThe session was organized in three parts, being conductedentirely in English. For the first part, following an
introduction to the activities of the IAC International
Student Network Group, there was a special lecture from
Mr.

Ryoji

Kawabata,

Director

forInternational

Cooperation in the Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, who explained theMinistry’s overseas expansion. A former international
student, Mr. Shrestha Santa Man, now working at aJapanese company (COMMONWEALTH ENGINEERS
CO.,LTD.) also spoke about his experiences. For the

Lecture by Mr. Shrestha Santa Man

second part, there were ten-minute company introductions
given by each of the attending companies, withinformation provided on company features, overseas
projects and business activities. In recent years, theopportunities for young and mid-level foreign staff withexperience studying abroad in Japan to give introductions
have been increasing, and corporate information is being
provided from various perspectives. For the third part, thevarious companies held their respective booth-based
sessions. Participants were actively visiting several
corporate booths and appeared enthusiastic as theyInternational students ask questions at a corporate boothgathered information. In addition to careful explanations
provided by Japanese staff with a wealth of international experience, the cordial responses from foreign staff
with experience participating in the session also left an impression.

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Through communication with the participants, it was also possible to sense the diversity of purpose amongst theinternational students. The students included those wanting to learn about the state of Japanese enterprise andoverseas projects, those looking to secure opportunities to work in Japanese companies in the future, and thosehoping to accumulate several years of occupational experience following their graduation before returning totheir home countries where they would make use of their experience and know-how. In order to respond to thesewide-ranging needs, the International Student Network Group holds Joint Company Information Sessions inalternate years, not just in the Kanto area, but also in the Kansai area. Going forward, we expect to continue toprovide a place for international students and Japanese companies to exchange information. Finally, I would liketo take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the lecturers and individuals from participating companies
who provided much cooperation for this session.
【Reported by Masato Saitoh (Saitama Univ.), Leader of Int’l Student Network Group, IAC】

【Alumni of DOBOKU Series】“Conversion of career from an engineer to a faculty”
Tzu-Ying Lee
Associate Professor of Department of Civil Engineering,
Director of Research Center of Bridge and Railroad Engineering,
College of Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan
Work at CECI Consultants, Inc.
Being an engineer at CECI Consultants, one of the largest consultant companies in
Taiwan, I never thought that I will study in Japan and be a faculty of universities one day.
Those positions were beyond my career plan. In fact, I loved my jobs and was interested
in plan, design and construction of bridges. However, there are a number of connections
between Taiwan and Japan in my life. Since Taiwan and Japan have similar geographicaland meteorological features, we suffer from same natural disasters, such as earthquakes
and typhoon. Thus Japan’s experience and advanced technologies are valuable to Taiwan. Tzu-Ying Lee
Since there are lots of Japan’s engineering books and magazines in CECI’s library, eventhough I was not good at Japanese, I frequently referred to those books and magazines

Associate Professor,
National Central
University

for better design of bridges, particularly the “Specifications for Highway Bridges” edited by Japan Road
Association.
In August 1999, my coworkers and I went to Japan for a business trip. After discussing the design of a special
cable-stayed bridge with our Japan consultants, we visited Seto-Chuo Expressway, Kobe-Awaji-Naruto
Expressway, and Hanshin Expressway. I was surprised at the high technology of bridge engineering in Japan.
Also, we visited Hokudan earthquake memorial park and viewed the Nojima Fault preserved as it was. It is myfirst trip to Japan which lets me respect the high development of civil engineering in Japan. Just one month after
this trip, Chi-Chi earthquake hit central Taiwan. A number of bridges suffered damage and even collapsed. We
were shocked that the dislocation of Chelungpu Fault is much larger than that of Nojima Fault and could be
obviously observed along the fault. After joining the site investigation and reconstruction, I decided to further
my study in Japan for learning more knowledge regarding earthquake engineering. Fortunately, one of mycoworkers, who just met Professor Kawashima on the site of Chi-Chi earthquake, passed me a name card of4

“Professor Kawashima” just in time. It directly reminded me that I saw this name in the “Specifications for
Highway Bridges” and he is the Chairman of members of special sub-committee on seismic countermeasuresfor highway bridges.
Study at Tokyo Institute of Technology
Finishing the twelve-year engineering career, I returned campus to be a doctoral student in October 2002. It
seems to be a dream. When the dream came true, I could not believe that I do study in Japan. Meanwhile, I wasvery excited that I can learn the firsthand and advanced knowledge and technology of earthquake engineering inJapan. Professor Kawashima led me into the research of earthquake engineering and gave me complete freedom
to determine the research topics of my dissertation. Different from in Taiwan, there are numerous internationaland domestic conferences, workshops, and symposiums held by academic societies or associations, such as JSCE,
JAEE, in Japan. I have many chances to participate in many academic activities and presented my research. Suchexperience broadened my viewpoints and enriched my knowledge of earthquake engineering.
In particular, Center for Urban Earthquake Engineering (CUEE) was established in Tokyo Tech. in 2003. I wassponsored as a research assistant and attended many activities organized by CUEE. CUEE also financially
supported me to stay in University of California, Irvine as an exchanged student supervised by Professor Jann
Yang for three months. During this stay, I became familiar with most theories of structural control and obtained
the preliminary result of my dissertation. In summer of 2004, I took part in 13th World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering (13WCEE) in Vancouver with the membersof CUEE, which internationalized my viewpoints. Most
importantly I met with several future colleagues of
National Central University (NCU) in this conference
and realized that there is a position available in civilengineering. This information results in another turning
point in my career.
In addition to academic study, I love living in Japan eventhough the weather is colder than in Taiwan. Generally,
Taiwan students are used to live in Japan quite quickly Birthday Party at NCU with fourteen Taiwan graduate
because of similar food, drink, Chinese characters and students, three overseas graduate students and one overseas
culture. The only difference is that there are lots of

exchanged student in December 2016

“izakaya” restaurants in Japan. In Kawashima lab, we have drinking parties quite often for newcomers, farewell,graduation, New Year … etc. Through the drinking parties, I learned more Japan cultures and got close friendshipwith other members including Japanese, American, Chinese, Filipino, Greek, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese. In fact,
Kawashima lab likes a little United Nations.
Start Academy Career at National Central University
I still remember that our lab had a picnic under blossomy cherries one day after 13WCEE, Professor Kawashima
advised me by using his own experience and encouraged me to apply for the faculty position. Meanwhile, thefaculty and students of NCU started to participate in the international conferences organized annually by CUEE
and the experimental lectures given by Professor Kawashima. Thanks to the faculty of CUEE, following theabove activities, NCU and Tokyo Tech. started more exchanged activities and cooperation including TaiwanJapan Symposium and Study Camp on Earthquake Hazard Mitigation Technology, Concrete Canoe Contest,
Steel Bridge Competition in Asia, Joint Student Seminar, Distance Learning Course, and Exchanged Student
5

Program, which continue to date. Furthermore, NCU extended exchanged activities and cooperation with
Hiroshima University including International Conference and Leader’s Camp on Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Distance Learning Courses, and Exchanged Student Program. Nowadays, more NCU students areinterested in study in Japan.
I deeply appreciate Professor Kawashima, CUEE, and Tokyo Tech. for supporting my study in Japan. The study
experience with Professor Kawashima gave me lots of ideas to do research in earthquake engineering. Besides
structural control, I have extended my research to develop new dynamic finite element analysis and new isolators.
The main objective is to enhance the seismic performance of infrastructures using new technologies.
Profile: The author got Bachelor and Master degrees at National Central University (NCU) and National Taiwan University,
respectively, in Taiwan. After working at CECI Consultants, the author got Doctoral degree at Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Currently, the author is a faculty of NCU.

《Column》Kazuhiko Kawashima, Emeritus Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology
All started after the 921 Earthquake (1999 Chichi, Taiwan, Earthquake). It was one of theworld’s largest earthquakes that resulted in over 10 m vertical thrust. The destructive
damage inspired Professor Lee, a practitioner on planning, design and construction at aconsultant company at that time, to pursue a dream of becoming a researcher. I shared agreat sympathy with her decision because I did not have any intension to become auniversity professor when I joined the Ministry of Construction in 1972. Then she became
my 5th and the first overseas Ph. D. student after my appointment at the Tokyo Instituteof Technology in 1995. I used to let the Ph. D. students to determine the research target
after providing overall research needs and research resources. Stimulated by Professor Yang, UC Irvine,
Professor Lee started to study structural control. She has been expanding her interest to develop new
structural analysis. I trust that she continues to identify real problems for saving people’s life and contributeto create safer society.
※Alumni of DOBOKU Series is in collaboration with Editorial Committee of JSCE Magazine.

- Overseas Projects MRT Purple Line Project Bang Yai to Bang Sue Section Elevated
Structures (East)
MRT Purple Line - Bangkok, Thailand
Traffic congestion in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, has rapidly intensified sincethe 1980s, and measures to improve the urban environment have become a matter ofurgency, with environmental health issues now also posing a serious social concern. To
solve this problem, the Ministry of Transport announced a Bangkok City Railway Master
Plan devised by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), and with theconstruction of an elevated railway, as its main project entity in the city of Bangkok
proceeding, railway infrastructure development has begun to progress rapidly, in spite ofthe delays in improvements to the National Railways.
Bangkok’s MRT Purple Line, which opened in August 2016, is the second MRT line,
6

Hiromasa Nagai
Tokyu Construction Co.,Ltd.

extending 20.9 kilometers between Tao Poon and Khlong Bang Phai Stations and, in August 2017, with theextension of the first MRT line (Blue Line) to connect it to Tao Poon Station, Nonthaburi Province in the northbecame connected to central Bangkok, greatly improving the usability of both lines and bringing a jump in
passenger numbers.
As a joint venture with CH. Karnchang Public Company Limited, a major company in Thailand, the Company
constructed a 12 kilometer section, including both the route’s eastern construction section and the abovementioned Blue Line extended section.
Construction began in November 2009, with an assigned
construction period of 45 months, but land acquisition
delays occurred in sections tracing curves along theroute, and the number of mobile erector cranes required
to construct the concrete box girders was increased fromthe originally planned three units to six.
Furthermore, in October 2011, due to heavy rain incentral Thailand, floodwater surged into Bangkok, andthe elevated box segment factory in Ayutthaya Province

Tao Poon Station

became completely submerged, making production – Intersection of MRT Purple Line and Blue Line
supply impossible for about six months. The route fromthe mountain aggregate source was cut, and wide areas of the western section construction sites were also flooded.
Not only did these problems lead many workers from the provinces to return home, but labor shortages in central
Bangkok were further deepened as workers flowed to the factories upon a legislative increase in basic wages,
and in consideration of these factors, an approximately one year construction period extension was approved.
Japanese-made rolling stock was introduced for the firsttime on this line, making it a monument to the global
spread of overseas railway technology collaborations.
Further, to account for coordination with the use ofprivate vehicles, large car parks were built adjacent tothree stations, with low-cost contracts available for use
in conjunction with the rail services. Connections along
the Blue Line have amassed, and access to central
Bangkok has improved remarkably, with construction
booms beginning, such as for high-end condominiums,
Japanese-made Rolling Stock for MRT Purple Linelarge multi-purpose shopping malls, etc.

We look forward to the continued safe operation of the country’s MRT routes with the extension of the project’slines.
【Reported by Hiromasa Nagai (Tokyu Construction Co., Ltd.)】7

Report on World Engineering Forum (WEF 2017) in Rome, Italy
We Masayuki Yoshimi and Akihiro Toyooka of Earthquake
Engineering Committee of JSCE participated in WorldEngineering Forum 2017 (WEF 2017) held in Rome, Italy, inorder to introduce topics relating to seismic design in Japan. WEF
is an international conference organized by the World Federationof Engineering Organization (WFEO), which covers a whole areaof engineering. The previous conference WECC 2015 was held in
Kyoto. We were dispatched by the Earthquake Engineering Masayuki Yoshimi
Committee to the WEF2017 supported by the International
Scientific Exchange Fund of JSCE, as had received a proposal

Akihiro Toyooka
National Institute ofRailway Technical
Advanced Industrial
Research InstituteScience and Technology

from the Italian Engineering Association (CNI) in charge of the forum.
The theme of the WEF 2017 was “Safeguarding
humankind’s heritage, the great challenge for engineers,”
which

includesclimatechange,naturaldisasters,sustainability, information security and so on. Opening
ceremony was held at the Italian Parliament. Then, on thesecond and third day, keynote speeches and parallelsessions were held. There were about 100 oral presentations
and about 500 participants from all over the world.
Simultaneous interpretation for keynote lectures was
prepared between Italian and English. From Japan, Dr.
Toshimitsu Komatsu, a professor emeritus of Kyushu

WEF 2017 Opening Ceremony at the Italian Parliament

University (Vice President of The Japan Federation of Engineering Societies), gave a keynote speech about adry dam system to prevent flood by strong rainfall increased by the climate change.
We participated in the session of the seismic risk. Yoshimi
gave the talk on “Active fault evaluation in Japan fordisaster mitigation: validation by the 2016 Kumamoto
earthquake (Mw = 7.0),” showing uncertainties in the active
fault evaluations and bridge damage by the fault
displacements which resulted in a revision of seismic code.
Toyooka made the presentation “Seismic design of railway
structures,” which outlined current earthquake-resistantdesign standards compliant with international standards
such as ISO 23469, damage and countermeasures for

At the Entrance of the Conference Hall for WEF 2017

railway facilities due to recent earthquakes, and the conceptof crisis resilient design. We also had impressive and interesting oral presentations in the session: structuralmonitoring using an inexpensive GNSS module, ground disaster risk assessments along the Italian railway, case8

examples in seismic isolation reinforcement of historical buildings. After the session, we received many
comments and contacts from the audience. We would like to make the most of the opportunity to expand our
network for building future collaborations. We thank JSCE and CNI for providing us a great opportunity toattend the forum.
【Reported by Masayuki Yoshimi (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology),
Akihiro Toyooka (Railway Technical Research Institute), JSCE Earthquake Engineering Committee】

Updates◆The 20th International Summer Symposium in 2018
http://www.jsce-int.org/node/538◆Online Museum of Civil Engineering “DOBOHAKU –Tokyo Infrastructure Anatomy –” (English ver.) is now

open.
http://www.dobohaku.com/tokyo/en/◆CECAR8 Call for Abstract: August 1, 2017 – February 28, 2018 March 23, 2018
http://www.cecar8.jp/◆Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC) International Newsletter archives
http://www.acecc-world.org/newsletter.html◆Concrete Committee International Newsletter No. 52
http://www.jsce.or.jp/committee/concrete/e/newsletter/newsletter52/◆The International Infrastructure Archives– A Compilation of Japan’s Greatest Projects in Transfer of Civil Engineering Technology in Service –http://www.jsce.or.jp/e/archive/◆IAC “News Pick Up!!” on the JSCE Japanese website
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/118◆Summary of feature articles in JSCE Magazine Vol. 103, No. 3, March 2018 on the JSCE website
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine◆Journal of JSCE
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce◆IAC Students and Alumni Network
http://www.jsce-int.org/IAC_network§ IAC News Subscription §The IAC News is one of the communication tools to share information and ideas with the members. We would like to invite
you, your friends and colleagues to join the communication and to subscribe the IAC News. Please register online:(http://www.jsce-int.org/node/150). We look forward to meeting you.
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