A Parallel Chronology ofProf. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan
Year
1915
July 13

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 Born in Nishigahara, Takinogawa Ward,
Tokyo City as the first son of Ichiro andTomiko Ishikawa

1923(Age 8)
1928(Age 13)
1933(Age 18)
1936(Age 21)1937

 Entered Elementary School attached toTokyo Higher Normal School Entered Junior High School attached toTokyo Higher Normal School Entered Tokyo High School Entered the Department of Applied
Chemistry, the Faculty of Engineering,Tokyo Imperial University
 During the summer vacation of his
second year at the university he spent
four weeks in Hokkaido and Karafuto(present-day Sakhalin) with hisuniversity friend Takashi Mukaibo (wholater became the President of the
University of Tokyo), visiting pulp mill,coal mine, beet-sugar mill, etc.
 He also visited Manchuria (present-day
Liaoning Province, China).
 He became a member of the Chemical
Society of Japan.

(Age 22)
1939
March 31

April 1

May 30(Age 24)

 He graduated from the Department ofApplied Chemistry, the Faculty ofEngineering, Tokyo Imperial University
 He started working at the Oji Laboratoryof Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.
 He joined the Navy and served as an
ordnance sublieutenant.
(He joined 2nd short-term engineering
officers of the Japanese Navy on active
duty. As part of his training, he served Shewhart devised the control chart.
(1924)
 Kinnosuke Ogura suggested thepossibility of the application of statisticalmethods to the production process.
(1924)
 Fisher’s Statistical Method for Research
Workers was published. (1925)
 Yasushi Ishida (Tokyo ElectricCompany) introduced statistical methods
to the production of lightbulbs. (1929)
 Dodge and Roming proposed a methodof sampling inspection with screening.
(1929) Shewhart’s Economic Control of Qualityof Manufactured Products was published.
(1931) Yasushi Ishida devised the control chart,
which he called “makimono,” and used tocontrol the production process oflightbulbs. (1931)
 Kanzo Kiribuchi introduced quality
control as “Hinshitsu Tosei” in his book
The Science of Industrial Control. (1931)
 Pearson’s “The Application of Statistical
Methods to Industrial Standardization
and Quality Control,” which later became
BS 600, was published. (1935)
 Shewhart’s Statistical Method from theViewpoint of Quality Control was
published.

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

aboard the heavy cruiser “Maya.”) He became a member of theElectrochemical Society of Japan.
1940(Age 25)
1941
March 29

May 30June 1(Age 26)
1942
Feb. 11May

Nov. 1

 He became a member of theIndustrial Explosives Society,Japan.

 All Japan Society of Scientists andEngineers (the predecessor of the Union
of Japanese Scientists and Engineers)
was established.

 He was promoted to a naval ordnancelieutenant and awarded shoshichii (thesenior seventh rank).
 He was ordered to become a reserve
officer.
 He joined Nissan Liquid Fuel Company
and worked in the Construction
Technology Group.
He engaged in the construction of
Lurgi carbonizers.
 He became a member of the Fuel Societyof Japan.

 Toshio Kitagawa, Tatsuo Kawada,
Motosaburo Masuyama, etc. established
the Research Association of Statistical
Sciences and published the journal“Bulletin of the Statistical Mathematics.”
 “Z1-1 Guide for Quality Control,” “Z1-2
Control Chart Method of Analyzing
Data” were established. (ASA) He married Keiko Ujiie and the
newly-wed couple lived in Nishigahara,
Takinogawa Ward, Tokyo City.
 He was transferred to Nissan Liquid
Fuel’s Wakamatsu Plant and the couple
moved to a company-owned house in
Wakamatsu City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
 He was promoted to Technical Lieutenantof the Navy.
 He became a member of the Society for
Chemical Engineering, Japan.

 “Z1-3 Control Chart Method ofControlling Quality During Production”
was established. (ASA)
 All Japan Federation of Science andTechnology established Research Groups
1001 and 1002 to research quality control(QC).
 The Japanese translation of Pearson’s The
Application of Statistical Methods to
Industrial Standardization and Quality
Control (translated by Yasushi Ishida andToshio Kitagawa) was published.
 In US, the Demand Production Bureau
held QC seminar. (34 seminars were heldaround the country from 1924, andapprox. 2,000 people attended.)(Age 27)
1943

 Statistical mathematicians led by Jiro
Yamauchi instructed QC methods at
military factories.
 Dodge proposed the method of samplinginspection plan for continual production(CSP-1).
 Toshio Kitagawa proposed the methods(Age 28)498

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC
of single and double sampling inspection
plan.

1944
March 17

(Age 29)
1945
AutumnOct. 25(Age 30)
1946(Age 31)
1947
Jan. 18(Age 32)

 His first son, Tadashi, was born.

 Kosei-kai, Japan Society of Technology,
and All Japan Society of Scientists andEngineers were dissolved and the Great
Japan Society of Technology (thepredecessor of the Union of Japanese
Scientists and Engineers) was founded.
 The Ministry of Education established theInstitute of Statistical Mathematics.

 He was transferred to Nissan Liquid
Fuel’s Head Office and moved toKamiishiwara Chofu Town, Kitatama
County, Tokyo.
 His first daughter, Hiroko, was born.

 A. Wald proposed the method ofsequential sampling inspection.
 The Japan Standards Association was
founded. (Dec.)

 The American Society for Quality
Control (ASQC) was founded and the
publication of the journal Industrial
Quality Control (renamed Quality
Progress in Feb. 68) started.
 The Great Japan Society of Technology
was dissolved and replaced by the Union
of Japanese Scientists and Engineers.
(May) (The first president: Ichiro
Ishikawa, –70)
 The publication of the Standards andStandardization journal started. (Aug.,JSA)
 The Japan Business Federation was
founded. (Sep. The first president: Ichiro
Ishikawa)
 Magil and others instructed QC at NEC’s
Tamagawa Plant. (GHQ, CCS) The Rice Statistics Mission, including Dr.
Deming, visited Japan to investigate
statistical survey systems.
 He became an associate professor at theFirst Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo
Imperial University. (Department ofPetroleum Engineering, the 3rd499

 The International Organization forStandardization (ISO) was founded.
(Feb.)

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

Petroleum Refinery Engineering
Laboratory) He started research on coal briquettes.
1948
Nov. 20

 His second son, Akira, was born.
 He and Masumasa Imaizumi (then agraduate student) began studying
statistical methods (at the University ofTokyo).
 He became a member of the Japanese
Association of University Professors.
 He became a member of the JapaneseSociety for Engineering Education.

 A statistics workshop was held to offer awide introduction to QC. (Aug. theSociety for Applied Mechanics)
 The Quality Control Research Group wasestablished. [The group was called the“QC Research Group” from aroundautumn of 1949.”] (JUSE) NEC Tamagawa Plant introduced QC in
accordance with Z1-1 to Z1-3 under theguidance of Sarasohn. (GHQ, CCS) Magil, Sarasohn, Reck and others gave
lectures on QC at several communication
device manufacturing companies.
 The Research Institute for ElectricalCommunication introduced samplinginspection on purchased products.
(Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public
Corporation) The name of the course which he taught
was changed from the 3rd Petroleum
Refinery Engineering Laboratory to the
Fuel Engineering Laboratory. (theUniversity of Tokyo)
 He became an instructor of the QC Basic
Course. (JUSE) He joined the QC Research Group andstarted to research QC. (JUSE)

 Consultations on QC activities started atseveral companies by Eizaburo Nishibori,
etc. (May, JMA) A 2-days QC seminar was held. (June,
JSA) The Industrial Standardization Act cameinto effect. (JES was unified into JIS and
the JIS Marking System was established.
July) The QC Basic Course was held. (The firstcourse was one year long. From thesecond year, the course lasted for 6
months.) (Sep. JUSE) The Overseas Technologies ResearchCommittee was established. (One of its
research themes was to research QC.)(JUSE)
 The GHQ-CCS Course was held.

 He became the Vice-chair of the Editorial
Committee of Hinshitsu Kanri (Statistical
Quality Control). (–52, JUSE) JUSE started publication of Hinshitsu
Kanri (Statistical Quality Control).
(March)(Age 33)
1949(Age 34)
1950(Age 35)500

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 He gave the first lecture in the QC Basic
Course and introduced Rice’s Control
Chart. (July 21, JUSE) He became a steering committee memberof the QC System Research Committee.
(JSA)
 He became a lecturer of the “Statistical
Methods and Design of Experiment”
seminar. (–58, Kanto Branch of the
Chemical Society of Japan, Dec. 7–9)

 The Standards and Standardization
journal was renamed JIS journal.
 The JIS Mark Certification Systemstarted. (March) Act on Standardization and Proper
Quality Labelling of Agricultural andForestry Products (JAS marks) came into
effect. (May) Dr. Deming gave several QC lectures
including an 8-days QC seminar, and a
1-day seminar for top management
during his 70-day stay in Japan. (July–
Sep. JUSE) The QC System Research Committee wasestablished. (The preparation of JIS on
sampling inspection, control charts, etc.,
started. The committee was later renamed
the Control System Committee(COSCO).) (JSA) Consultations on QC activities at Fuji
Iron & Steel’s Wanishi Ironworks by agroup of Nishibori, Mizuno, Ishikawa,
Kusaba, and Imaizumi.

 After the reorganization of thedepartment, Ishikawa belonged to the
Department of Applied Chemistry,
Chemical Engineering Course, FuelEngineering Laboratory. (The Universityof Tokyo) He became a member of the Deming
Prize Committee. He also served as theVice-chair of the Deming Application
Prize Subcommittee. (–85)
 He became the chair of the Sampling
Research Group. (JUSE) He became the chair of the QC
Conference. (–71, JUSE) He served as a member of the Editorial
Committee of the JUSE English Report.
 He became a member of the American
Society for Quality Control.

 The first issue of Reports of Statistical
Application Research, JUSE (hereinafterreferred to as the “JUSE English Report”)
was published. (March, JUSE) The QC Committee was established.
(July, the Iron and Steel Institute ofJapan)
 The Deming Prize [Prize for Individuals
and Application Prize] was established.
(June, JUSE)
 Dr. Deming visited Japan. (July–Oct.,JUSE) The 1st Deming Prize Ceremony washeld at the same time as the 1st QC
Conference. (Osaka, Sep., JUSE) [The first winners] Deming Prize for
Individuals: Motosaburo Masuyama;
Deming Application Prize: Showa
Denko, Tanabe Pharmaceuticals, Fuji
Iron & Steel, and Yawata Iron & Steel The Market Research Committee was

1951(Age 36)501

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC
established and held the Market Research
Seminar. (Nov., JUSE) The Sampling Research Group was
founded. (Dec., JUSE)

1952
 He became the Chair of the Editorial
Committee of Hinshitsu Kanri (Statistical
Quality Control). (–78, JUSE) He became a temporary member of theJapanese Industrial Standards Committee.
(the Ministry of International Trade andIndustry) He became a lecturer of the “Statistical
Methods and Quality Control” seminar(–54, Kinki Branch, the Chemical Societyof Japan, and JUSE) He was awarded the Deming Prize for
Individuals.
 He published Sampling in Factories.
(July, Maruzen)

 Dr. Deming visited Japan. (Jan., JUSE) Kenichi Koyanagi reported on QC
practiced in Japan at the 6th ASQC
Annual Conference. (May) The 2nd QC Conference was held. (QC
Conference was held annually in
November in Tokyo.) (JUSE) ASQC Japan Branch was founded. (Dec.)
 U.S. Defense Department established
AGREE and started researchingreliability.
 The Japanese Industrial Standards
Committee joined the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO).
 The Research Association of Statistical
Sciences published Statistical Tables:
New Edition.

 He devised the cause and effect diagram,which was applied to the production
process at the Fukiai Plant of Kawasaki
Steel.
 He became the main lecturer of the QC
and Standardization Seminar. (JSA) The OR Training Course was held. (June,
JUSE) The QC and Standardization Seminar washeld. (JSA) The Award of the Excellent Factories in
Implementation of Industrial
Standardization, the Award of the
Minister of International Trade andIndustry, the Award of Director-Generalof Agency of Industrial Science andTechnology for the Excellent Factory in
Implementation of Industrial
Standardization and the Award of the
Director-General of the Regional Bureau
of International Trade and Industry for
the Excellent Factory in Implementationof Industrial Standardization were
established.

 He became a part-time lecturer at Gunma
University. (–66)
 He published Introduction to Quality

 Dr. Juran visited Japan. During his
45-day stay in Japan, he gave a special
QC Seminar for Executives and a QC

(Age 37)
1953(Age 38)
1954(Age 39)502

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

Control. (JUSE)
 His book Sampling in Factories(Maruzen) was awarded the Nikkei
Quality Control Literature Prize.

Seminar for Managers. He also visitedseveral industrial plants in Japan. (July–
Aug., JUSE) The Nikkei Quality Control Literature
Prize was established. (Nov.)
 ISO/STACO (the Committee onStandardization Principles) wasestablished.
 Industrial Standardization Promotion
Week was established.
 The Kanagawa QC Research Group wasestablished at the Industrial ResearchInstitute of Kanagawa Prefecture.

 He became the chair of the Control Chart
Research Group and the Sampling
Research Group of QC Basic Course.
(JUSE)
 The Control Chart Method written andedited by Ishikawa was published. (Arevised edition was published in Oct.,
1962 by JUSE Press.)

 QC Basic Course Lecturers’ Association
was established. (JUSE) The Japan Productivity Center (JPC) was
founded and began dispatching adelegation to America to research
productivity. (March) The Sensory Test Research Group wasestablished. (April, JUSE) The QC Seminar for Managers was held.
(May, JUSE) The Design of Experiment Seminar washeld. (May, JUSE) The JUSE Press, LTD. was established inJune. (Renamed JUSE Press, Ltd. in Nov.
1966)
 Research on QC implementation in Japanwas conducted. (JSA) The Japan Industrial Training
Association was founded and started thepromotion of TWI and WSP.
 The Standardization Seminar was held.
(JSA)

 He became the chief of ASQC Japan
Branch. (–58)
 He appeared as a lecturer on Nihon
Short-Wave Broadcasting’s program “QC
Courses.” The JIS journal was renamed
Standardization. (Jan., JSA) The 6-day QC Introductory Seminar washeld. (Apr., JUSE) The first issue of Operations Research
journal was published. (June, JUSE) Nihon Short-Wave Broadcastingbroadcast a program titled the QC

1955(Age 40)
1956(Age 41)503

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC
Course. (July–Dec. 1957, JUSE) The Chugoku Quality Control ResearchGroup was established. (JSA Hiroshima) The Design of Experiment Seminar washeld. (JSA) The European Organization for Quality
Control (EOQC) was founded.
 A. V. Feigenbaum published his thesis
titled “Total Quality Control” in the
Harvard Business Review.

1957(Age 42)
1958
Feb.

(Age 43)

 He appeared as a lecturer on NHK’s radio
programs. (–62, NHK Radio 2)
 His article “Points in Preparing In-houseStandards” (published in the Hinshitsu
Kanri (Statistical Quality Control) [140])
won the Standardization LiteratureAward.
 He started playing golf.
 He published Introduction to Sampling
Methods. (June, JUSE Press)

 The first Spring QC Conference washeld. (Osaka, May, JUSE) The Operations Research Society ofJapan was founded. (June) The QC Seminar for Executives was heldin Karuizawa. (July, JUSE) The Sensory Test Seminar was held.
(Sep., JUSE) The Kansai QC Research Group wasestablished. (JSA) The Professional Engineer Act came into
effect, which created the qualification of“production management engineer.” George Box proposed EVOP.
 The radio programs New Management
and Quality Control (57), Basic Course
on Production Management (58),
Introduction to Production Management(59), Production Management Made
Simple (60), Quality Control Made
Simple (61), and Introduction to Quality
Control (62) were broadcast on NHK
Radio 2.

 He received a Ph.D. in engineering fromthe University of Tokyo. His doctoral
thesis was “Coal Sampling.” He visited the US as the deputy of the
QC Special Delegation. (Head of thedelegation: Noboru Yamaguchi) (Jan.,JPC)
 He became a member of The Japan
Petroleum Institute.
 Quality Control Guidebook (Vol. 1, Vol.

 The Reliability Research Committee wasestablished. (Oct., JUSE) The 1st National Meeting ofStandardization was held in Tokyo. (Oct.,JSA) The Deming Application Prize for SmallEnterprise was established. (Nov.) The
first winner was Nakayo, Inc.
 The Kyushu QC Research Group wasestablished. (JSA)504

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

1959
Feb. 1(Age 44)
1960
April 1

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

2), written and edited by Ishikawa, were
published. (A revised edition of Vol. 1
was published in July, 1963 and a revised
edition of Vol. 2 was published in Nov.,
1964.)

 The Shikoku QC Research Group wasestablished. (JSA) QC slides were released. (JSA) Konishi & Taguchi proposed the linear
graph method in their book Orthogonal
Array Table and Allocation Type.

 The 1st QCG (QC GOLF) competition
held at Atami Golf Club.
After the reorganization of thedepartment, Ishikawa belonged to the
Department of Chemical Engineering,
Fuel Engineering Laboratory. (theUniversity of Tokyo)
 He became the chair of the Editorial
Committee of the JUSE English Report.
 He became an examiner of the Ministryof International Trade and Industry’s
Professional engineers qualification
examination. (–61)
 He became a member of the Council for
Industrial Rationalization. (–61)
 He became a lecturer of the QC Seminarfor Managers. (JSA) Dr. Shewhart visited Japan and gave
lectures around the country.
 The QC Seminar for Managers was held.
(JSA)
 The Inspection Seminar was held. (JSA) To celebrate the 10th anniversary of theIndustrial Standardization Act, Japan’s
Industrial Standardization was published.
(Agency of Industrial Science andTechnology)
 The TV series “The Training of Quality
Control and Standardization” wasbroadcast on NHK Educational TV: The
Factories of the Future (59), FactoryManagement Series (60). QC Series (60),Standardization Series (60), andStandardization for Small Enterprises(61).

 He became a professor of the Faculty ofEngineering, the University of Tokyo.
 He became the chair of the Quality
Month Committee. (–89)
 He became the chief of the Standards
Rationalization Research Subgroup of the
COSCO Sampling Inspection ResearchGroup. (–72, JSA) He proposed “Ten QC Principles for
Vendee-Vendor Relations.” He appeared as a lecturer on the TV
educational program series The Factoriesof the Future,(–March 1961, NHK Educational TV)
 He published Quality Control Textbook
for Foremen Volume A and Volume B(joint authorship). (JUSE Press).

 The TV program The Factories of the
Future was broadcast. (–61, NHK
Educational TV)
 The Seminar on How to Introduce QC
was held. (JSA) The Sensory Test Conference was held.
(Oct., JUSE) A ceremony to celebrate the 10th
anniversary of Deming Prize was held,
inviting Deming, Rao, Wilks, Cochran,and Hamerker. (JUSE)
 Dr. Deming was awarded with theSecond Class Order of the Sacred
Treasure.
 It was decided to establish November as“Quality Month” and the QC promotion
banner was adopted. During this month,lectures were held around the country.
Quality Month textbooks were published,(Age 45)505

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC
and promotional posters were distributed.
 An NHK educational program The
Quality of Japanese Products (theQuality Month Broadcast) was broadcast
on NHK Radio 2.
 The Association of Technical HighSchool Principals started QC lectures.

1961(Age 46)
1962(Age 47)
1963(Age 48)

 After the reorganization of thedepartment, Ishikawa belonged to the 4th
Fuel Engineering Laboratory (Applied
Combustible Science). (the University ofTokyo) He became a lecturer of the Introductory
Course for Design of Experiment.
(JUSE) He became a member of the ISO/TC 102
Japan Committee and served as the chairof the Sampling Subcommittee. (–81,Japan Iron and Steel Federation)
 He was awarded with the Fuel Society ofJapan Award.

 The QC Seminar for Managers and the
QC Seminar for Supervisors started.
(Central Japan Industries Association)
 Introductory Course for Design ofExperiment was held. (Apr., JUSE) The Asian Productivity Organization(APO) was founded. (May) Japan became the secretariat of
ISO/TC102 (iron ore).
 The Japan Consumers’ Association was
founded. (Sep.)
 The “Supervisor Special Issue” of
Hinshitsu Kanri (Statistical Quality
Control) was issued. (Nov., JUSE) He became the chair of the editorial
board of Genba To QC-magazine.
(JUSE) He became the chair of COSCO’s
Standardization Research Group. (–71,
JSA)
 He became a board member of the
Chemical Society of Japan. (–64)
 He became the Executive director of the
QC Circle Headquarters.
 He published Quality Control Handbook(joint authorship). (A revised edition was
published in June, 1977 and the newedition was published in April, 1988.
JSA)
 His report Japanese Industrial Standards
won the Standardization LiteratureAward. (JSA) The first issue of Genba To QC-magazine
was published by JUSE. The magazine
proposed forming QC circles. (Apr.)
 The QC Circle Headquarters wasestablished at JUSE. (May, JUSE) The Hokkaido QC Research Group wasestablished. (JSA) The QC Seminar for Supervisors washeld. (JSA) Japan became an IEC Council Member.
(–68)
 Martin Company started ZD (Zero
Defects) activity. (Aug.) The QC Seminar for Senior Management
was held. (Sep., JUSE) The QC Conference for Foreman, and the
QC Conference for Consumers were
held. (Nov., JUSE) He served as the chair at the ISO/TC
102/SC 1 1st International Meeting.
(–81, Japan Iron and Steel Federation) The ISO/TC 102 (iron ore) 1st
International Meeting was held in Tokyo.
Japan was the secretariat for SC1 (iron506

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 He became a member of the JapaneseIndustrial Standards Committee. (Maintask: Basic Subcommittee) (MITI)

ore sampling).
 The 1st QC Circle Conference was held.
(May, Sendai) The 1st Quality Control Study Team toOverseas was dispatched to the US. (Thehead of the delegation: Kenichi
Koyanagi) (May, JUSE) The QC Research Group (QCRG) was
founded. (JUSE) Abridged Translations of Reliability
Literature was published. (Oct., JUSE) The QC Conference for Top Management
was held. (Nov., JUSE) MIL-STD-105D was established. (Thestandard, which had been revised
sequentially as MIL-STD-105A, B and C,
was substantially revised.) Q-S English Report was published. (JSA) Research on QC implementation in
America, Europe and Asia wasconducted. (APO) He became a part-time lecturer at Seikei
University. (–70)
 He gave a special lecture and acted as a
discussion leader at the Quality Control
Symposium held in Tokyo, welcoming
representatives from various countries in
Asia. (APO) He published How to Establish ProductStandards of Japanese Industrial
Standards. (JSA) He became an advisor to the Japan
Productivity Center.

 Kenichi Koyanagi was awarded the
ASQC Edwards Medal. (May) A presentation on “Control Points” wasgiven at the Matsuyama QC Conference.
(May, JUSE) The Quality Control Symposium washeld in Tokyo, welcoming representatives
from various countries in Asia. (Aug.,APO)
 The QC Circle Kanto Regional Chapter,
Tokai Regional Chapter, Kinki Regional
Chapter and Hokuriku Regional Chapter
were founded. (Sep., QC Circle
Headquarters)
 Standardization journal was renamed
Standardization and Quality Control.
(Apr., JSA) The 1st Nagano Q-S Conference washeld. (JSA) The US Department of Defense
recommends defense companies to adopt
ZD activity.

1964(Age 49)507

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 He joined the 2nd QC Overseas Research
Team as the head of the delegation(JUSE).
He introduced the activities of QC circles
at the ASQC Annual Conference.
 He became a member of the Quality
Control Symposium Organizing
Committee. (–78, JUSE) JIS M 8100 “Particulate materials –General rules for methods ofsampling” was established. (Heserved as the chair of the Draft
Committee.) Genba To QC-magazine established theFQC Award. (Jan., JUSE) The Reliability Introductory Seminar washeld. (Feb., JUSE) The QC Circle Chugoku Regional
Chapter and Shikoku Regional Chapter
were founded. (June, QC Circle
Headquarters) The Quality Control Symposium (QCS)
was established and decided to holdmeetings twice a year. (July, JUSE) The Japan-America Joint
Symposium on Bulk Material
Sampling was held. (Nov., Tokyo)
 NEC implemented ZD activity on acompany-wide level.
 The New Product Development Class
was held. (JSA) The Tohoku QC Research Group wasestablished. (JSA) The 1st QCS: How to introduce, promoteand establish QC.
 The 2nd QCS: The role of QC
department.

 He attended the 10th EOQC Conference
held in Stockholm. During the QC circle
special discussion, he was invited onto
the stage.
 He became one of six man board of theInternational Academy for Quality
preparation committee. (–69)
 He became an inspector at the Scienceand Technology Agency.

 The Deming Application Prize for
Division was established.
 Dr. Juran was invited to the 14th QC
Circle Convention held by the Kanto
Regional Chapter. (Apr., JUSE) The Reliability Seminar for Managers
was held. (July, JUSE) The QC Computer Course was held.
(Sep., JUSE) Takeshi Suzuki visited the United Arab
Republic to teach QC. (UNIDO) The “QC Circle Song” was made.
(Nov., QC Circle Headquarters)
 Genichi Taguchi published Statistical
Analysis and introduced the S/N ratio.
 The 3rd QCS: The problems in
inspections (Part 1).
 The 4th QCS: The relations between thevendor and the vendee.

1965(Age 50)
1966(Age 51)508

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Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 He became the chair of the organizationcommittee of the QC Seminar for
Foremen. (–71, JUSE) He became a member of ICQC
’69-TOKYO Organizing Committee. (–69, JUSE) He became a member of the Q-S
Organization Committee. (JSA) He proposed a revised edition of “Ten
QC Principles for Vendee-Vendor
Relations” was published.
 He published Introduction to Analysis of
Variance (joint authorship). (Nov., JUSE
Press)

 The QC Seminar for Foremen was held.
(Jan., JUSE) The ICQC ’69-TOKYO Organizing
Committee was established. (Sep., JUSE) The World Health Organization (WHO)recommended pharmaceutical companies
to adopt QC.
 The National Meeting on Quality Control
and Standardization (Q-S Conference)
was established. (JSA) The 5th QCS: Process analysis.
 The 6th QCS: QC in the era ofautomation and computerization (1).

 Student protests began at the Universityof Tokyo, and Ishikawa’s work wasaffected.
 He became the principal lecturer ofIndustrial Standardization and Quality
Control Seminar for developing
countries. (–74, OTCA/JSA, 74–,
JICA/JSA) He became the chair of the organizationcommittee of the QC Seminar forMarketing He published Guide to Quality Control.
(JUSE Press)
The English edition of Guide to
Quality Control (1st ed. 1974, rev. ed.
1976. 2nd rev. ed. 1982), French edition(1984), Italian edition (1985), Spanish
edition (1985), Indonesian edition (1986),
Hebrew edition (1988), and Dutch edition(1989) were published. A publishing deal
for the Portuguese edition was concluded,
but it hasn’t been published yet. (APO) His report Ideal Product Standard and
How to Create It won the Standardization
Literature Award. (JSA) He published Control Chart. (JSA) Training of industrial standardization and
QC for participants from developing
countries started. (The 1st 4-monthcourse was held in Tokyo) (–74,
OTCA/JSA, 74–, JICA/JSA) The 1st QC Circle Team to Overseas(1-FQCT) (Head of the delegation:
Masumasa Imaizumi) (Apr., JUSE) The JUSE Course for Marketing washeld. [75- QC Seminar for Marketing](Aug., JUSE)
 ZE National Conference was held (JMA) Research on the utilization of JIS and theeconomic effects of industrial
standardization was conducted. (Agency
of Industrial Science andTechnology/JSA) Japan became a council member of ISO.
(–71)
 The Japan Society for Production
Engineering was founded. (Oct.) The QC Circle Kyushu Regional Chapter
was founded. (Nov., QC Circle
Headquarters) The 1st VE National Conference washeld. (Society of Japanese ValueEngineering) ASQC’s journal was renamed Quality
Progress.

1967(Age 52)
1968(Age 53)509

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC
 The Taiwanese QC Team visited Japanand attended the QC Conference for
Foreman and the QC Conference forManager and Staff.
 The 7th QCS: Quality Assurance andreliability.
 The 8th QCS: Sales activities and QC.

1969
May 23(Age 54)
1970
Jan. 20(Age 55)

 His first daughter, Hiroko, married
Yasushi Kurokawa.
 He became the chair of the Administrative
Organization Subcommittee of the
University Reform Preparatory ResearchCommittee. (–70, the University ofTokyo) He became a member of the JapaneseSociety for Quality Control Preparation
Committee. (–70)
 He became the Vice-chair of ICQC ’69TOKYO Technical Session.
 He became a member of the JapaneseIndustrial Standards Committee. (ISOSubcommittee, MITI) He became an ASQC fellow. (–86)
 He was commended by the Minister ofInternational Trade and Industry for his
contribution to the promotion ofindustrial standardization.
 His Statistical Methods for Chemists andChemical Engineers and Design ofExperiment for Chemists and Chemical
Engineers Volume I and Volume II(Tokyo Kagaku Dojin) won the Nikkei
Quality Control Literature Prize.

 ICQC ’69-TOKYO (the first international
QC conference held on a world-widelevel) was held in Tokyo. (Oct., JUSE) IAQ was founded. (Oct., Tokyo)
 The Kansai ZD Group’s conference washeld. (JMA) The QC Application Seminar for Office
and Sales Department was held. (JSA) The Self Motivated Micro-Management(Jishu-Kanri; JK) Activity Committee
held their JK activity report meeting.
(Japan Iron and Steel Federation) The 1st Tochigi Q-S Conference, and the
1st Tohoku Q-S Conference were held.
(JSA)
 The Yamanashi Prefecture QC ResearchGroup was established. (Kofu Chamberof Commerce and Industry) A questionnaire survey on in-housestandardization and quality control was
conducted. (Agency of Industrial Scienceand Technology/JSA) To celebrate the 20th anniversary of theIndustrial Standardization Act, The
20-year History of Japan’s Industrial
Standardization was published.
 The 9th QCS: The distinctive featuresand problems of Japanese QC.
 The 10th QCS: Reflection and future
development of Japanese QC.

 His father, Ichiro Ishikawa, passed awayat 84.
 He became the Vice-chair of theEstablishment Committee for theJapanese Society for Quality Control.

 The Ishikawa Award was established.
The Ishikawa Award Committee wasestablished. (June, JUSE) The Japan Quality Control Medal wasestablished. (Aug., JUSE)

510

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC(–71)
 He introduced QC circles to Taiwan. On
the occasion of Ishikawa’s visit to
Taiwan, the 1st National QC Circle
Conference was held. (PETT, Taiwan)
 He became the chair of the ISO/TC 69
Japan Committee.
 He became a lecturer on the “Production
Control Course for Machinery
Manufacturers” for participants fromdeveloping countries.
 QC Circle Koryo, General Principles of
the QC Circle written and edited by
Ishikawa was published. (A revised
edition was published in Oct. 1990.
JUSE)

 The first winner was Toyota Motor
Industries (Nov.)
 The Sensory Test Overseas Research
Team was dispatched. (May, JUSE) The Standardization Mission Team(headed by Hidehiko Azuma) was
dispatched to the USSR. (JSA) The 2nd Japan-America Joint
Symposium on Bulk Material
Sampling was held. (Oct., Hawaii) October 14 was declared as World
Standards Day. (ISO) The Japanese Society for Quality Control
foundation meeting was held. (Nov.)
 The 11th QCS: Planning and quality.
 The 12th QCS: Product safety, pollution
and QC.

 After the reorganization of the faculty,
Ishikawa belonged to the Department ofReaction Chemistry, the 4th Laboratory(Reaction Management Engineering).
(the University of Tokyo)
 He became the Vice-president of theJapanese Society for Quality Control. (–74)
 He became the director of the Union ofJapanese Scientists and Engineers.
 He became the chair of the Sampling
Research Group of Environmental
Pollution. (–81, JUSE) He became the vice-chair of the
Reliability and Maintainability
Symposium Organizing Committee.
(JUSE) He became the chair of the Organizing
Committee of the JUSE Course forPurchasing. (JUSE) He became the President of the QC Circle
Cruising Seminar. (JUSE) He became the chair of the International
Group of Japanese Standards
Association. (JSA) He became the chair of the ISO/TC 69
Japan Committee.

 The QC Correspondence Basic Course
for Foremen was held. (Jan., JUSE) The QC Circle Hokkaido Regional
Chapter was founded. (March, QC Circle
Headquarters)
 Reliability Symposium [71–, Reliability
and Maintainability Symposium] was
held. (Apr., JUSE) The Japanese Society for Quality Control
was founded. (Apr., First President:
Yasusaburo Hara) The Sampling Research Group ofEnvironmental Pollution was established.
(May, JUSE) The QC Circle Cruising Seminar washeld. (June, JUSE) The International Committee of theControl System Research Group wasestablished. (JSA) The first issue of the journal of theJapanese Society for Quality Control
Hinshitsu (Quality) was published. (Sep.)
 QC Diagnosis by Deming Prize
Committee started.
 Japan was re-elected as a council memberof ISO.
 The JUSE Training Course for1971(Age 56)511

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

1972
Oct. 27

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 How to Operate QC Circle Activities
written and edited by Ishikawa waspublished. (The 1st revised edition was
published in July 1976 and the 3rd
revised edition was published in April
1991. JUSE) He became a member of the JapaneseSociety for Quality Control.

Purchasing and Material Department washeld. [75–, JUSE Training Course for
Procurement and Material Department](Oct., JUSE) The Multivariate Analysis ResearchGroup was established. (Nov., JUSE) The All Japan QC Circle Conference washeld. (Nov., JUSE) The President of QC
Circle Grand Prize was established.
 The Chubu Quality Control Association
was founded.
 The 13th QCS: Future QC staff —challenges in 1970s.
 The 14th QCS: Quality evaluation.

 His first son, Tadashi, married Noriko
Inoue.
 He joined the 7th QC Overseas Research
Team as the head of the delegation andintroduced PL issues to Japan. (JUSE) He became a member of the International
Cooperation Committee. (–78, ASQC)
 Ishikawa, as the chair of the Standards
Rationalization Committee, submitted the
Improvement Proposal “JapaneseIndustrial Standards.” (JSA) He became the chair of the ISO/TC
102/SC 1 7th International Meeting.
 He became the chair of the organizing
committee for the International
Symposium on the Air Pollution
Prevention Technology. (JUSE) He became a member of IAQ.
 He was awarded with the Grant Medal
1971. (ASQC)

 Reliability Study Team to overseas(RET) was dispatched. (July, JUSE) The QC Research Delegation wasdispatched to Europe. (Chubu Quality
Control Association) There was a presentation on “Quality
Table” at Fukuoka QC Conference.
 Hinshitsu Kanri (Statistical Quality
Control) established the SQC Prize.
(June, JUSE) The Council for the Trainers of Business
Management Technology held a national
conference. (July, JUSE) IAQ meeting was held in Washington at
the same time as the ASQC Annual
Conference. IAQ was founded.
 The QC Circle Seminar for Facilitators
was held. (May, JUSE) The QC Circle Summer Seminar washeld in Koyasan. (July, JUSE) The PL Research Committee wasestablished. (Oct., JUSE) The QC Council of Executives wasestablished. (Dec., JUSE) The Certification System for Excellent
QC Factories for Manufactured Housing
was established. (MITI) USA enacted the Consumer Product
Safety Act. Product Liability becomes anobject of public concern.

(Age 57)
512

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC
 The 15th QCS: QC as a tool to overcome
the economic depression.
 The 16th QCS: Our company’s
company-wide quality control.

1973
 He became the chair of the organizing
committee of QC Circle Seminar for Top
Management. (JUSE) He became a member of the Japan-Soviet
Round-table Conference onStandardization. (JSA) He visited China as a delegation member
to research industrial standardization andquality control.
 He visited Europe as the general leader of
the 6th QC Circle Overseas Research
Delegation Team. (Head of thedelegation; Koichi Ohba) (JUSE) He published Product Liability (joint
authorship). (Nov., JUSE Press)(Age 58)
513

 The Quality Control Award for Factoryby Deming Prize Committee wasestablished. (Nov.)
The first winner was Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries’ Kobe Shipyard.
 The QC Circle Seminar for Top
Management was held. (Jan., JUSE) Genba To QC-magazine was renamed
FQC. (Jan., JUSE) The Distribution Department QC
Research Group (textile field) wasestablished. (Apr., JUSE) The 1st Product Liability Study Team
(PLT) to Overseas was dispatched.
(Aug., JUSE) The 1st Pacific Area Standards Congress(PASC) was held in Honolulu.
 The PLP Seminar was held, inviting
American experts as lecturers. (Oct.,JUSE)
 QC in the production of medical products(JGMP) (The Federation of
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’
Association of Japan)
 USSR Standardization Delegation visited
Japan.
 China Standardization and Quality
Control Delegation visited Japan. (Oct.) Lockheed’s QC Circle Research
Delegation visited Japan. (Nov.)
Lockheed formed the first QC circles
in America.
 Sanuier-Dubal, a French electric motor
manufacturer, formed the first QC circles
in Europe.
 The Product Liability Research Groupwas established. (Nov., JUSE) The 17th QCS: Quality assurance andfailure analysis.
 The 18th QCS: Process capability.

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 He became the President of the JapaneseSociety for Quality Control. (–75)
 He became the head of the 1st
Internationally-operating Company QC
Research Delegation (Southeast Asia).
(JUSE) He became a principal lecturer of the“In-Plant Group Training Program in the
Field of Quality Improvement for
Industrial Products.” (UNIDO/AOTS) JIS Z 8402 “General rules for permissible
tolerance of chemical analyses andphysical tests” was established. (Ishikawa
was the chair of the Draft Committee.) He became an honorary member of theJapan Environmental Measurements &Chemical Analysis Association.
 Quality Assurance Guidebook edited by
Ishikawa was published. (Oct., JUSE
Press)

 The QC Circle Tohoku Regional Chapter
was founded. (Apr., QC Circle
Headquarters) The Introductory QC Course forMarketing was held. (March, JUSE) The Housing Industry QC ResearchGroup was established. (MITI) The Service Industry QC Symposium
was held, inviting Dr. Juran. (Oct., JUSE)
 ISO/TC 69 newly established SC 1.
 The International Standardization
Activities Cooperation Center was
founded. (JSA) A Long-term Plan for Industrial
Standardization was made. (Agency ofIndustrial Science and Technology)
 “In-Plant Group Training Program in the
Field of Quality Improvement for
Industrial Products” was held. (–76,
UNIC/AOTS, 77–, The course wasrenamed “Industrial Product Quality
Improvement Course.”) The 19th QCS: The Role of QC in era ofsaving materials and energy.
 The 20th QCS: The planning andevaluation of new products.

 His mother, Tomiko, passed away at 79.
 He became the general leader of the 8th
QC Overseas Research Delegation Team
dispatched to Europe. (JUSE) He became the vice-president of IAQ.
(–78)
 He became a council member of theJapanese Society for Quality Control.
(–77)
 He became a member of theInternational Friendship Club.
 Quality Assurance Guidebook (JUSE
Press) written and edited by Ishikawa
was awarded the Nikkei Quality Control
Literature Prize.

 The Reliability Data Research Group wasestablished. (Apr., JUSE) The QC Basic Course for Mid-level
Operators started. (March, JUSE) The PLP Seminar was held. (March,JUSE)
 A QC circle session was held at the 30th
ASQC Annual Conference.
 IAQ meeting was held in Venice in
September, at the same time as the
EOQC Conference.
 The 25th anniversary of the Deming
Prize. Dr. Deming was invited to Japan.
 The South Korea’s Industrial Promotion
Bureau began promoting QC.
 The 1st National QC Circle Conference

1974(Age 59)
1975
Feb. 23(Age 60)
514

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Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC
was held in South Korea. The 1st QC andStandardization Conference was alsoheld.
 The Delegation Team from the South
Korea’s Industrial Promotion Bureau andthe Korean Standards Association
Research visited Japan.
 A delegation team was dispatched to
the USSR. (Japan-Soviet Round-table
Conference on Standardization) The 21st QCS: Measures to address
product liability.

1976
March 31
April 1

May 18(Age 61)
1977
Sep.

(Age 62) Ishikawa retired from the University ofTokyo.
 He became a professor of the Faculty ofEngineering, Science University ofTokyo.
 He became a professor emeritus of the
University of Tokyo.
 He was awarded with the Asada Medalfrom the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan.
 He became the head of the 2nd
Internationally-Operating Company QC
Research Team dispatched to Central andSouth America. (JUSE) He became a member of PASC.
 He became an honorary member of thePhilippine Society for Quality.
 He became the director of JUSE Press.
 He was awarded with the Fuel Society ofJapan Award.

 The Iranian QC Research Team visited
Japan. (APO) The 1st East Asia QC Circle International
Exchange Meeting was held. (Apr.,
Seoul)
 The TQC Promotion Seminar for
Practioners was held. [79–, TQC Seminar
for Facilitators] (June, JUSE)
 “Industrial Standardization Basic
Problems Round-table Conference” washeld. (Agency of Industrial Science andTechnology)
 “The QC Seminar for Food
Manufacturers” for participants fromdeveloping countries was held. (APO
The 2nd seminar was held in ’78)
 The 22nd QCS: Data utilization.
 The 23rd QCS: Quality and cost.

 He became the chair of the ICQC
’78-TOKYO Program Committee. (–78,
JUSE)
 He became the chair of the ISO
Subcommittee of the Japanese Industrial
Standards Committee. (MITI) He became the chair of theStandardization Special Committee of theJapan Farm Machinery Manufacturer’s
Association Corporation. (Japan Farm
Machinery Manufacturer’s Association
Corporation) The Japanese Society for Quality Control
became an incorporated association.
(Apr.)
 Yoshinobu Nayatani, and others
proposed the “New Seven management
tools for QC.” (Jan.) A researchcommittee was established. (May, JUSE) The QC Circle Seminar for Leaders washeld. (July, JUSE)
 Governmental Building Construction Q-SRound-table conference was held. (JSA) The Mexican Quality Control Training

515

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

1978
April 1(Age 63)

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 He became a researcher at theComponent Measurement Department,
Laboratory of Metrology, the Agency ofIndustrial Science and Technology.
 He became the chair of the executive
committee of the 20th National Meetingof Standardization. (JSA) He became the chair of the organizationcommittee of the Mexican Quality
Control Training Course. (JICA/JUSE) He was awarded with the Medal withBlue Ribbon for his contribution to thepromotion of industrial standardization.
 He became an honorary member of theArgentine Association for Quality
Control.
 Quality Control Handbook (New Edition)
written and edited by Ishikawa waspublished. (The second edition was
published in April, 1988, JSA)Team visited Japan. (JICA/JUSE)
The 1st PL World Conference was heldin London.
Yoshio Kondo was awarded the Grant
Medal. (ASQC)
The Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and
Quality Control (GMP) Seminar washeld. (Sep., JUSE)The Japan Prefabricated Construction
Suppliers and Manufacturers Association
held TQC seminars.
Noboru Takagi was elected as the 22nd
president of the IEC.
The 4th ICPR Conference (IEinternational conference) was held.
The 24th QCS: Quality design andprocess design.
The 25th QCS: Small-group activities
and QC.

 He became the President of Musashi
Institute of Technology.
 He became the director of Goto-Ikueikai.
 He became the director of the Tokyu
Foundation for Foreign Students.
 He became the chairperson of the boardof directors of the Japan-China Industrial
Technology and Culture Center. (–82)
 He became a member of the Special
Committee for the Revision of Industrial
Standardization System. (MITI) He became the chair of the Policy
Committee for Farm Machinery
Standardization. (MITI) He became the chair of the PASC Japan
Committee.
 As a QC expert, he visited Iran and
Thailand. (Apr., APO) He became a temporary member of
the Industrial Structure Council. (–79, MITI) He became the chief of the Quality
Control Technology Exchange
Delegation Team and visited China. He
516












 The Construction Industry TQC
Round-table Conference was held. (JSA) The QC Introductory Seminar for
manufacturers and processors of tatami
mats was held. (Japan Association for
Tatami Manufacturers/JSA) The Chinese National Economic
Committee’s Delegation Team headed by
Yuan Baohua visited Japan to research
QC practiced in Japan.
 The China Association forStandardization (CAS) joined the ISO.
 Mizuno & Akao published the Quality
Function Deployment. (June, JUSE
Press)
 The research group on the Seven
management tools for QC wasestablished. (June, Osaka, JUSE).
 China: National QC Month Activities for
Industry and Transportation.
 ICQCC ’78-TOKYO (the firstinternational Convention on QC Circles)
was held. (Oct., JUSE) ICQC ’78-TOKYO was held. (Oct.,A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

held QC seminars/exchange meetings.
 He became the chair of the ICQCC’78-TOKYO Program Committee.
(JUSE) He became the chair of the EnterpriseManagement Research Group.
(Japan-China Economic Association)









1979
Nov. 2(Age 64)

 His second son, Akira, married Kazuko
Nozaki.
 He became the head of the 1st QC
Research Delegation Team andvisited China. (JUSE/Japan-China
Economic Association)
 He gave a lecture at the United
Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO). (AOTS) He was made the director of the Tokyu
Foundation for a Better Environment.
 He became a council member of theInter-University Seminar House.
 He became the advisor to Hinshitsu
Kanri (Statistical Quality Control).
(JUSE) He became a member of the ISO/TC
27 Japanese committee on coal andcoke.
 He became a member of the Board of
Directors of ISO.
 He became the chair of theexecutive committee for the 22nd
National Meeting on Standardization.
(JSA) He conducted the “Basic Research
for the Stabilization of
Measurement Using Water Quality
Automatic Measurement
Instruments.” (Research
517

JUSE)
IAQ meeting was held in Kyoto.
The Symposium on the Seven
management tools for QC was held.
(Oct., JUSE)The Kanagawa Prefecture QC
Conference was held to celebrate the25th anniversary of the Kanagawa
Prefecture QC Research Group.
The 26th QCS: International cooperation
and Japanese QC.
The 27th QCS: International cooperation
based on the results of
ICQC ’78-TOKYO.

 A survey on in-house standardization andquality control was conducted. (JSA) ISO/TC 176 (Quality Assurance)
 QC practiced in Japan drew attention
from all over the world and QC circle
activities spread to many countries.
 The QC Circle Seminar for Practioners in
Sales and Service was held. (Aug., JUSE) The 1st QC Research Delegation Teamwas dispatched to China. (June, JUSE/
Japan-China Economic Association)
 Japan became the secretariat for
ISO/TC17 (steel).
 The 30th anniversary of the Industrial
Standardization Act
 Japan became a permanent council
member of ISO.
 QC training for developing countries(Osaka, AOTS) The Yamanashi Prefecture Quality
Control Conference was held tocelebrate the 10th anniversary of the
Yamanashi Prefecture QC ResearchGroup.)
 Takenaka Corporation was awarded theDeming Application Prize. It was the first
construction company to win the prize.
(Nov.)
 A committee to research QC in theservice industry was established. (Nov.,

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

commissioned by the Ministry of theEnvironment.)
 His book Control Points of Quality (joint
authorship) (Zeimukeiri Kyokai) wasawarded Nikkei Quality Control
Literature Prize.

JUSE) The 28th QCS: New product planningand market research.
 The 29th QCS: Future Quality
Control—challenges in the 1980s.

 He became a council member of theJapan Standards Association. (–84)
 He became a council member of theJapanese Society for Quality Control.
(–82)
 He became the chair of the Nuclear
Power Plant Quality Assurance Review
Committee. (MITI) He became the chair of the Management
Research Group of Japan-China
Economic Association.
 He became the chair of the Farm
Machinery Standardization ResearchCommittee. (–83, Japan Farm Machinery
Manufacturer’s Association Corporation)
 He became a member of the Japan-China
Science and Technology Exchange
Association.
 He became the director of the Kanto
Society for Engineering Education.
 He became the director of the
Association of Private Universities
of Japan.
 He became the principle instructor at of
the “Quality Control Training Course”
for Chinese QC engineers. (–86, ChineseEnterprise Management
Association/AOTS) The English translation of QC
Circle Koryo, General Principle of
the QC Circle was published.
[Chinese and French editions (’81),
Indonesian edition (’83), Portuguese
edition (’85), Spanish edition (’86),
Marathi edition (’87, India)] (JUSE) He became an honorary member ofthe British QC Circle Association.

 The Software Production Control
Research Committee was established.
(Feb., JUSE) The American TV Network NBC
broadcast a special program If Japan
Can..., Why Can’t We? NHK laterbroadcast this program in Japan. The
number of foreign TQC research teams
visiting Japan dramatically increased.
 The JIS Marking System became open to
overseas factories.
 The Notified Inspection System fordomestic JIS certified factories wasintroduced.
 A long-term industrial standardization
promotion plan was made.
The Software Production Control
Seminar was held. [82–, the Software
Quality Control Seminar] (May, JUSE) The Product Safety Symposium washeld. (June, JUSE) The Quality Control Team for Southeast
Asia (SEAQCT) was dispatched. (Oct.,the head of the delegation: Ikuro Kusaba,
JUSE) A ceremony to celebrate the 30th
anniversary of the Deming Prize washeld, inviting Dr. Deming. (JUSE) The number of countries where QC circle
activities are conducted exceeded 35.
 The Certification and Inspection Course
for participants from developing
countries was held. (JICA/JSA) The 30th QCS: QC in service.
 The 31st QCS: QC in the assembly
industry.

1980(Age 65)
518

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 He became a council member of the Fuel
Society of Japan.
 He became a council member of the
University Graduates’ Society.
 He became a member of the ISO
Executive Board.
 He became a member of the Japan-China
Standardization Exchanges Council.
 He became the chair of the
ICQCC ’81-TOKYO Program
Committee. (JUSE) He became the president of IAQ(–83).
 He became the chair of the International
Affairs Group (for the discussion onwhether the Deming Application Prizeshould be awarded to foreigncompanies.) He published What is Total Quality
Control? The Japanese Way. (Extended
edition was published in Jan., 1984.
JUSE Press) [Chinese edition (Taiwan)(’82), French edition (’84), Chinese
edition (’84, ’86), English edition (’85),
Portuguese edition (’86), Slovenian
edition (’87), Dutch edition (’87), Italian
edition (’92)]
 He became an honorary advisor to the
China Quality Control Association.

 The ISO/TC 176 Japan Committee(quality assurance) was established.
 The 1000th Memorial QC Circle
Conference was held. (Apr., QC Circle
Headquarters)
 Dr. Juran was awarded the Second Class
Order of the Sacred Treasure.
 The ICQ Conference was held in San
Francisco in May at the same time as the
ASQC Conference.
 JIS certified factories were required toelect a responsible person for QC
promotion.
 Yokogawa Electric Singapore became
the first foreign company, to whom theuse of JIS mark was permitted.
 The Software Production QC Symposium
was held. (July, JUSE) ICQCC ’81-TOKYO was held. (Sep.,
JUSE)
 The Symposium “Policy Management in
TQC” was held. (Sep., JSQC)
 The Award for Young Researcher’s
Encouragement was established. (JSQC)
 The 32nd QCS: Data analysis in QC.
 The 33rd QCS: Review and outlook of
the company-wide quality control.

 The Ishikawa Laboratory was establishedat Musashi Institute of Technology. (–86)
 He became the chairperson of the boardof directors of the Japan-China Science,
Technology and Culture Center. (–88)
 He became the head of the QC Circle
Delegation Team and visited China.
(JUSE/Japan-China Economic
Association)
 He gave a special lecture at ICQCC’82-Seoul. (Nov., Korean Industrial
Standardization Association)
 He became a member of the Reliability
Engineering Association of Japan The QC Circle Delegation Team visited
China. (Sep., JUSE/Japan-China
Economic Association) The TQC Special Committee of
Associated General Constructors wasestablished.
 The symposium “Policy Management in
TQC II” was held. (Sep., JSQC)
 Dr. Deming was invited to Japan. (Nov.,
JUSE)
 Events to celebrate the 25th anniversaryof the establishment of the ORSJ.
 ICQCC ’82-Seoul was held in South
Korea.

1981(Age 66)
1982(Age 67)

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Year

1983
April 9(Age 68)
1984(Age 69)

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC(REAJ).
 He became a lecturer of the Quality
Management Training Course.
 His book What is Total Quality Control?
The Japanese Way (JUSE Press) wasawarded Nippon Omni-Management
Association’s Management Science
Literature Award.
 He became an honorary member of theJapanese Society for Quality Control.

 The symposium “Quality Requirement
Deployment” was held. (JSQC)
 The 34the QCS: Future QC.
 The 35th QCS: Cost and QC.

 His brother, Shichiro, passed away at 57.
 He became a governing member of thePrivate University Council for
Information Processing Education.
(–85)
 He became a council member of theWada Kunko Society.
 He gave a keynote speech at ICQCC’83-Taipei. (PETT).
 He was awarded with the 1982 Shewhart
Medal. (ASQC)
 He was awarded with the Japan
Management Association’s 1st
Management Technology Development
Award for his contribution to QC circle
activities.
 He gave Crown Prince Akihito a lecture
on quality control. (At the Crown
Prince’s Palace, on Nov. 11)

 The Symposium on QC in the Service
Industry was held. (July, JUSE) The Seven Management Tools for QC
Research Group for Managers and Staff(for the Tokyo Area) was established.
(Sep., JUSE) The QC Symposium “QC in service” washeld (JSQC)
 ICQCC ’83-Taipei was held. (PETT,
Taiwan) The 36th QCS: Robotics and QC.
 The 37th QCS: Quality assurance inproduct planning.

 He established QC circles at theAdministration Office of Musashi
Institute of Technology.
 He became a council member of the
Operations Research Society ofJapan.
 He became the chairman of IAQ. (–86)
 He became an advisory committee
member of the Japan Industrial Policy
Research Institute.
 As the chair of the International Affairs
Group of the Deming Application Prize
Committee, he submitted to the Deming
Prize Committee the report on the The QC Circle Okinawa Regional
Chapter was established. (Feb., QC
Circle Headquarters. The total number ofregional chapters: 9)
 The symposium “Cross-functional
Management” was held. (JSQC)
 IAQ meeting was held in Brighton, UK
at the same time as the EOQC
Conference.
 America designates October as QC
Month.
 Kansai Electric Power and Light Co. Ltd.
was awarded the Deming Prize, as thefirst electric power company to win the520

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

internationalization of the Deming
Application Prize. The rules of the
Deming Application Prize were revisedin accordance with the report.

prize. (Nov.)
The Japan Federation of Managerial
Engineering Societies (FMES) wasestablished. (JSQC, JIMA, and ORSJ)
The Act on Science Council ofJapan was revised. (Cabinet
decision). “Management
engineering” was added to “Part 5:
Engineering.”
ICQCC ’84-Manila was held.
The 38th QCS: Sales department and
TQC.
The 39th QCS: Current situations andissues of TQC.








1985
June 15

 He achieved a hole-in-one (at Tomei
Gotemba Country Club).
 He became the director of the
Association for Overseas Technical
Scholarship. (–87)
 He became the accounting audit for thePrivate University Council for
Information Processing Education.
 He became the chair of the ICQCC’85-TOKYO Program Committee.
 He became the Vice-chair of Organizing
Committee for the 13th ISO General
Conference (Tokyo)/Japanese
representative.
 The English edition of How to Operate
QC Circle Activities (JUSE) was
published. [Chinese edition and Korean
edition (’76), Portuguese edition (’84),
and Italian edition (’87)]
 He was awarded with the 1st
International Award from the Asia
Pacific Quality Control Organization.
 He became an honorary advisor/memberof the Brazilian Quality Control
Association.
 He became an honorary member of theColumbian Quality Control Association.

(Age 70)521

 The number of countries where QC circle
activities are conducted reached 52.
 The Software QC Research Group wasestablished. (Apr., JUSE) ICQCC ’85-TOKYO was held. (May,JUSE)
 The symposium “The Third Revolutionof Management Technology” was held.
(FMES)
 The Information Technology Researchand Standardization Center (JSA) wasestablished.
 The 13th ISO General Conference washeld. (Sep., Tokyo) Isamu Yamashita (the Vice-president of
the Japan Business Federation) was
elected as the 14th President of ISO.
(’86–’88)
 ISO/TC 69 and ISO/TC 176 meetings
were held in Tokyo.
 The 35th anniversary of theestablishment of the Deming Prize
Dr. Deming was invited to Japan. (Nov.,
JUSE)
 The Service Industry QC Conference washeld (JUSE) The 40th QCS: TQC—to decide thefuture direction.
 The 41th QCS: TCC—Measures andperspective.

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

 He gave a lecture to American
House of Representatives’ Research
Delegation. His lecture inspiredthem to establish the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award.
(Jan.) He became the vice-president of theInternational Standardization Forum.
 He became an advisory member of the
Executive Committee of the 46th
Conference of the International Statistical
Institute. (–87)
 He became a program
coordinator/lecturer of the “Industrial
Standardization and Quality Control
Seminar for Senior Executives” forparticipants from developing countries.
 He became the principal instructor of theIndustrial Product Quality Control
Course / Follow-up Course.
(UNIDO/AOTS, Kuala Lumpur) He became an honorary member ofthe American Society for Quality
Control.

 The 15th Anniversary Party of theJapanese Society for Quality
Control was held, and 15-nen no
ayumi (Our 15-year History) was
published.
 The symposium “Ways to ppm-order
Defective Ratio Control” was held. (June,
JSQC)
 The “Industrial Standardization andQuality Control Seminar for Senior
Executives” for participants fromdeveloping countries was held.
・ The 6th division-wise long-term plan forindustrial standardization promotion was
made. (–90)(Agency of Industrial Science andTechnology)
 The 100th anniversary of international
standardization.
 ICQCC ’86-Seoul was held. (Oct., South
Korea)
 The 42nd QCS: Quality—the current
situation and issues.
 The 43rd QCS: New technology
development/new product planningand quality control.

 He became the principal instructorof the “Industrial Product Quality
Improvement Training Course”
follow-up seminar for participants fromdeveloping countries. (Kuala Lumpur,
UNIDO/AOTS)
 Musashi Institute of Technology andthe Oregon Institute of Technology
became sister universities.
 He became an advisor to the ISO/TC 102
Japan Committee.
 He became the chair of the
ICQC ’87-TOKYO Program Committee.
(JUSE) He became an Academician Emeritus of
IAQ.
 He received an award for the continuous QC Circle 25th Anniversary Party
was held. (Apr., QC Circle
Headquarters)
The 25-year History of QC
Circles was published. A national
survey on the spread of QC circle
activities was conducted.
 The number of countries where QC circle
activities are conducted reached 60.
 ISO Standards (9000–9004: quality
assurance) were established.
 “10 Distinctive Features of JapaneseCompany-wide Quality Control” wereselected. (The 44th QCS, JUSE) The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award was established by the American
Government. (Aug.)1986(Age 71)
1987(Age 72)522

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

Year

Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

contribution to QC Circle-monthly
magazine as a committee member for 25
years.



ICQC ’87-TOKYO was held. (JUSE)
IAQ meeting was held in Tokyo.
EOQC was renamed as EOQ.
ICQCC ’87-Bangkok was held.
(Dec., Thailand) The 44th QCS: The distinctive featuresand problems of Japanese QC.
 The 45th QCS: Environmental changeand quality management.

1988

Nov. 3(Age 73)
1989
Jan. 23
Jan. 31

 He became the president of theJapan-China Industrial Technology andCulture Center.
 In November, he received the Second
Class Order of the Sacred Treasure.

 FQC magazine was renamed tomonthly QC Circle magazine. (Jan.,JUSE) The 2000th Memorial QC Circle
Conference was held. (March, QC Circle
Headquarters)
 EFQM was founded. (Sep.)
 The Software Quality Control Seminarfor Managers was held. (Oct., JUSE) The 1st Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award was awarded. (Oct.,
America) Joban Hawaiian Center was awarded theDeming Application Prize for Division,as the first service company to win the
prize. (Nov.)
 ICQCC ’88-Taipei was held. (Nov.,
Taipei) The number of foreign companies too
whom the use of JIS mark is permitted
exceeded 100.
 The 46th QCS: Quality control
training—current situation and future
direction.
 The 47th QCS: New product planningand market research—how to understandthe quality required by customers.

 A party to celebrate his honor conferred
decoration was held at the Hotel Okura.
 He published Introduction to
Quality Control (3rd Edition).
(JUSE Press)
The English edition:
Introduction to Quality Control (3rd The 1st Software Production Quality
Control Study Team (SPCT) was
dispatched abroad. (Apr., JUSE) The pioneers of quality control in Japan
passed away. Kaoru Ishikawa andEizaburo Nishibori passed away in April
and Shigeru Mizuno in May.

523

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Year
March 16April 16April 18



April 19



April 24



Prof. Ishikawa’s Life

Major Events in the Development of QC

Edition). (3A Corporation)
He became a fellow of the
Operations Research Society ofJapan.
Kaoru Ishikawa passed away at the ageof 73.
A wake was held at his home in
Tobitakyu, Chofu City.
A private funeral was also held at his
home.
A public funeral and memorial service
was held at Zojoji Temple in Shiba,
Tokyo. (The Funeral was arranged by theMusashi Institute of Technology and theUnion of Japanese Scientists andEngineers.)

 The 40th anniversary of the QC Basic
Course. The number of people who havecompleted the course reached 24,000.
(JUSE)
 The 32nd National Meeting ofStandardization was held to celebrate the40th anniversary of the Industrial
Standardization Act. (JSA) Florida Power and Light Company won
the Deming Prize, as the first foreigncompany to win the prize. (Nov.)
 ICQCC ’89-New Delhi was held. (Dec.,
India)
 The 48th QCS: TQC—toward the 1990s.
 The 49th QCS: The effective operation of
TQC.

 Nov. 1989 Prof. Ishikawa was commended by the Association for Overseas Technical
Scholarship. (AOTS) Mar. 1990 The FQC Award was renamed the “QC Circle Kaoru Ishikawa Award.” (JUSE)
 June 1993
The Ishikawa Medal was established. (ASQC)
1.

2.

3.
4.
5.

The western calendar was used in the description of “Prof. Ishikawa’s life” and “Major eventsin the development of the QC.” The year 1966 is depicted as “66” omitting the first two
numbers.
The final year as a committee member, or director is shown in parentheses at the end of thedescription. For example, the description of “part-time lecturer at Gunma University (–66)”
means that he worked as a lecturer until 1966. If no year is shown, that means he hold theposition until his death.
The words “Quality Control” is often abbreviated to “QC.”
Titles were omitted.
In this chronology, the following acronyms are used:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)

AGREE: Advisory Group on Reliability of Electronic Equipment
AOTS: Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship
APO: Asian Productivity Organization
ASA: American Standards Association
ASQC: American Society for Quality Control
BS: British Standards
CCS: Civil Communication Section
COSCO: Control System Committee
EOQC: European Organization for Quality Control
EOQ: European Organization for Quality
EFQM: European Foundation for Quality Management
FMES: Japan Federation of Managerial Engineering Societies
524

A Parallel Chronology of Prof. Kaoru Ishikawa’s Life and TQC in Japan

13)
14)
15)
16)
17)
18)
19)
20)
21)
22)
23)
24)
25)
26)
27)
28)
29)
30)
31)
32)
33)
34)
35)

GHQ: General Headquarters
IAQ: International Academy for Quality
ICQC: International Conference on Quality Control
ICQCC: International Convention on QC Circles
IEC: International Electrotechnical Commission
ISO: International Organization for Standardization
JICA: Japan International Cooperation Agency
JIMA: Japan Industrial Management Association
JIS: Japanese Industrial Standards
JISC: Japanese Industrial Standards Committee
JMA: Japan Management Association
JPC: Japan Productivity Center
JSA: Japan Standards Association
JSQC: Japanese Society for Quality Control
JUSE: Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers
ORSJ: The Operations Research Society of Japan(JSA) QC-Conference: National Meeting of Quality Control and Standardization
QCS: (JUSE) QS QC Symposium
OTCA: Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency
PASC: Pacific Area Standards Congress
PETT: Pioneer Enterprise Think Tank
TC, SC, WG: Technical Committee, Subcommittee, Working Group
UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Note: This chronology was based mainly on the draft offered by Mr. Kozo Koura. I also
referred to the timeline written by Mr. Kaoru Fujita, which was attached to the end of
the Quality Control Handbook (New Edition) [2nd Edition] (1988, JSA), the 15-nen
no ayumi (Our 15-year History) (1986, JSQC) and 20-nen no ayumi (Our 20-year
History) (1991, JSQC). I would like to thank many people for their kind cooperation,
including the JUSE office staff and Mr. Masanobu Kawamura of JSA for confirming
various facts depicted in “Major events in the development of QC.”

525