2023. 7. 10

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.129
Message to Mark Inauguration as JSCE President
My name is Shigeyoshi Tanaka and I have been appointed as the 111th president ofthe Japan Society of Civil Engineers. I thank you all for your continuous support.
In “JSCE2020”, JSCE formulated four major mid-term targets in the areas of safety
and reliability, international efforts, communication, and personnel. JSCE has since
deployed various measures.
Reflecting on the President Projects since 2020, in fiscal 2020, under the leadershipof President Hitoshi Ieda, a project was undertaken that carried out a “JapaneseInfrastructure Report Card” initiative, clarifying that Japan’s infrastructure such asroads, rivers, and ports are insufficient in comparison to that of other countries.

Shigeyoshi Tanaka
111th President of theJapan Society of Civil
Engineers

In fiscal 2021, under the leadership of President Hiroaki Taniguchi, a project was launched that proposed “TheBig Picture of Civil Engineering in Japan after the COVID-19 Pandemic,” which, from the perspective of thecitizens of Japan, gave suggestions on future infrastructure that should be established to improve our everyday
lives.
In fiscal 2022, under the leadership of President Tamon Ueda, a project on the theme of the “Globalization ofCivil Engineering” was carried out that gave suggestions on the international deployment of Japan’s civilengineering technologies and how to resolve issues such as developing civil engineers and researchers that canflourish on the global stage.
These President Projects remind us of the need for further infrastructure in Japan, the importance of the role ofcivil engineers in this, and the significance of the contribution of civil engineering to the well-being of thecitizens of Japan. Along with painting a picture of the good points of civil engineering, which can contribute toa wide range of fields, and an outlook of its future, these projects also facilitated initiatives so that Japanese civilengineers can succeed both domestically and internationally.
Following on from these projects, in fiscal 2023, I will take the role of Chairperson and launch the “Special
Committee to Boost Civil Engineering for Creating the Future,” with the intention of engaging in efforts toimprove the perception of civil engineering that contributes to a wide range of social challenges such as
maintaining infrastructure, responding to disasters, and carbon neutrality, as well as improve the status of civilengineers. I am sure you all feel the same way in that, unfortunately, society’s perception and assessment of civil

1engineering falls short of what we expect given the role it has played in the world we live in. I believe that wemust also correctly share with the world information on civil engineers working dynamically in various fields,
as well as what makes civil engineering great.
As concrete efforts, we will set up the “Subcommittee for Discovering and Promoting the Wonderful World ofCivil Engineering (Chairperson: Shogo Matsunaga)” and the “Subcommittee for Discovering the Status of Civil
Engineers (Chairperson: Hajime Imanishi)” under the supervision of the aforementioned special committee.
The former subcommittee will start production on a concept movie that informs ordinary people of what makes
civil engineering great, as well as choosing ambassadors to promote this message. We are also deploying efforts
to pass on our signature projects and innovative technologies to future generations. Delving into large-scale
projects of the past such as Kurobe River Hydropower Plant No.4 and the Seikan Tunnel, these projects will beappreciated once more by telling their story to the next generation as well as storing them as archives to beaccessible at any time.
The latter subcommittee will focus on civil engineers working in a variety of domains such as engineers working
in local construction industries or on maintenance sites, and will share information about the wonders of civilengineering from various perspectives and on tackling issues such as enhancing the abilities of engineers andpassing on their skills. Regional stimulation and nurturing the next generation will be key phases here.
Concerning the status of civil engineers, we will consider a suitable name that embodies the character, excellence,and status that should be associated with civil engineers.
I believe that one direction for achieving the ideal vision of civil engineering going forward is “Achieving anEnvironment Where People Thrive and a Resilient Society.” This is also an effort to build social infrastructure
to stop the decline of Japan’s national strength due to a decreasing population.
We civil engineers must have creativity, flexibility, and versatility, and as basic attributes, we need a broad
outlook and strong curiosity. The term “shuhari” (three stages of mastery: learning the fundamentals, breaking
with tradition, and parting with traditional wisdom) exists in the world of performing arts in Japan. We civilengineers should also look to the future, evolve our skills and traditions, innovate, and promote the creation of
new value.
Your continued support would be very much appreciated.
[Concept movie to convey the wonders of civil engineering]・Access the video from this link: https://committees.jsce.or.jp/2023_Presidential_Project/node/92

The Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC)
42nd Executive Committee Meeting in Jeju Island
1. Overview
ACECC (The Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council) is an organization established in September 1999
to maintain and grow sustainable social capital in Asia. The Executive Committee Meeting (ECM), which is thehighest-level decision-making body of the ACECC, is held twice a year by member academic societies on arotating basis. This was the first ECM where the ACECC secretariat was transferred to the Korean Society ofCivil Engineers (KSCE), and following the order of hosts, was held on Jeju Island in South Korea, which will
host the next Civil Engineering Conference in Asian Region (CECAR 10). In addition to the ECM program,
TC18, TC27, and Future Leaders Forum (FLF) Seminars, as well as the Strategic Planning Goal 2 (SPG2)
Session described later were held. In attendance from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) weremembers of the Committee on Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council: JSCE Representative EikiYamaguchi (Kyushu Institute of Technology), Chairperson Hironori Kato (The University of Tokyo), and myself.
The SPG2 Session was attended by then JSCE President Tamon Ueda, who also attended the ECM.

ECM and ACECC Members

2. Executive Committee Meeting (ECM)
The Technical Coordination Committee Meeting (TCCM) played host to reports on the activities of the 13 active
Technical Committees (TC). I and Representative Yamaguchi each reported the efforts of TC21
(Transdisciplinary Approach for Building Societal Resilience to Disasters) and TC28 (Application ofMonitoring Technology for Infrastructure Maintenance), for which JSCE serves as the Chair. In addition to thereports on the activities, reports were made on the extension to the activity period of TC18 (Adoption of Standard
Operating Procedures for Design, Construction and Maintenance of Long-Span Bridges), TC22 (Retrofittingand Strengthening of Existing Infrastructures) and TC24 (Gender and Development in Infrastructure), and theceasing of TC14 (Sustainable Infrastructure Capacity Building) and TC17 (Ethical Practices to Reduce
Corruption). TC14 proposed a subsequent TC entitled “Sustainable Infrastructure Capacity Building,” and its
establishment was approved as TC31.
In the Planning Committee Meeting (PCM), Dr. Kamal Laksiri, who is a fellow of the Institution of Engineers
Sri Lanka (IESL) that had requested to officially participate in the council, attended as an observer andintroduced IESL. IESL was introduced as a long-standing organization established in 1906, of which about 60%of its 24,000 members are civil engineers. At the ECM, a vote was taken on IESL becoming a member of the3

ACECC. Elsewhere, ICE, India, which held the last Civil Engineering Conference in Asian Region (CECAR 9),
gave a financial report, but they were asked to make another report once they had clarified the detailed businessreceipts and so on.
At the ECM, the decisions made at the TCCM and PCM were approved. At the ECM, Chairperson Kato wasappointed as the Chair of the Financial Committee, and he will now oversee the financial affairs of the ACECC
over the next three years. Lastly, Prof. Jae-Woo Park, who is the new president of ACECC, gave a speechoutlining his general policy as president, declaring his focus is on matters such as the details of preparations for
CECAR 10 and improving the website.
3. Strategic Planning Goal 2 (SPG2) Session
At ACECC, multiple Strategic Planning Meetings have been held since 2020, and to ensure the progress of themedium-term plan, the Tokyo Declaration, which was launched at CECAR 8 held in Tokyo in 2019, six goals
were set. For Goal 2 of the six goals, “ACECC will develop initiatives and acquire civil engineering technologies
to address challenges facing Asia” was set as the target, and Chairperson Kato was appointed as the Leader. ATask Force consisting of the following five people was set up: Kato Chairperson, Dr. Suraj Gautam (NepalEngineer’s Association, NEA), Dr. Asih/Prasanti W. Sarli (Indonesian Society of Civil and Structural Engineers,HAKI) of the Future Leaders Committee (FLC), and from JSCE, Secretary-General of the Committee on Asian
Civil Engineering Coordinating Council Masashi Inoue and myself. The Task Force discussed activities requiredby ACECC going forward and how to invigorate TC activities.
This ECM held an SPG2 Session, and as a report on theactivities of the Task Force, I introduced the results ofreviewing the relationship between the past declaration andTC and SDGs. In addition, JSCE President Tamon Ueda, Ms.
April Lander of the American Society of Civil Engineers(ASCE), and KSCE President Jun-Haeng Heo presented theirsocieties’ vision for the future of the civil engineering
industry, with a panel discussion entitled “ACECC’sChallenges and Visions in Civil Engineering” also taking
place. The panel discussion panelists included theaforementioned speakers and Dr. Suraj Gautam, the Chair ofStrategic Plan Goal 2 Session(From the right, President Heo, Ms. Lander,President Ueda, Chairperson Kato, and myself)the FLC, who participated online. Chairperson Kato acted as
the moderator for the discussions. The discussions covered topics such as the need for activities related to theproblem of poverty, an issue that is not being tackled by a TC, unlike the Social Development Goals. As suchdiscussions have not taken place during the ACECC to date, the discussions were popular with the audience.
The Task Force will create a report based on these discussions and suggest future activities of the ACECC.
4. Conclusion
Although this was the first ECM held by a new secretariat led by KSCE, it was run fantastically and significant
discussions were had. The next ECM will be organized by the Chinese Institute of Civil and HydraulicEngineering (CICHE) and held in Taipei in October. The next ECM will be held directly before the 50thanniversary of the establishment of CICHE, and so joint events are also scheduled to be held. I hope we send4

many attendees from JSCE as well.
【Reported by Jun Izawa, Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on ACECC(Railway Technical Research Institute)】

Updates◆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
https://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/iac_dayori_2023◆Summary of featured articles in JSCE Magazine Vol. 108, No.7, July 2023
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine◆Journal of JSCE
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce◆JSCE Open Campus 2023
https://committees.jsce.or.jp/cprcenter0103/node/16◆【PRESS RELEASE, 5th June 2023】 European Council of Civil Engineers
https://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/343◆The 4th Asian Concrete Federation (ACF) Symposium on Emerging Technologies for Structural Longevity(ACF2022_ETSL): https://acf2022.aconf.org/index.html◆Union Chain Bridge 200th Anniversary Celebration
https://twitter.com/TICCIHBrit/status/1676964058447355908
https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/people/union-chain-bridge-restoration-honoured-withspecial-international-plaque-4211282
https://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/news/people/top-recognition-for-union-chain-bridge-4211510
https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/union-chain-bridge-formally-designated-as-an-historic-civilengineering-landmark-07-07-2023/
https://www.facebook.com/unionbridgefriends◆CECAR10：http://www.cecar10.org/◆ASCE 2023 CONVENTION, CHICAGO (October, 18-21)
https://convention.asce.org/◆KSCE 2023 CONVENTION (October, 18-20)
https://eng.ksce.or.kr/activities/act01.asp?idx=60&page=1&sfield=&gtxt=&byy=&gbns=1&ctop=MN03
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