2016. 4.28

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.４3
Development and Resolutions of International Activities
If we are able to see “globalization” as an aspect of “internationalization,” thenthe international standardization of design codes can be regarded as a typicalactivity of globalization. A good example of this is developing international
standards under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The
JSCE Special Committee on ISO was established in 1997 and has been playing
important roles to meet the trends of internationalization over the past 20 years.
In the beginning, committee activities were mainly compiling and distributing
information on international standards, but recently have shifted to consider
suitable strategies and to act in accordance with them for international
Prof. Hiroshi YOKOTA,Senior Director ,International Affairs Division

standardization.

In March 2016, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism released the “Action plan foroverseas expansion on infrastructure systems,” in which the Ministry’s strategies for strengthening overseas
extension are described. International standardization of Japanese domestic design standards/codes is one
effective effort for disseminating original Japanese technologies and knowhow to the world, and it should bepromoted. However, the action plan may not provide us with clear policy about to move ahead. To meet thatchallenge, an academic society, such as JSCE, should get actively involved in this work, in collaboration withministerial departments and agencies.
For example, ISO 19338 “Performance requirements of structural concrete,” was first edited in 2007, and thenrevised in 2014. This ISO specifies performance requirements and verification that should be covered for design
standards in a country and a region, but does not specify the methods of design. The design of infrastructure iswork based on cultural backgrounds. Although Japan is a relatively small country, design standards have been
actively developed by relevant organizations. When we can regard design of infrastructure as creative work
based on our cultural backgrounds, it may be difficult, or even impossible, to globally unify design standards.
However, if we would like to make strategy development for internationalization of our domestic design
standards, it is necessary to show the norm describing the basic principles of design work.
It has often been said that globalization can be realized only when we know about ourselves. Knowing ourbackground, such as history, conditions, and culture, can promote the growth of engineers who positivelyparticipation in and contribute to society. This can be applied to design standards as well. We hope JSCE’sactivities will be directed to proper globalization as an aggregation of individuals’ global activities.
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Report on the 2nd Site Visit Meeting for Students from Overseas
The site visit meeting was held on 21st January 2016 with the objective providing a group of students fromoverseas studying in Japan with the opportunity to witness some of the most advanced civil engineering
technologies, and to provide them with information on civil engineering companies. This was the second suchmeeting, following on from the first meeting last year, and was attended by overseas students enrolled inuniversities in the Kansai area. With the cooperation of the Biwako Office, Kinki Regional Development
Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 4 sites were visited, and company
presentations were provided by 5 companies. The number of students participating was 17.
Sites Visited:•Gate chamber section (construction: Kajima Corporation)•Energy dissipator (construction: Obayashi-Tobishima JV)•Hakko Bridge superstructure (construction: P.S. Mitsubishi Construction Co., Ltd.)•Intake (construction: Taisei Corporation)
Companies participating in the company presentations:•Taisei Corporation, Kajima Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Tobishima Corporation,P.S. Mitsubishi Construction Co., Ltd.
Before the site visits, a description of the Amagase Dam andRedevelopment Project was given, then the participants got anoverall view of the dam and redevelopment project from thecrown of the Amagase Dam. They were then divided into 2groups and visited the gate chamber section, the energy
dissipator, and the Hakko Bridge superstructure. At the gatechamber, they descended the large cross-section shaft byelevator and viewed the tunnel under construction. The
students were surprised by the size of the shaft and the tunnel,
and they asked many questions regarding the role of the gatechamber. For the energy dissipator, they viewed the pilot
tunnel that is being excavated near the portal. Here also thestudents were surprised at the size of the tunnel cross-section,although final excavation had not yet started. At Hakko
Bridge superstructure, besides technical questions, there werequestions regarding design taking the landscape into
consideration, and construction using private land. Then the 2groups recombined, and visited the intake. After receiving anexplanation relating to the role of the intake and its
construction status, etc., an explanation of the construction
machinery that can be used for construction in water waspresented, and the students showed a strong interest in theadvanced visualization technology.

Overseas students listening to the explanationof the redevelopment project

View of the site visit

In the company descriptions, 10-minute presentations were given by the staff of 5 of the contractors whosework was seen during the visit. Information was provided on the various projects, work, and overseas expansionof each company, which the students listened to with keen interest, and the questions were also very lively.
Like last year's site visit, at this year's site visit, I felt the height of interest of the students in the sites and the2Japanese companies. The intention is to continue to provide opportunities for overseas students to learn about
Japanese civil engineering technology and obtain company information by holding site visits, withimprovements in the method of holding the events for the groups of overseas students. Finally, many people
cooperated in holding this event, so I would like to express thanks to all those involved, in particular, Mr. Inoueand Mr. Tsujino of the Biwako Office.
【Report by: Jun Saito, International Student Network Group, IAC】

Asian Railway Technical Forum at RTRI
Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) held Asian Railway Technical Forum on January 21st this year, in2016, at RTRI, inviting railway operators from Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan. This forum was organized inorder to provide an opportunity to share information and to intensify technical development and research
activities of railway-related organizations in Asia. RTRI aims at contributing to the development of railway
networks in this region through building cooperative relationships using this opportunity.
Seven guests from overseas participated in this forum including Mr. Dinh Manh Duc, Deputy Director Generalof the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam, Dr. Chayakorn Piyabunditkul, Senior Analyst of the National Scienceand Technology Development Agency of Thailand (NSTDA), Mr. Hung-Kang Sung, Chief of Section at theBureau of High Speed Rail of Taiwan, Mr. James Shi, Assistant Vice President of Taiwan High Speed RailCorporation, and Mr. San-Chui Chen, Director of Electrical Engineering Department of Taiwan. About 50
Japanese people from railway operators and manufacturers also joined.
The presentations delivered at the forum are as follows:
・“The Overall existing conditions and development strategy of railway system of Vietnam” by Mr. Dinh ManhDuc from Vietnam
・“The Establishment of National Railway Research Institute in Thailand” by Dr. Chayakorn Piyabunditkul fromThailand
・“MMIS(Maintenance Management Information Systems) Use for Rolling Stock Maintenance and Energy
Saving” by Mr. Hung-Kang Sung from Taiwan
・“Railway Maintenance Vehicle Positioning and Routing System” by Mr. James Shi from Taiwan
・“Passenger Demand Forecasting for Railway Project Evaluation in Japan” by Dr. Munenori Shibata fromRTRI・“Recent Status of International Standards in Railway Field” by Mr. Hiroshi Tanaka from RTRI
During the Q&A sessions, participants had active
discussions and the examples of regarding researchand development projects at RTRI were also
introduced. This forum provided all the participantsa good opportunity where they were able tounderstand RTRI’s specialty areas and technicalpotentials.
Part of this forum was supported by International
Scientific Exchange Fund (ISEF) of JSCE.

Situation of the forum3Mr. Chayakorn Piyabunditku of NSTDA

Mr. Dinh Manh Duc of the Vietnam Ministry ofTransport【Report by: Toru Miyauchi, General Manager, International Development, RTRI】

What’s Happening●2016/5/16・・・IAC Symposium-Japanese Civil Engineers playing an active part in the world-Series No.7 on"Status quo and future of Rapid transit in India Project" at the JSCE HQ, Tokyo
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