2020. 5. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.91
Visiting Lecture at Hokkaido University
Since 2019, the JSCE International Activities Center has beenoffering a visiting lecture, using a lecture slot at universities and soforth, to inform young people, the bearers of Japan's future, about
the significance of our overseas projects and how we undertake
work abroad. After introducing the contents of well-received
lectures, such as the “Japanese Civil Engineers the Global Leaders
Symposium Series”, we provide an opportunity for attendees todeepen their understanding of overseas project management
Mr. Osako Gives a Lecture

through a Q&A session with the lecturer.
This is the second year since we began the initiative, and onFebruary 5, 2020, Mr. Kazuya Osako (Manager of Civil
Engineering Headquarters, Civil Engineering Planning Office,Shimizu Corporation) was invited as a guest lecturer to the
Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, to give a visiting
lecture during one of Professor Michael Henry’s “InternationalProject” lecturers.
The English lecture entitled “The Challenge and Great Pleasure

80 Students Listen to Mr. Osako’ s Discussionof Working Overseas as a Civil Engineer” saw Mr. Osako explainin easy-to-understand English his time studying at Stanford University Graduate School in USA, which
influenced on his sense of value and behaviors, his first overseas construction experience in the Manila FloodControl Project, and first experience as a director in the Jakarta MRT Project.
Mr. Osako spoke from his own personal experience that understanding religion, history, and culture, managing
contracts and risks, and communication were particularly important in order to work overseas.
He talked about his expreiecnes overseas; in developing countries especially, he was pleased to see that theinfrastructure development he was involved in improved the lives of local people. He also commented on thepleasure of deepening mutual understanding with people with different values from different countries,
cooperating and overcoming many hardships, and seeing construction through to completion. In this visiting
lecture, Mr. Osako’s desire to share the joy of working overseas as a civil engineer with students wascommunicated to the 80 juniors of Faculty of Engineering, who were interested in international projects,
1attentively listened to Mr. Osako’s talk.
The JSCE International Activities Center plan to hold similar visiting lectures at other universities and technicalcolleges, and paint a picture of this world in which civil engineers play an active role on the global stage invarious different places.
【Reported by Kazuya Osako (Shimizu Corporation) andIAC Professional Development and Education Program Group】

Fourth Engineers’ Lounge “DOBOKU”
International Activities Center of Japan Society of Civil Engineers has started engineers’
lounge “DOBOKU”. It consists of a presentation by the invited engineer who hasexperiences in overseas projects and a free-talking session with participants. The lounge
provides opportunities to talk together about the difficulties and the challenges they have
had in their projects and provide messages to young engineers who are going to be activeoverseas.
On 23rd December 2019, Fourth Engineers’ Lounge “DOBOKU” was held, inviting Dr. Shu Takahashi(ProfessionalThi Ha from NIPPON KOEI Co., Ltd. as a lecturer, and 15 participants discussed the Development andEducation Programhuman resources globalization in the civil engineering industry.
Group, IAC)

First, Dr. Thi Ha gave a lecture on “Living as an International Engineer~Experience of an International Student~.” He received a scholarshipfrom Japan in 1994 and came to Japan to study civil engineering atHiroshima University and obtained a Ph.D. After joining Nippon Koei in2005, he worked for Research and Development Division and moved toOverseas Division in 2012. During those years, he as a consultantengineer engaged in overseas projects including the “Preparatory Surveyfor Port Expansion Project in Thilawa Zone, Myanmar” and “LachDr. Thi Ha Delivers a Presentation

Huyen Port Infrastructure Construction Project, Vietnam.” He also has
strengthened the exchange between JSCE and Federation of Myammar
Myanmar Engineering Societies (Fed. MES) , organizing several
activities. Because of his achievements in those activites, he wasrecognied with the JSCE International Outstanding Collaboration Award,Myanmar Engineering Society Award, and ASEAN Engineer Award.
The Lounge participants made questions to Dr. Thi Ha such as a) thereasons for deciding to study abroad, b) his motivation for working in theJapanese engineering consultant firm for a long time, and c) requests for2

Free-talking Session

the Japanese civil engineering industry.
He replied as follows:a) In the latter half of 1990, the democratization movement intensified in Myanmar, universities and colleges
were suspended. Because of that, he decided to leave the country and continue his education abroad. He
considered that social infrastructure was important for future Myanmar and chose civil engineering as his studyfield.
b) Continuing his challenging work was the main reason why he has been working in the civil engineering
industry for 15 years.
c) In order to engage in domestic business, foreign engineers need to be certified as Professional Engineer (P.E.)
in Japan. It is difficult for them to pass the qualification examination because they must write answers in Japaneseat the examination given in Japanese. The examination should be written and answered in English.
There is no doubt that he has made every effort to “become a bridge between Myanmar and Japan as a civilengineer.” Meanwhile, there are not many successful engineers from other countries like him around us. Here,
we are convinced ourselves that it is necessary to create a place and environment where international students
can take full advantage of their characteristics to work in the civil engineering industry in Japan.

【Reported by Shu Takahashi, Professional Development and Education Program Group, IAC】

Japanese Civil Engineers the Global Leaders Symposium Series No. 15“Railway Bridge Rehabilitation Project in Vietnam”
The 15th Symposium was held on February 5, 2020, co-hosted by TEKKENCORPORATION and the International Activities Center Project Group. Thissymposium, which began in 2014, has been well received every time as an opportunity
to communicate the significance of the overseas expansion of civil engineering,
especially to young engineers in Japan, and have them take an interest in the topic. For
the 15th Symposium, 100 attendees gathered at the JSCE Hall. On this occasion, after alecture entitled “Status of Overseas Expansion in the Railway Field” by Rikiya Asai,Nobuki Takasuka
Deputy Director of the Railway Bureau & International Affairs Division of the Ministry (TEKKENCORPORATION)
of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), three lectures were given fromTEKKEN Corp, which is rolling out infrastructure development projects mainly inSoutheast Asia (Photo 1).

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<Program>・Opening Speech・“Status of Overseas Expansion in the Railway Field”------------ Rikiya Asai, Deputy Director, Railway Bureau & International Affairs
Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
・“TEKKEN’s Overseas Projects”------------ Yasushi Nakagawa, Deputy Executive General Manager, Civil Engineering
Division and Architectural Division, Managing Officer, TEKKEN Corp.
・“Railway Bridge Replacement Work of North-South Railway in Vietnam”------------ Taketomo Suzuki, General Manager of Civil Engineering Planning andSales Division, Overseas Business Promotion Office, TEKKEN Corp.
・“Differences between Life in Japan and Overseas” – Focusing on Life in Battambang –------------ Megumi Saito, stationed in Battambang, Overseas Business Promotion
Office, TEKKEN Corp.
・Summary----------- Yoshiaki Higuchi, Director, International Activities Center, JSCE
・Closing Speech

Mr. Asai of the MLIT said that the overseas railway market was worth about 25 trillion yen a year and wasexpected to further increase by around 2023. He emphasized on the superiority of Japan’s railway infrastructuretechnology in regards to its high level of safety and its life-cycle cost.
Since the company’s establishment, TEKKEN Corp. has grownwith the strength of railway construction and has built a trackrecord overseas such as through rail track duplication works andrailway elevation works in Indonesia and subway construction inTaiwan. From 2010, TEKKEN Corp. has been involved in therenovation work of bridges located across 230 km of track, mainly
in Da Nang, between the national railway of Hanoi and Ho Chi
Minh in Vietnam that were destroyed during the Vietnam War andPhoto1 Lecture Conference

continued to be used in the state they were in following emergency
restoration. Mr. Suzuki, who was in charge of the construction, recalls the difficulties at the time of the projectin that it was necessary to provide guidance to local staff, including on the accuracy of work and the concept oftime, in order to do a lateral transfer installation of a tentatively assembled bridge next to the main line with theuse of limited machinery and equipment under the severe construction conditions of removing the old bridge
and installing a new one within 4 hours of the track being closed. Next, Ms. Saito, who is stationed in Battambang,
Cambodia as an office worker, introduced the local life, culture, food and transportation situation with the useof videos. Then, Mr. Nakagawa, who has led TEKKEN’s overseas civil engineering business, explained future
prospects for achieving business growth while continuing to contribute internationally through continuous
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support and training from safety to technology and quality. The lecture was concluded
with the video messages (https://youtu.be/eOXKbZ9YonA), which were recorded by
the TEKKEN Corporation employees and local staff who are currently engaged inoverseas projects, followed by Ms. Saito's greeting in Cambodian, "Okunturan," whichmeans "Thank you."
The Video played at theAt the discussion after the lecture conference, the participants made a lively exchange End of the Lecture“Video from TEKKENof opinions and ideas how to support engineers to develop professional abilities and Global Site”
skills to support overseas projects where demands is growing as well as on theimportance of utilizing foreign engineers.

【Reported by Nobuki Takasuka, TEKKEN CORPORATION】

Committee of Infrastructure Planning and Management

The Committee of Infrastructure Planning and Management was established in August 1966 as one of theacademic research groups (Research and Study Division) of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers.
The ‘environment’ in which we live is created bymanipulating the natural environment with our hands invarious ways. In other words, it is only through thedevelopment of ‘infrastructure’ such as roads andrailways, ports and airports, water and sewage systems,parks, and dams and embankments that the environmentof cities and regions that we have become accustomed
to is created. Infrastructure planning and management is
an academic discipline that considers how we should

Committee of Infrastructure Planning andManagement Website（https://jsce-ip.org/）

establish the ‘environment’ of our lives through theestablishment, management, and operation of infrastructure in order for our society to prosper in a more desirable
way without declining or perishing.
Needless to say, the state of our environment, which can be established through infrastructure establishment,
management, and operation, has a decisive effect not only on the lives of each of us, but also on the ‘activity’and ‘survival’ of all kinds of economic, social, and cultural activities in cities, regions, nations, and even thewhole world. It also has a significant impact on the natural environment. When undertaking infrastructuredevelopment, it is also necessary to coordinate the interests of the people and organizations of whom will beaffected. Infrastructure planning and management is the study of practically considering how to establish various“environments” such as cities, regions, and territories, while, based on all of the above, taking a comprehensive
look at all social scientific aspects such as economy, society, psychology, folklore, politics, and finances.
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The Committee of Infrastructure Planning and Management is engaged in various activities with the aim ofdeveloping such infrastructure planning and management and enhancing its social contribution, as well as
fostering individuals who can engage in its study and practice. More specifically, we are very active in holding
the “Infrastructure Planning and Management Conference” twice a year, publishing academic journals,
conducting public research subcommittee activities for a wide range of research themes, holding symposiums,
one-day seminars, and research debate sessions at the annual meeting, and creating and running websites andmailing lists.
【Reported by Satoshi Fujii, Secretary-General, Committee of Infrastructure Planning and Management】Updates◆Up-coming Events
・Japanese Civil Engineers the Global Leaders Symposium Series No.16 (June, 2020)◆IABSE-JSCE 4th Joint Conference, Advances in Bridge Engineering︓http://www.iabse-bd.org/2020/◆ASCE Lifelines Conference 2021
＊The deadline for abstract submission is extended to May 5, 2020 due to COVID-19.
https://samueli.ucla.edu/lifelines2021◆【Call for Abstract】The Second International Conference on Press-in Engineering (ICPE) 2021, Kochi＊The deadline for abstract submission is extended due to COVID-19.
https://icpe-ipa.org/◆jhappy - JICA’s Grant Aid Cooperation Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jhappy20161110/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jhappy_official◆The International Infrastructure Archives– A Compilation of Japan’s Greatest Projects in Transfer ofCivil Engineering Technology in Service –http://www.jsce.or.jp/e/archive/◆IAC “News Pick Up!!” on the JSCE Japanese website
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/iac_dayori_2020◆Summary of featured articles in JSCE Magazine Vol. 105,
No.5, May 2020
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine

The Second International Conference on
Press-in Engineering (ICPE) 2021, Kochi◆Journal of JSCE：https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce§ IAC News Subscription §The IAC News is one of the communication tools to share information and ideas with the members. We would like to invite
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