2019. 8. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.82
The Importance of Civil Engineering in the New Reiwa Era
With the passing of the Heisei era, the new era of Reiwa has begun. The Japan Societyof Civil Engineers (JSCE), too, is embarking on new efforts. In 2014, the 100th
anniversary of JSCE, the 100-Year Vision “Transcending the Boundaries of Civil
Engineering to Construct the Foundation for a Sustainable Society” was declared, andthe JSCE2015 action plan was formulated. 2019 will be the final fiscal year of JSCE2015,
when we look back at our past activities, clarify the achievements and challenges, andformulate JSCE2020 that connects us to the next generation.
Today, the civil engineering industry is in a time of unprecedented change.
Yasuo Hayashi

First, major natural disasters caused by climate change, etc. are occurring frequently (107th JSCE President)
throughout Japan. For example, last year, there was an earthquake in northern Osaka inJune, floods in western Japan in July, and Typhoon Jebi and Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake in September.
In addition, there is concern about Nankai megathrust earthquakes and an earthquake directly striking the Tokyo
metropolitan area. Early disaster prevention and mitigation measures against such natural disasters and greatearthquakes are required.
Accordingly, in December 2018 the government formulated the “Three-year Emergency Response Plan” fordisaster prevention, disaster mitigation, and building national resilience, with a budget of 7 trillion yen. JSCE
will need not only to implement those emergency measures steadily, but also to carry out its own disasterprevention and mitigation efforts in terms of both hardware and software aspects, to establish a safe and securesociety.
Secondly, most of the infrastructures in Japan were constructed during the period of rapid economic growth andare rapidly deteriorating. The ratio of infrastructures that were constructed over 50 years ago is expected toincrease at an accelerated pace, and so it is vital to maintain them properly. Appropriate maintenance can prolong
the life of infrastructure. I believe there are many infrastructures that were constructed more than 100 years ago.
In view of the situation, the key is how to maintain the enormous number of infrastructures, particularly thoseowned by local governments. Our challenge is to establish a maintenance system.
Thirdly, Japan faces serious depopulation, a rapidly declining birthrate and a growing proportion of elderly
people, a situation that is deteriorating. The population started to decline after peaking in 2008, and is estimatedto shrink to 100 million by 2050. There are 15 million children in Japan in 2019, which is half of the peak number.
Each industry has started to compete for the limited number of new human resources. In the construction industry,
securing young leaders is an urgent issue.
To secure young leaders, steady work-style reforms and improvements in productivity are necessary. To reform
work style, radical reforms are needed, such as reducing the long working hours and establishing a five-daywork-week, as well as increasing wages. It is also necessary to promote diversity to involve young, female, old,and foreign workers, which requires improving the surrounding environment. Regarding productivity, we needto dramatically improve it by using IoT and AI in all processes, ranging from research and measurement toconstruction, operation, and maintenance, and through taking advantage of robots and state-of-the-art
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Fourth, the power of the Japanese economy is declining compared with the dramatic growth of other Asiancountries. We cannot deny that our economy is stagnating. It is imperative to invest in infrastructure in order todevelop the Japanese economy in a sustainable way, looking 50 or 100 years ahead. In these circumstances, theconcept of a super-mega region is attracting attention as an engine for growth of the Japanese economy in thefuture. It will take just over an hour to travel between Tokyo and Osaka when the Chuo Shinkansen using theSuperconducting Maglev system is completed. A huge economic zone with a population of 70 million willemerge. The economic zone is supported by railway infrastructure including the Maglev Chuo Shinkansen andHokuriku shinkansen; road infrastructure such as the Shin-tomei Expressway and Shin-meishin Expressway;
and aviation and marine infrastructure such as four major international airports and two strategic international
container ports. It is crucial to invest in those infrastructures in a focused manner. In addition, it is important toenhance the networks connecting the super-mega region and local major urban areas. The super-mega region
will correct the current overconcentration of power in Tokyo.
The government is promoting the export of Japanese infrastructure. We have to improve the environment anddevelop the human resources required for such efforts.
It is also important to provide citizens with information on a wide range of activities and to listen to their opinions
to deepen mutual understanding.
Based on our understanding of the challenges, we would like to deepen discussion on the future of maintenanceand improvement of infrastructure, and to publicize such information.
JSCE is composed of people of different ages, occupations, and gender. We will mobilize the diverse skills of
our people and courageously tackle the many challenges in this time of change. We would like to ask for thecontinued support of all members of JSCE

【Reported by Yasuo Hayashi, 107th JSCE President】

Sub-committee for Railway Bridge,
Landscape & Design Committee
During the period between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20thcentury, a genre of beauty, functional (technological) beauty, was added to theconventional natural and artistic genres of beauty. As for construction, mechanicalrationality is regarded as a source of functional beauty. However, since civil-engineering
construction is subject to restrictions in terms not only of mechanical rationality but also
workability, operation and maintenance characteristics, it is not easy for construction topurely express functional beauty.
The major structures in the railway sector include railway bridges that span rivers andUshio Saito(Chair of Landscape &Design Committee)

railway viaducts built on the ground. Let me refer to those constructions collectively as “railway bridges”.
They also are subject to many restrictions, such as the loads of the trains, complex conditions of the bridge, andeffectiveness of management. Despite those restrictions, Western European countries have overcome them withcreativity, and created many examples of rich functional beauty. In contrast, there are a few good examples inJapan of equivalent beauty.
However, that does not mean that engineers in Japan were not interested in the beauty of railway bridges, as2

evidenced by guidebooks such as Guidance on theLandscape Design of Construction (JR East, 1995) andGuidance on the Landscape Design of Railway
Construction (former Japan Railway Construction PublicCorporation, 1997). With a view to exporting Japanese
railway bridges, I believe the demand for designtechnologies for beautiful railway bridges will increase.
Accordingly, the JSCE Landscape & Design Committee
started its activity as the Sub-committee for Railway
Bridges for a limited period of time in 2018. Our aim is toenhance the aesthetic design technologies for railway

The Utilization of Space Underneath the Elevated
Railway Tracks (Akihabara 2K540) (Photo by YoshihitoHatakeyama)bridges and to clarify how railway infrastructure should be. We would like such infrastructure to contribute to
the development of the areas around stations and that of the towns along the railway line. We intend to publish
a book on design technologies, compiling the fruits of our work. The book will not be limited to the quest for
the ideal functional beauty of railway bridges, but will consider on-site issues such as workability and operationand maintenance characteristics. An ideal theory alone will not be supported by railway engineers. And The
attraction of railway bridges is not limited to functional beauty. We seek new railway bridge design technologies
from this standpoint.

Railway Viaduct of Chuo Line, Tokyo Station (Photos by Ushio Saito)【Reported by Ushio Saito, Chair of Sub-committee for Railway Bridge,
Landscape & Design Committee】

Report on Second Young Engineers’ Lounge “DOBOKUJSCE International Activities Center, Professional Development Educational Program Group set up Young
Engineers’ Lounge “DOBOKU” that consists of mini-presentation by the invited young engineers who haveexperience in overseas project, and free-talking session with a participant. It provides opportunities to talk
together about overseas project such as the difficulties and the challenges they have had in their project fromyoung generation’s point of view, and provide messages to young engineers who is going to be active overseas.
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On 17th June, 2019, Young Engineers’ Lounge “DOBOKU” was held, inviting Hidetoshi Matsushita from
Nippon Koei Co., Ltd. as a lecturer, with about 10 participants.
First, the lecturer introduced the railway rehabilitation project in Cambodia and his duties in that he engaged inbefore. Subsequently, he explained the hardship in the management, such as countermeasures to a technicalproblem, operation with the contractor having different sense of values, measures against the trouble caused by
local staff frequently.
The lecturer also explained that in addition to improvement of his ability to perform general duties, he learned
forestalling management against anticipating risk and necessity of being conscious of interest among the parties.
He has become mentally tougher by experiencing of the above-mentioned challenges.
Besides the questions about project and duties, participants made question about private aspect, for example
living environment, daily life, foods, how to spend holidays, frequency to go back to Japan, means ofcommunication with his family in Japan, English skills before being engaged in an overseas project, and whether
he had wished to work abroad.
The participants seemed to be stimulated by every word from the lecturer that showed the confidence and senseof achievement which he gained from fulfilling the duties in the project abroad and contribute to developmentof Cambodia.
The organizer thought that there is significance to continue this lounge because it is a good opportunity for young
engineers to know the project, daily life and attraction of overseas projects across to young engineer carrying
the future.

Presentation by Mr. Matsushita, the Lecturer

Free-talking Session【Report by Jyutaro Umezu (Professional Development and Education Program Group, IAC)】

4MLIT-JICA-JSCE Joint Session on
Quality Infrastructure at CECAR8
As the concluding sessions for series of related sessions starting in 2017, JSCE IAC jointlyorganized Session on Quality Infrastructure with Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on
17th April 2019 at CECAR8. Through Joint Session we aimed at achieving (1)Reconfirmation of necessity of infrastructure development as the countermeasure ofproblems in Asian countries, and (2) Common understanding of importance of “qualityinfrastructure”. The joint session was opened by addresses of the organizers, MLIT, JICA
and JSCE to introduce the objectives.

Tamon Ueda
(Hokkaido University)

Session 1 organized by JSCE was entitled “Importance of Quality Infrastructure – Case studies”. There werefour presentations as shown in Table 1. Through the presentations we could learn why to achieve, how to achieve,and how to evaluate “quality infrastructure”. Sustainability as SDGs indicate is the reason why we need quality
infrastructure. There are issues at each stage of design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure forachieving quality infrastructure. Cost and user convenience are the indexes for evaluating quality infrastructure.
Table 1 JSCE Session on Importance of Quality Infrastructure – Case Studies

Presenter

Presentation Title

William Kelly, USA

Assessing Quality of Infrastructure in the United States

Wu-Te Ko, Taiwan

Status and Challenges of Quality Management for
Infrastructure in Taiwan
Optimized Management of Aging Infrastructure inAustraliaExpanding Japanese Construction Technologies
Overseas Infrastructure in Higher Quality

Paul Louis Mitchell, Australia
Katsuji Fukumoto, JapanJICA organized Session 2 “Quality and Resilient Infrastructure in Asia: How can investment gap be bridged?”.
There were four presentations as shown in Table 2. The session discussed the methodology for estimation ofinfrastructure demand, including demand for maintenance and repair. Two presentations showed the estimation
methodologies for railway and flood control infrastructures in Asia. The last presentation showed a case studyin Japan on the spillover effect of infrastructure investment, which can stimulate private investment.
Table 2 JICA Session on Quality and Resilient Infrastructure in Asia:
How Can Investment Gap Be Bridged?

Presenter
Koki Hirota, Japan
Hiroshi Takeuchi, Japan
Mikio Ishiwatari, JapanKe Seetha Ram, India
Satoshi Miyazawa, Japan

Presentation Title
Quality and Resilient Infrastructure in Asia: How Can
Investment Gap Be Bridged?
An Analysis of the Future Demand for Urban Railwaysin Asia
Estimating Demand for Flood Protection Infrastructure
Unlocking the Spillover Effect of Infrastructure andImproving Quality of Life: New Insights for Private
Sector Investment in Developing Countries5Session 3 entitled “Infrastructure Development andEconomic Growth” was organized by MLIT. Table 3 shows
four presentations in this session. The session discussed thecontribution of infrastructure development on economic
growth and the minimizing negative effect of infrastructuredevelopment on economic growth through the case of PPP
in Indonesia and disaster prevention measures inPhilippines. The presentation explained that investment for
quality infrastructure brings high efficiency and benefit,
which can promote private fund and fill the gap between

Professor Hirota Discusses Impact of Infrastructure
Development on Economic Growthdemand and fund. The examples of quality infrastructures inJapan were introduced, which bring the economic growth. It was explained that maintenance and repair ofexisting infrastructure is a key for quality infrastructure.
Table 3 MLIT Session on Infrastructure Development and Economic GrowthPresenter
Sutanto Soehodho, Indonesia

Presentation Title
Funding Scheme on Publicprivate-Partnership(KPBU)

Maria Catalina E. Cabral,

Disaster Risk Reduction through Resilient Public

Philippines

Infrastructure: Examples from the Philippines

Koki Hirota, Japan

Securing Fund And Quality Infrastructure

Yasuhiro Okumura, Japan

Quality Infrastructure in Japan and Its Overseas
Expansion

The closing session summarized the points of valuable
contributions on various aspects and emphasized that we need tocontinue the discussion between countries exporting andimporting quality infrastructure on clarifying benefits of quality
infrastructure and finding the way to fill the demand-fund gap.

The Chair Summarizes Three Sessions【Report by Tamon Ueda (Hokkaido University)】

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Updates◆Japanese Civil Engineers the Global Leaders Symposium Series No.14 (August 28)
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/146◆2019 JSCE Annual Meeting International Program (September 3-4)
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/145◆The 21st International Summer Symposium (September 3-4)
http://www.jsce-int.org/node/592◆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/◆Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC) International Newsletter
http://www.acecc-world.org/newsletter.html◆IAC “News Pick Up!!” on the JSCE Japanese website
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/118◆Summary of featured articles in JSCE Magazine Vol. 104, No.8, August 2019http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine◆Journal of JSCE
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