WECC2015 Newsletter No.6
The Forerunner of WECC2015

Dr. Yumio Ishii
Chair,Steering Committee(Senior Corporate Adviser, CTI Engineering)

It is not widely recognized that before theestablishment of WFEO in 1968, Japan had
successfully hosted an international congressin 1929.
“October 24, 1929”. The day is known as“Black Thursday” when the Great Crash had
burst. From the day after, the world had
tumbled down to the Second World War whichclaimed lives of 50 to 80 million people.
5 days after the Black Thursday, however,the very first international conference ofengineers, World Engineering Congress(WEC1929) was successfully convened inTokyo, Japan with 4,500 participants fromaround the world. There is no “If” in history.
But “if” the main theme of the conference“InternationalCooperationandUnderstanding” had been succeeded, theSecond World War may not have occurred andWFEO could have been established 39 years
earlier.
In this connection, I would like to look backon WEC1929 and have lessons for the successof coming WECC2015 in this November.
It was Dr. Elmer A. Sperry of American
Society of Mechanical Engineers that
proposed to hold WEC1929 in Japan.
Accepting the proposal, Japan organized theCommittee of WEC1929 with Prince Chichibuas Patron, Prime Minister Osachi Hamaguchi

July 28, 2015

as Honorary President, Baron Koi Furuichi,
the President of Japan Federation ofEngineering Societies, as President, andworked towards the success of WEC1929 withcooperative efforts between the public andprivate sectors and the academia.
Since the Meiji Restoration or the revolution
for the national modernization in 1868, Japan
had been successfully striving for theindustrialization to catch up with westerncountries. In 1923, however, Japan wasattacked by the Great Kanto Earthquake withM7.9 which claimed 105,000 lives and damageof 1/3 of GDP. It was feared that themodernization was threatened to fail. But in
1929, with reconstruction steadily advanced,
Japan was in full confidence in showing theworld
thatthereconstruction
andmodernization of Japan had been successfullyprogressed.
Only 4 years before WECC2015, Japan, thedisaster prone country, was heavily attacked
again by the Great East Japan Earthquakewith M9.0 in 2011 which claimed 19,000 lives
and 4% of GDP damage. Comparing themagnitude of the two earthquakes, we canestimate that the damage in 2011 would havebeen much severer if there were notanti-disaster schemes. The reconstruction
from GEJEq has been in steady progress andthe turmoil of economy has ceased. What isthe key to the success? It is nothing other thanthe potential of engineering and the will ofpeople or the power of culture to overcome thedisasters on the foundation of economy.
At WECC2015 in Kyoto with the main themeof “Engineering: Innovation and Society”,
Japanese engineering and culture will bepresented to the world. And then, we will
relay the experience of WECC2015 toWEC2019 in Melbourne.

Leaderships of WEC1929 in Tokyo

Article entitled "Defining the contribution of engineering to society"published in the Japan Times dated June 30, 2015.
The original article appeared on pp. 8-9 in the main section of the Japan Times dated June 30, 2015.
The article can also be accessed online via the following link:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/column/the-japan-times-forum-on-engineering/

WECC2015 Registration is now available online!
Registration and accommodation reservation is available from our official website:
http://www.wecc2015.info/index.html

We are looking forward to welcoming you all at the venue!