2022. 6. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.116
The Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC)

42nd Executive Committee Meeting in Jakarta
1. Overview
The Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC) is an organization established in September 1999
to improve and develop sustainable social capital in the Asian region. At present, 15 academic societies areaffiliated with the ACECC, with the organization engaged in various activities to promote learning and skills
with the cooperation of civil engineering-related academic societies. The Executive Committee Meeting (ECM),
the highest-level decision-making body of the ACECC, is held twice a year by affiliated academic societies ona rotating basis. This 42nd ECM was held online on March 28 and 29, 2022, hosted by the Indonesian Societyof Civil and Structural Engineers (HAKI). From the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), the main attendees
were JSCE Representative Eiki Yamaguchi (Kyushu Institute of Technology), Chairperson Hironori Kato (The
University of Tokyo), Vice-Chairperson Hirofumi Ohnishi (KATAHIRA & ENGINEERS INC.), and myself. In
addition to the ECM, the Technical Committee 14 (Sustainable Infrastructure) seminar and the Future Leaders
Forum seminar were also held, but they have been left out of this report due to space restrictions. Photo 1 shows
the online video conference and Table 1 shows the schedule of each event.

Photo 1: Video Conference1

Table 1: Schedule of the 42nd Executive Committee Meeting
Date

Local Time in Jakarta

Local Time in Japan

Event

Monday,11:00-13:30

13:00-15:30

Technical Coordination Committee Meeting (TCCM)

March 28

14:30-17:30

16:30-19:30

Planning Committee Meeting (PCM)

Tuesday,

11:00–11:30

13:00-13:30

Confirmation of TCCM and PCM Minutes

March 29

11:30-14:10

13:30-16:10

Executive Committee Meeting (ECM)

14:40-16:00

16:40-18:00

TC14 Seminar

16:15-17:45

18:15-19:45

Future Leaders Forum Seminar

2. Technical Coordination Committee Meeting (TCCM)
At the TCCM, reports were made on the efforts of the 11 Technical Committees (TCs) that are currently engagedin activities. Regarding TC21 (Transdisciplinary Approach for Building Societal Resilience to Disasters), forwhich JSCE serves as Chair, Chair Mikio Ishiwatari (The University of Tokyo) reported the status of the Special
Session at the JSCE Annual Meeting, the field survey in the Philippines, and the activity plan for CECAR 9,
among other topics. With regards to the JSCE-led TC28 (Application of Monitoring Technology for
Infrastructure Maintenance, TC Chair: Professor Eiki Yamaguchi of Kyushu Institute of Technology), which
was approved by the ECM last time, TC member Mr. Masaaki Nakano (Nippon Koei Co., Ltd.) reported that 13
participants from 9 member organizations had grouped together.
In addition to the TC activity reports, the Korean Society of Civil Engineers (KSCE) proposed a new TC entitled“Network Construction and Joint Utilization of Large-Scale Experimental Facilities,” and its establishment wasapproved as TC29. This area is one of the fields in which Japanese technology leads the way, and I would liketo consider dispatching members from JSCE with an eye on future trends. There were also discussions on how
to handle the ACECC Code of Ethics currently being drawn up by TC17 (Ethical Practices to Reduce
Corruption) as well as reviewing the guidelines for TC activities. The conclusion to the discussions, however,was carried over to the next ECM.
3. Planning Committee Meeting (PCM)
At the PCM, there was a lot of discussion about the policy for holding the 9th Civil Engineering Conference in
Asian Region (CECAR 9) to be held in Goa, India in September 2022. The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE,I), which is the organizer of CECAR 9, strongly hoped to hold the event in an in-person format and proposed
two possibilities of either holding the event as scheduled or postponing it by one year. Attendees expressed avariety of opinions on this matter, and so a decision was carried over to the ECM the next day. In other news,
the outcome of the vote was reported for the three ACECC Awards (Project Award, Achievement Award, andTC Award) that will be awarded at CECAR 9.
4. Executive Committee Meeting (ECM)
At the ECM, the decisions made at the TCCM and PCM were approved. The representative of Engineering New
Zealand, which had applied to join the ECM, introduced the organization, and its membership was unanimously
approved. Regarding the ACECC Awards, it was decided that all of the following three submissions from JSCE
would receive high scores and each be awarded:2• Project Award: Aso Ohashi Bridge Area Slope Disaster Prevention Measure Construction by Kumagai Gumi
and Kyushu Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism• Achievement Award: Dr. Osamu Kusakabe (former ACECC Chair, Executive Director of International Pressin Association, Professor Emeritus of Tokyo Institute of Technology)• TC Award: TC21 Transdisciplinary Approach for Building Societal Resilience to Disasters
After this, discussions were held on the holding of CECAR 9, which had been carried over from the PCM. At
the start, Dr. S. L. Swamy, Chair of ICE, I, proposed a policy that CECAR 9 should be held as an in-person
event this September as scheduled and only participants from countries/regions from which it is difficult totravel to India should be allowed to participate online. There was no major opposition to this policy and it was
accepted. JSCE’s online attendance to CECAR 9 was accepted because the situation surrounding the coronavirus
pandemic is still unclear.
5. Conclusion
With regards to CECAR 9, although JSCE’s participation both online and in-person was given the green light,
we would like to assist the committee in charge of CECAR 9 so that as many individuals as possible from Japan
can attend the event in person. The next ECM will be held in Goa, India, the day before CECAR 9.
Shri Prithipal Singh (ICE, I), Chair of the Local Organization Committee (LOC) for CECAR 9, passed away
suddenly in January 2022. It is extremely unfortunate that he passed away without witnessing the success of
CECAR 9. I would like to pay tribute to him and offer my deepest condolences. Professor T. R. Piplani(Secretary General of the ICE, I) has been appointed as the new chair.

【Reported by Jun Izawa, Secretary-General of the Committee on Asian Civil Engineering
Coordinating Council, JSCE (Railway Technical Research Institute)】

3The 10th FLF Monthly Webinar Series
The ACECC Future Leaders’ Forum (FLF) was devised and established in 2017 withthe aim of recruiting and encouraging networking between young civil engineers
around the age of 30 to further strengthen the connections between young civilengineers at academic societies that are members of ACECC. From JSCE, Dr. Rajali
Maharjah (Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute) and myself are involved
as members of the FLF.
Since 2021, a Zoom webinar entitled “FLF Monthly Webinar Series” has been held Assoc. Prof. Hiromasa Iwai
about once a month, with a different member academic society acting as the host each (Kyoto University)month. The webinar focuses on civil engineering issues in the Asia-Pacific region,
technologicaltrendsrelatedtocivilengineering, and raising issues for achieving
sustainable growth. A webinar was held on
Saturday, February 19, 2022, hosted by
JSCE’sCommittee

on

Asian

Civil

Engineering Coordinating Council.
The webinar, hosted by JSCE, was facilitatedby FLF member Dr. Rajali Maharjah and saw
three lectures by Dr. Shanthanu Rajasekharan(AsterCo.

Ltd.),

Associate

Professor

Muneyoshi Numada (The University ofTokyo), and myself.
In many developing countries, structural
fragility is an issue. However, the fact that itis difficult to obtain expensive and highquality

structural

materials

presentsadilemma. Also, with recent calls to achievecarbon neutrality, reducing CO2 emissions
during the construction of large-scale civilengineering structures is an important issue tobe examined regardless of the country inquestion. Against this backdrop, this seminar
focused on “Civil engineering’s contribution to carbon neutrality” as a webinar topic, and the attendees
discussed the role of civil engineering in a carbon-neutral society while giving concrete examples in the lecturers’
fields of expertise. Countries located in the Pacific Rim have many things in common, such as suffering storms
and floods caused by earthquakes and typhoons. Many questions were asked by those viewing the seminar4

online and there were lively discussions regarding Japanese civil engineering technologies that are both
environmentally friendly and reduce damage to physical property and human suffering caused by such external
forces.
Through this monthly webinar, I think that while the novel coronavirus pandemic has its disadvantages in thatoverseas travel and in-person participation in international events are restricted, I personally feel that thanks to
the rapid widespread use of Zoom and social media platforms, the opportunities for discussions with overseas
engineers and researchers have, in fact, increased because of the pandemic. I think that the fact that the“communication gap” with those outside of Japan has been drastically bridged by the significant external forceof the pandemic is a very important turning point for each country to work together and promote problemsolving on a global scale. If you are a young engineer or researcher who is interested in networking with overseas
civil engineers and solving problems on a global scale from the aspect of civil engineering, I encourage you to
get involved with the activities of FLF today!
Topic: Civil engineering’s contribution to carbon neutrality
・Moderator: Dr. Rajali Maharjah (Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute)1
2

Presentation Title

Presenter

Geotechnical investigation of CO2 sequestration into

Dr. Hiromasa Iwai,

seabed ground using carbon dioxide hydrate

Nagoya Institute of Technology

Strengthening masonry buildings through innovative

Dr. Shanthanu Rajasekharan,

seismic retrofitting technology and its potential impact

ASTER CO., LTD.

on CO2 emissions
3

Disaster Management Process Approach

Dr. Muneyoshi Numada,Institute of Industrial Science, The
University of Tokyo【Reported by Assoc. Prof. Hiromasa Iwai (Kyoto University)】*Associate Prof. Iwai was at the Nagoya Institute of Technology when he attended at the FLF.

5

Student VoiceThe Pursuit of Knowledge Never Stops
Hi! I’m Isabella and I am from the Philippines. I am currently a graduating student at
the Graduate School of Engineering of Kyoto University. In March of 2020, I earned
my bachelor’s in engineering degree from the International Course Program of Civil
Engineering of Kyoto University.
I am very grateful that I had this opportunity to share my experiences as aninternational student in Japan. Ever since I was young, I have dreamt of living inJapan. It has always been a second home to my family, with both my parents having
lived here before I was born. Growing up, we would often travel to Japan and go toscience museums, parks, Tokyo Disneyland, and DisneySea. From a young age, I had

Isabella Galarosa
MARTINEZ(Kyoto University)

already been fascinated by towers,
buildings,

and

other

structures.

Whenever we would travel to Japan,
we would marvel at the bridges we
would

pass

throughandtheskyscrapers and towers we would seealong the way. With both of myparents being engineers, I knew earlyon that I wanted to become a civilengineer myself. Coming from thePhilippines, I knew that Japan is oneof most advanced countries in the ICP (UNDER GRADUATE INTERNATUONAL COURSE PROGRAM OF
field, with several infrastructure CIVIL ENGINEERING) Welcome party 2019
projects in the Philippines being products of ODAs fromJapan. So, when the opportunity to study in aninternational course in civil engineering in one of the top
universities in Japan came, I knew I had to take it. I tried
my best in the application process and was fortunately
awarded a slot in the program. In March of 2016, twodays after I turned 18, I packed my bags and moved toJapan.
I learned so many things when I moved to Japan, not just ICP Batch 2016-2020
about academics, but also about daily life - something
everyone has probably experienced after moving out of their homes. Academically, one of the biggest decisions
you must make as an undergraduate student is what specialization you would like to pursue. In the first three
years of university, you attend various classes and gradually learn the basics of the four major fields of civil

6engineering: structural, geotechnical, hydraulics, and urban
planning. It was a very tough decision as I found all fields
interesting, but as I went through all the courses,
geotechnical engineering just stood out for me. In my
fourth year, I joined the Geomechanics laboratory of Kyoto
University. In the same year, I was fortunately granted aslot in the master’s program for the following academic
year with a scholarship from Ueda Memorial Foundation. I
did my thesis which focused on centrifuge modeling andwas set to graduate in March 2020. After I successfully

Hotpot at Misasagi International Housepassed my thesis defense, I went back home to thePhilippines for a short vacation before my graduation. Little did I know that my 3-week stay at home would
eventually become 2 years, with me studying in Kyoto University all the way from Manila, Philippines.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected our lives, but throughout these past 2 years, I realized thatthe pursuit of knowledge never stops. Using modern technology to our advantage, we continued to hold classes
and submit assignments through online platforms. Despite the current conditions, not once were our classes
suspended. Professors and students continuously worked together to make our virtual classroom a place forlearning. I successfully passed my courses in the first year and even had the opportunity to be a teaching assistantfor two semesters. As for my research, my professors and I had to adapt to the situation while maximizing myresearch activities. I learned how to do finite element modelling for my research, which I was able to do all theway from Manila. I participated in online conferences, where I interacted with other students and professors
from different universities and institutions in Japan. In February of 2022, I successfully passed my thesis defense.
Until now, I can’t believe that I accomplished the requirements of my program more than 2,000 km away frommy university. After 2 years of being away, I have finally been able to return to Japan and I am actually writing
this article as I wait for my quarantine period to end. The past 2 years have definitely been quite a challenge,
but as researchers, our minds are wired to find and test solutions to problems. We do not do it because we haveto, but because it is part of who we are. Our desire to learn and share knowledge has not and will never stop.

Miyajima

Hanami with friends

7

Lab trip【Reported by Isabella Galarosa MARTINEZ (Kyoto University)】* This report was written in March 2022.

Updates◆JSCE-ASCE Infrastructure Resilience Research Grouphttps://www.infraresil.jp/◆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/◆The 9th Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR9)
https://cecar9.com/◆The 4th Asian Concrete Federation (ACF) Symposium on Emerging Technologies for Structural Longevity(ACF2022_ETSL): https://acf2022.aconf.org/index.html◆American Society of Civil Engineers（ASCE）
・ASCE Convention 2022
https://www.asce.org/education-and-events/events/meetings/asce-convention-2022/◆The 9th International Conference on Flood Management (ICFM9)
https://www.icfm9.jp/index.html◆IAC “News Pick Up!!” on the JSCE Japanese website
https://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/iac_dayori_2022◆Summary of featured articles in JSCE Magazine Vol. 107, No.6 June 2022
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine◆Journal of JSCE
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce8§ 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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