2022. 4. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.114
Strands of the Same RopeIf we go by the saying, “Good and bad fortune are strands of the same rope,” the6686fortune brought about by the coronavirus pandemic is surely the rapid shift tomoving business practices online. While the International Activities Center was
severely impacted by both aspects of good and bad fortune brought about by thepandemic, I would like to take this opportunity to report on the aspect of good fortune.
Marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of JSCE, we renewed exchange effortswith the China Civil Engineering Society (CCES) and started a joint symposium
between JSCE and CCES in 2016. Since then, CCES and JSCE have taken turns

Hitoshi Tanaka(Senior Director, IAC)

hosting this symposium every other year. In 2021, the year of the third symposium,
experts in the fields of hydraulic engineering, river engineering, and coastal engineering from Japan and China
came together online to discuss advanced research issues. Furthermore, reports were given on and information
shared about flood disasters that occurred in countries such as Japan, China, Germany, and the United States
during the summer of 2021. Attendees were not limited to those of Japan and China, but there were many
participants from other countries, reflecting the worldwide interest in the topic. The participation of overseas
members was encouraged by the fact that the symposium was held online.

The 3rd JSCE-CCES Joint Symposium

The other day, I had the opportunity to attend an online meeting with the Vietnam Section and listened to specificrequests made by the International Section regarding the translation of various technical standards andspecifications into English. In connection to this, I would like to introduce the topic of translating books
published by JSCE, which I have been involved in in recent years.

1In recent years, coastal erosion has reared its headin various parts of Vietnam. The effects ofsediment dredging and dam sedimentation havebeen observed, and Japanese experts haveemphasizedtheneedforcomprehensive

management to oversee all sediment issues.
Meanwhile, since coastal engineering is arelatively new discipline in Vietnam, there has
been some inconsistency in the use of technicalterms in this field, causing some confusion.

Glossary of Costal Engineering

Because of this, I introduced to Vietnamese
researchers the fact that the “Glossary of Coastal Engineering” was published by JSCE, and strongly encouraged
them to translate it into Vietnamese. As a result, after the approval of JSCE, the translation work started in 2019,
and the book was published in December 2021. The book is distributed free of charge to researchers andengineers in Vietnam. It is my hope that our publications will make a significant contribution overseas throughsimilar efforts to translate them.

【Reported by Hitoshi Tanaka, Senior Director, IAC(President-appointed Extraordinary Professor, Tohoku University) 】

9th Joint Company Information Session forInternational Students (Online)
Since 2013, the International Student Network Group of the International Activities
Center has, for the purpose of providing information on the businesses of Japanese
civil engineering companies, overseas projects, and recruitment, held a Joint
Company Information Session for International Students studying in Japan. The event
has been held every year in Tokyo and every other year in the Kansai area. This 9th
Joint Company Information Session for International Students was held on Saturday,December 11, 2021, in collaboration with the IAC International Civil Engineer Groupand the Global Civil Engineers Subcommittee of Committee on Civil Engineering

Ji Dang（InternationalStudent NetworkGroup, IAC）

Consultants. Given the situation of the coronavirus pandemic, the event was held
online as it was last year.
Eighty international students from universities all across Japan participated on the day. As the event was held
online, it meant that international students living in rural areas of Japan participated this year as well. The
number of participating companies increased from last year, with 16 companies involved on this occasion.

2The companies that took part are as follows.
【Participating Companies】
AOMI CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD., ASANUMA CORPORATION,
Eight-Japan Engineering Consultants Inc., HAZAMA ANDO CORPORATION,KAJIMA CORPORATION, Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., OBAYASHI CORPORATION,ONO KOGYOSYO CO., LTD., Oriental Consultants Global Co., Ltd.,PACIFIC CONSULTANTS CO., LTD., PENTA-OCEAN CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD.,
Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., Ltd. TODA CORPORATION,TSUCHIYA CORPORATION, Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd.,Yonemori Construction Co., LTD.
This Company Information Session was held in two parts: the (1) Opening Session and the (2) CompanySessions & “Senpai” Sessions. In the first part, the Opening Session, the purpose of the Company Information
Session was explained during the opening remarks, and then Mr. Jaehong Huang (OBAYASHICORPORATION) and Mr. Jonathan Gonzalez (NIPPON ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS CO., LTD.), whoplay a key role at a Japanese general contractor and consultancy company respectively, gave a talk entitled“Senpai’s” Experience in Studying and Working in Japan”, in which they discussed topics such as research
activities at Japanese universities, job search, and work after joining a company. This was followed by a “1minute pitch” segment where the representatives of each participating company gave an outline of their company
and the contents of their company session held in Part 2.

“Senpai’s” Experience in Studying and Working in Japan”
Mr. Jaehong Huang (OBAYASHI CORPORATION)

In the second part, from 14:00 to 17:15, each participating company held Company Sessions in the form of aweb meeting for 20 minutes per session. Information such as what each company does, its overseas projects,
and recruitment information were provided in the Company Sessions. The international students collected3

information in the sessions of the companies they had their eye on and actively asked questions to the company
representatives.
At the same time as the Company Sessions, Senpai Sessions were held by former international students who
have landed themselves a job at a Japanese company. The Senpai Sessions were held with the help of six former
international students including Mr. Huang and Mr. Gonzalez (mentioned earlier), Mr. Zuo Rongzhi (KawakinCore-Tech Co., Ltd.), Mr. Amirfarkhan Bin Radzali (Nishimatsu Construction Co., Ltd.), Ms. Luisa Santa Spitia(HAZAMA ANDO CORPORATION), and Mr. Lucas Alves (PACIFIC CONSULTANTS CO., LTD.). In theSenpai Sessions, the former international students talked about when and what kind of preparations they took
and what necessary skills they acquired in their job-hunting efforts in Japan, challenges faced when working inJapan, and their future goals. In a relaxed atmosphere, enthusiastic conversations took place that went beyond
the boundaries of being a senior or junior.

Participants Discuss at the Senpai Session

On the day, the entire event went smoothly with no significant problems. The participating companies prepared
meticulously beforehand, and I believe that this Company Information Session proved to be a great opportunity
for international students, who are highly interested in Japanese companies, to network. The International
Student Network Group wishes to continue to provide information on Japanese civil engineering companies andcreate exciting opportunities by collaborating with former international students employed at such companies
to help provide information on employment and different career paths for international students.
To end, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the lecturers, participating companies,
and everyone else involved in this Company Information Session who helped to make it a great success.

【Reported by Ji Dang, International Student Network Group (Saitama University)】

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Projects with Professor Ueda - Our Next President
As I am sure you all know, Professor Tamon Ueda gave his all for many years as
the first senior director of the International Activities Center to keep the center’sactivities on track and exciting. Even now, as a core member of the center, hecontinues to offer guidance with a carrot-and-stick approach. Professor Ueda, whowill become the president of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers this financialyear, is currently preparing his president’s mission.
Professor Ueda outlines “internationalization” as the keyword of this mission, andwill continue to pursue activities with the approaches of “Researchers”,“Engineers”, and “Projects”, in order to globalize the people and technologies
behind Japanese civil engineering. With the “Researchers” approach, the aim is tomeasure and revive the globalization of the academic community at a time when

Tamon Ueda
(President‐Elect)researchers tend to be held in less high regard. With the “Engineers” approach, in order to improve the currentsituation where the international presence of Japanese civil engineering is inevitably declining due to theshrinking of the domestic civil engineering field, the goal is to give first-hand training to young and mid-career
engineers to help improve the “capabilities of civil engineers” that can be successful on the global stage. With
“Projects”, the aim is to create projects that are recognized by and the preference of other countries all over theworld.
Professor Ueda also has one other major mission. The collaboration between civil engineering and architecture(a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in activities was signed between JSCE and the Architectural
Institute of Japan in November 2021). To build cities and societies at the center of people’s lives, it is essentialthat civil engineering and architecture recognize the differences between the two fields and collaborate in a waythat makes the best use of their respective strengths. Collaboration between the two fields will also lead tomeasures against the decline in the status of the Japanese construction field in Japan and overseas.
Going forward, I am sure you will see this mission take shape. Our center will support Professor Ueda inachieving his missions. We thank you for your cooperation and support.

5Updates◆【YouTube】
・3rd JSCE Concrete Committee Webinar "Frontiers of Concrete Technology" (March 9)
https://youtu.be/hwfl7mrs7-I◆Glossary of Costal Engineering (Vietnamese)https://nxbxaydung.com.vn/thuat-ngu-chuyen-nganh-ky-thuat-bienb10577.html?zarsrc=30&utm_source=zalo&utm_medium=zalo&utm_campaign=zalo◆JSCE Concrete Committee Newsletter No.64, January 2022
http://www.jsce.or.jp/committee/concrete/e/newsletter/newsletter64/index.html◆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/【New Project】Male’ Seawall Project (Maldives)
http://www.jsce.or.jp/e/archive/project/pj14.html◆The 9th Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR9)
https://cecar9.com/◆American Society of Civil Engineers（ASCE）
・Joint Japan-US Symposium on Assessment, Management, and Governance for Infrastructure Resilience*Pre-recorded Presentation Available on the Website.
https://www.infraresil.jp/event/01/◆The 9th International Conference on Flood Management (ICFM9)
https://www.icfm9.jp/index.html◆European Council of Civil Engineers E-Journal
http://www.ecceengineers.eu/newsletter/Files/ECCE-E-journal-23.pdf?m=1640190118&◆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.4 April 2022
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine◆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
you, your friends and colleagues to join the communication and to subscribe the IAC News. Please register online:(http://www.jsce-int.org/node/150). We look forward to meeting you.
§ IAC Facebook §Recent activity of International Activities Center is introduced on this Facebook. Please see this home page(https://www.facebook.com/JSCE.en).
Comments and Questions
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