Proposals for the next 10 years on the 10th anniversary of theestablishment of the Japan OLED Forum
Started in 2005 by 19 researchers and development engineers from universities, researchlaboratories, and companies all involved in the research and development of OLEDs, the Japan
OLED Forum has operated to accomplish the aims set out in the “Japan OLED Forum
Prospectus.” Ten years have now passed since the Forum’s founding, and the environment
around the OLED industry in Japan has greatly changed. In light of these changes, now is thetime for the Forum to reexamine its vision of the role that it should play for the next 10 years
and the steps that it should take to realize this vision. These issues were discussed in depth by
the Steering Committee several times over the past year, and the consensus reached throughthese discussions are collected and put forth here as a proposal for the next 10 years.
The Prospectus set at the establishment of the Forum states that “we recognize the need to unite
academic research and practical technological development in a way that overcomes the statusquo” to improve and maintain the international competitiveness of the Japanese OLED industry.
To this end, the Japan OLED Forum was founded as a place to enable technical exchange andpassionate discussion among researchers and developers from academic research laboratories
and industry. Even after 10 years, the importance of these points has not changed. Therefore, theJapan OLED Forum should continue to maintain this viewpoint set forth in the Prospectus.
However, a broad interpretation of the “Japanese OLED industry” should be strongly reaffirmed
here that includes everything from panels, materials, components, and devices to theirapplications.
Nonetheless, to continue serving its purpose, the Japan OLED Forum must change with thetimes and environment. At one point, Japan was the world leader in the academic research andpractical development of OLEDs. Based on a strong desire to return to such a position, theJapan OLED Forum chose to be a closed society for Japan only. However, South Korea ispresently leading the OLED display and panel industry, and Taiwan and China are quickly
catching up by accelerating investment in the development and industrialization of OLEDs.
Consequently, domestic businesses involved in OLED materials, components, and devices havelost touch by listening only to domestic panel manufacturers. That is, to strengthen the OLED
industry of Japan, restricting the Japan OLED Forum only to Japan is no longer appropriate.
Subsequently, the decision has been made to transform the Japan OLED Forum into an open
venue by welcoming foreign members. Specifically, the requirement for members to be an“official member, or visiting researcher, of a corporate enterprise having a manufacturing anddevelopment base in Japan” as designated in the Membership Regulations is abolished, and thedoor is widely opened to members from outside Japan. To review this and other details of theMembership Regulations, including the requirements for support and other members, theOperating Regulations Review Subcommittee has been established by the Steering Committee.
By making the Japan OLED Forum an open venue, academic researchers will benefit from theincreased value of the Forum as a place for academic discussion and from the chance to learn
about, and incorporate into his or her own research, the technical problems encountered byforeign companies working on OLEDs. Businesses involved in OLED materials, components,
and devices will be able to more clearly understand the needs of foreign customers in addition
to domestic ones, making participation in the Japan OLED Forum even more attractive, andmanufacturers of OLED panels will gain by working hard and interacting with foreigncompanies.
A clear vision of how the Japan OLED Forum will move forward and take shape over the next
10 years based on this new direction is as follows.
For the development of the OLED industry, understanding the future direction of OLEDs is very
important, and key scientific and technological problems and analysis techniques must beidentified. For this purpose, the current understanding of OLEDs in academia and industry isindispensable, so the Forum should serve as a place for international discussion with aworldwide outlook. By not stopping at device processing but also including applications in thediscussion and through the participation of its members, the Forum should provide a complete
picture of the current state of OLED technology that goes beyond one’s own specialized field.
With OLEDs as the starting point for discussion that touches on all aspects from the latest basic
research to practical development and applications and by providing experiences that cannot beobtained at MRS, SID, or JSAP, the Japan OLED Forum is bound to become a unique andinternationally respected society.
March 21, 2016
Tetsuo Urabe, Japan OLED Forum Representative