2016. 6. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.44
Report on an Open Seminar on Regional Development
The International Activities Center of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers held an Open Seminar on Regional
Development in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 29, 2016, together with the Institute of Road Engineering,
Ministry of Public Works (MPW) of Indonesia, the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management(NILIM), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the Public Works ResearchInstitute (PWRI). The seminar was very lively, attended by about 120 people from the Ministry of Public Works
and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia, local governments and academic circles.
Seminar outline:[Open Seminar on Regional Development]
Opening speech: Dr. Ir. Arie Setiadi Moerwanto, Director General of theAgency for Research and Development, MPW
Keynote speech: Dr. Hermanto Dardak, Head of Infrastructure Regional
Board, MPW
Special lecture: “Roles of Traffic System Services in Regional Tourism

Dr. Hermanto delivers a speech.

Development” Prof. Tetsuo Shimizu, Tokyo Metropolitan University
Presentation: “Outline of ‘Michi-no-eki’ (Roadside Service Stations) andRecommendations for Better Operation” Dr. Masahide Ito, Director ofRoad Traffic Department, NILIM, MLIT
In addition to the above, Indonesian representatives gave four presentations.
Summary of the main presentation and lecture:

Dr. Arie presents a tribute to Prof.
Shimizu after his special lecture.

1. Keynote speech by Dr. Hermanto Dardak
Dr. Dardak talked about the challenge of reducing the economic gap between

urban and rural areas in Indonesia, and described MPW projects in the strategic development regions. He also
introduced the Smart Traveler’s Plaza Plan, a new project in Indonesia using the michi-no-eki in Japan forreference.
2. Special lecture by Prof. Tetsuo Shimizu
While showing the analysis results on the relationship between the history of tourism policies in Japan and theconstruction of roads and other infrastructure, the professor made proposals for tourism development inIndonesia that include (1) Indonesia’s domestic demand for tourism needing to be raised, (2) Traffic
infrastructure that allows easy access to tourist spots needing to be built, and (3) Drive tourism should be1

promoted through measures such as constructing michi-no-eki.
[Reporter’s comment]
The Indonesian central and local governments have great expectations for regional development throughconstructing Smart Traveler’s Plazas which use Japan’s michi-no-eki as a reference. We need to continue
exchange between engineers of both countries.
【Reported by Shigeo Murata, Indonesia Group, Int’l Cooperation Group, IAC】

2nd MES-JSCE Joint Symposium
The economy in Myanmar has graduallyactivated with the progress of democratization. In
Yangon, which is the largest city of Myanmar,
traffic demand has been increased radically, andcurrent strong road infrastructure construction
efforts are still insufficient. These conditions
have contributed to more traffic congestion yearby year. Although higher education institutions
such as university started training of civilengineering engineers and researchers, they still
face big challenges in terms of their quantity andquality. JSCE is asked to contribute to thedevelopment of solutions for the above challenge
Executive Members of MES and JSCE
with JSCE’s member’s various knowledge andrich experiences gained through overseas
technical cooperation and human resource development cooperation.
Based on the motivation above, the 2nd Joint Symposium was held with JSCE and the local counterpart,
Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) on 21 to 22 March. 8 JSCE professionals including Mr. Asao Yamakawa,Acting Senior Director of IAC, Dr. Yukihiro Tukada, Executive Director of JSCE and Prof. Hiromichi Shiratoof Kyoto University participated in the symposium. Mr. Shoichi Watanabe, First Secretary of Embassy of Japanin Myanmar, Mr. Tetsushi Hayakawa from JICA Myanmar office and Japanese company members also joined
the symposium. Around 200 MES members including U Win Khaing, President of MES and Dr. Han Zaw, apast President of MES, who was awarded at JSCE International Award, participated in the symposium.
In the morning of the first day of the symposium, the General
Session “Civil Engineering Education for Students &Professionals in Myanmar” and “Japan’s International
Cooperation in the Civil Engineering Field” were held. In theafternoon, researches and projects regarding to bridge, river
construction management, road & transportation werepresented in Parallel Sessions. Each session had lively
discussions, and then we shared the discussions held in every
ssession in the final closing session. On the second day of thesymposium, we visited Thilawa Special Economic Zone, NewThaketa Bridge and Yangon Circular Railway with JICA’scooperation. Our biggest achievement through this program
2Discussion between the JSCE delegates and MESPresident U Win Khaing and Dr. Han Zaw

was that we could take the first step toward strengthening good network between engineers and researchers inMyanmar and Japan.
In the new government which was established on this March, U Win Khaing, President of MES, wasinaugurated as Minister of Construction, and Dr. Kyaw Linn, Under Secretary of Ministry of Construction whowas also awarded at JSCE International Award will continue his post. JSCE is going to plan to hold exchange
program with MES actively by making use of such a lucky opportunity. We would appreciate if you could
support and cooperate our activities.
【Reported by Tetsuo Shimizu, Myanmar Group Leader, Int’l Cooperation & Collaboration Group, IAC】

Report of Symposium of 5th Anniversary of Great East Japan Earthquake
The JSCE hosted a symposium on the 5th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake at Hatsumeikaikan inTokyo on March 1 and 2, 2016. The fifth event to commemorate the earthquake, the symposium was held under
the theme of “The Past 5 Years - Preparing for Further Reconstruction and the Future.” Panel discussions
examined six subjects (Table 1) that require collaboration between academia and society. Panelists from various
fields, including planning science, sociology, agriculture, and civil engineering, actively engaged in discussions
on a diverse range of topics.
The 300-seat hall was filled on both days. The audience intently listened to the discussions, asked questions,and gave comments and opinions. In Session 5, one participant asked, “Is agriculture not going to shift tonext-generation agriculture during the reconstruction?” Another participant suggested that “future forecastingshould cover at least next 100 years rather than a shorter period so that we could prepare for several predictedscenarios.” In Session 6, participants asked, “How can regions collaborate with one another?” and “Isconsensus-building really necessary?” One participant commented, “In parallel with reconstruction in theregions, it should be urgent to work out measures for the problem of Japan’s low birth rate and aging populationthat has become more apparent and progressed rapidly since the disaster.” Five years after the earthquake andtsunami, discussions remain spirited, and the audience showed keen interest in the issues of “How shouldreconstruction be carried out in the future” and “How should the lessons learned from the disaster be applied tothe next disaster.”In the closing session, the head of each session summarized its discussions. To conclude the two-daysymposium, the JSCE President Noriaki Hirose shared his views that the symposium showed the need forinterdisciplinary standing committees on disaster reduction, disaster management, and reconstruction. Also hestated that he wanted to help society prepare for future disasters and subsequent reconstruction by collaboratingwith other academics societies.

One of the sessions at the 5th symposium

Participants listen to presentations.

3Table 1 Symposium sessions
Session 1:

Disaster prevention and mitigation assessment: Comprehensive tsunami
disaster prevention and mitigation

Session 2:

Seismic design system for “risk resistance” / Issues in planning, testing, andimplementation

Session 3:

Implementation of measures to manage the radioactive waste from theFukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident—Aimed at earlyreconstruction of FukushimaSession 4:

Software in response to disaster—people, organizations, and regions

Session 5:

What we should learn from the experience of reconstruction intsunami-affected areas in Tohoku

Session 6:

How should reconstruction proceed in the areas affected by the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant accident?

Closing session:

Utilizing the experiences of the past 5 years for reconstruction andpreparations for future disasters.
【Reported by Ryosuke Takahashi, Leader of Information Group, IAC】

Updates◆ The summary of feature articles in the JSCE Magazine is available on the JSCE website.
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine◆ Concrete Committee International Newsletter No. 45
http://www.jsce.or.jp/committee/concrete/e/newsletter/Newsletter.htm◆ Journal of JSCE

The Journal of JSCE is the collection of research papers which can be viewed on the JSCE website.
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce◆ Disaster Fact Sheet
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/disaster/◆ IAC Students and Alumni Network
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