Under the Japanese educational system, the Departments of Civil Engineering and Architecture both belong to the Faculty of Engineering of a university. Therefore, a student has to select either of the two departments for his future specialty. Departments of Architecture provide professional education both in design fields, such as architectural design, and in civil engineering fields, such as structural engineering. On the other hand, Departments of Civil Engineering teach engineering geared to transportation systems, bridge structures, dam construction and other public infrastructure projects. Most graduates from Departments of Architecture work as either architects or building engineers, while those from Departments of Civil Engineering become civil engineers.
Japan is located in the most seismically active zone in the world.
Consequently, many researchers and engineers in the structural and material engineering fields have been engaged in research on earthquake engineering and fire safety engineering within the institute. Until the late 1960s, the height of buildings was restricted to 31m, to reduce damage from strong earthquakes. The late Dr. Kiyoshi Muto, a former AIJ President, developed an earthquake-resistant building design method which simulates dynamic response on computers. Since then, more than 100 buildings exceeding 100m in height have been constructed in this seismically active country. There has been a significant development in earthquake-resistant construction methods, and Japan leads the world in the field of earthquake engineering.