Message from the Organisers

Prof. Mitsuyoshi Akiyama	Prof. Toru Takeuchi
OC Chair	SC Chair

Message from the OC Chair, Professor Mitsuyoshi Akiyama

Message from the SC Chair, Professor Toru Takeuchi

The Japan National Group of the IABSE and the Organising and Scientific Committees are pleased to invite you to the IABSE Symposium Tokyo 2025 on “Environmentally Friendly Technologies and Structures - Focusing on Sustainable Approaches -” from 18 May (Sunday) to 21 May (Wednesday) 2025.

The Japanese archipelago is characterised by its geographic length extending from north to south. Climatic conditions vary greatly, which have nurtured a variety of cultures and histories in each region. These regions have been exposed to various natural hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and, more recently, heavy rains and floods due to climate change. Learning from the lessons of past disasters, Japanese engineers and researchers have been striving to create a resilient society by providing structures and infrastructure systems with substantial reliability, robustness, and redundancy. However, under the current circumstances of climate change, it is also becoming important to consider the design, construction, and maintenance of structures and infrastructure systems to ensure sustainability, while minimising negative environmental impacts from a life-cycle perspective. It is essential for those involved in structural engineering to have access to the latest knowledge and research outcomes related to such issues.

The main goal of the Symposium is to provide a forum for discussion on “Environmentally Friendly Technologies and Structures - Focusing on Sustainable Approaches -”. There are many ideas on how structural engineering can contribute to sustainability. For example, the construction of green infrastructure, facilities to create new energy alternatives to fossil fuels, carbon-neutral technologies, the use of new materials to replace conventional concrete and steel (e.g., timber and other natural materials), as well as classical structural technologies for natural disaster mitigation are all essential to ensure sustainability.

The Symposium will focus on the most important issue of our time, sustainability, and the role of structural engineers in achieving this goal. It is hoped that the Symposium will serve as a platform for governments, engineering associations, academic and educational institutions, and industry to forge global partnerships and strengthen collaboration to realise the global sustainability development agenda.

In addition to the in-depth intellectual discussions at the Symposium itself, we are sure that you will enjoy Tokyo's diverse attractions, including museums, historical sites, arts and crafts, markets, shopping, and cuisine, etc. May is the best season for sightseeing in Tokyo, and you can enjoy the abundant nature and fresh greenery of late spring amidst the skyscrapers. Tokyo has one of the largest rail and subway networks in the world. With airline and high-speed rail networks extending across Japan, other major tourist destinations such as Kyoto and Osaka can be easily reached within a few hours. In particular, Expo 2025 Osaka will be held from April to October 2025 under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. The theme is very similar to that of IABSE 2025, and there will be many pavilions and other exhibits that will be of great interest to structural engineers.

We will do our best to make IABSE 2025 a fruitful event for you. We are confident that you will have an unforgettable experience in Japan and look forward to welcoming you to Tokyo in May 2025.

Organising Committee

Chair: Mitsuyoshi Akiyama
Secretary: Tomonori Nagayama

Advisors:

Yozo Fujino

Akira Wada

Shunichi Nakamura

Members:

Yukari Aoki

Shuichi Fujikura

Kaori Fujita

Takeshi Hanji

Hideki Idota

Kikuo Ikarashi

Hiroki Ishibashi

Tatsuya Itoi

Jun Iyama

Yoshihiro Kimura

Shoichi Kishiki

Yasuo Kitane

Yuji Koetaka

Minoru Kunieda

Yusuke Kurihashi

Ryota Matsui

Yuka Matsumoto

Masahide Matsumura

Hiroshi Matsuzaki

Yasunori Miyamori

Hideki Naito

Narutoshi Nakata

Mayuko Nishio

Taichiro Okazaki

Eiichi Sasaki

Hiroshi Tamura

Naoshi Ueda

Takashi Yamaguchi

Objective and Scope

The Symposium will provide an opportunity for discussion and deliberation with a focus on sustainability. As a professional association, IABSE would like to contribute to the achievement of the larger global goal of sustainability, using its expertise and experience, enriched by adaptation and innovation. The Symposium can also address broad areas including the built environment, disaster resilience, innovation (in materials, technologies, design practices, and codes of practice), and carbon footprints. In addition to cutting-edge topics such as mega-structures, high-rise structures, offshore structures, new and innovative materials, technologies, and structural solutions, discussions will also cover advanced structural analysis, dynamic behavior and analysis, digital technology and fabrication, and the resilience of structures and cities

Symposium Format

The scientific program will include keynote, plenary, and parallel sessions over three days. The official language will be English. Keynote speakers will introduce topics relevant to the theme and give state-of-the-art lectures, followed by presentations in plenary and parallel sessions. The vast majority of presentations will be oral in regular sessions, but there will also be special sessions.

Special sessions provide the opportunity to present developments related to a specific topic proposed by highly respected individuals in that area of research or technical practice. Each contribution to these sessions will consist of a paper of six to eight pages and an oral presentation followed by an open floor discussion with audience participation.

Who Should Attend

Engineers, contractors, developers & policy makers, students, scientists, experts, designers and all those interested in advances and problems in civil engineering and structures are invited to attend the Symposium to exchange experiences, expertise and information in various fields of structural engineering.