Although Japan is a country with frequent earthquakes that is unparalleled in the world, study and technology related to earthquake engineering have been split into separate fields such as architecture, civil engineering, geotechnical engineering, earthquake science and mechanical engineering. They have independently developed and had been discussed, while keeping a strong collaborative relationship with each other. However, earthquakes affect all areas of nature and society simultaneously, and furthermore, instantaneously. Researchers and practitioners from every field must cooperate in reconstruction after an earthquake, especially when a large urban area is struck by a disaster. Consequently, people began to point out the negative effect of traditional differentiation.
Under these circumstances, researchers in leading positions within Japan from each field gathered together and established the “Japan Association for Earthquake Engineering” in 2001. The Association carries out activities as a universal academic society that covers both the engineering fields such as seismology related to earthquake disaster reduction, applied geology, structure engineering, geotechnical engineering, steel structure and concrete engineering, mechanical engineering, vibration control engineering and lifeline engineering; as well as social system fields such as local disaster prevention planning, crisis management, and risk management. At present, the Japan Association for Earthquake Engineering carries out activities such as holding an annual meeting, publishing the Association bulletin (twice a year), sending out JAEE NEWS (twice a month), publishing the Journal of Japan Association for Earthquake Engineering (4 times a year), and holding scholarly meetings/study visits (on an irregular basis).
