Message from the New EAJ President
June 6, 2024
On June 6, 2024, I took up the post of president at the Engineering Academy of Japan (EAJ).
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, the EAJ’s members and supporting corporate members invested considerable effort in maintaining our activities, actively driving many projects forward. The former president Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, especially, overcame the unanticipated challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to demonstrate strong leadership throughout the four years of his two terms in office, taking the lead in a broad array of EAJ endeavors. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, the deputy president, the vice presidents, the directors, the local branch chairs, the committee chairs, our members, and our supporting corporate members. I am also very grateful to all the previous presidents, colleagues who have been part of EAJ longer than me, and everybody else involved with this organization.
The educator Yukichi Fukuzawa who played a leading role in late 19th-century Japan (from the end of the Edo period into the Meiji period) foresaw an era in which science and technology would change not only how society was governed, but even people’s minds, and this led him to write Minjo isshin (Transition of people’s way of thinking) in 1879. The book’s foreword states that “the underlying driving force of human society lies in steam power.” Perhaps today we might say that such driving force lies in digital technologies. The digital revolution that has prevailed since the end of the 20th century is now a driving force that is changing both societies and people’s minds; it is therefore comparable to the industrial revolution from the 18th to 19th centuries epitomized by the steam engine.
But of course, it is not only the digital revolution that is transforming our world. Japan is currently engulfed by a tidal wave of changing times. It has been 80 years since the Second World War; people born in 1989—the year the previous Emperor took the throne—are now 35 years old; the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union is now just a story from the distant past, as is Japan’s period of rapid economic growth. The international situation is volatile, while natural disasters are increasing. In Japan, we are dealing with a declining birthrate and regional depopulation, stagnant labor productivity, and a plummeting per-capita GDP ranking, not to mention the defense and national security issues we face. But why has this happened, when we thought we had worked as hard as we possibly could? Every single one of us needs to have a sense of ownership and think about the answer to this question. And we must also recover the motivation and energy to instill positivity within societies in Japan and throughout the world.
In 2027, the EAJ will commemorate its 40th anniversary, and in March 2024 we held a kick-off event for the establishment of our new Chugoku-Shikoku branch. EAJ is made up of members representing a wide range of scientific and engineering fields, and as a leading member of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS), our role is set to increase even further in the years to come.
Ever since the mid-1970s I have conducted research into informatics, AI, and cognitive science, while also taking on other roles including serving as president of a long-established university, president of a representative governmental research funding agency, chairs of proven international organizations, and CEO of a think tank. I have therefore been frequently involved in science and technology-related policymaking, national research projects, and activities undertaken by private corporations. I intend to draw on these experiences to do my utmost for the EAJ going forward.
I believe we must return our focus to the EAJ’s Basic Policy, “Engineer the Future Society for Human Security and Well-being” as we face up to the harsh realities of the world and take on new challenges together, seeking novel approaches in engineering and science that will see us through these chaotic times. As we do so, I hope that our members, supporting corporate members, and all others involved with the EAJ will continue to offer us their guidance and assistance.
Yuichiro Anzai
EAJ President