A brief introduction to SSJ (version on July 21 2005)

For nearly a century the Seismological Society of Japan (SSJ) has contributed to advancing a broad range of science in Japan, related to earthquakes and the interior of the Earth. SSJ is a nonprofit scientific organization of over 2600 members, including researchers, teachers, and technicians who are associated with seismology, geophysics, earthquake engineering and other related disciplines.

The history of SSJ dates back to the 19th century. The Seismological Society was established in 1880 after the occurrence of the Yokohama, Japan, earthquake. The original 117 members consisted of 37 Japanese, 62 foreigners residing in Japan, and 18 people from outside of Japan. The Seismological Society was the first scientific society for seismology in the world, but it was unfortunately dissolved in 1892. The current Seismological Society was re-established in 1929, and has been continually functioning to the present, although there was an intermittant period of activity from 1943 to 1947. In 1993, the society was renamed the Seismological Society of Japan.

The mission of SSJ is:
To promote studies of earthquakes and the interior of the Earth,
To share and disseminate the results,
To contribute to earthquake disaster mitigation.

SSJ holds annual fall meetings, which cover many disciplines related to earthquakes and the interior of the Earth. Other symposiums, some of which are arranged in cooperation with other organizations, are held to accommodate specified topic and and purposes. SSJ is a member of the Japan Geoscience Union (JPGU), which annually holds a large combined meeting in the spring.

Publications sponsored by SSJ currently include 'Zisin' (a peer reviewed research journal in Japanese), the 'Newsletter' (a bi-monthly compilation of news for members), 'Naifuru' (a bi-monthly collection of earthquake topics targeted mainly for the public ), and abstract compilations of the annual meetings. Beside these publications in Japanese, SSJ co-sponsors the international peer reviewed research journal "Earth, Planets and Space (EPS)" published cooperatively with other related geophysical societies in Japan. The former journal "Journal of Physics of the Earth (JPE)", which was merged into EPS in 1997, was also a publication of SSJ.
publications

Those who agree with the mission of SSJ and wish to become part of SSJ can apply for membership by submitting application forms to the administrative office. The forms are distributed from the SSJ office. Decisions on membership approval are made by the SSJ Council, which has responsibilities for the general activities of SSJ. Approved members receive Zisin and the Newsletter, and are allowed to give presentations at the annual meetings. Discounted membership is available for students.

Invitation to SSJ-iml

A mailing list to encourage communicationbetween researchers in SSJ and researchers/specialists of earthquakes and seismic hazard problems around the world.