Mission and history

The Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP) serves as an academic interface between science and engineering and an interactive platform for academia and the industry. JSAP is a "conduit" for the transfer of fundamental concepts to the industry for development and technological applications.

To this end, the JSAP holds annual conferences; publishes scientific journals; actively sponsors events, symposia, and festivals related to science education; and compiles information related to state-of-the-art technology for the public.

Activities

Annual Meetings

JSAP holds nationwide spring and autumn meetings every year. Between 6000 – 9000 participants, and more than 4000 presentations are delivered at each meeting. The transition of the number of total annual presentations is shown in the figure below.

Transition of the number of total annual presentations
classified by sessions in JSAP Annual Meetings

According to the report of
the JSAP Future Vision Reviewing Working Group

The JSAP has been growing ahead of the development of science and technology

1. The number of general research presentations (both oral and poster) at the JSAP academic meetings has dramatically increased by the marked advancement of large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) technology and the enthusiasm for superconductors since around 1980.
2. Then, the researches on semiconductor A have supported the development of LSI technology which is used to be called as the mainstay of Japanese industry, and the number of the presentations on semiconductors A has exceeded 1,000 in 1994.
3. It has been decreasing since then, but on the other hand, the number of presentations in the field of quantum electronics, organic molecules and bioelectronics has been increasing, instead.
4. New sessions such as plasma electronics and spintronics have been added in 2008.

Education

JSAP holds meetings called "JSAP SCHOOL" to inform young researchers of current topics, and "REFRESH RIKA KYOSHITSU" to familiarize children/ juveniles with the charms of applied physics.

Journals

JSAP publishes two international academic journals and one membership journal.

International academic journals
- – APEX – Applied Physics Express
  Applied Physics Express (APEX) is a letter journal devoted solely to rapid dissemination of up-to-date and concise reports on new findings in applied physics. This is published daily online and monthly for the printed version.
  
  APEX is the successor to the Japanese Journal of Applied Physics (JJAP) letter section, JJAP Part 2, and not only has inherited the world-wide recognition of JJAP Part 2 (Letters and Express Letters), but also further promotes its strength in high scientific quality and prompt publication. In the journal policy, special emphasis is placed on high scientific and/or technological impact of its published papers.
- – JJAP – Japanese Journal of Applied Physics
  The Japanese Journal of Applied Physics (JJAP) is an international journal for the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in all fields of applied physics. The journal publishes articles dealing with the applications of physical principles as well as articles concerning the understanding of physics that have particular applications in mind. The journal not only covers all aspects of modern technology such as semiconductor devices including VLSI technology, photonic devices, superconductors, and magnetic recording but also covers other diverse areas such as plasma physics, particle accelerators, nanoscience and technology, and applied bioscience. Articles in interdisciplinary areas with potential technological implications are strongly encouraged.
  
  JJAP is published monthly and is for Regular Papers, Rapid Communications, Brief Notes, and Review Papers. In addition, several Special Issues are published each year. These contain monographs from international conferences and up-to-date findings of research groups.
  
  Comments and replies are also published. This section includes the comments on papers previously published in JJAP, and a replies to those.
  
  There is also a special section, “Selected Topics in Applied Physics” that highlights specific topics in applied physics. This section features rapidly developing current trends in the selected research area.
Membership journal
- – OYO BUTURI
  JSAP publishes the monthly journal "OYO BUTURI", a Japanese-language membership journal containing review articles. This journal offers useful and indispensable information about applied physics to the JSAP member by publishing review articles of tutorials, recent researches and developments, and the JSAP activities, etc.. Contents and abstracts are available in English in this Web site.

Other Activities

JSAP has Chapters, Divisions, Professional Groups and Frontier Research Groups.

These organization have their own activities, such as technical meetings and seminars.

JSAP has reciprocal agreements or cooperative agreements with other academic societies outside Japan.
Partner Societies

History

JSAP has originated from a voluntary forum of researchers belonging to the University of Tokyo and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, who were interested in discussing how to apply scientific and technological theories to the actual world. The subjects discussed covered a very wide range of scientific fields, such as Physics, Electronics, Mechanics, Metallurgy, Chemistry, and various interdisciplinary areas. These discussions resulted in the publication of the monthly journal "OYO BUTSURI" in 1932. "OYO BUTSURI", which means Applied Physics in Japanese, was the first technical journal in the world using the title Applied Physics, reflecting the founders’ recognition of the importance of the interaction between Physics and Engineering. "OYO BUTSURI" continued to be published as a valuable information source for many researchers even in the difficult period during and immediately following World War II.

JSAP was established as an official academic society in 1946, and since then, it has been a leading academic society in Japan. The society’s interests cover a broad variety of scientific and technological fields, and JSAP continues to explore state-of-the-art and interdisciplinary topics.