The International Relations Committee (IRC) has been organized as one of the provisional committees of GTSJ since 1996, just after the 6th International Gas Turbine Congress (IGTC) in Yokohama. The committee is expected to promote more dynamic activities of GTSJ in a worldwide sense. GTSJ has held IGTC almost every four years since 1971, publishing a bulletin annually since 1987. During the 6th IGTC�E5 Yokohama, GTSJ organized the International Advisory Committee (IAC) to ask amongst contributing and eminent attendants from abroad for advices to achieve fruitful IGTC. IRC has been since then placed as the domestic counterpart of IAC. One of the most important tasks given to us is to keep in close contact with the members of IAC to prepare for the next coming IGTC.

During the last IGTC�E9 Kobe, IRC and IAC had a joint meeting, which was attended by fourteen Japanese members, including the vice-president of GTSJ and the chairman of IGTC organization committee, and fourteen members of IAC including newly commissioned members. Thereupon, enlightened and broad opinions and advices were exchanged concerning a long-range policy of continued efforts to adopt IGTC in Japan as well as detailed affairs to manage during the period of a congress. For instance, 1) GTSJ should build a global communication network with the key persons who will able to offer important information from abroad; 2) IGTC should be held in an appropriate year of less conflict with the other big conferences; 3) IGTC should be incorporated, keeping its own identity, in a cycle of world congresses on gas turbine technology. We had an impression that IGTC is expected to have a prominent place in the world as one of the three poles of Asia, Europe, and North America. We believe that we should continuously function to promote exchanges and collaborations with relevant academic societies, especially, in the neighboring countries in Asia.

GTSJ has a long history to keep in contacts with the collaborating societies of IGTC in Asia and Europe. We have been also making continuing efforts to reestablish a collaborative relationship with the International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). We have recently received a proposal of increasing exchange activities from the Fluid Machinery R&D Association of Korea, so sent an appropriate person as an invited lecturer in the second Conference in February 1997. We have also exchanged information with the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics (CSET) and concluded last year an agreement on the mutual collaboration in hosting the international symposia of each organization. GTSJ will thereby take a part in co-sponsoring the International Conference on Engineering Thermophhysics (ICET) in future, which is currently a joint one between CSET and ASME. The next ICET is scheduled in November 2002 in Hong-Kong. Through those activities, IRC has been trying to have close, collaborative relationship with people who work on gas turbine engineering in the world. IRC will continue such efforts from now on and appreciate very much frank opinions, advices and proposals from any people in any country who is interested in the activities of GTSJ. Our next IGTC will be held in the year 2004, and we sincerely hope to share an international view and enjoy another successful meeting with gas turbine people in the world.

(T. Nishizawa, Committee Secretary, E-mail:tn@nal.go.jp)

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