About HIJ

Address from the Representative Director

Hisashi Osumi
Representative Director
Horological Institute of Japan

I have been appointed as the president of the Horological Institute of Japan from 2021. Since I was the president from 2017 to 2018, this is the second time I have been appointed. Due to the influence of COVID-19, the situation in the world is completely different from the last time, but I would like to cooperate with the directors and steering committee members to overcome this difficult situation.

The world watch industry in recent years has been greatly influenced by information and communication devices such as smartphones and smart watches. On the other hand, sales amount of mechanical luxury watches are increasing, and the trend continues even under the influence of COVID-19. In 2018, the Horological Institute of Japan held a round-table discussion on the theme of "The future of smart watches and wristwatches". When discussing the significance of wrist watches, the following point was pointed out as features of the conventional watches. When we obtain a new version of a smart watch, we replace our old one by a new one. This is because people who use smart watches expect useful functions from their watches. In contrast to smart watches which are far more expandable in terms of functionality, wristwatches basically only show the time, and even those equipped with sensors have limited functionality. However, conventional watches with different concepts for each product are kept at hand even after we buy a new one and are still used according to TPO. The challenge for watches is how to make attractive concepts using manufacturing technology. We would like to continue discussions on what kind of concept each watch company will make and what kind of role the academic society can play in it.

The Horological Institute of Japan is the only academic organization specializing in watch technology in Japan and has held the annual conference every September where the latest technologies on watches and products are presented and displayed. It is also a valuable place for many watch engineers to meet together. However, in 2020, all the events were canceled due to the influence of COVID-19. Recently, many academic societies have held online academic conferences, which has the advantage of being able to easily participate in conferences from home. The Horological Institute of Japan will also promptly consider alternatives to the annual conference, and in 2021 we would like to start a new initiative that is attractive to members. We sincerely ask for your active participation.

Organization of HIJ (as of April 1 2024)

Title	Name	Place of Employment
Executive Director	Hisashi Osumi	Chuo University
	Koichiro Jujo	Seiko Watch Corp.
	Masanao Yokoyama	Seiko Time Creation Inc.
Director	Takehiko Adachi
	Miyuki Imamura	Seiko Time Creation Inc.
	Minami Kimura	Tokyo Metropolitan College of Industrial Technology
	Ken Sasaki
	Tetsuji Dohi	Chuo University
	Yoichi Nagata	Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
	Makoto Nakagawa	Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
	Etsuro Nakajima	VTECH INTERNATIONAL Co., Ltd.
	Shinji Nakamiya	Seiko Epson Corporation
	Sumio Masuda
Steering Committee Member	Koji Fujii	Japan Clock & Watch Association
	Kazunori Umeda	Chuo University
	Kenji Ogasawara	Seiko Watch Corp.
	Fukuro Koshiji	Tokyo Polytechnic University
	Akitsugu Shigino	Rhythm Co., Ltd.
	Kazuyoshi Tsuchiya	Tokai University
	Takushi Hagita	Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
	Teruhiko Fujisawa	Seiko Epson Corporation
	Reishi Matsushima	Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
Auditor	Ryoichi Kishi	Japan Clock & Watch Association
	Yasuo Yoshimura

Contributing Member (as of April 1 2024)

(in alphabetical order)

• ACOS Co., Ltd.
• Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
• Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
• Citizen watch manufacturing Co., Ltd.
• Japan Clock & Watch Association
• Japan Patent Office
• Precision Watch Tokyo Co.,Ltd.
• Rhythm Co., Ltd.
• Seiko Epson Corporation
• Seiko Group Corporation
• Seiko Time Creation Inc.
• Seiko Watch Corp.
• TOHSEI INDUSTRIAL Co., Ltd.
• VTECH International Co., Ltd.

HIJ renews links whenever needed. If you discover any invalid links, please inform HIJ.

Contact Addresses

HIJ Secretariat Office
The Horological Institute of Japan
522 Kudan-asahi Mansion, 1-9-5 Kudan-kita Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, JAPAN
Phone: +81-3-3288-5160
E-mail: tokei@hij-n.com
Account (for payment of membership fees only):
Postal transfer account No. 00100-5-648655
"Nihon Tokei Gakkai"

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