Japanese Institute of Architects
The Japanese Institute of Architects ( Japanese 日本 建築 家 協会 Nihon kenchikuka kyōkai , JIA for short ) is the most established professional and interest society of free and independent architects in Japan with around 4900 members. The organization was founded in May 1987. The 2013 President-in-Office is Taro Ashihara .
When it was founded, the two previous Japanese professional associations, the Japan Architects Association (JAA) and the Japan Federation of Professional Architects Association (JFPAA) , were merged into the JIA. The JIA has ten regional association sections ("Chapters"): Hokkaidō , Tōhoku , Kantō - Kōshinetsu , Tōkai , Hokuriku , Kinki , Chūgoku , Shikoku , Kyūshū and Okinawa . The main aim of the association is to define the legal professional status and promote professional architects in Japan.
Among other things, the JIA annually awards the "JIA Award", "Best Young Architect of the Year" and "Permanent Architecture" as well as the "JIA 25 Years Award" every two years.
The JIA is represented as a so-called "Japanese Section" in the Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA).