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On April 1, 2013, the JSCPA became a public interest incorporated association. This transition has entailed no change to organizational management, with Mr. Hiroshi Suzuki continuing as JSCPA chairman. I remain as JSCPA president, and under Mr. Suzuki’s leadership I will continue to be responsible for managing the association’s overseas activities, including international conferences.

The JSCPA has been a full member of the International Actuarial Association (IAA) since August 1999, one year after the reformation that made the IAA into an association of actuarial associations. By contributing to the running of the IAA, full members are able to have their views reflected in management of the organization. Moreover, the IAA always attaches a list of full members when submitting comments to international bodies such as the International Accounting Standards Board. Thus full membership of the IAA can be regarded as a prerequisite for maintaining an equal footing with major actuarial associations in other countries.

Accreditation criteria for full IAA membership are reviewed periodically, and at that time existing full members made up of national actuarial associations must demonstrate that they fulfill the new criteria. If they are unable to do so, they may lose full membership. Consequently, daily progress is required simply to maintain full membership.

However, if we merely satisfied ourselves with maintaining full IAA membership, obviously the level of our activities would soon fall below that of other full member associations. I believe that we need to go beyond just maintaining full membership to actively participate in IAA activities and network with major overseas actuarial associations so that we play a leadership role and maintain equality with other leading associations. In particular, the IAA is currently preparing actuarial standards that accord with international accounting standards relating to employee benefits, and these actuarial standards will affect Japanese enterprises if they voluntarily adopt international accounting standards. In this context, it is vital that the JSCPA works to ensure its views are reflected at the IAA, and our IAA activities are becoming more important than ever.

It is valuable for JSCPA members to take part in colloquia of the IAA Pensions, Benefits and Social Security Section and other international conferences, and every year we send delegates, especially from among our younger members, to attend and present their papers at such events. This is based on the recognition that presenting research results and exchanging views with overseas pension specialists at such international meetings provides a tremendous opportunity for our members to gain fresh insights that will contribute to the further development of the JSCPA, and we plan to continue such activities.

Our overseas activities, such as participation in the IAA and attendance at international conferences, are essential to the advancement of the JSCPA, but the continuation of these activities depends on the cooperation of our members. I will do my utmost to encourage the development of the association, and I would like to request your further understanding and support.

April 2013
Yoshihiro Oyama
President and representative director
The Japanese Society of Certified Pension Actuaries