The Japan Institute of Architects (JIA; , Nihon kenchikuka kyōkai) is the most established Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese professional body

Professional body

A professional association is usually a nonprofit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest.The roles of these professional associations have been variously defined: "A group of people in a...

 of free and autonomous architects as well as the Japanese section of the Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA). The institution was founded in May of 1987 and includes round about 4,800 members today.

The former Japanese architect associations, the Japan Architects Association (JAA) and the Japan Federation of Professional Architects Association (JFPAA) were merged into the JIA in 1987. The JIA's principal aim is to define and promote the social and legal status of professional architects in Japan. The association consists of the ten regional chapters Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

, Tōhoku

Tohoku region

The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....

, Kantō

Kanto region

The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....

-Kōshin'etsu, Tōkai

Tokai region

The is a sub-region of the Chūbu region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name means "East sea" and comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes...

, Hokuriku

Hokuriku region

The is located in the northwestern part of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern Japan....

, Kinki, Chūgoku

Chugoku region

The , also known as the , is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. It has a population of about 7.8 million.- History :...

, Shikoku

Shikoku

is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...

, Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

 and Okinawa.

Honors of the JIA

• JIA Award
• JIA Grand Prix
• JIA Young Architect Award
• JIA Sustainable Architecture Award
• JIA 25 Years Award (every two years)
• JIA Architect of the Year

External links

• JIA