Brief Review

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists of Japan (SEGJ) was established in May 1948 with the objectives to promote the science and technology of geophysical exploration as well as to encourage mutual communication among the members.

SEGJ was initially composed of 416 individual members and 18 corporate members. Dr. Kumiji Iida was appointed as the first president. The first issue of the journal” Butsuri-Tanko (Geophysical Exploration)” was published just a month after the establishment. The office of the Society was situated in the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) in Kawasaki at first.

The Society has grown with development of geophysical technologies in Japan. The journal was renamed "Butsuri-Tansa" in 1986. The office was moved to Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo in 1979, moved to Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo in 1987, and then moved to current location in Higashi-kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, in 2006.

Obtaining an approval from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology（MEXT), SEGJ was reorganized as a general incorporated association in 2001, and then as a public interest incorporated association in 2013. SEGJ has been responsible in promoting exploration activities and information dissemination in public as well. And SEGJ now reinforces the activities for the disaster prevention and control and maintenance of social infrastructure as the public service.

Activating international cooperation, SEGJ currently has association agreement with the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), the European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers (EAGE), the Australian SEG (ASEG), the Korean SEG (KSEG), the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (EEGS), Vietnam Association of Geophysicists (VAG), the Society of Petroleum Geophysicists China (SPG), and the Indonesian Association of Geophysicists (HAGI). In cooperation with ASEG and KSEG, SEGJ started to publish an English version journal in 2004. Since then, those three societies jointly began to publish a special issue of the journal once a year, and published eight issues. And six issues are now published each year online and some issues include special sections of particular topics.

In 2009, SEGJ introduced a quarterly publication titled “Butsuri-Tansa News” (Geophysical Exploration News) to deepen the understanding of geophysical exploration technologies among not only SEGJ members but also the general public. For the convenient distribution of academic information in this field, the journal “Butsuri-Tansa” (Geophysical Exploration) was digitalized in 2017.