HISTORY
ISC, established in 1934, is the oldest international student exchange program in Japan.
1934
A small group of Japanese university students who were concerned about the deteriorating relations between the United States and Japan initiated the first JASC (Japan America Student Conference) in Tokyo. The following year, American students reciprocated by hosting the second JASC. This began the tradition of alternating host countries and holding JASC annually. Although World War II forced the suspension of JASC, it was revived in 1947 by Japanese and American students living in Japan.
1934
After the war, in view of the globalizing world, International Student Conference (ISC) diverged from JASC in order to gain more diversity by accepting students from multiple countries, not only from US and Japan. Moreover, International Student Association (I.S.A.) was established as the sponsor organization. The first conference was held in 1954 and has continued until today.
1st Japan-America Student Conference(The root organization of ISC) “World peace means peace of the Pacific. Peace in the Pacific is equal to the peace between Japan and the United States. This can only be achieved through dialogue and deep understanding between the 2 nations in order to develop a trusting relationship” (held at Aoyama Gakuin University)
1941
Complete stop of all JASC activities with the emergence of World War II.
1947
8th Japan-America Student Conference
(Held in Japan, with reflection after WW2. The main topic was "Mutual understandings that the path toward peace can only be achieved through goodwill and respect").
1954
15th Japan-America Student Conference (Last Japan-America student conference took place in the United States).
1st International Student Conference
(84 participants from 12 different countries. The conference was held in Tokyo, Kansai, and Hokkaido over a period of 28 days.)
1962
9th International Student Conference
Establishment of the organization representatives conference.
1968
Student Activist movements cause a split in the ISC committee board.
1970
16th International Student Conference (Revival of ISC).
1986
32nd International Student Conference (Abolished the Japanese-delegation selection process and widened the opportunities for international exchange)
1991
37th International Student Conference (International exchange program with the support from Obihiro-shi in Hokkaido)
1999
45th International Student Conference (Invited professionals from numerous fields in order to deepen understanding and research)
2003
International Student Conference was canceled (The worldwide pandemic of SARS)
2014
60th International Student Conference (60th year anniversary)
2019
The 65th International Student Conference was held successfully from August 26th to September 2nd, 2019 in Tokyo.
2020
66th International Student Conference. Conference events were shifted to a hyrbid setup due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Six online events were held from May to August.
2021
67th International Student Conference. (It was held entire online from May to August.)
2022
2022 marked the 68th year of the conference with events and activities fully online.
In 2023, a full face-to-face setup will again reopen for the 69th year of ISC.