Countdown to #IAPH2025: The Foundation is established

By the end of the 1960s, following years of tireless development, IAPH was internationally established and boasted a growing membership. Yet such progress did not immunise the association against the global economic trends that characterised the early years of the next decade. In fact, IAPH was particularly vulnerable to the twin challenges of the 1971 ‘Nixon Shock’ – which saw the US president abandon the Gold Standard – and the 1973 oil crisis. These factors jeopardised both the Association’s finances and its location: since the IAPH headquarters in Japan received membership dues in US dollars, the appreciation of the yen led to a decline in revenue when converted to yen and a relative increase in operating costs. Taking inspiration from the funding activities of Japanese maritime foundations, secretary general Toru Akiyama (who had succeeded Gaku Matsumoto in 1967) moved to establish an IAPH Head Office Maintenance Foundation. Established by donations from Japan, it would be incorporated under Japanese law to operate the head office, funded by membership dues, other IAPH income, and funds from companies or organizations within Japan. His proposal received basic approval by the executive committee in Lisbon in May 1972, and the head office received authorization from the Japanese government to move ahead in January 1973. All that remained was approval at the next IAPH conference, held in Amsterdam in May 1973. This was a critical juncture for the Association: if the foundation was not secured, then a substantial increase in dues was inevitable — the third increase in as many years. This might result in the dissolution of the IAPH. Akiyama’s emergency motion explained that the appreciation of the Japanese yen following the Nixon Shock, and the high rate of inflation prevailing in Japan, “posed grave financial difficulties for the Association”. The proposal was approved by unanimous vote and representatives from the IAPH and the Foundation put their signatures to the agreement, which was to come into effect in June 1973. IAPH’s future was secure.