Abstract
ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 148 countries. Its members play active roles in the international standardization activities, and many new initiatives have been exercised this year. ISO General Assembly has approved the new Strategic Plan for the next five-year period, following a comprehensive consultation of its stakeholders all over the world. A new policy has been approved by the ISO Technical Management Board (TMB) to ensure the global relevancy of the standards it develops. The participations of developing countries are promoted in various ways. ISO Code of Ethics has been issued for the all stakeholders in the ISO system. ISO and its members have realized standards play a critical role in ensuring security. The cooperation between ISO, IEC and ITU-T has been strengthened with many new initiatives. One of the most popular issues this year was SR ; ISO has decided to step forward in the standard development regarding social responsibility. In 2005, strategy development for management system standards and guide/standard development regarding second hand goods will be attracting attentions. Japanese Standards Association will be providing assistances regarding international standardization activities for national mirror committees and ISO/IEC through new supporting center which will be established in JSA.
