In December 1947, Light Metal Society (LMS), one of the predecessors of the current Japan Aluminium Association was established based on the industrial-academic-government cooperation and a trend toward to improve manufacturing and processing technologies of light metals was growing. Responding this trend, Japanese aluminum industries entered the full-scale growth period in early 1950’s. Although most of aluminum products in Japan were used only as household utensils at that time, LMS launched each technical committee focusing on the new demand development as structural materials, such as materials for ships and railway vehicles and construction materials. In those days, however, there are still less collaboration between academia and industries. Necessity of research studies to improve basic technologies by academic leadership and collaborative research works involving light metals customers was pointed out.

In response to this situation, LMS President, Mr Kikuo Yasuda (the then Managing Director of Nippon Light Metal Co., Ltd.) organized Research Society of Light Metals (RSLM) with 350 members in 1951 under nationwide cooperation and advices of academia in this field. RSLM was aiming to exchange opinions on light metals freely between scientists and engineers joining from universities, technical colleges, public research institutions and companies manufacturing and processing light metals nationwide. In this 1951, the first conference (including research study presentations and factory tours) was held. The first issue of the academic journal “Light Metals” was also published in the same year. In 1952, RSLM was registered as a scientific society officially by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. The basis of the current JILM’s main activities, such as (1) Annual Meeting, (2) publication of academic journals, (3) Research Division activities and various lectures, (4) Membership Banquet, and (5) awarding, had been established until around 1955.

Since around 1955, Science Council of Japan had inspected each scientific society organizing body in this country in order to confirm scientific society status. RSLM was approved as a scientific society by this inspection. In order to clarify the authorized status for outside, the RSLM was renamed to Japan Institute of Light Metals (JILM) in May 1965 and reorganizaion was conducted at the same time. Since then JILM not only succeeded the main activities of RSLM, but expanded new activities gradually. In August 1996, eventually JILM was authorized as a Corporate Juridical Person supervised by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. And in April 2011, the juridical personality transited to the General Corporate Judicial Person by the laws related to the reform of the public-interest corporations system issued in December 2008.