Book excerpt: Soft computing is the common name for a certain form of natural information processing that has its original form in biology, especially in the function of human brain. It is a discipline rooted in a group of technologies such as fuzzy logic, neural networks, chaos, genetic algorithms, probabilistic reasoning and learning algorithms. Today, soft computing has become an acknowledged concept; however, for a long time, such components of soft computing have been debated and individually developed.Since its beginning in 1990, the series of IIZUKA conferences has covered various kinds of technologies that constitute soft computing. This series has played a pioneering role in promoting the development of a symbiotic relationship between the various technologies of soft computing.At IIZUKA'98, the 5th International Conference on Soft Computing and Information/Intelligent Systems, new developments and results in this field were introduced and discussed by researchers from academic, governmental and industrial institutions around the world.This volume presents the opening lecture by Prof. Walter J Freeman, the keynote speech by Dr Gen Matsumoto, the plenary lectures by 5 eminent researchers and about 230 carefully selected papers drawn from more than 25 countries. It documents current research and in-depth studies on the fundamental aspects of soft computing and their practical applications.