The Scalable Vector Parallel Computer Architecture is an architecure where vector processing is combined with a scalable system design and software. The major components of this architecture are a vector processor as the single processing node, a scalable high performance interconnection network, including the scalability of I/O, and system software which supports parallel processing at a level beyond loosely coupled network computing. The emergence of a new Japanese computer architecture comes to the surprise of many who are used to thinking that Japanese companies never undertake a radical departure from existing architectures. Nonetheless scalable vector parallel computers are an original Japanese development, which keeps the advantages of a powerful single processor but removes the restrictions of shared memory vector multiprocessing. The basic idea of this new architecture is to implement an existing vector processor in CMOS technology and build a scalable parallel computer out of these powerful single processors. The development is at the same time conservative and innovative in the sense that two successful and meanwhile proven supercomputer design principles, namely vector processing and scalable parallel processing, are combined to give a new computer architecture.