J B C A
The Japan Business Communication AssociationNewsletter
No. 27

April 1, 2021

 Greetings
I am gratified that you are probably all in good spirits in this early spring season. As always, I thankyou for your support and cooperation in the activities of the Association.
At this time, I would like to share some information regarding the Association and make some requests.
Please check the materials supplied and extend your cooperation to requested matters including
payment of the membership fee.
We are afraid that our members may be suffering from various damages by the worldwide spread ofcorona virus which has been continuing over a year. This unpredictable turbulent time may continue
for a while, but we will be planning future activities carefully by closely monitoring the situation. Ialong with the board members are determined to unite our efforts for further development of thisassociation. Support by each member will be highly appreciated in this endeavor.
Takehisa KOBAYASHI, President
The 81st National Convention

The National Convention of 2021 is scheduled to take place on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd ofOctober 2021 at Toyo Univeristy, Hakusan Campus, with Professor Misa FUJIO as the chair of thesteering committee.

Last yar, the convention was held all online due to the COVID19 situation.

However, this year, we are planning to hold the convention on a hybrid-style with having half of thepresentations online and the rest in-person. The International Session, which has been held for morethan ten consecutive years, is planned to be held by inviting scholars from overseas.
Members are invited to present their research papers to make this Convention successful. Members
are also urged to offer their suggestions for the preparation of Convention program. Contact details
appear at the end of this newsletter.
The 80th National Convention

As mentioned above, the 80th National Convention in 2020 was held online on Saturday 10th and Sunday
113h of October by Zoom. Since the convention format was changed to online by Zoom, we have decided
to postpone the originally planned symposium at the international session to 2021. In place of thesymposium, we held a panel discussion on the topic of “Challenges & Opportunities of On-line
Education and Future Research Topics” followed by Zoom online party to celebrate the 80th anniversary

of the foundation of the Association. The online panel discussion was attended and lectures were given
by Professor Geert Jacobs at Ghent University, Belgium, and Chairman of Association of BusinessCommunication (ABC), Professor Yunxia Zhu at University of Queensland and Vice President of theABC Pacific Region, Professor Joel Park at Seoul National University representing Korean Associationfor Business Communication (KABC) with whom we have concluded MOU and Professor Hadina Habil
at Universiti Teknologi Malysia. At the online Zoom party to celebrate the 80th anniversary of thefoundation of the Association, we had a pleasure of receiving congratulatory messages from these
distinguished professors and many other concerned people including Professors from KABC with whom
we have a close relationship.
At the main session, all the eight paper presentations were completed, and furthermore a workshop
was organized by the supporting member companies, Seibido and Kukan Gainen Kenkyusho. Bothevents were attended by many JBCA members.
I would like to thank the Board Members, Prof. Misa FUJIO, Toyo University, Professor Yoichi SATO
and all those involved for having made this Convention a success. Thank you very much.

Online video streaming of the 80th National Convention and the regular meeting of Kanto Chapter
held of January 31, 2021. (Soon to be released)

We are preparing to distribute a digest version of the recorded video from the 80th National Convention
on JBCA Website (http://www.jbca.gr.jp/). Another digest version of the recorded video from the regularmeeting of Kanto Chapter will also be released at the same time. We will advise the release date assoon as they are ready via e-mail to the members. These videos can also be viewed by non-members
who may be interested in the Association. Please note that these videos will be distributed only throughthe JBCA Website for the time being. Following images are screen shots of the recorded video from the80th National Convention.

Panel discussion at the 80th National Convention (Professor Misa FUJIO in the upper right corner)

Panel discussion at the 80the National Convention (Professor Geer Jacobs, Chairman of ABC, in theupper right corner)

Speech made by Professor Lee Sang-Chu from KABC at the 80th commemorative online Zoom party.

News on the project of commemorative event of the 80th National Convention

As announced via e-mail to all members in the early February, publication to commemorate JBCA’s 80thanniversary, proposed by the planning committee, was approved at the general members meeting held
last year. Based on this approval, the 80th Anniversary Commemorative Publication Committee waslaunched in December 2020 and Yukio HISASHIMA was appointed as committee chairperson by theJBCA President, and Misa FUJIO, Kazuyo MURATA, Atsuko KANEKO, Seiji NOMURA, Masaki
USHIROKU, Momotaro TAKAMORI and Yoichi SATO have become members of the committee.
Following the discussion at the publication committee as well as deliberation and approval at the board
members meeting held online, it has been decided that this project will be altered to commemorate the80th anniversary and now the committee members are commissioned to plan various revitalization
projects looking at further progress of the Association in 90th and 100th years of its establishment. As
the first commemorative project, we are planning to hold a symposium under the theme of “RealizingSmooth Business Communication in Business Organizations under the COVID19 Pandemic Situation”
in September this year as the three chapters’ joint extended chapter meeting. We will announce further
detail of the symposium and progress of other commemorative projects via e-mail and other means infuture.
International exchange news

We were not able to participate in the 2020 Annual Conference of Korea Association for BusinessCommunication (KABC), with whom JBCA has concluded MOU, held during the Total Academic
Conference of Korea Management Association due to COVID19. However, three JBCA members madepaper presentations at the 85th Annual International Conference of ABC, with whom JBCA has
concluded MOU, held online from October 27th to 31st 2020. Though the 85th Annual International

Conference of ABC was held online, JBCA members were able to further deepen our relationships withvarious researchers throughout the world as the past years.
Information on next International Conferences

We will make an announcement of next KABC international conference upon confirming its detail.
The 86th Annual International Conference by ABC is scheduled to be held online as last year fromOctober 18th Monday to 23rd Saturday 2021.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank those who have been supporting these internationalconferences.
New Members and Update of JBCA Membership Status

At the 80th (2020) National Convention, 6 new members were admitted, including 1 regular member, 3general members, 1 graduate student member and 1 supporting corporate member. As at the end of the80th (2020) National Convention, total membership count was 172 members (consisting of 5 honorarymembers, 128 regular members, 27 general members, 7 graduate student members, 1 corporate
member and 4 supporting corporate members). Please refer to the table below for the membershipstatus.
Meanwhile, the following 7 members withdrew from the Association: Takao NORISADA, Tsuyoshi
KIDA, Kunio INOUE, Christensen, Hiroji FUSHIDA, Yumi MATSUMOTO and Hideo TERAO.

New members (In random order, affiliation at the time of admission)
TypeName

Affiliation

Chapter

GeneralSoichi MIWA

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking

Kanto

RegularKyoko KUSE

Toyo University

Kanto

General

Shinya ITO

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking

Kanto

Supporting

Kukan Gainen Kenkyusho

GeneralNathan Ramler

Cheiron Group

Kanto

Graduate

Ryo KURODA

Nagoya Gakuin University

Kanto

Kanto

JBCA Membership Status
Membership TypeEnd of 2020 General MeetingEnd 2019 General Meeting

Honorary

54Regular

128

134

General (Note)

2725

Graduate Students

76Corporate

11Supporting

43172

173

Withdrawals

730

New Members

611Total

Note: Following the change in the Article of Association, general members are integrated into regularmembers in 2021.

Call for Papers

The Association invites members to present papers at the 81st National Convention, as scheduled forOctober 2 (Saturday) and 3 (Sunday) at Toyo University. Please note that the deadline for proposals isMay 31 (Monday) 2021.
JBCA Award Winner

There was no submission for the JBCA Award the Rookie of the Year Award.
Call for 2021 JBCA Award application

We call for 2021 JBCA Award application. Please refer to the detail information on JBCA website. We
anticipate your applications for the award. Applications for this year’s award must be submitted
between April 1st (Wednesday) and April 30th (Thursday) 2021.
Information on Boueki Jitsumu Kenti held by Boueki Jitsumu Kentei Kyokai (Level A, B, C)

Boueki Jitsumu Kentei Kyokai manages the Boueki Jitsumu Kentei (Level A, B, C). Please refer to thehomepage for further detail on the exam’s schedule and seminars. Relevant textbooks are also sold by
the Boueki Jitsumu Kentei Kyokai.
Annual Membership Fees

It is the time of the year that members are kindly reminded to remit their annual membership fees forthis year (2021). Your regular or general membership fee of JPY 8000, graduate student fee of JPY 4000,
or supporting corporate member fee of JPY 48000 can be paid by using the enclosed JP Bank payment
form. (Account number: 00110-2-0485445, Account Name: The Japan Business CommunicationAssociation)
JBCA Outline

The Japan Business Communication Association is a well-established academic society with a historyof over 80 years. Initially established as the Japan Business English Association, the Association is amember of both the Union of National Economic Associations in Japan and the Science Council of Japan.
In 2002, after careful consideration, the Board of directors decided to change the name of theAssociation to the Japan Business Communication Association, thanks to the great efforts of former
President Takao NORISADA and other directors. The change signified the intention of the Association
to further improve the academic quality of its activities.
Activities of the Association headquarters:
Main activities include an annual National Convention (customarily in October), our annual bulletin
and other publications. The Association relies solely upon membership fees to finance its activities.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Becoming a Member

In FY2012, the Association relaxed the membership requirements and corporate membership havebeen added. Through this change, the Association wishes to enlarge its membership including businessorganizations, invigorate the organization, and improve the academic quality of its activities. Members
are kindly requested to recommend qualified prospects to join the Association.
Activities of regional chapters

JBCA has three regional chapters in Kanto, Kansai, and Kyushu/Yamaguchi. Each chapter holds twoor more regional meetings each fiscal year, which are held separately from the National Convention.
All members belong to local chapters.
Regional chapter secretariats and presidents

Kanto Chapter
Prof. Misa FUJIO
Faculty of Business Administration, Toyo University
President, JBCA Kanto Chapter
5-28-20 Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8606
Phone: 03-3945-7295 (direct)

FAX : 03-3945-7477 (faculty office)E-mail: misa.fujio@gmial.com / misa_f@toyo.jp

Kansai Chapter
Prof. Ken NAGANUMA
Faculty of Commerce, Doshisha University
President, JBCA Kansai Chapter
Karasuma-higashi-iru, Imadegawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku,
Kyoto-shi 602-8580
Phone: 075-251-3689
E-mail: knaganum@mail.doshisha.ac.jp

Kyushu/Yamaguchi Chapter
Prof. Kyoko ARAIPresident, JBCA Kyushu/Yamaguchi Chapter
249-9 Akizuki, Asakura-city, Fukuoka 838-0001
Phone: 0946-28-7929, Fax: 0946-28-7949
E-mail: kyokoarai59@gmail.com

Note: Regional chapter presidents have terms of appointment as stipulated by respective regional
chapter rules. Names of presidents are current as at the time of this newsletter publication.
Secretariat:
Prof. Takehisa KOBAYASHI
Faculty of Economic and Business. Wako University
2160 Kanai-cho, Machida, Tokyo 195-8585TEL: 044-989-7777（Ext. 5616）FAX : 044-988-1435
Email:Kobatake@wako.ac.jp