Japan Business Communication Association
Newsletter
Number 28
April 1, 2022
・GreetingThis association was established on July 20, 1934, at the inaugural meeting held at the Kobe
Rokkosan Hotel as the Japan Association of Commercial English Teachers. As we celebrate our 100th
anniversary in 2024, we are working with the new board members on various projects to achieve
further development while inheriting our history. We are already working on various initiatives,
including the renewal of the website, the online publication of the annual bulletin, a textbook
publication project, and exchanges with related academic societies.
Although we cannot feel safe enough from the coronavirus, we would like to make various efforts
to engage in academic activities actively. We look forward to your continued support and cooperation.
Takehisa Kobayashi, President
・The 82nd National Convention
The 2022 National Convention is scheduled to be held at Doshisha University in early October,with Professor Ken Naganuma serving as the Chair of the Conference Executive Committee. (Details
will be announced when ready.) The past conventions were held online for the last two years due tothe COVID-19 pandemic. However, we are considering having a hybrid format (in-person and online)
this year. Also, as in the previous year, we are considering inviting researchers from overseas to holdinternational sessions.
We hope that our members will submit their research reports and make the event more exciting.
To prepare the conference programs, we would appreciate it if you could send your opinions to the
JBCA office.
・The 81st National Convention
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 81st National Convention 2021 was held online via Zoom
on October 2-3, with Prof. Misa Fujio (Toyo University) serving as the Chair of the Convemtion
Executive Committee. The symposium was held in the international session, where Dr. Marlies
Whitehouse from the University of Zurich gave a keynote speech, “Shared Language andTransdisciplinarity: Keys for Prosperity in Business Communication.”
The keynote speech was followed by the panel discussion on “Business Communication: The
Future is Transdisciplinary” with Prof. Misa Fujio (Toyo University)--Chair of the Conference
Executive Committee--as a moderator, Mr. Chiharu Nishikawa (Sasagawa Sports Foundation
Research Fellow), Prof. Kazuyo Murata (Ryukoku University), Prof. Woo Gun-Jo (Korea University,
KABC President), and Dr. Marlies Whitehouse. It was a great success with active discussions andmany questions from the audience. After this international session, a get-together meeting was held
on Zoom to deepen our friendship.
Twelve research presentations were held as scheduled, and many members participated.
Finally, our sincere gratitude goes out to all the directors, Prof. Misa Fujio of Toyo University,
Prof. Yoichi Sato, and other people concerned for all their help. Thank you very much.
・Distribution of the videos, including the 81st National Convention on the JBCA website
The videos currently available on the JBCA website (https://jbca.gr.jp) as of March 31, 2022 are
as follows. Please take a watch.
The 2021 National Convention (digest version)
The symposium on September 12, 2021
The panel discussion on April 24, 2021 (digest version)
The Kanto Chapter meeting on January 31, 2021
The 2020 National Convention (digest version)
The Kanto Chapter meeting on September 19, 2020

Dr. Marlies Whitehouse (Univ. of Zurich), a keynote speaker at the 81st National Convention

The panel discussion at the 81st national conference[Top center] Dr. Marlies Whitehouse (Univ. of Zurich), [Center left] Prof. Woo Gun-Jo (Korea Univ.,
KABC Chairman), [Center right] Prof. Misa Fujio (Toyo Univ.) [Bottom Left] Mr. Chiharu Nishikawa(Sasagawa Sports Foundation Research Fellow), [Bottom right] Prof. Kazuyo Murata (Ryukoku
Univ.)●News about the 80th National Convention Commemorating Project
It was proposed at the 2020 General Member Meeting that a publication project belaunched in order to commemorate the 80th National Convention of JBCA. After having
discussions in the Publication Editorial Committee followed by the approval of the Board of
Directors, it was decided that this commemorating project was reorganized and relaunchedas the 80th National Convention Commemorating Project of JBCA.
The 80th National Convention Commemorating Symposium was thus held on
September 12, 2021. This event was also positioned as a joint meeting of the three regional
chapters, namely Kanto, Kansai and Kyushu-Yamaguchi Chapters. This symposium wasentitled as "Business Communication in the Future: Corona-shock, VUCA, andGlobalization".
The symposium featured two speakers, Ms. Yumi Fukaya (PLUG AND PLAY
JAPAN) and Mr. Koji Hamada (NHK Osaka Broadcasting Station), both in their fourth-year
service in their respective business field, who provided some valuable insights into their
newly emerging business communication problems. Being professional of business
communication, Profs. Atsuko Kaneko (Meiji University), Kazumasa Kobayashi (Kindai
University) and Elly Shiozawa (Meiji University) responded to the above two speakers, gavethem some professional feedback, and engaged in lively discussions with them. The
symposium turned out to be extremely successful, with active discussions among the
speakers followed by the concluding remarks by Prof. Takehisa Kobayashi, the current
chairperson of JBCA.
This symposium did not mark the end of the commemorating event; we will keep you
updated on other commemorative events through e-mails and webpage.

The panel discussion at the 80th National Convention Commemorating Symposium[Top left] Prof. Takehisa Kobayashi (JBCA President, Wako Univ.), [Top Center] Mr. Masaki
Ushiroku (Business Consultant), [Middle left] Prof. Elly Shizawa (Meiji Univ.) [Middle
Right] Prof. Atsuko Kaneko (Meiji Univ.), [Bottom left] Ms. Yumi Fukaya (LUG AND PLAY
JAPAN), [Bottom right] Mr. Koji Hamada (NHK Osaka Broadcasting Station)

●International exchange news
At the 86th Annual International Conference of ABC (held online from October 18thrd
to 23 , 2022), two JBCA members, Profs. Misa Fujio and Seiji Nomura, participated in theconference and presented their research in the group panel presentations and individual
report sessions. Besides, the ABC Europe Regional Conference Vienna was held online fromThursday, August 26 to Saturday, August 28, 2021, in which Prof. Hiromasa Tanaka
presented his research. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, we had to give up on
physically participating in the KABC International Conference, held in August as a part ofthe "Integrated Annual Conference" of Korean management-related societies.
Please note here that JBCA exchanged a memorandum of understanding with both
ABC and KABC. Participating in these international conferences will contribute tofurthering and deepening exchanges with overseas researchers.
●Information on the Upcoming International Conferences
The 87th Annual International Conference of ABC will be held in Tampa, Florida,
USA, from October 3 to October 8, 2022. This conference will be held as hybrid (both faceto-face and online sessions). As the next KABC International Convention, we will inform youof the details as soon as it becomes available.
We would like to express our gratitude here to those involved in the above-mentioned
international conference for their contributions.
●Election of Directors and Composition of Committees
The election of the JBCA Board of Directors was held on October 2nd, 2021, during the firstday lunchbreak of the 81st National Convention. The Election Administration Committee(Chair: Prof. Seiji Nomura, Members: Profs. Yukie Aoyagi and Hitoshi Matsuo managed theevent (please note that Prof. Matsuo's term expired on September 24, 2021 for theadministrative reasons). As a result, 12 new board members were elected. Furthermore,
three other members were specially appointed by the President. The composition andpositions of the new board members are as follows:

Role
Director (President)
Director(Executive
Director)
Director(Executive
Director)
Director(Executive
Director)
Director(Executive
Director)
Director
Director

Name
Takehisa KOBAYASHIKen NAGANUMA

Affiliation
Wako University
Doshisha University

Yasuo NAKATANI

Hosei University

Yuji HAYASHI

SeinanJo
GakuinUniversity
Chuo University

Director
Director
Director

Kenichi SATO
Yoichi SATO
Toshihiro SHIMIZU

Director

Momotaro TAKAMORI

Director

Hitoshi Matsuo

Director(Specially Elly SHIOZAWA

Shingo YAMAMOTO
Masaki USHIROKU
Kyoung Soo KANG

Business Consultant
Kansai
GaidaiUniversity
Doshisha University
Toyo University
Mukogawa
Women’s
University
Kwansei
GakuinUniversity
Tokyo University ofSocial Welfare
Meiji University

appointed)
Director
appointed)
Director
appointed)(Specially Atsushi HIRASAWA

Chuo University(Specially Mari MORIMOTO

Konan
University

Women’s

Below is the new committee member list:

Planning Committee

Coordinator
Shingo
YAMAMOTO(Chuo
University)

JournalEditorial Yasuo
Committee
NAKATANI(HoseiUniversity)

International/Domes Kentic
Liaison NAGANUM
Committee
A(Doshisha
University)

Committee members
HitoshiAtsushi
MATSUOHIRASAW(TokyoA
University(ChuoofSocial University)
Welfare)Ken
Seiji
NAGANUM NOMURA
A(Tokyo Fuji
(Doshisha
University)
University)
Yuji
HAYASHI(Seinan Jo
GakuinUniversity)
Kenichi
SATO(Doshisha
University)

Mari
MORIMOTO(Konan
Women’s
University)
PublicRelations Masaki
Toshihiro
Committee
USHIROKU SHIMIZU(Business(Mukogawa
Consultant) Women’s
University)
Akira
HACHISU(Toyo
University)

Nobuo
KAMATA(Toyo
GakuenUniversity)
Kyoung Soo
KANG(Kansai
GaidaiUniversity)

YoichiSATO(Toyo
Univresity)
Shinichi
SHIBATA(KandaUniversityofInternation

Elly
SHIOZAWA(MeijiUniversity)
MayumiOKAMOTO(Kansai
University)

Momotaro
TAKAMORI(Kwansei
GakuinUniversity)

KyoungSoo KANG(Kansai
GaidaiUniversity)

al Studies)
The
Union
of
National Economic
Associations
in
Japan(CouncilMembers)

TakashiMASUYAMA(JosaiUniversity)
Hitoshi
MATSUO(TokyoUniversityofSocial
Welfare)Administrative
Seiji NOMURA
Office(person-in- (Tokyo Fuji University)
charge)Administrative
Yoichi SATO
Office (assistant)(Toyo University)● New Members and Update of JBCA Membership Status
At the 81st National Convention, two new members joined, followed by another two members
joining by March 31, 2022. Up to now, there are 152 members involved (including 7 honorary
members, 136 regular members, 4 graduate student members, 1 corporate member, 4supporting members organizations). For details, please refer to the table below, including
new members and withdrawals (including retirement withdrawals) since the last 80th
(2020) National Convention are as follows.
New members:

Type
Name
Regular Hiromi
MURAKAMI
Regular Keiichi KIDOAKI

Affiliation
Kansai
GaidaiUniversity
Shin
Nihon
Kentei Kyokai
Regular Kayoko YASHIRO AMKCommunication
Regular Natsuko
Fujitsu
HIGASHIChapter
Kansai
Kanto
Kanto
Kanto

Withdrawals:
Kaori Nishihata, Satoki Sano, Atsuo Itsuji, Kazunori Santo, Saeko Ujiie, Yeonkwon Jung,
Nobumitsu Takahashi, Eiichiro Yoshikawa, Yasuhiro Kato, Midori Hayashi, Hiromi Inami,
HUYNH Cuong, Toru Seimiya, Eisaku Tsumura, Hitoko Aoyagi, Nobuko Kiyota, Florin
Nechita, Megumi Inage, Kazuyoshi Inazu, Katsuhiro Kuroda, Kotaro Uno, Peina Cheng,
Miyuki Takino
JBCA Membership Status

Honorary
Regular
General*Graduate Students
Corporate

As of March 31st,
2022
7
136
0
4
1

End of fiscal year
2021
5
148
0
6
1

End of fiscal
years 2020
4
129
27
7
1

Supporting
Total
Withdrawals**
New members

4
152
14
2

4
164
10
2

4
172
7
6

*Along with the revision of bylaws, regular members and general members re integrated
into one category (i.e., regular members).
**This figure includes retirement withdrawals.

Call for Papers
The Association invites members to present papers at the 82st National Convention, as scheduled for early
October at Doshisha University. Please note that the deadline for proposals is May 31 (Monday) 2022.
JBCA Award Winner
There was no submission for the JBCA Award and the Rookie of the Year Award.
Call for 2022 JBCA Award application
We call for 2022 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 (Friday) and April 30th (Saturday) 2022.
Our Business Communication Publication Project and Invitation for Members to Contribute as
Authors
The Planning Committee, led by Committee Chair Prof. Shingo Yamamoto, previously submitted a planto publish a new text on business communication (the sections of which will be assigned to, and authoredby, participating Association members), and the Association's Board of Directors approved the plan on
March 25, 2022. Therefore, the Association is seeking members who are willing to partake in this projectas authors. If you are interested, please apply by the end of May 2022. Details concerning this publication
project and the recruiting of authors are provided in the attached document. The information will also be
posted on the JBCA website.
Renewal of the JBCA Website
Under the leadership of Mr. Masaki Ushiroku, Chair of the Public Relations Committee, and with thesupport of the rest of the Public Relations Committee and the Secretariat, the JBCA website renewal project
was successfully completed on February 28, 2022. The Association would like to extend its deepest
gratitude to all Publicity Committee members for their efforts spent on ensuring the project's success. As
for the publication of papers that were previously in the annual JBCA Newsletters, the abstracts of thepapers from the past five years have been made available online. In addition, we are working on posting
the entire texts on J-Stage for the authors who wish to have their papers shared on the journal platform.
The Association has entrusted the Public Relations Committee with such key initiatives as described above
so that it will continuously facilitate the publication of the JBCA members' research findings. In this vein,
the Publication Committee has formulated various initiatives that are designed to aid the Association's
further growth and development, resulting in the creation of the new JBCA website that has proven to behighly effective. As JBCA members, you are kindly urged to raise awareness of JBCA research and otheractivities by directing your students, colleagues, and acquaintances to the JBCA website and utilizing theresources that are provided there. We also with to express our heartfelt gratitude to Professor Shinichi
Shibata for kindly responding to our request to write a public information article for the Association. You
can access the Association's brand-new website at https://jbca.gr.jp/.
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 tothe homepage for further detail on the exam’s schedule and seminars. Relevant textbooks are also soldby 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 forthis year (2022). Your regular 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: 00110-2-485445, Account Name: The Japan Business Communication Association)

JBCA Outline
The Japan Business Communication Association is a well-established academic society with a history ofover 80 years. Initially established as the Japan Business English Association, the Association is a memberof 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 the Association to theJapan 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 andother 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 have been
added. Through this change, the Association wishes to enlarge its membership including
business organizations, 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 two or
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

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

Kansai Chapter

Prof. Ken NAGANUMA

Faculty of Commerce, Doshisha

UniversityPresident, 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. Yuji HAYASHI, Seinan Jo Gakuin University

President, JBCA Kyushu/Yamaguchi Chapter

1-3-5 Ibori, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakushu-shi,

Fukuoka 803-0835
Phone: 093-583-5648

E-mail: yhayashi@seinan-jo.ac.jp

Note: Regional chapter presidents have terms of appointment as stipulated by respective

Secretariat:

Prof. Takehisa KOBAYASHI

Faculty of Economic and Business. Wako University

regional chapter rules. Names of presidents are current as at the time of this newsletter
publication.