Cancellation of the JLTA 2018 Conference
September 24, 2018
Dear JLTA Members
As you have already been informed, as a result of the earthquake in Hokkaido which occurred on the6th of September, we were left with no choice but to cancel the 2018 Annual Conference scheduled
to take place on the 8th and 9th of September at Hokkai-Gakuen University in Sapporo. While thecancellation of this year’s conference due to a natural disaster of this kind could hardly be foreseen,
those members who were scheduled to deliver a presentation must have been greatly disappointed athaving lost the opportunity to make a contribution to the field.
Please find below the important items with respect to how we will be handling matters following thecancellation of the Annual Conference. We would appreciate your understanding and cooperation asalways. Last but not least, we would like to express our deepest condolences to those in the affected
area, and pray for speedy recovery.
Sincerely yours,
Japan Language Testing Association (JLTA), President

Yoshinori Watanabe
JLTA 2018 Conference Organizing Committee, Chair

Hiroya Tanaka

Concerning the Cancellation of the 2018 JLTA Annual Conference1. The conference will not be postponed for a later date.
-We investigated the possibility of holding a substitute conference.

-However, as the conference was canceled immediately prior to it taking place, at a point where
all necessary preparations had already been completed, and as a significant amount of extra
work was generated by the cancellation which consumed an inordinate amount of time on thepart of organization committee, we concluded that at this stage the energy and time required toprepare a secondary conference would simply be impractical. Furthermore, we judged that there
was some risk that any substitute conference preparation could negatively impact the beginningof preparations for the 2019 Annual Conference.

-Considering the above mentioned circumstances, we have decided that we will hold noalternative meeting to replace the canceled Annual Conference.

2. Regarding the Conference Handbook (printed version)-

The printed version of the Conference Handbook has not been distributed any of the members,
non-members or cooperating bodies at the point of writing this document (September 24th).

-

We have decided not to distribute the printed version of the Conference Handbook. Instead, wewill dispose of all the existing copies.

-We believe that JLTA, as the association which cancelled this conference, ought to guaranteethat all prospective presenters retain the freedom and capability to present their research in thesame format, either at any other conferences or at next year’s JLTA. In our scholarly field, many
associations and conferences have a rule against giving the same presentation more than once at
difference academic conferences. This means that the proposal to be submitted to an academic
conference must be the one that has not been presented previously. Furthermore, the problem ofself-plagiarism is becoming an issue in the field of academics with an attendant severity of its
policing. We were concerned that if the abstract that was submitted to the 2018 JLTA conference
were issued in the printed version of the Conference Handbook, that would increase thelikelihood that presenters would be suspected of self-plagiarism or of duplicate submission if
they were to submit the same abstract as the one they submitted to the JLTA 2018 to aconference in any future. We decided then to exercise preventive measures so that the problemof this kind should not in the future.

3. Regarding the “Conference Handbook” (the PDF Version Currently Available on theAssociation Website)-With regards to the PDF version which is currently located on the association website, we have
replaced it with an updated version, where each page (apart from the advertisements) has thewords “Conference Canceled.” In order to show that these presentations were planned on being
given, we have added the following explanatory note: The 2018 Annual Conference of the Japan
Language Testing Association was canceled due to the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake.
Therefore, presentations on this conference program were accepted but were not presented. Thus
presentation elsewhere is acceptable.
4. Regarding the Contents of the Presentation that the presenter had scheduled-

Given the descriptions noted in #1, #2 and #3 above, all presenters are free to make apresentation that they prepared for the JLTA 2018 at either a different conference or at the 2019
JLTA Annual Conference without being worried about the problems self-plagiarism or duplicatesubmission.

5. Regarding the JLTA 2018 General Business Meeting-We are now planning to hold the JLTA 2018 General Business Meeting by the end of thisacademic year, though details are yet to be decided. We will keep you updated by an e-mail andon our webpage.

6. Regarding the 2019 Annual Conference-The 2019 Annual Conference is scheduled to take place in early September, 2019, at Niigata
Seiryo University in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture. At the time of writing, it is most likely
held on the 11th and 12th of September. We shall make the final decision about the details by theend of April 2019.