Apart from the persuasive powers of Ambassador Takashima and Minister Kaneko there were good reasons to establish an association of this nature. In the middle seventies, an interest in Japan spread to all Dutch universities and the number of scholars and students had risen considerably. What used to be a very small, select group within the department of Chinese and Japanese Studies at Leiden University, where everybody already knew everybody and where consequently no need for further integration was felt, had suddenly branched out to a number of universities and museums, and also scholars who had no Japanological background were moving into the territory. It seemed worthwhile and useful to get all these scholars together in one group, for the exchange of information and research results, and for better coordination. In this aim the association has been successful.
Membership is at present at ca.
74 persons, and nearly everyone with a serious interest in any aspect of Japanese studies has become a member. The nature of the association has always been that of an association of scholars. The aims of the association, also stated in the by-laws, are to stimulate interest in Japanese studies through organising lectures and symposia, and to stimulate research on Japan through raising funds and furthering publications. These are generally attached to business meetings that are held twice yearly. As a rule, the results of the lecture series should be published, and in the beginning this happened quite regularly.