Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

JAPAN–AMERICA STUDENT CONFERENCE • 119
size self-defense force, Japan would be able to defend itself for at least
two months regardless of who attacked it. See also DEFENSE.
JAPAN–AMERICA SOCIETY (JAS). The JAS is a non-partisan, private
organization promoting education and cultural exchange, and a
forum for the exchange of political and business views of its members.
There are approximately 100 Japan–America Society chapters
in Japan and in the United States, based either in cities, prefectures,
or states. Individual Japan America Societies first emerged in the late
19th century and were organized under an umbrella national organization
in 1960.
The National Association of Japan–America Societies, Inc. (NA-
JAS) is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that sponsors
educational, cultural, and business programs about Japan and
U.S.–Japan relations that are open to the general public. NAJAS performs
its activities through its society members in both Japan and the
United States (the latter are called Japan–America Societies). In the
United States, NAJAS is the only national non-profit network dedicated
to public education about Japan, consisting of about 40 independent
Japan-related organizations located in 32 U.S. cities. Its members
come from all walks of life, including business, political, and
academic, who live in either the United States or Japan. Consequently,
NAJAS can provide a variety of perspectives on U.S.–Japan relations.
In 1979, 13 Japan and Japan–America Societies participated in a
meeting in Los Angeles to formally establish an umbrella association.
The first chairman was former U.S. Ambassador to Japan U. Alexis
Johnson. The association was incorporated in New York State and
based in New York City until October 1999, when it moved its headquarters
to its current location in Washington, D.C. In 1981, the association’s
first annual conference was held in Chicago. In October
1990, the name of the organization was officially changed to the National
Association of Japan–America Societies. Today, NAJAS has
about 15,000 individual members and over 15,000 corporate representatives.
See also AMERICA–JAPAN SOCIETY, INC.
JAPAN–AMERICA STUDENT CONFERENCE (JASC). The
Japan–America Student Conference is a non-profit educational and
university student cultural exchange program. It was created as Japan’s