Election of New Board Members, President

Under the newly revised ATJ Bylaws, which were approved by a majority of the ATJ members who voted on the measures at the end of last year, the membership will be asked this spring to elect three new members of the Board and also to directly elect a new President of the Association. As in the past, a Nominating Committee consisting of the outgoing members of the Board will nominate a slate of candidates for each vacant position. All members will receive a ballot and information on the candidates by first-class mail in mid-February and will be asked to return their ballots by mid-March by mail. (Please note that you must vote by mail this year; you will not be able to bring ballots to the ATJ General Membership meeting.) The results of the election will be announced at the General Membership meeting on April 6, at which time the new Board members will assume their duties. As stipulated in the revised Bylaws, the newly elected President will serve for an initial year as President-elect, working with President Laurel Rasplica Rodd to ensure a smooth transition to a new presidency and a new system of governance.

Invitation to the 2002 ATJ Seminar and General Membership Meeting and the Association for Asian Studies (aas) Annual Conference

ATJ's annual Thursday Seminar provides a chance for all ATJ members to gather, meet and talk with colleagues, participate in the business of the Association, and hear the latest research on language, linguistics, pedagogy, and literature. This year's Seminar will be held April 4, in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the annual conference of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

The Seminar schedule is available here. The Seminar is open to all ATJ members and their guests: advance registration is not required. However, a fee of $35 will be payable on-site by non-members of ATJ or NCJLT. (Non-members will of course have the option of joining ATJ at the Seminar.) If you wish to also attend sessions of the AAS conference, which will be held at the same venue April 4-7, it is necessary to register either in advance or on-site. On-line early registration can be conducted at the AAS web site: www.aasianst.org.

We cordially invite all ATJ members to attend the annual General Membership Meeting, which will be held Saturday, April 6, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The membership meeting is your chance to meet ATJ's officers and Board members and to participate in making decisions that affect the Association. As usual, there will be door prizes donated by publishers who specialize in books on Japanese language pedagogy and Japanese studies.

The larger AAS conference is an opportunity to attend panel sessions on a variety of subjects, find out what's happening in the fields of Japan and Asian Studies, see the latest books and instructional materials in the exhibit hall, and meet colleages and friends. Of particular interest to ATJ members at this year's conference will be two sessions sponsored or supported by ATJ. One is a Roundtable: "Interdisciplinary Issues in Teaching Premodern Japanese: Languages, Texts, Metalanguages," to be presented from 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. on Sunday; the second is a panel session, "Toward a Cognitive and Interactional Understanding of Person References in Japanese: A Usage-Based Approach," from 8:30-10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Other sessions at the AAS conference will focus on a variety of aspects of Japanese literature, history, and culture. Sessions of potential interest to ATJ members include "Power and Respect: Language and Representation in Japan"; "Nation and Language: Kokugo and the Boundaries of 'Proper' Japanese"; "Japanese Women Authors and Contemporary Detective Fiction"; and others. As always, the exhibit hall will feature the latest publications in Asian studies from a large number of university presses and other publishers.

The full conference schedule as well as information on registering and attending the AAS conference is available from the AAS office (1021 East Huron St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104); by email: annmtg@aasianst.org; or at www. aasianst.org. The ATJ office can also supply information on conference registration.

All of the conference events will take place at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008. If you wish to stay at the Marriott Wardman Park in order to attend the ATJ Seminar and/or the AAS conference, please phone the hotel at 202/328-2900 or fax 202/387-5397; when registering, mention the AAS conference to receive a special discounted room rate.

ATJ Endowment Is Growing

ATJ has joined the ranks of other nonprofit organizations in establishing an endowment fund. Contributions of any amount to this fund, which are tax-deductible, will help to ensure that the Association can continue to provide services to members in the future. Contributions to the Endowment were received in January from members Midori S. Burton, Shigeru Miyagawa, Pauline Oasay, Toyoko Okawa, Yoko Okuizumi, and Cheryl K. Rudd (making her second annual contribution to the fund). Please consider joining their number at the annual General Membership meeting in March or by mail at any time. For more information, contact the ATJ office or any of the officers.

Professional Development SIG Meeting

ATJ's Professional Development SIG is planning to have a breakfast or lunch meeting of those who are interested in professional development/teacher training during the AAS annual meeting in Washington, D.C., April 4-7, 2002. At this meeting, we will discuss the future administration and activities of this SIG as well as current issues related to professional development/teacher training. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please send email to Y.-H. Tohsaku at ytohsaku@ucsd.edu. Further information will be sent later. Also, those who would like to join this SIG, please send email to the above address.

Occasional Papers to be Translated, Published in Japan

The Society for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (Nihongo Kyoiku Gakkai) in Tokyo has commissioned a translation of the most recent issue of ATJ's Occasional Papers (Number 4, Spring 2001), "Education and Professional Development for Japanese Language Teachers." The Society's Committee on Teacher Training plans to complete the translation and distribute it at cost to interested members of the Society and others in Japan. ATJ members who are interested in the Japanese-language version of the Occasional Papers may contact the Society by e-mail at nkg@mb.kcom.ne.jp.

Looking for JATJ Vol. 1, No. 1

The Association is pleased to announce that back issues of the Journal will be available through the JSTOR online archive beginning in Fall 2002. Volumes 1 through 34 are being digitized for retrieval, but the archivists have not been able to locate a copy of JATJ Vol. 1, No. 1 (1963). If any ATJ member has a copy of Vol. 1, No. 1 and is willing to lend it for the purposes of digitization, please contact the ATJ office: atj@colorado.edu. Your copy will be returned when the archivists have produced a digital file of its contents. Thank you!

Gift Subscriptions

Need a gift idea for a teacher, a graduating student, or just someone interested in Japanese language, literature, and culture? How about a gift of membership in ATJ? The recipient will receive a year's worth of publications (two issues of the semiannual journal, newly renamed Japanese Language and Literature; four issues of the Newsletter, a membership directory, Occasional Papers and other publications, and other benefits). Memberships start at just $20/year for students. Get someone started on the right foot in the Japanese language education field!

Next Issue Slated for May

The next issue of the ATJ Newsletter will be published at the beginning of May 2002. The deadline for submitting items for publication is April 20.