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JAT Bulletin 180, March 2000
So JAT is 15. Congratulations to all of us!
JAT's numerical growth has been remarkable over the past few years. When I became membership secretary in March 1997, we had just over 150 members; now the number is close to 400. Needless to say, this is not my doing. The biggest reason is probably the introduction of easy online registration and dues payment, combined with the halving of our dues.
The start of online registration and payment was part of an overall transformation of JAT from an organization based in Tokyo to one based in cyberspace. We still have monthly meetings in Tokyo, but our Bulletin is on the Web, our Board includes members from other continents and conducts the bulk of its deliberations online, and our mailing list has developed into a full-fledged forum in its own right. Those of us who think this is a good set of developments might compare it to the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly.
Now over 40 percent of our members live in countries other than Japan (more than the number who live in the Tokyo area). JAT's full name continues to be "Japan Association of Translators," but in fact it has developed into a worldwide organization of translation professionals working primarily between Japanese and English.
The move to cyberspace has extended our reach; combined with our dramatic growth, however, it has also greatly strained the capacity of the handful of active volunteers who actually keep the organization going. Particularly over the past year I have often felt frustrated by the difficulty of keeping up with the combination of routine work and the mini-crises that pop up one after another.
In a way, JAT is like a human teenager at an awkward age, with a body that is growing and changing, sometimes in uncomfortable ways, and a mind that is struggling to adjust. Though I do not believe we can ever return to the "good old days" of being a cozy group in Tokyo, if we want the association to continue to grow, and even more importantly, to become more powerful as a positive force within the J/E translation profession, we are probably going to have to rethink some of our existing activities and arrangements.
It had been my ambition to create a set of committees that would deal with ongoing activities, leaving the Board as a whole free to work on a proactive agenda for the association. So far this has not worked out quite as I would have liked. But I do think we have had some success with the committee approach, and I hope it can be continued and extended.
I abhor complaints about the dearth of active volunteers. In my own experience, the way to get people involved is to approach them individually. The people in the active core have been doing so to a certain extent all along, but perhaps we can and should have been reaching out more. Admittedly, cyberspace acquaintances are harder to approach than familiar Tokyo faces. Will it be possible to drum up the interest and energy that JAT needs to keep going? Though it will not be easy, I believe it can be done.
I trust that JAT will continue to offer us opportunities to keep each other company both online and, when physically possible, in person at local meetings and annual IJET conferences. But more than that, I hope that as JAT matures, it will find new strength to make the world of J/E translation a better place.
Jeremy Whipple
JAT President