Activity report
JAOS Seminar on the Theme ‘Laws Concerning Overseas Study and Educational Exchange Thinking About Recent Problems Involving Overseas Study’
June 23, 2006
at Mainichi Shinbun Headquarters in Tokyo
After listening to remarks by Mr. Manabu Horie, Director of the Overseas Study Center at JASSO (Japan Student Services Organization) and Mr. Takeshi Shindo, President of CIEL, the Homestay Division of JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents), an active floor discussion was held to consider and comment on the themes presented. As this public seminar was also open to members of the non-profit organization, JAFSA (Japan Network for International Education), the valuable opinions of JAOS non-members were also heard. Since the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan announced their report on overseas study related service troubles in May of last year, it has stressed that organizational activities such as JATA’s discussions on ‘legal aspects of overseas study travel’ and the Fair Trade Commission’s ‘Investigation of Overseas Study Services’ are necessary to combat the problems in the industry, which are becoming increasingly evident to the general public. At this seminar, agents and representatives of overseas study organizations discussed the above problems even after the seminar’s intended finishing time, offering diverse opinions, posing questions and proffering numerous pieces of advice on how JAOS and other industry leaders should handle these problems. JAOS has already made plans to discuss this theme more concretely by holding another seminar at a future date. 44 individuals participated from 36 different organizations.