PEN Center Japan
The PEN Center Japan ( Japanese 社 団 法人 日本 ペ ン ク ラ ブ , Shadanhōjin Nihon Pen Kurabu ) is a registered association with legal capacity which, as a non-governmental organization and as a writers' association, aims to protect freedom of expression , speech and freedom of the press . In addition, the PEN aims to promote culture and international exchange. The Japanese PEN Club was founded on November 26, 1935. The establishment is related to the political background: after the establishment of the puppet state Manchukuo in China, which was not recognized by the League of Nations and condemned as an illegal act, Japan withdrew its delegation and left the League on March 27, 1933. Liberals and writers saw this as the danger of Japan's isolation and, at the suggestion of the international PEN club in London , took this as an opportunity to found the Japanese PEN center. The suggestion went to Yanagisawa Takeshi, head of the Department of Cultural Affairs at the Japanese Foreign Ministry . This also explains the special role of the ministry as a control body. The association currently has around 1,900 members.
Basic data
- Headquarters: 20-3, Nihonbashi-Kabutochō, Chūō-ku , Tokyo
- President: Jirō Asada
- Vice presidents: Akiko Shimojū, Susumu Nakanishi
- Managing Director: Shinobu Yoshioka
- Number of board members: between 20 and 40 people
- Number of control members: 2–3 people
Chairperson
- Shimazaki Tōson (1935-1943)
- Hakuchō Masamune (1943–1947)
- Shiga Naoya (1947-1948)
- Kawabata Yasunari (1948-1965)
- Serizawa Kōjirō (1965–1974)
- Nakamura Mitsuo (1974-1975)
- Ishikawa Tatsuzō (1975-1977)
- Takahashi Kenji (1977-1981)
- Yasushi Inoue (1981–1985)
- Endō Shūsaku (1985-1989)
- Ōoka Makoto (1989–1993)
- Ozaki Hotsuki (1993-1997)
- Umehara Takeshi (1997-2003)
- Inoue Hisashi (2003-2007)
- Atōda Takashi (2007-2011)
- Asada Jirō (from 2011)
Web links
- Website of the Japanese PEN Center (English)
- Japanese PEN Center digital library (Japanese and English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ And as such a special form, since it is under the control of the Foreign Ministry.