Our Activities

The P.E.N. Charter states that members "pledge themselves to do their utmost to dispel race, class and national hatreds, and to champion the ideal of one humanity living in peace in one world" and that "P.E.N. stands for the principle of unhampered transmission of thought within each nation and between all nations; members pledge themselves to oppose any form of suppression of freedom of expression in the country and community to which they belong as well as throughout the world whenever this is possible. P.E.N. declares for a free press and opposes arbitrary censorship in time of peace." Based on the intent of the Charter, the stated objective of the Japan P.E.N. Club is to protect freedom of speech, expression, and the press to contribute to the world peace. The Japan P.E.N. Club conducts the following activities aimed at achieving this objective.

1. Activities aimed at promoting literature
2. Activities aimed at promoting international understanding and cultural exchanges and activities aimed at the protection of freedom of speech, expression, and the press
3. Cooperation in the projects of International P.E.N.
4. Holding of study groups, round-table conferences, and lectures in order to educate people about the P.E.N. Charter and promote its aims
5. Publication of the Club bulletin and various pamphlets
6. Activities aimed at introducing Japanese literature to foreign audiences

Based on its philosophy of independence and self-respect, the Japan P.E.N. Club raises most of the funds for its operation from membership fees.
The Club's activities are run by its 13 committees with the approval of the annual General Meeting and the Board of Directors, which in principle convenes once a month. There are 40 directors, of whom 30 are elected by the votes of the members and 10 are designated by the president. The president is elected in a mutual vote by the directors. Journalists may observe the General Meeting and meetings of the Board of Directors: the outstanding feature of the Club's operating structure is its openness. The discussions at these meetings are shared with all members in minutes reported in the Club's monthly bulletin.

●International P.E.N. Conferences Held by the Japan P.E.N. Club

May 1957: The 29th International P.E.N. Conference in Tokyo
November 1972: The International Forum on Japanese Cultural Studies in Tokyo and Kyoto
May 1984: The 47th International P.E.N. Conference in Tokyo
November 1996: Asia Pacific P.E.N. Conference

●Recent Lectures and Symposiums Held by the Japan P.E.N. Club

February 2008: World P.E.N. Forum "Natural Disaster and Culture"
October 2006: "Literature and Movies" Symposium in Chiba held in cooperation with Chinese P.E.N.
September 2006: "What is a Writer in the Modern Age?" Symposium in Tokyo
March 2006: The 22nd "Day of Peace" Forum in lwate Prefecture
February 2006: The 5th "Think War and Peace Now" Symposium in Tokyo
December 2005: The 25th "Day of Writers in Prison" Forum in Tokyo

●"Day of Peace" Symposiums

The Japan P.E.N. Club in 1984 in its capacity as the host of the 29th International P.E.N. Congress in Tokyo made a proposal, which was subsequently approved by the congress, to designate March 3, the date of Japan's time-honored girls' festival called Hinamatsuri (Doll's Festival), "The Day of Peace" and that all the International P.E.N. centres around the world run activities to promote peace that day. Since then, the Japan P.E.N. Club has held symposiums on the Day of Peace in 23 prefectures. 2006's symposium, which was held in Morioka City in lwate Prefecture, was attended by 1,800 people, and it was extremely well received.

●Our E-mail Magazine, P.E.N.

The Japan P.E.N. Club has been issuing its e-mail magazine, P.E.N., once or twice a month since 2003 in order to improve public awareness of P.E.N. The magazine has a readership of more than 1,500 members of the general public. The magazine includes speeches made by popular writers at P.E.N. members' meetings, announcements of symposiums and lectures to be held by Japan P.E.N., and newly released books edited by Japan P.E.N.

●Editing of Books and Planning Publishing Projects

The Japan P.E.N. Club has planned and edited more than 100 books, collections of short stories, and essays. They are sold at bookstores nationwide, and some volumes have sold more than 100,000 copies.