I(Proposed Dates) 5, 6, 7 or 12, 13, 14 November 1999
Tokyo, Japan
 

DESCRIPTION
Three-day conference in Tokyo with participants from China, Europe, Japan and
the United States.
 

OBJECTIVE
Several conferences have been organized over the past few years.  With the end
of the millenium approaching, it is an appropriate time to organize an
international conference.  Among the objectives for hosting such a conference
are to:
r Bring together, as many as possible, the diverse groups involved with
scholarship and advocacy related to the war in the Pacific Rim.  This is an
effort that we envision will extend beyond China, Japan and the United States
and would include groups in, for example, Australia, Great Britain and
Holland.
r Present information that is not normally accessible to the average Japanese
citizen.
r Provide a forum for lively discussion.
 

HOSTS, SPONSORS AND PARTICIPANTS
Several different groups representing various causes and fields of research
should host the conference as this will symbolize the scope of this
conference.

In order to make it a successful conference, given the ambitious scope and
venue, several organizations will need to participate as sponsors.

For groups that are not in a position to be a sponsor, their participation and
support is greatly welcomed and should be sought.
 

STRATEGY (for organizing and publicizing conference)
We propose that there should be two committees, one in Tokyo and one in New
York.  The two committees will serve as conduits for getting information out
to the necessary persons/groups in each respective country and will be
responsible for seeing that matters relating to the conference are addressed.
 

FORMAT, SPEAKERS
The proposed format includes speeches, workshops and/or panel discussions.
r Speeches: Welcoming/opening remarks, a keynote speech, luncheon addresses.
r Workshops/Panel Discussions:  Depending on the number of participants and
provided there is space to do so, there would be 5  sessions of concurrent
panel discussions and workshops.
r Speakers:  Each panel, ideally, should include:
-- a first person account by a victim;
-- a "confession";
-- one academic (in some cases maybe two);
-- one activist; and
-- a moderator who would summarize the panelists presentations and then
facilitate the question and answer period.
r Impromptu Sessions:  Space permitting, we would like to encourage
participants to engage in discussion with one another and presenters so that
impromptu discussion groups can also be held.
r Translators:  Simultaneous translation has been suggested, but if there are
concurrent sessions taking place, then this idea can become extremely cost
prohibitive.
r Teleconferencing:  Use of teleconferencing to bring in participants that
cannot travel to Tokyo.  Again, this is very costly.  We need to decide
whether or not this is an avenue we should explore.
 

VENUE
The venue that is chosen as the site for the conference may determine the
format of the conference.
r What will be the space situation?  If, for example, we are at a hotel, given
costs, how many rooms can be reasonably rented.
r Will there be an academic insitution willing to let us host this conference
on their grounds?
r The venue needs to be easily accessible, preferrably centrally located.
 

BUDGET
Without any budget estimates at this time, in principle, we propose the
following:
r Expenses for keynote speakers and other invited guests will be shared by the
hosts and sponsors.
r Hosting organizations will be responsible for on-the-ground (local) food,
lodging and transportation expenses for those hosts and sponsors traveling
from abroad.
r Sponsoring, hosting and participating groups will be responsible for their
own members' travel costs.
 

TIME FRAME
There are several issues that need immediate action.
r Honored Guests/Speakers:  While it is not necessary to have a final program
or even final format before inviting the speakers, we should have a working
draft that more or less represents how the conference will unfold.
r Hosts and Sponsors:  Knowing who will host and sponsor this conference and
what sort of monies each can contribute will give us a sense of how large this
conference can get.
r Booking the Venue:  Since the venue will dictate the format of the
conference and its scope (because of costs), this needs to be addressed at the
very start.
 

OTHER ISSUES
There are other items, e.g., advertising and publicity, that are not addressed
in this proposal.  This document serves as a general outline of issues that
need to be addressed as soon as possible.  Future documents will address
issues relating to advertising, publicity and preparation of conference
materials, to name a few.