JTCA conducts versatile activities as follows:
Public-Interest Activities
1) TC Symposiums
Annually nationwide symposiums are held in Tokyo (2 days) and the Kansai area (1 day) as an opportunity for presentation, learning and communication within the TC community. The operation of TC Symposiums is supported by voluntary members. This event has been regarded as 'trend-setting' for Japanese technical communication and international TC community is paying attention to TC Symposium.
2) Japan Manual Awards
Held annually to promote a public recognition of excellent product information. Through the judgment process, evaluation methods and skills have been developed and shared among Japanese TC professionals.
3) Research and Industrial-Academic Partnerships
By investigating leading-edge trends in TC, JTCA is promoting several research projects simultaneously for better solutions in TC.
4) Foreign Market Research
JTCA is conducting surveys into growing foreign markets and collecting information about regulations and standards for sharing within Japanese TC community.
5) Standardization
To promote effective and safe usage of various products and enhance the level of TC skills, JTCA participates in standardization activities in cooperation with related international organizations.
Revenue Generating Activities
1) Seminars
To provide diverse training opportunities for various levels of TC professionals, JTCA conducts regular seminars.
2) TC Certification Exams
JTCA conducts TC Certification Exams which accredit the level of TC skills based on common national standards.
3) Trustee Business
Under contracts with public-interest corporations or JTCA member corporations, JTCA operates research projects on a trustee basis.
4) Publishing
JTCA publishes Guidebooks for TC Certification Exam and other publications.
Recommendation
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) aims to bring about a highly information based society. Technical Communication skills play an important role in enhancing usability of various information facilities that comprise the foundation of such society. With the growing prevalence of today's diverse information facilities, the need for more readable and enjoyable product information is ever increasing. For the improvement of product information, METI has been carrying out various measures including discussion session with experts, making specific proposals and working in partnership with JTCA in establishing manual evaluation methods and preparing proposals for development of human resources in TC. The partnership of METI and JTCA will continue further in TC Certification Exams, information development for Web, improvement of embedded product information in equipment and so on. We highly appreciate JTCA's activities as voluntary and strongly motivated cooperation among Japanese TC professionals. We look forward to the growth of JTCA membership which will be the driving force of realizing friendlier product information.
Media and Content Industry Division
Commerce and Information Policy Bureau
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry