Guide to joining the Association for Natural Language Processing

(NLP February 1998)
In recent years, research on theories, algorithms and systems regarding language processing is becoming increasingly important. Research in this field in Japan already boasts more than 30 years’ history, and the number of research presentations is rapidly rising. The importance of language processing research with consideration to the individualities and universality of languages is also increasing, and a new need for opportunities for joint discussion among researchers in the fields of linguistics and computer science is emerging. Similar circumstances are seen in the United States, Europe and various Asian countries. The Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL), an international organization based in the United States, and the ACL European Chapter are both very active in this field.
Against such a backdrop, we established the Association for Natural Language Processing on April 1, 1994, as a place for presenting language processing research findings in Japan as well as a venue for international academic exchanges. For the purpose of forming an academic association where intense discussions can take place, the scope of activities are set as follows in order to clarify the association’s goals.
  • Phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, semiotics, quantitative linguistics, computational linguistics, psycholinguistics, contrastive linguistics, cognitive linguistics, sociolinguistics
  • Computational lexicography, terminology, electronic dictionaries, text databases, documentation
  • Language processing algorithms, language processing hardware and software, analysis and generation systems, language understanding, dialogue understanding, speech understanding, discourse understanding, spoken language processing
  • Word processors, machine translation, information search, dialogue systems, natural language interface, hypertext, etc.
The major association activities are as follows:
  1. Publication of the quarterly Journal of Natural Language Processing, which compiles outstanding research papers. In general, papers are in Japanese or English, and there are no page restrictions.
  2. Hosting of annual meetings with mainly oral presentations.
Our priority goal is to aggregate and publish academic findings in the field of natural language processing in Japan in the form of academic papers through the Journal of Natural Language Processing. Therefore, focusing on the importance of publishing many high-quality papers on a regular basis, we referee papers quickly. The association strives to promote this academic field, to develop and diffuse applied technologies, to foster international communication among scholars, technicians and users, and to develop human resources by providing opportunities and venues for language processing research activities.
Membership types and annual fees (from January to December) are as follows:
  1. Member............................................................... 8,000yen
    (Discounted fee for retired members......... 4,000yen)
  2. Student member (including PhD students)......... 4,000yen
  3. Supporting member........................................... in increments of 50,000yen
  4. Subscribing member......................................... 10,000yen
The first issue of the Journal of Natural Language Processing was launched in October 1994. Paper submissions are accepted at any time. Please see the Manuscript Guide to Journal Publication regarding submission details.

  • Enrollment for regular members, student members and supporting members: New member registration page
    • When you want to enroll as a student member, you MUST input your expected graduation year AND upload a copy of your student ID via the registration page above.

    • Merits for the suporting member:
      1. Discount price for advertisement on the journal [detail]
      2. Discount price for early-bird registration to annual meetings
      In addition to the above, other preferential treatment may be given such as discount price for participating in a seminar, early application to sponsors of annual meeting, and so on.
  • Application for retired members:
    If you fulfill either of the following conditions, you can become a retired member and receive an annual fee reduction.
    - at least 65 years old and a regular member for 20 years or more
    - at least 70 years old and a regular member for 10 years or more

    If you want to be a retired member, please fill in the application form (Word format, PDF format) and send it to the following address with proof of your date of birth, such as a copy of your driver's license.
       The Association for Natural Language Processing Office, Nakanishi Printing Company
       Shimodachiuri Ogawa Higashi, Kamigyoku Kyoto, 602-8048 JAPAN

    If the document arrives at the office by September 15 and it can be confirmed that the condition is fulfilled, the annual fee reduction will be applied from the next fiscal year. The result of your application will be notified by e-mail.

  • Enrollment for subscribing members:
    To apply for membership as a subscribing member, please fill the form (Excel format, PDF format) and send it to the following address.
       Shokadoh Book Sellers, Nakanishi Printing Company Publishing Department
       Shimodachiuri Ogawa Higashi, Kamigyoku Kyoto, 602-8048 JAPAN
       TEL: 075-441-3157   FAX: 075-441-3159   E-mail:

  • For inquiries:
       The Association for Natural Language Processing Office, Nakanishi Printing Company
       Shimodachiuri Ogawa Higashi, Kamigyoku Kyoto, 602-8048 JAPAN
       TEL: 075-415-3661   FAX: 075-415-3662   E-mail: