Notices
JIFFA is proud to announce that it will be hosting an international symposium to mark its 25th anniversary. The symposium will be held on Wednesday, November 24, at the Royal Park Hotel.
JIFFA was founded in 1981 as a private organization by 11 promoters, with 83 companies participating as starting members. JIFFA was granted a permit for incorporation in 1985 by the Ministry of Transport (present-day MLIT*), making 2010 the 25th year since its formal establishment. We at JIFFA wish to take this opportunity to thank the government ministries and agencies who have helped us along the way, especially MLIT of Japan, as well as industry organizations and groups who have lent us their unwavering support, and our members, whose hard work and dedication have made JIFFA and its mission so successful over these many years.
The growth of JIFFA has mirrored the development of international ocean container transportation. As the Japanese economy and the international logistics operations on which it is based become more and more intertwined with the global economy, JIFFA has come to take on an increasingly important role. Today our membership exceeds 400 companies. The tonnage handled by our members alone now accounts for almost one-third of Japan’s total volume of imported and exported container freight.
Given the extent of our membership, we at JIFFA consider our 25th year to be a milestone of global significance. We are organizing a number of commemorative events to allow us to renew our commitment to our founding principles, namely to define ourselves as an association working to help international freight forwarding businesses grow and achieve our status in the industry, thereby contributing to the public good. The international symposium we have announced today is one such event.
The theme of the symposium is “The opportunities and challenges for international freight forwarders”. In keeping with the above-mentioned principles of the organization that we are commemorating through the events, we wish to use the symposium’s keynote addresses and panel discussion as forums to examine such issues as: the potential for further development in international freight forwarding businesses, and the roles and challenges that forwarders face in supporting global supply chains and sustainable economic development.
Please see 
the handouts for a more detailed program of the symposium and for brief profiles of the speakers and panelists(PDF, 7 pages).
