理事長からの挨拶（ Message from the President）

JDAが発足した1986年以降、日本語ディベートの普及や中学校・高等学校におけるディベート大会の隆盛など、日本のディベート活動を取り巻く状況は大きく様変わりしました。それに伴い、JDAの位置づけも変化し、設立当初から続く日米交歓ディベートの運営の他に、セミナーの実施、大会の運営、学術会議の開催など多岐にわたる活動を行なっています。但し、JDAの基本理念そのものは発足当時と変わらず、日本における「より良き」ディベート活動の普及に貢献することにあります。

今後、ディベート活動がさらに発展していくためには、大会などを通して競技ディベート人口の裾野を広げるとともに、社会の様々な場面におけるディベート活動を推進していくことが必要となります。同時に、日本におけるディベート活動のあり方を絶えず見直し、新たな可能性を模索しながら、改善を重ねていく作業も欠かせません。その際、日米交歓ディベートなどの国際交流が以前にも増して重要な役割を果たしうると考えています。また、JDAでは2000年より議論学国際学術会議を開催していますが、現在、複数の学問領域に散らばっている「議論研究者」の交流を図り、国際的に注目が高まっている議論学を日本に定着させることも本協会に課せられた使命であると捉えています。そしてこれらの使命をよりよく達成すべく、2020年10月よりJDAは東京都所轄の「NPO法人」として活動しています。

このように広範囲にわたるJDAの活動が成立するためには、多くの方々のご協力が必要不可欠です。ご支援のほど、よろしくお願いいたします。

2021年2月
青沼　智

The Japan Debate Association (JDA) was inaugurated in March 1986 with the aim of promoting debate activities and developing debate skills in Japan.

Debate is a competitive form of communication conducted according to specific rules, where two teams–the “Affirmative” and the “Negative”–oppose each other on an issue. The Affirmative team stands in favor of the proposition, called a “resolution”, and the negative team takes a stand against it, in one of several ways. Each side presents its own case based on research and analysis of the resolution, and advocates this stand throughout the debate by responding to and refuting their opponents’ arguments.

The primary purpose of debate is to persuade a third party, that is, the debate judge and/or the audience. Debate is a very effective tool for making decisions in the various situations we face daily in society. It is, therefore, used in education and training programs to develop essential abilities, such as researching and analyzing specific issues, thinking critically, logically and rhetorically, conducting reasoned discourse, and making informed decisions.

As Japan works to maintain and increase its role in the international arena, it is called upon to make choices which negotiates between its own priorities as a nation and those of the rest in the world, and to advocate the validity and reasonableness of these choices in a persuasive manner. Equally important, within the Japanese society it will become more and more necessary to identify unequivocally where disagreements lie, and to work out constructive solutions which take a number of different opinions and standpoints respectfully into account. We take this as the special requirements of today’s diverse society, where argumentation and debate promote, rather than preclude, harmonious and just results.

In a country where the powers that be take “tacit understanding” as their preferred form of communication, debate tends to be devalued and discouraged. Informed by the radical democratic tradition, the need for debate in Japanese society and education has been advocated more often than not. However, what might be called a debate tradition has not necessarily taken firm root in the country’s civil society. It is the task of debaters, judges, and aspiring practitioners of debate throughout Japan to collaborate in order to promote sound debate activities. As the country’s premier debate organization, we are determined to further assist anyone who loves and practices sound debate.

Satoru Aonuma

February, 2021