AA Around the World

Japan--AA arrived in Japan in March 1975, and we will "come of age" and celebrate our twentieth anniversary in Omiya, a city north of Tokyo, in what is expected to be the largest ever in the history of AA in Japan, with more than 2,000 participants. We are pleased to be anticipating during this time of celebration another special AA event. The first Asia and Oceania Service Meeting (AOSM) is scheduled for the same week. Last April, a World Service Meeting delegate from New Zealand contacted our Japan Service Office to propose a zonal service meeting similar to the European and Iberoamerican Service Meetings. In May, four New Zealanders visited Japan to discuss the issue. As an outcome of these discussions, we agreed to hold the first AOSM in Japan in March 1995. Japan assumes responsibility for inviting participation from all Asian countries that have AA meetings, while New Zealand will do the same for Oceanian countries. The AOSM is a big challenge and a wonderful opportunity for us, since the success of AA in Japan may serve as a valuable model for other non-Christian countries in Asia where, though alcohol-related problems have been rapidly increasing, AA has not yet achieved wide popularity. Some Japanese old-timers have already attended Step seminars and other AA workshops in Korea to share their personal experiences.