Welcome to the Japanese Music Therapy Association!

The Japanese Music Therapy Association (JMTA) is a private organization established on April 1st, 2001. The JMTA was formed by the merger of the Japanese Federation for Music Therapy (established in 1995), and the Clinical Music Therapy Association (established in 1994). The aim of the JMTA is to conduct interdisciplinary research and practice to determine the role and function of music in relation to health, so as to make a broad-based contribution to society by proactively fostering and maintaining the health of people, in the fields of medicine, welfare, health, and education.

Presently (2020), the membership of the JMTA comprises 5,100 professionals, in 9 branches nationwide. The Association has board-certified its members according to its own standards since 1996, with 3,259 JMTA members having become board-certified music therapists as of 2020. The JMTA organization consists of an Honorary President (Dr. Yasuji Murai), a President (Ms. Hiroko Fujimoto), 2 Vice-Presidents (Mr. Kenji Tsuchino and Mr. Izumi Futamata), 5 Board Executive Directors, 12 Board Directors, and 85 Board Members. There are 18 educational institutions throughout Japan that offer a music therapy degree program approved by the JMTA.

We consider the scope of music therapy as including the purposeful and systematic use of music by employing its physiological, psychological, and social functions, to improve, restore, and maintain physical/mental abilities, to modify behaviors, and to enhance quality of life.

JMTA activities include organizing its annual conference and regional conferences, providing continuing professional education, supporting various member activities, and publishing biannual journals. Below is a listing of JMTA annual conference themes, places, and Keynote Speakers to date.

1st JMTA Conference (2001): “Music Therapy Lift-off in a New Century”
Keynote Speakers: Helen Bonny and Lisa Summer
Place: Yokohama, Kanagawa
2nd JMTA Conference (2002): “Breakdown of Japanese Culture and Music Therapy”
Keynote Speaker: Hayao Kawai
Place: Nishinomiya, Hyogo
3rd JMTA Conference (2003): “Music Therapy Needed by Society”
Keynote Speaker: Juro Saito
Place: Matsudo, Chiba
4th JMTA Conference (2004): “The Significance and Role of ‘Music’ in Music Therapy”
Keynote Speakers: Brynjulf Stige and Colin Lee
Place: Kurashiki, Okayama
5th JMTA Conference (2005): “‘Life, Heart, Healing’ and Music Therapy”
Keynote Speaker: Kunio Yanagida
Place: Nagoya, Aichi
6th JMTA Conference (2006): “Between Sense and Sensibility – Listening to the Context of Music Therapy”
Keynote Speakers: Mercedes Pavlicevic and Nobuyo von Twickel Tada
Place: Sendai, Miyagi
7th JMTA Conference (2007): “Interdisciplinarity and Holisticity of Music Therapy: Dialogue with a Man and Music”
Place: Sapporo, Hokkaido
8th JMTA Conference (2008): “Science and Art of Music Therapy: Path to a Specialist”
Place: Kawasaki, Kanagawa
9th JMTA Conference (2009): “Searching the Origin of Music Therapy: Fluctuation of Sound, Fluctuation of Mind”
Place: Matsuyama, Ehime
10th JMTA Conference (2010): “Supporting Life and Bridging Hearts and Minds: The Origins and Challenges of Music Therapy”
Keynote Speakers: Hans‐Helmut Decker‐Voigt
Place: Kobe, Hyogo
11th JMTA Conference (2011): “Possibility and Future of Music Therapy: From Perspectives of ‘Mind’, ‘Body’, and ‘Society’”
Place: Toyama, Toyama
12th JMTA Conference (2012): “Creativity of Music: Exploring Impacts of Music Therapy”
Place: Miyazaki, Miyazaki
13th JMTA Conference (2013): “Reconsidering the Role of Music Therapy: Through Ties of Individuals and Community”
Keynote Speaker: Shigeaki Hinohara, Hiroki Fujii and Makoto Iwata
Place: Yonago, Tottori
14th JMTA Conference (2014): “Considering the Engagement between Individuals and Music in Clinical Settings: Music Therapy that Values an Individual Quality and Connects the Individual”
Keynote Speakers: Alicia Clair and Amelia Oldfield
Place: Nagoya, Aichi
15th JMTA Conference (2015): “The Identity of Music Therapists: Considering Our Professionalism and Generality”
Keynote Speaker: Helen Odell-Miller, Chiharu Kubo, and Stuart Wood
Place: Sapporo, Hokkaido
16th JMTA Conference (2016): “Let’s Think of the Relationship in Music Therapy ’Here and Now’: Staring at Body & Mind, Others (You), & ‘Me’”
Keynote Speakers: Amy Clements-Cortes and Norio Akasaka
Place: Sendai, Miyagi
17th JMTA Conference (2017): “Moving Forward with Music Therapy: Inspiring the Next Generation”
(※held concurrently with 15th World Congress of Music Therapy)
Place: Tsukuba, Ibaragi
18th JMTA Conference (2018): “Harmony Played by the Individual: A Music Therapist’s Attitude towards the Client”
Keynote Speakers: Kenichiro Mogi
Place: Takamatsu, Kagawa
19th JMTA Conference (2019): “Deepening Research and Clinical Practice: Responding to Diverse Needs”
Keynote Speakers: Etsuko Hoshino
Place: Osaka, Osaka

Please refer to the Table of Contents of the JMTA Journal that are posted on the JMTA website.

We look forward to ongoing collaboration and research which will ensure the future growth of the JMTA, and express our thanks for ongoing personal and information exchanges with those who refer to the website of the JMTA.

Japanese Music Therapy Association
HK Hamamatsu-cho Bldg 6F
1-20-8, Hamamatsu-cho, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 105-0013, Japan
Phone: 81-3-5777-6220
Fax: 81-3-5401-0337

BYLAWS OF THE JAPANESE MUSIC THERAPY ASSOCIATION

Report on Asian Music Therapy Symposium 2009 in Tokyo

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