The Japan Foreign Trade Council, Inc. (JFTC) has started accepting entries for its 12th annual essay competition under the topic of "Searching for a New Initiative in Global Trade and the Role of Japanese Companies."

Founded in 1947, JFTC is one of the nation's most influential business associations and has been sponsoring the essay competition since 2005.

Last year, the council received 174 essays from people representing 37 countries, with the award winners hailing from Australia, the Philippines, and Britain. The competition is open to all and there are no restrictions on age, nationality or occupation.

In addition to the one Grand Prize, there are three Prizes for Excellence. The essay must be less than 4,000 words in English or 10,000 characters in Japanese and the submission deadline is Sept. 9.

The chair judge is Atsushi Nakajima, chairman, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, IAA, and vice chair judges are Kaori Iida, senior editor, Economic News Division, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) and Keiichiro Kobayashi, professor, Faculty of Economics, Keio University.

JFTC consists of the regular members of trading houses as well as associate members of major manufacturers, financial institutions and others.

For further details and to submit an essay for the competition, please visit www.jftc.or.jp/english/discourse