CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Japan-U.S. Communication Association Call for NCA Conference Submissions

The Japan-U.S. Communication Association (JUCA) invites submissions for competitive review for the 112th NCA Annual Convention (November 19–22, 2026, in New Orleans, Louisiana). Submitted work may address issues in any area of communication, including communication technology, social media, pop culture, journalism and mass communication, interpersonal/ small-group/organizational communication, rhetoric, politics, health, peace, gender, and critical/cultural studies. All methods are welcome. However, they must be related to Japan or Japanese people/culture in some way, such as Japanese indigenous communication, Japan–U.S. communication or relations, and communication between Japanese and people of any nation, not just the United States. We encourage submitters to embrace the 2026 convention theme, “MOVE/MENTS in Communication,” in their work.

JUCA will accept individual papers and panel discussions. All submissions must be made via NCA Convention Central. Emailed submissions will not be accepted.

1. Individual Papers

Submissions must not exceed a maximum of 30 double-spaced pages of text, including the title page, abstract, keywords, tables, figures, and references. The paper must be uploaded as a supporting file. Self-identifying information must be removed from the uploaded file to ensure a fair blind-review process. In particular, the title page must not include any self-identifying information. Please be sure to also eliminate other references to your coursework or institution before uploading your paper. Instructions on how to prepare an unidentifiable copy are provided in the Convention Library. AV request must be made at the time of submission.

We encourage submissions of complete papers, but we will also review extended abstracts of works in progress. An extended abstract ideally includes all components of a research paper except for results and discussion/conclusion, or the equivalent degree of completion for qualitative or critical scholarly works. Authors whose extended abstracts are accepted by JUCA must complete their papers and submit them by October 19, 2026, to Koji Fuse and the respondent assigned to their competitive paper session.

Students and debut scholars are especially encouraged to submit their work. A student paper means that all authors of the paper are students. If your work is a student paper, check the appropriate box.

Awards will be presented to the best student paper (with monetary award), as well as to the top paper, but only complete paper submissions will be eligible for the awards.

Submitters interested in being considered for a Scholar to Scholar poster session should indicate their interest in the electronic submission form.

2. Panel Discussions

Submissions must include a panel title, session description, list of all panelists and session chair, list of co-sponsors, and rationale to delineate the importance of the submission. No papers are presented as part of a panel discussion.

The supporting file must include the following information: (a) panel title; (b) brief description of the panel; (c) list of all panelists and proposed chair, and their contact information; (d) list of co-sponsors; (e) detailed rationale for the panel (about 1,000 words) that includes a reference list; and (f) confirmation that all the participants will attend the panel if accepted.

AV requests must be made at the time of submission.

Please keep in mind that because JUCA’s session planning gives a strong preference to individual papers over panel discussions, those who consider submitting a panel discussion proposal must contact Koji Fuse or Jiro Takai before their submissions.

Acceptance requires paper authors and panel participants to join JUCA and register for the NCA convention and present their work at a JUCA unless an emergency arises. Membership to JUCA is free of charge. The JUCA membership application form is available here Japan-U.S. Communication Association. Click on “Join JUCA” on the menu of the website. It is the responsibility of authors of accepted papers to find a replacement to present their paper if they are unable to attend the convention. Unless the corresponding authors of accepted submissions respond to the JUCA planner’s email by Wednesday, August 8, to express their willingness to present their work in a JUCA session, we will assume their nonappearance and thus will delete their names from the NCA program.

All submitters are encouraged to review the Professional Standards for Convention Participants prior to submission. Helpful resources, including live and recorded step-by-step instructions on how to submit, are available in the Convention Resource Library. Keep in mind that your manuscript must be original and unpublished. In other words, you must not submit the same paper to another conference or NCA division, a paper you already presented before at any other scholarly conference, or a paper already published or accepted for publication.

The submission deadline is Monday, March 25, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PDT (Pacific Daylight Time). For any questions regarding the JUCA programming, please contact:

Koji Fuse, University of North Texas

Email: Koji.Fuse@unt.edu

OR

Jiro Takai,Nagoya University

Email: jtakai@cc.nagoya-u.ac.jp