Blocks & Chapters
JAFP has 50 chapters and 8 blocks across the country, and those blocks govern regional chapters collaborating
with JAFP headquarter. Each chapter is managed by their own chapter leader
and officers, and each block is managed by the regional chapter leaders.
All officers in chapters and blocks are volunteers. We hold Leadership
Conferences once a year for those chapter leaders to share methods and
the issues of all chapters' activities and discuss for further growth.
The main role of chapters is to: 1) promote financial planning and enlighten
consumers through Pro Bono activities (free consultations and seminars)
to the general public; 2) provide CE programs to members; and 3)
lead and supervise Study Groups (SG). All JAFP members, whether with certifications
or in the general category, are automatically assigned to a chapter nearest
where they reside, and members voluntarily attend seminars and Pro Bono
activities of their chapter.
To Promote Financial Planning and Enlighten Consumers through Pro Bono
activities to the general public
| The activities that local chapters provide, to educate and promote financial
planning, and enlighten consumers, is the core of JAFP's Pro Bono activities.
The first Pro Bono activity was offered back in 1995 to assist the victims
of the Kobe earthquake through free-consultation. Many volunteer members
from all over the country came to participate in this event having local
members as the main coordinators. Since then, not only to assist natural
disaster victims, but also through JAFP's "FP Forum" which consists
of free consultations and seminars, Pro Bono works have been offered at
various locations throughout Japan. The completion of establishing chapters
in each prefecture was an opportunity to organize Pro Bono activities at
the chapter level. After establishing "FP Day", the FP
Forum developed into a major annual event supported in one lump by the
Financial Services Agency. These activities to promote financial planning
and enlighten the public through individual chapters cover the entire country. |
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To Provide CE Programs to Members
| The other chapter's role is to provide Continuing Education to our members.
Members with certification must meet CE requirement in order to renew the
certification. CE credits can be obtained by taking courses offered by
registered educational institutions, by participating in the JAFP annual
conference, and by taking JAFP on-line CE examination. Also, each chapter
provides seminars about ethics and other topics that address specific local
needs which can not be covered at the annual conference. In addition, members can obtain CE credit through Study Group (SG) which
is led and managed by individual chapters. |
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Study Group (ＳＧ)
SG is mainly formed by CFP® certificants, other members and non-members who are interested in financial planning
in the region. SG is approved by JAFP to hold periodic financial planning-related
study sessions continuously. There are currently 200 active SGs across
the country. SGs provide up-dated knowledge and skills that are essential
for financial planners to best serve clients in a competent manner, and
to provide networking opportunities with other professionals. Members are
able to obtain required CE credits through SG. In the beginning, SG was
formed by CFP® certificants, core members, in 1995 prior to the establishment of chapters. However,
at the time of JAFP becoming a non-profit entity in 2001, we approved only
those SGs that were providing a study session, information sharing, discussions,
and networking opportunities. SG belongs to the chapter where the SG takes
place, and the chapter supervises the SG activities.
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