ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG5 N1706

                  Japan National Activity Report
                   at the WG5 Las Vegas meeting
                     in February 10-15, 2008
                        by TAKATA Masayuki

IPSJ/ITSCJ/SC22/Fortran WG has 8 active members (5 from vendors and 3 
from universities), and monthly meets face to face for one hour, after 
the meetings for Japanese version of Fortran 2003, for which 2 more 
active members are also working.

The translation work, started in April, 2005, is behind the schedule. 
Japanese Fortran 2003 will be published in 2008.

Major topics discussed at the recent meetings are:

(1) Contents of the current revision

Japan abstained from the resolution L5, to discuss more the co-array 
feature in the country.

We came to the conclusion that the co-array feature should be published as
a new Part of the Fortran standard.  Main reasons are as follow:
 - It is designed for a particular architecture.  We couldn't agree that 
   it is useful or even not harmful on other architectures.
 - The architecture or memory model itself, for which co-array can gain 
   efficiency may not survive the current competitive situation.
 - Some people say that the current proposed co-array feature for F2008 
   is not sufficient for their needs.  If we add some more, it is harder 
   to achieve consensus.

The idea of a Type 2 TR was also discussed.  Generally speaking, a TR is 
not translated into Japanese, because we don't have enough human resource.  
The two TRs for Fortran was not, while Part 2 and 3 were translated.  The 
publication of such a TR would be too weak for promoting implementation of 
such a controversial feature.  A governmental procurement, for example, 
cannot refer to a TR, but a standard (Part 4).

(2) C Interop TR

Japan nominated two members, Hiroyuki SATO and Fumitoshi SATO, as primary 
developers, and two, Minoru TANAKA and TAKATA Masayuki, as additional 
reviewers for the development body.

(3) Tokyo meeting in November, 2008

The plan is outlined below:
 - November 16-21, at Kikai Shinko Kaikan, Minato-ku, Tokyo
   (It's just in front of the Tokyo Tower, the most recognizable landmark.)
 - 3 meeting rooms, with wireless access, which can reach the J3 server
 - text/PDF printing and photo copying services
 - coffee breaks and FIDS in the main meeting room
 - group booking at Shiba Park Hotel (a few more hotels are suggested)
 - a dinner and a small city tour sponsored by ITSCJ
 - accompanying persons are also welcome