The LSPA is officially registered as a public interest corporation [ja] (公益社団法人 (Kōeki Shadan Hōjin)) under Japanese law and has been as such since July 1, 2012.
[1][a] Prior to that, the LSPA had been officially registered first as a limited liability intermediary corporation from its founding until November 30, 2008, and then as a general incorporated association [ja] from December 1, 2008, until June 30, 2012.
[13][22] On March 8, 2006, two members of the LPPG, Nakai and Sachio Ishibashi, met with then-JSA president Kunio Yonenaga to unofficially discuss issues related to the status of women's professionals, including a request that the JSA reconsider its position on matters such as salaries and benefits, insurance, and membership in the Professional Shogi Players Group [ja].
[24] The LPPG held its annual general meeting in June 2006, where it established a committee to examine the future of women's professional shogi within the JSA but would at the same time consider other options such as independence.
[24] On November 7, 2006, the LPPG leadership sent out a letter to all of its members announcing that a special meeting would be held in December to discuss the future of women's professional shogi.
[26] On December 1, 2006, the LPPG held another special meeting where Fujimori put forth a motion regarding whether the association should seek corporate status as an independent organization, and the membership voted in favor of the motion and created a New Corporation Establishment Preparatory Committee (新法人設立準備委員会, Shinhōjin Setsuritsu Junbi Iinkai) (NCEPC) to begin examining the feasibility of forming their own organization.
[25][27][28][f] A brief statement about the meeting was posted the by the public relations department of the JSA on the association's official website later that same day, which included a comment given by Japan Shogi Association senior managing director Nishimura stating that the JSA had been informed of the outcome of the meeting, would respond to it in good faith and would work with the LPPG and other concerned parties in comprehensively reviewing the situation.
The NCEPC stated that their goal was to try and raise 100 million Japanese yen in financial support and requested that the JSA grant them permission to do so.
According to an April 2007 article published in the Nishinippon Shimbun, it was at this meeting that the JSA position on the matter of women's professional becoming independent changed and hardened in favor of trying to discourage it.
The article stated that one of the reasons the JSA, in particular its president Yonenaga, had initially been in favor and even seemed to encourage women to become independent was because of financial concerns the association was facing at the time and the general cost of supporting women's professionals; however, when the JSA heard that the NCEPC wanted to raise JPY 100 million, they became concerned that this would impact the association's ability to raise funds for its own activities.
The board felt that not much progress was being made and the disagreement among women's professionals over becoming independent had created a state of uncertainty that might impact its operations as well as its relationship with fans and sponsors.
So, the board approved the sending letters to all 55 women's professionals requesting that they officially state whether they were in favor of remaining part of the JSA or becoming independent.
[30] The NCEPC felt that this represented a hardening of the JSA's position that placed unnecessary pressure on women's professionals and further exacerbated the differences in opinion on the matter.
The meeting discussed the letter the JSA had sent out to all women's professionals asking them to officially clarify whether they wanted to remain part of the association.
They stated this caused some women's professionals to lose trust in the NCEPC and asked that any attempts to become independent be dropped and that a new discussion be started on the matter.
A joint statement signed by the JSA and LPSA presidents listed five points that the two organizations agreed upon, one of which was the establishment of a liaison committee made up of two members of the JSA, two members of the LPSA, one uninvolved third party observer and one secretary where issues between the two organizations could be discussed in good faith to try and stop them from becoming serious problems.
[48] On June 2, 2014, the JSA and LPSA both announced on their official websites that they had been discussing ways to improve their relationship and resolve any outstanding issues that still existed between the two.
A video presentation shown during the party featured congratulatory messages from various JSA shogi professionals (including the reigning Meijin Amahiko Satō) as well as other LPSA supporters.
In a December 2022 article in the Chunichi Shimbun, representative director Nakakura stated that "business operations had finally stabilized and that she wanted the LPSA to continue working on changing shogi's image as being a game for only males to play".
She also commented that even though the number of LPSA members has not changed in 15 years, the association has been able to increase its promotional activities, particularly outside of major metropolitan areas, by constantly trying new ideas and sponsoring various regional events.
The smaller green ovals get larger the further they are from the yellow circle and this represents the hope that the association will continue to reach upwards and develop over time.