Japan Studies Association of Canada

Spring 2020 Newsletter

SPRING 2020

Dear JSAC Members and Friends,
Welcome to the Spring 2020 JSAC newsletter! It isgreat to read everyone’s exciting news and stories
about work on such a wide range of Japan-related
topics.
We last met at JSAC 2019 at Mt. Allison University
in Sackville, New Brunswick, October 3-6, 2019.
Thanks very much to Owen Griffiths and Tim
Reiffenstein for a great conference and theopportunity to see a little of the surrounding
countryside afterward.
After much thought and discussion, the JSAC Board
has decided to postpone the annual JSAC
conference planned for July in Kamloops to 2021.
The uncertainties and risk surrounding the COVID19 pandemic make a face to face conference in2020 impossible to plan. However, we havedecided to have a smaller online forum in October(see below for more information). This is obviously
a new venture for JSAC but we hope it will allow us
all to keep up to date on research about Japan andto stay in touch with one another. I very muchhope that many of you will participate.

Please stay healthy and well through thesechallenging days. I look forward to seeing you all
online in October and face to face in 2021!
With best wishes,
Carin Holroyd, President, JSAC

Cherry Blossoms Photo by Brian Pendleton

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

Diverging Paths – Photo by Brian Pendleton

Conference in Kamloops Postponed
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference scheduled for July 2020 in Kamloops has been postponed
until 2021 (exact date TBA). Thanks so much to Tom Waldichuk and Cara Cadre for the work they have put inorganizing the conference thus far and for their willingness to host in 2021.

JSAC 2020 Virtual Forum - Online October 17th and 18th 2020
JSAC will be hosting an online virtual forum (through Zoom) October 17th and 18th, 2020. Those who would
like to organize a panel of presentations around a theme or present an individual paper, please contact Norio
Ota at nota@yorku.ca Students are also encouraged to participate. We hope to organize an online happy
hour and maybe a Japanese movie night. The Board would really like to encourage you all to participate aspresenters and/or audience members. We did not want to wait two years for our JSAC group to reunite!

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

JSAC 2019 - 32nd Annual Japan Studies Association Conference (Sackville) Report
Submitted by Owen Griffiths
The 29th annual JSAC conference was held at Mount Allison University from October 3-6, 2019 under theme of“Japan and the Environment: Lessons for the World.” This was only the second time in JSAC’s existence thatthe conference was held in Atlantic Canada and, despite the additional time and distance to Canada’s far east,
the participation was robust and the weather even better.
Over 20 papers were given on subjects ranging from tourism and the impending but now delayed Tokyo
Olympics to technological innovation, environmental impacts of specific industries, and the philosophy andaesthetics of nature. Of particular interest was a rare science presentation reassessing the effects of mercury
poisoning in the infamous Minamata tragedy. The conference was also fortunate to have an excellent group of
keynote speakers from Japan, the United States and Canada whose talks were very well received. Retired
Fisheries Canada official Mikio Moriyasu kicked off the conference on Thursday with a timely presentation on
the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Crab fishery. Jeffery Kingston, Director Asian Studies at Temple University,
Tokyo, followed the next day with a fascinating and informative discussion on the developmental state andthe nuclear village in the wake of 3/11 in Japan. On Saturday, participants were treated to an engaging
presentation on the Greenhouse Effect by Université de Moncton Physicist Jean-Francois Bisson. This wasfollowed by an informative talk about the ongoing challenges women face in the Japanese workplace. Finally,
the Saturday night conference banquet was graced with a stimulating historiographical talk on big trends inJapanese scholarship by Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Professor of History at Northwestern University, andLaura Hein, who is also the General Editor for the soon-to-be released 3-volume Cambridge History of Japan.
Overall the 2019 conference was a great success and many thanks to everyone who made it possible. Special
thanks go to Shimizu-san and the Japan Foundation for their generous and ongoing support of JSAC. Thanks
also to the Centre for Canadian Studies, the Mount Allison University Conference Fund, the departments ofHistory and Geography and Environment, and Ryerson’s Jim Tiessen for their financial support. Thanks also go
to our small group of exceptional volunteers: Eri, Eri, Minaho, Suzuka, and Seena. Finally, thanks to mycolleagues Tim Reiffenstein and Miyako Oe for a great collaborative effort.
And a big thanks to you, Owen!! With great appreciation to you, Tim and Miyako from all your JSAC friends.

Japan Studies Association of Canada

Spring 2020 Newsletter

JSAC 2019 Conference Proceedings:
We are still looking for submissions for the online Conference Proceedings. We have extended the deadline
until June 30, 2020.
Please submit your papers as MSWord files according to the instructions below to ogriffiths@mta.ca.
1. Style: Chicago
2. Times New Roman, 12pt, double-spaced
3. No more than 10,000 words excluding footnotes
4. Please use footnotes not endnotes / no author-date system
6. No Japanese or Chinese characters please unless they are necessary for your argument
7. Please use Modified Hepburn Romanization:
https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/japanese.pdf
8. Any pictures and tables should be cleared copyright before submission
Owen Griffiths, Department of History
Mount Allison University

Welcome to Phillip Lipscy, Director of the Centre for the Study of Global Japan, University ofToronto. Great to have you with us!
Phillip kindly agreed to introduce himself to JSAC.
In 2019, I was appointed as the inaugural director of the Centre for the Study of Global Japan at the Universityof Toronto. My goal is to make our Centre the one of the first places scholars, students, policymakers, and thegeneral public seek out to understand more about contemporary Japan. I look forward to collaborating closelywith the Japan Studies community in Canada and welcoming members of JSAC to our campus.
It is a fascinating time to study Japan. The country has been among the most stable democracies since the endof World War II, but its political system has undergone fundamental shifts. Japanese foreign policymakers face
tough challenges navigating regional and global threats. The Japanese economy faces headwinds like an aging
population, impediments to entrepreneurship, and longstanding concerns about diversity and gender equality.
Aside from being a fascinating country to study on its own terms, Japan offers valuable lessons for othersocieties navigating similar challenges.
Please visit the CSGJ website for information about our activities and future events:
https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/csgj/
A little bit about myself: I spent much of my childhood in Tokyo attending an international school. This
experience – as well as my mixed-race, multicultural background – shaped my early interest in international

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

relations and Japanese politics. I completed my Ph.D. at Harvard University and began my academic career as
faculty at Stanford University. At Stanford, I worked with my colleagues to establish the Japan Program in2011 and developed various initiatives to promote Japan studies. I am co-editor of volumes on the Democratic
Party of Japan, which ruled from 2009-2012, and the Abe government, which has been in power since 2012.
My research also uses Japan as a case study and source of data to examine broader topics in political science,such as the renegotiation of international institutions, the politics of financial crises, and energy and climatechange policy.

York students won big in both regional and national Japanese speech contests.
Submitted by Norio Ota

The 38th Ontario Japanese Speech Contest (OJSC):
Five students took home the following prizes out of 11 in total. Link: Y-File
Beginners’ category: Grand Prize, 3rd Place
Intermediate category: 1st Prize, Special Effort Prize
Open category: Subaru Special Prize
The 31st National Japanese Speech Contest (NJSC): The three York University top prize winners of OJSC
competed in the three categories: Beginners’, Intermediate, and Open as the three of the four representativesof Ontario. Link: Y-File Link: Y-File. They won the following top prizes.
Beginners’ category: 1st Prize
Intermediate category: 1st Prize
Open category: 2nd PrizeJapan Studies Association of Canada

Spring 2020 Newsletter

Prince Takamado Japan Centre: An Update
The PTJC announces a new book. Hiroshima-75: Nuclear Issues in Global Contests (ed., Aya Fujiwara
and David R. Marples, Ibidem Verlag, 2020) is a collection of essays that analyze how human beings have lived
with the atom over the past seventy-five years. It was based on the 2015 conference, held at the Prince
Takamado Japan Centre, University of Alberta. Our society has tried to cope with the idea of the atom, which
has become integral in our society. This volume is a unique product of collaboration between Japanese andCanadian scholars, who conceptualize the power and fear of the atom in history, politics, literature, and films.
As the world reaches the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, this book reexamines how we relate to
the notion of atom. The book is available from Columbia University
Press https://cup.columbia.edu/book/hiroshima-75/9783838213989 or from the PTJC (ptjc@ualberta) at a
discounted price.
The 15th Anniversary of the PTJC and New Awards: Prince Takamado Japan Centre celebrated the 15th
anniversary of its establishment in conjunction with the 90th anniversary of Japan-Canada diplomatic relations
in August 2019, welcoming Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado as a guest speaker. Her lecture
on Netsuke received a large audience and strengthened the ties between our academic communities. To
commemorate this occasion, we decided to establish new travel funds for students who wish to participate inacademic conferences that promote academic exchanges between Japan and Canada from 2021. Although
this is a very difficult time, please look forward to our announcement later this year!

A new dawn, by Brian Pendleton

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

Congratulations to Evan Koike, winner of the America-Japan Society award.
Evan Koike a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia(supervisor: long term JSAC member Dr. Millie Creighton) is shown in the front row middle of this photo (Seebelow) receiving a medal from the America-Japan Society for his research work on Japanese young peoples’
attitudes about modern fathering and masculinity. Evan Koike was also one of the recipients of the Klaus
Pringsheim Graduate Student Paper Prize awarded at the last JSAC annual meetings, held at Mt. Allison
University.

Front row, left to right: Keiko Packard, Committee of Visit and Study Japan Program,
Evan Koike, PhD Candidate at the Department of Anthropology, University of British
Columbia (Supervisor: Millie Creighton), Kazuo Okamoto, Executive Director of theAmerica-Japan Society (AJS)

Back Row: left to right: Nana Yamamoto, America-Japan Society student intern, Toshie
Komatsu, member of the America-Japan Society, Takashi Watanabe, Director of theAmerica Japan Society, Chitoo Bunno, member of the America-Japan Society, Nanaka
Nishimura, America Japan Society student intern.

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

Member NewsDavid Edgington, Emeritus Professor, University of British Columbia
Publications:
Piper Gaubatz and David W. Edgington (2020) `Cities of East Asia', in S.D. Brunn, D.J. Zeigler, M. Hays-Mitchelland J.K. Graybilll (Eds.) Cities of the World: Regional Patterns and Urban Environments, Lanham, Rowman andLittlefield, 447-490.

Kimie Hara, Professor & the Renison Research Professor in East Asian Studies, University of Waterloo
Publications:「主権を自治で相対化する島・オーランド」、 高木彰彦他編、『現代地政学辞典』、丸善出版。（“Aland - Islands that relativize sovereignty in autonomy”, Akihiko Takagi et.al. eds., Modern geopolitical
dictionary, Maruzen Shuppan, January 2020, pp.102-103.
“The “Northern Territories” Problem: Continuing Legacy of the San Francisco System”, Nobuo Shimotomai
and Dmitri Streltsov eds., A History of Russo-Japanese Relations: Over Two Centuries of Cooperation andCompetition, Brill, June 2019, pp.557-576.
Presentations:「東アジア地域秩序変容と日露・日中島問題（Transformation of Regional Order in East Asia and JapanRussia and Japan-China Island Problems）」, the 17th Asia Pacific Conference - Governance in the Asia Pacific:
Politics, Economics, Business and Environment, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Japan, November
30-December 1, 2019.
“Beyond the San Francisco System: Exploring Keys for Fair Settlements & Reconciliation” & Panel Discussion,
Beyond the San Francisco System, the 4th International Conference in Seoul, Koreana Hotel, Seoul, Republic ofKorea, November 8-9, 2019.
“Japan’s Frontier Problems in the Shifting Regional International Dynamics in East Asia,” Japan Studies
Association of Canada, 2019 Annual Conference, Mount Allison University, October 3-6, 2019.
“Regional Orders and Boundary and ocean Issue in East Asia” & a Panel Moderator, the 5th Annual
International symposium on Boundary and Ocean Studies; Boundary and Ocean Studies and International

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, Wuhan University China Institute of Boundary and Ocean
Studies, Wuhan, China, September 21-22, 2019.
“International Social Development and Sea Names”, Panel Discussion, The 25th International Seminar on Sea
names: Educating for Diversity through Geographical Names, Hilton Alexandria Old Town, Virginia, USA, July
28-31, 2019.
“Japan and the West: Back to the Future in East Asia”, The Future of European Union-Japan Relations:
Common Challenges, Common Responses - A colloquium organised by EInstitut français de recherche surl'Asie de l'Est (IFRAE)/ French Institute on East Asian Research and the Europe-Japan Advanced Research
Network (EJARN), INALCO (National Institute of Oriental Studies), Paris, France, June 7-8, 2019
“Senkaku-Sekibisho and Shikotan -Habomai in the 1947 MOFA documents in ROC and Japan”, Shima-kenkyukai Workshop, the House of Representatives Office Building Two, Tokyo, Japan, May 29, 2019.

Photo: Rosoku-jima (Candle Rock) of Okinoshima Islands, Shimane Prefecture.
The sunset lights the rock like a candle. Submitted by Kimie Hara

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

Carin Holroyd, Professor, Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan
In June 2019, I took fifteen students to Japan (Tokyo, Tsukuba, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Takayama) for
two weeks. It was lovely to introduce them to Japan and to see how much they enjoyed everything. There
were a few adventures including one trip to the hospital and one lost rail pass – but overall it was very
successful. Enough time has passed that I have even agreed to take another group in June 2021!

Publications:“East Asia (Japan, South Korea and China) and the Arctic,” in Ken Coates and Carin Holroyd, eds., The Palgrave
Handbook of Arctic Policy and Politics (London: Palgrave, 2020), 319-332.
“Technological Innovation and Building a “super smart” society: Japan’s vision of Society 5.0”, Journal of Asian
Public Policy, 2020
“Building a 21st Century Economy in East Asia” in Politics of the Asia Pacific, edited by Mark Williams,
University of Toronto Press (2020 forthcoming).
East Asia: History, Politics, Economy and Society, Routledge (2020 forthcoming).
I was also fortunate to receive a Japan Foundation short term research fellowship which allowed me to spend
January and February in Tokyo.

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

Fumiko Ikawa-Smith, Professor Emerita, McGill University
Publications:
I continue to provide a one-page segment of an autobiographical essay, entitled カナダで米寿をむかえました to the section called 考古学の履歴書 of the アルカ通信（Aruka Newsletter, a monthly publication of theArchaeological Laboratory located in Komoro City, Nagano Prefecture). My segment appears in every otherissue. In 2019, it was published in No.185, 187, 189, 191,193,195 and 197 (February, April, June, August,October and December issues).
Committee Service:
I completed the last of the four-year term on the Selection Committee for Historically Underrepresented
Groups Scholarships (HUGS), Society for American Archaeology. The scholarship is to increase the chance of
graduate school admission for students with ethnic minority background, with the view to increasing diversity
in the future pool of professional archaeologists.
Presentation: “Changing Perspectives for the Palaeolithic Research of the Japanese Archipelago”, 84 th Annual
meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, April 2019, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Heidi Lam, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, Yale University
Heidi’s first article has been published in the Journal of Intercultural Studies. It has not been assigned yet to ajournal issue, because it is part of a special series titled "Consuming the Past in Contemporary East Asia."
Here is the free e-print link
: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/6C5FMXWZ6ZBSKDZJQTFC/full?target=10.1080/07256868.2020.1751
598

Norio Ota, Professor, York University
Presentations:'Advanced online testing on Moodle', invited by the Teaching and Learning Committee for the second Brown
Bag Lunch lecture, DLLL, York University, February 26, 2020.
“Language use in the post-truthism and populism environments: A case study of ‘Society 5.0’’, JSAC2019 Annual
Conference, Mt. Alison University, Sackville, NB, Oct. 3 – 6, 2019
Event coordination:

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

Hosted the 2019 Japanese Language Proficiency Test at York University on behalf of the Japan Foundation,
December 1, 2019
Hosted the annual 2020 Academic Week, Japanese & Korean Studies, York University, January 27-31, 2020.
Administrative activity:
Coordinator, Japanese Section (2019-20)
Hosted the Rakugo event inviting three performers in rakugo, paper cutting and juggling from Japan, November
8, 2019.
Visited six Japanese universities affiliated with York University – Meiji, Waseda, Keio, Dokkyo, Aoyama-Gakuin
and Hitotsubashi, representing York University, December 2019.
Travelling:
Kamakura, Japan (April, June-August, December 2019)
Algarve, Portugal (May – June 2019)
Taiwan (December 2019)
On a personal note, Norio enjoyed many hot springs in Japan and Taiwan.

Brian Pendleton (Professor Emeritus, Asian Studies, Langara College)
August 2019 – served as analyst and guest commentator for the annual tour of eight, private residential gardens
built and maintained by the Vancouver Japanese Gardeners Association (VJGA).
February 2020 – served as a member of the interview team at the Japanese Consulate (Vancouver) for students
applying for the JET teaching and exchange program.
Ongoing in 2020 – preparing a paper for pending conference in San Diego: “The Gardens of (and for) Koizumi
Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn): From Matsue, Shimane to New Orleans, Louisiana to Tramore, Ireland.”Ongoing: Continuing to serve as Secretary to the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA)
Executive Committee and Editor of the NAJGA Journal which is published yearly. NAJGA membership includes
individuals, public and private gardens numbering over 300 in Canada and the United States, and leading membersof the international gardening community.
Ongoing in 2020 – research on the (pending) Tokyo Olympics … not sure what direction and focus will prevail:“Games will be held, postponed, cancelled or …?”

Japan Studies Association of Canada

Spring 2020 Newsletter

Chris G. Pope, Assistant Professor, Kyoto Women’s University
The last academic year has been eventful to say the least. On the publishing front, I have written an article on
Japan and North Korea for the Conversation, co-authored a chapter for the upcoming Oxford Handbook on
Translation and Social Practices entitled, “Political Translation and the Sustainable Development Goals,” wrote
two articles on the International Political Economy, one for my university’s journal and another for a
Proceedings Annals with the Japan Political Science Organization.
I submitted two articles on the changing boundaries of governance in Japan to two separate international
journals. However, with the health pandemic seemingly unrelenting, the peer review process will
understandably take some time. While three exciting conferences had to be cancelled due to the spread of
COVID-19, I became a father to my second child, an extremely cute and active little girl called Emma, thisMarch.
At the moment, my colleagues at Kyoto Women’s University and I are in the throes of figuring out how toadapt our lessons to an online format for our students as a countermeasure to COVID-19 and enjoying all the
comforts and challenges with working from home. I am waiting on news for funding for a project on Japan and
China, and I am thinking about whether or not this is the time to start turning my thesis into a book!
I am excited about meeting everyone at JSAC when the time comes. It is possible that the next year toeighteen months might be a little uncertain due to the current pandemic. Until things clear up, I wish
everyone and their loved ones the best of health. Looking forward to meeting when the time is right for all ofus.
Publications:Pope, Chris G. (May 14, 2019), ‘Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize? Japan’s nomination is part of a strategicplan,’ The Conversation, US. Available online at: https://theconversation.com/trump-for-the-nobel-peaceprize-japans-nomination-is-part-of-a-strategic-plan-114484
Pope, Chris G., Meng Ji, & Xuemei Bai (forthcoming), ‘Political translation and the sustainable development
goals,’ in Oxford Handbook of Translation and Social Practices. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pope, Chris G. (2020), ‘Global System Collapse and a new Post-Recession Settlement,’ Kyoto Joshi Daigaku
Gendai Shakai Kenkyuka Ronshu, 14. (Published but not online yet. Will appear here: http://repo.kyotowu.ac.jp/dspace/handle/11173/53)
Pope, Chris G. (forthcoming), ‘Constructing a new world order: The case for a post-crisis international
settlement,’ to appear in Proceeding Annals for Japan Political Science Association by Professor Kumiko Haba
of Aoyama University shortly.
Pope, Chris G. (submitted). “Depoliticization and the changing boundaries of governance in Japan.”Japan Studies Association of Canada

Spring 2020 Newsletter

Pope, Chris G. (submitted). “Depoliticization and the rise of authoritarianism in Japan: Assessing prime
minister Abe’s administration.”

Stephen Nagy, Senior Associate Professor, International Christian University
Publications:2020 Nagy, S.R. 2020. “Maritime Cooperation between Middle Powers in the Indo-Pacific:
Aligning Interests with Capability and Capacity,” in Maritime Issues in the Indo-Pacific: Building a Shared Visionof ‘Free and Open.’ Issues & Insights, Pacific Forum. March, 2020. Pp. 3-8.
2020 Nagy. S.R. 2020. “THE FALL OF THE GODS. Japan needs a new Raison D'etre/ LA CADUTA DEGLI DEI. AL
GIAPPONE SERVE UNA NUOVA EPICA,” in the Italian Review of Geopolitics. Vol. 2. Pp. 117-122.
2020 Nagy, S.R. 2020. “A New Model of Major Power Relations and Sources of Insecurity in the
Region:Third Country Perspectives,” in Chinese International Relations Theory: As Emerging from Practice and Policy.
Jonathan Ping and Brett McCormick. (Eds.) Routledge. U.K.
2020 Nagy, S.R. 2020. “Canada Asia-Pacific Relations: Transforming into a Middle Power Ind Pacific
Stakeholder,” in The Palgrave Handbook in Canada in International Affairs. Paul Gecelovsky and Robert W.
Murray. (Eds.). Palgrave, U.K.
2019 Nagy, S.R. 2019. “Coming in from the Cold? Canada’s Indo-Pacific Possibilities & Conundrum,” inStrategies in the Indo-Pacific: Perception of the US and it’s Like-minded Countries. Hudson Institute, Washington
D.C.(November2019).
Pp.
6067. (https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.hudson.org/Nagao_Strategies%20for%20the%20Indo Pacific.pdf)
2019 Nagy, S.R. “Japan turns its maritime power to the sea,” in The Italian Geopolitical Review (LIMES). Vol. 8.
Conference Papers, Invited Lectures and Workshops
2020 “FREE AND OPEN INDO PACIFIC VISION: THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES,”at the European
Chamber of Commerce, Hanoi. Vietnam. February 14th, 2020. (Invited)2019 “Evolving Asian Regionalism:(s) Security competition and visions of Asia Regionalism,” atKorean International Studies Association. December 13th, 2019. (By invitation)

Japan Studies Association of Canada

Spring 2020 Newsletter2019 “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP): Enhancing Middle Power Cooperation & Coordination,” at Free andOpen Indo-Pacific (FOIP): Enhancing Middle Power Cooperation & Coordination Symposium. CanadianEmbassy Tokyo. December 9th, 2019. (Speaker and organizer)
2019 " Middle Powers and the Free and Open Indo- Pacific Region: Investigating Japanese and Australianhedging and balancing strategies," at 17th Asia Conference (2019 AP Conference), November 30th-December
1st, 2019.
2019 “Middle Powers Priorities in the Indo-Pacific: Evolving Middle Power Alignment,” at Maritime
Issues in the Indo-Pacific: Building a Shared Vision of ‘Free and Open. November 21-22, 2019. Center for Rulemaking Strategies, Tama University Shinagawa Satellite Campus.
2019 “The United States-Japan agreement: A wake-up call for Canada's trade ambitions in Asia,”
Policy Session, Canada West Foundation, Calgary, Canada. October 31st, 2019.
2019 “Middle Power coordination in the traditional and digital economy in the Asia-Pacific:
Canadian Opportunities,” International PECC Symposium. Co-sponsored by French Pacific Territories Pacific
Economic Cooperation Committee (FPTPEC), in cooperation with the Canadian National Committee on Pacific
Economic," Cooperation (CANCPEC) in Vancouver, BC. October 28-30, 2019. (Invited)2019 “Middle Power Alignment in the Indo-Pacific?: Towards a new rules-based order,” at Between
Scyllaand Charybdis: Is there a Middle Path for Middle Powers in the Indo-Pacific Region? Co-sponsored by the U. S.
Naval War College and the East Asia Security Centre, Bond University, October 3-5th, 2019. (Invited)2019 “Middle Power Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific: German-Japan Cooperation,” for theGerman Japanese Young Leaders Forum 2019. International House, Tokyo. September 11th, 2019.
2019 “Japanese-based perspective on Canada's opportunities in the world's third largest economy and what
the west needs to do to realize these opportunities,” Policy Session, Canada West Foundation, Calgary,
Canada. August 8th, 2019.
2019 "Chinese Foreign Policy in an Era of Geo-technology Rivalry: Beyond the Trade War and Hua Wei,” atCanadian Global Affairs Institute, Calgary, Canada. July 25th, 2019.
2019 “Converging interests of Middle Powers in the Indo-Pacific,” Macdonald Laurier Institute,
Canada. July 23rd, 2019

Ottawa,Japan Studies Association of Canada

Spring 2020 Newsletter2019 “Japan’s political situation, post-election predictions,” at Canada-Japan Society of British Colombia,
Canada. July 17th, 20192019 “Converging and Diverging Interest in the Indo-Pacific: Balancing National Interests in an Era of GreatPower Rivalry” at Indo-Pacific Working Group, Canadian International Council's Vancouver Branch July 20192019 “Canada and Middle Power Diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific,” Asia-Pacific Foundation. Vancouver, Canada.
July 15th, 2019.
Authored editorials, commentary (Abbreviated)
Nagy, S.R. 2020. “Crisis Exposes Institution Problems,” in The Japan Times. March 13th, 2020.
(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/03/12/commentary/world-commentary/crisis-exposeschinasinstitutional-problems/#.XmoyWiWRXDs)
Nagy, S.R. 2020. “Xi Jinping’s Coronavirus Crucible,” in The Japan Times. February 27th. 2020.
(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/02/27/commentary/world-commentary/xi-jinpingscoronavirus-crucible/)Nagy, S.R. 2020. “Ties that bind: Huawei and the Chinese Party State,” in the Geopolitical Monitor. February
14th, 2020. (https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/ties-that-bind-huawei-and-the-chinese-partystate)
Nagy, S.R. 2020. “Outbreak offers chance to boost cooperation,” in The Japan Times. February
13th,2020.(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/02/13/commentary/japancommentary/outbreakoffers-chance-boost-cooperation/#.XkXs0mj7Qox)
Nagy, S.R. 2020. “"Japan-China ties, according to Beijing," in The Japan Times. January 17th, 2020.
(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/01/16/commentary/japan-commentary/japan-chinatiesaccording-beijing/#.XmwqQKj7Qow)
Nagy, S.R. 2019. “Japan's year that could have been,” in The Japan Times. December 27th, 2019.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/12/26/commentary/japan-commentary/japans-year- thatcouldhave-been/)
Nagy, S.R. 2019. “Middle Powers in the Indo-Pacific: Evolving Alignment,” in The Ambassador’s
Brief. December 14th. 2019.
(https://www.ambassadorsbrief.com/posts/KyAADF9w7p6Zaapys?escaped_fragment=)
Nagy, S.R. 2019. “Shifting into the era of the “Indo-Pacific,” in The Japan Times. December 12th,
2019. (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/12/12/commentary/japan-commentary/shifting-eraindopacific/)
Nagy, S.R. 2019. “中日的暖风能吹来东亚新秩序吗？”in MinZhi DC ThinkTank. November 26th,
2019. (https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/13czt8n5ZMa_30yFnVTeVw)
Nagy, S.R. 2019. “Sino-Japanese relations – five years of bickering: Superficial rapprochement masks lingering
structural issues,” in the Asia and Pacific Policy Society, Policy Forum. November 22nd,
2019. (https://www.policyforum.net/sino-japanese-relations-five-years-of-bickering/)
Nagy, S.R. 2019. “Hong Kong Protests: Echoes of Tiananmen Square,” in Geopolitical Monitor. August
30th, 2019. (https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/hong-kong-protests-echoes-of-tiananmen-square/)Japan Studies Association of Canada

Spring 2020 Newsletter

Nagy, S.R. 2019. “Japan's Indo-Pacific dream or nightmare?,” in The Japan Times. August 22nd, 2019.
(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/08/22/commentary/japan-commentary/japans-indopacificdream-nightmare/)
Nagy, S.R. 2019. “Hong Kong and geopolitical Jenga,” in Asia & the Pacific Policy Society, Policy Forum. August
19th, 2019. ( https://www.policyforum.net/hong-kong-and-geopolitical-jenga/)
Nagy, S.R. 2019. “The Never-ending China-U.S. Trade War: Domestic and International Politics Narrowing
Strategic Choices,” in China-US Focus. June 25th, 2019.
(https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/the-never-ending-china-us-trade-war-domesticandinternational-politics-narrowing-strategic-choices)Nagy, S.R. 2019. "A chance to showcase Japan's leadership," in The Japan Times. June 20th, 2019.
(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/06/20/commentary/japan-commentary/chanceshowcasejapans-leadership/#.XQwoEoj7Qow)
Bill Sewell, Professor, Saint Mary’s University
Publications:
Constructing Empire: The Japanese in Changchun, 1905-45 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2019)“Missions to Manchuria,” Canadian Journal of History 54:1-2 (Spring/Summer 2019): 84-110“East Asian Treaty Ports as Zones of Encounter,” Journal of Urban History 45:6 (November 2019): 1315-1325
Scott Simon, École d’études sociologiques et anthropologiques, Université d'Ottawa. Here are two photos ofdrongos that I took on Guåhan (CHamoru for Guam). Beginning in January, I was doing research with theCHamoru people and teaching a class on Cultural Ecology at the University of Guam (UOG), beginning inJanuary. I found it interesting to see how CHamoru memory of Japanese colonialism (in the Mariana Islands)
and of war-time occupation (Guåhan) is still present in many ways, and not just in official war memorials. Oneof the most interesting ones is about this bird, which the CHamoru call såli Taiwan. Såli was already their word
for the similar-sized, and also black, Micronesian starling. The Japanese, who administered both Taiwan andmost of Micronesia at the time, intentionally brought the drongo from Taiwan to Rota in the Mariana Islands,
hoping that the bird would eat the insects that were destroying crops on their sugar plantations. Not only did
the drongo thrive on Rota, it also spread to neighbouring islands, including Guåhan. Japanese administration
thus created a very lasting tie between Taiwan and Micronesia.

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Scott left Guam on March 17 on the China Airlines flight to Taipei; andwent into quarantine for 14 days. He is still in Taiwan, waiting to return to Canada when it is safe to travel.
X. Jie Yang, Professor, University of Calgary
Publications:
デジタル古典研究に挑む――動画・音声・画像・その他
Classical Studies in the Digital Era: Motion Pictures, Sound and Images
中国21 (China 21), Vol.51, December 2019, pp. 99-114
Classical Japanese in 5 Minutes, 2019-03-23
https://sites.google.com/view/cj5m* 29 short lectures on the basic of classical Japanese.
劇動く花押 Moving-KAO, 2019-07-27
https://sites.google.com/view/testpageyang/MovingKao* GIF pictures showing how KAO, a personal signature was written.
復讐する男と女の物語 - Tale of Revenge: A Real Heroine 2019-11-16
Kindle Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0817V3QLH Kindle Japan:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0817V3QLH* An Edo graphic novel with a translation in modern Japanese.
注釈絵で読む「徒然草」Reading "Essays in Idleness" with Edo's Pictorial Commentary
https://www.facebook.com/chushakue/ * An on-going project, briefly releasing 2 sections each week.
Old Japan Redux, Vol. 5 2019-02 Edited by X. Jie Yang
https://news.ucalgary.ca/news/old-japan-redux-volume-5* Selected creative works from term papers submitted to a credit course, "Topics in Japanese Civilization", fall
2018.

Noriko Yabuki-Soh, Associate Professor, York University
Book review:Noun-Modifying Clause Constructions in Languages of Eurasia: Rethinking theoretical and geographicalboundaries, by Yoshiko Matsumoto, Bernard Comrie, and Peter Sells (Eds.). Journal of Japanese Linguistics 35,
271-283.
Presentations:
An analysis of “role language” in the changing environment of Japanese popular culture. Paper presented at
the annual conference of the Japan Studies Association of Canada (JSAC 2019), Mount Allison University,
Sackville, Canada, October 3-6, 2019.
JFL learners’ interpretation of the language of manga: Investigating role language and visual vocabulary.
American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ 2020) Spring Conference, Boston, USA. [Paper not
delivered in person but published online after conference was cancelled due to COVID-19 epidemic crisis in
March 2020.]

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

日本語教師としての「日本語文法」再考―学習者の学びを効果的に促進するために― [Rethinking“Japanese grammar”: The role of Japanese language instructors in enhancing learner proficiency]. Online
Lecture for Japanese Language Teachers administered by Japan Foundation Toronto, Canada, September 18,
2019.
第二言語としての日本語―学習者の視点から見た場合― [Japanese as a second language: As seen fromlearners’ viewpoints]. Talk given at the Nisshu Gakuin Saturday Japanese School, Toronto, Canada, March 7,
2020.
Manuscript reviewing:
Feb 2020 – Present: 『第二言語としての日本語の習得研究』 [Acquisition of Japanese as a Second
Language]
Community service:
Member of the Organizing Committee for the 38th Ontario Japanese Speech Contest, University of Toronto,
February 29, 2020.
Member of the Organizing Committee for the 31st Canada National Japanese Speech Contest (Online), March
29, 2020.

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Spring 2020 Newsletter

The Emperor’s Birthday Celebration hosted by the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver

On January 29, 2020 the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver, Takashi Hatori and his wife Yuju Yoon
hosted an event at the Fairmont Waterfront Ballroom of Canada Place. Among the invited guests were longterm JSAC members, Dr. Millie Creighton and Dr. David Edgington, along with several others involved inacademic studies of Japan. This photo shows Japan focused researchers, etc. invited from the University of
British Columbia.
Back Row (standing), left to right: David Edgington, Faculty in Department of Geography, Kyung-Ae Park,
Faculty in School of Public Policy, Santa Ono, President of the University of British Columbia (UBC), Millie
Creighton, Faculty in Department of Anthropology, Takashi Hatori, Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver,Gage Averill, Dean of Arts at UBC, Julie Walchi, Work Educated Learning, Shirin Eshghi, Japan Librarian, Aki
Furuzawa, spouse of Shirin Eshghi, Fuyubi Nakamura, Curator, Museum of Anthropology. Front Row (thosekneeling or sitting) left to right: Christina Laffin, Faculty in Department of Asian Studies, Wendy Yip, UBC
Ambassador and Spouse of President Ono, Yuju Yoon, Wife of Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver, Mari
Fujita, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Ignacio Adriasola, Faculty in Department of Art
History, Visual Art and Theory. (Submitted by Millie Creighton)

Japan Studies Association of Canada

Spring 2020 Newsletter

Many thanks to outgoing Board members: David Edgington, David Welch andShige Matsui! We are so grateful for all your hard work on behalf of JSAC!!

JSAC EXECUTIVE, 2020-2021
President (2016-2019; 2019 - 2022):
Prof. Carin Holroyd
Department of Political Studies
University of Saskatchewan
9 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada

Tel: 1-306-966-5506
Fax: 1-306-966-5250
E-mail: carin.holroyd@usask.ca

Secretary-Treasurer (2012-2016; 2016-2020;
2020-2024)
Prof. Norio Ota
Department of Languages, Literaturesand Linguistics
York University, 4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON, Canada M3J 1P3Phone: (416)736-2100 ext. 88750
Fax: (416)736-5483
E-mail: nota@yorku.ca

Regular Executive Members:
Prof. Thomas Waldichuk (2014-) Department of Geography & Environmental Studies Thompson Rivers
University 900 McGill Road Kamloops, BC, Canada V2C 0C8 Tel. 1-250-371-5718 E-mail:twaldichuk@tru.ca
Professor Jim Tiessen (2014-) Ted Rogers School of Management Ryerson University 350 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON M5B 2K3 E-mail: jhtiessen@ryerson.ca
Professor Aya Fujiwara (2018-) Director, Prince Takamado Japan Centre for Teaching and Research Faculty ofArts - History & Classics, University of Alberta. Email: fujiwara@ualberta.ca
Professor Owen Griffiths, (2019 - )Department of History, Mt. Alison University. Email: ogriffiths@mta.ca