NEWSLETTER
Issue 165 – February 2023

News from CLAIR Sydney
25MARC O N T E N T S
News from CLAIR Sydney

Perth Japan Festival 2023

- Perth Japan Festival 2023
- School Exchange Opportunities

Perth Japanese Festival to be held for the first time in two years

Farewell Message from Carol
Welcome Message from Yuna

On Saturday 25th of March, the Perth Japan Festival will be held

CLAIR Sydney January Activity

for the first time in two years at Supreme Court Garden.

Reports

We will be there to introduce Japanese tourist attractions andFrom the Executive Director

hand out Japanese brochures and goods to visitors. We hope thatmany people will come and enjoy the event. We hope to see you
all there!
More information about the event can be found at the following link.
Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/JapanFestivalPerth/

Perth Japan Festival 2020

Perth Japan Festival 2019

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School Exchange Opportunities

To support cultural exchange between schools in Japan andAustralia/New Zealand, CLAIR Sydney has a dedicated page on ourwebsite that lists schools in Japan that are interested in initiating
cultural exchange with schools in Australia/New Zealand.
Please click on the link or scan the QR code below for moreinformation on the respective schools.
Should you be interested in a particular school, please get in touchwith them!

http://www.jlgc.org.au/internationalexchange-2/sister-schoolexchange/australia-%E3%83%BBnew-zealand/

Farewell Message from CarolAs the title of this article entails, it is my time to bow
out after five years as a Research and Liaison Officer at
CLAIR Sydney. After farewelling over two dozen staff
members over the years, words cannot express thepeculiar feelings running through my mind over thepast weeks as I count down to my last day working inthis office.
Reflecting on my time at CLAIR Sydney, I am humbled
by all the different experiences I was able to have overthe years. In the past five years, I was immersed in

Carol Cheng

different aspects of Japanese culture while putting mySenior Research and Liaison Officer

language skills and knowledge and experiences inJapan to use. I had never imagined that I would be able

to mingle and work with leaders, community contributors and subject matter experts across different areas here inAustralia while living and breathing Japan.

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Though there are countless unforgettable memories over the past
five years, one stands out remarkably. In August 2019, I was asked
by the City of Hamamatsu to assist during the Hamamatsu
Mayor’s inbound tourism promotion trip in Sydney. Hamamatsu
was where I worked in Japan as a JET participant for three-and-ahalf years so it was surreal being able to have a full-circle momentin which I was once again working with the Mayor of Hamamatsu
and other city staff to promote Hamamatsu. The only difference
was, instead of working with them in Japan as a “guest” from aforeign country, I was the “local” guiding them around Sydney.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful representatives and organisations that I worked withover the years for their warm support and friendship, in particular, the members of the Sydney-Nagoya Sister CityCommittee. I would also like to thank the three Executive Directors,
three Deputy Executive Directors and 30 Assistant Directors, Researchand Liaison Officers and Office Administrators I worked alongside overthe past five years for their support, guidance and friendship.
I am pleased that I am leaving CLAIR Sydney in the very capable handsof my successor Ms Yuna Saito and I wish Yuna and the team at CLAIR
Sydney all the best for their future endeavours in Sydney and back inJapan.

Welcome Message from Yuna
Hello, my name is Yuna and I am the new Research and Liaison Officer
at CLAIR Sydney. I have recently graduated with a Master of Translation
for Japanese and English at UNSW.
My parents are Japanese but I was born and raised in Australia. Growing
up I was surrounded by both Japanese and Australian culture so it has
always been my career goal to be able to bridge these two cultures
together.
In my role at CLAIR I will be able to accomplish that so I am very grateful.
I started the role in January and it has only been a month but I havealready gained many new skills and knowledge.
I look forward to working on further deepening the relationshipbetween Japan and Australia with the team at CLAIR.

Yuna Saito
New Research and Liaison OfficerPage 3

CLAIR Sydney January Activity Report
Supporting Activity for Sannohe Town in Aomori Prefecture
On Tuesday, 24 January, Mayor Matsuo of Sannohe Town, Aomori Prefecture and members of the Sannohe Town
International Exchange Promotion Committee travelled to Australia to visit Tamworth, which the town has a sister city
relationship with.
They also dropped by the CLAIR Sydney Office and CLAIR provided an overview of Australia and exchanged our views.
Sannohe Town and Tamworth used to visit each other regularly and are hoping to resume their visits after the pandemic.
The CLAIR Sydney Office will continue to support the sister city relationship between Sannohe Town and Tamworth.

From the Executive Director
Farewell and Thank you to Carol
Unfortunately, we are saying goodbye to our colleague Carol as it is the end of her term. On behalf of all of us including
former staff members at CLAIR Sydney, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to her.
She had supported our activities as a Research and Liaison Officer for 5 years. Bringing her experience and knowledge
to the fullest extent. She is very fluent in Japanese, very knowledgeable about the regions of Japan, and understands
the Japanese municipality system very well. As an Australian English native speaker, she gave us various insights about
local opinions and customs.
She conducted research on topics across all tiers of government in Australia and New Zealand, specifically in relation
to governance systems and current challenges. She also coordinated appointments with local organisations forJapanese local governments. At our annual Australian Multicultural Study Tour in Melbourne in November last year,
participants appreciated this program highly because of how she effectively coordinated the tour. Overall she did an
excellent job at all her tasks.
We wish for her continued success.

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