The Japan Society Year in Review 2011
Heidi Potter
The Society’s Mission
Inevitably, the activities of the Japan Society in 2011 were dominatedby the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. All in the Society
were shocked and saddened as news of the disaster unfolded. Detailsof the Japan Society’s response and subsequent activity are reported
elsewhere in this issue of Proceedings, but here we will focus on its
core programmes.
The Japan Society is a charity with a broad educational mission
to promote the study of Japan (and Britain in Japan) and to further
educational exchanges between our two countries. We accomplish
our mission through events attended primarily by our members
and through engagement with a broader audience, particularly
school children.
The main activities of the Society comprise awards, events,
the library, publications, schools education and small grants. In
delivering its programme, the Society is especially grateful to thecompanies and individuals who share its belief in the importanceof promoting a good mutual understanding between the UK andJapan, and who provide essential financial support. This enables
the Society to include a significant number of low cost or free
events to make the programme accessible to all. The majorityof the Society’s schools education services are provided free ofcharge. In addition up to £30,000 has been set aside each year for
disbursement through the small grants programme in support ofevents organized by others which are in furtherance of the Society’s
objectives and which reach new audiences across the UK.
During 2011, the Japan Society arranged some eighty different
events over a wide range of activities, both independently and in
partnership with other organizations. In keeping with its objective
to promote the study and understanding of Japan, the programme
strikes a balance between those activities tailored to particularinterests and those designed to provide new opportunities for theJapan Society Proceedings

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public to participate inJapan-related events. The
general events programme
included: the annual
dinner; thirteen business
related events; thirteen
conversation group events;
nineteen events aimed atyounger members andfamilies; three chairman’s
The Japan Society Annual Dinner 2011
lunchesordinners;
eighteen lectures; eight art and culture events and twelve otherevents, including those to raise awareness of events following theGreat East Japan Earthquake.

Responding to the needs of business
The business group enjoyed a year of lively and informative events.
We are particularly grateful to the director-general and staff of JETRO,
who hosted most of the lunchtime lecture series.
These included Prospects for Pharmaceuticals, a panel discussion
with Jun Arima of JETRO with Jon Mowles and Nigel Whittle of UKTI.
This was a timely look at a sector which has seen significant investment
by Japanese companies in recent years, and has been affected by many
regulatory, organizational and financial developments. In the sameseries, Andy Palmer, Senior Vice President of Nissan Motor Company,
spoke of The Nissan Experience, analyzing this Japan - UK success story
in a time of great technological change. Maritime Piracy was anothertopical subject, on which members were briefed by Richard Neylonof the Admiralty department of Holman Fenwick Willan, who spokeof his experience acting for shipowners and underwriters in helping
to resolve over seventy Somali hijacking cases. A special lunchtime
discussion session was held, courtesy of Linklaters, with Lord Green,
the Minister of Trade at the Department of Enterprise and Trade inadvance of his visit to Japan, serving as an informal briefing and an
opportunity to discuss matters of mutual interest.
The Society was pleased to continue its joint lunches in
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conjunction with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in
the UK, which provided opportunities for Japanese and non -Japanese
to meet and to hear from influential and informative guest speakers.
In March, international author, Bill Emmott considered the Fate of
the Euro, a subject which remained as topical at the end of the year
as the beginning. In December, at a special lecture, kindly hosted byAberdeen Asset Management, the subject was revisited by economist
Andrew Smithers. The joint lunch series with JCCI continued withspecial guests Chris Aylett, the CEO of the Motorsport Industry
Association in April and Lord Malloch-Brown, former Minister ofState at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who spoke about The
Economics of the Arab Spring.
Just three days after the Great East Japan earthquake, we weredelighted to welcome Mitoji Yabunaka, adviser to Nomura ResearchInstitute and former Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs for a briefing at
Nomura on Japanese foreign policy in Asia. Unsurprisingly, attention
was focused on the situation in Tohoku, and Mr Yabunaka was able
to give an up to date report on the situation immediately after thedisaster.
In addition to the general business programme, the chairman
held a series of small lunches for key figures from both the UK andJapan. These provided opportunities for decision makers to shareideas and information, and ensured that those involved in businessand government were well informed on topical issues relating to
the Japan-UK relationship in a global context. Guests of honour in2011 were Barbara Woodward, International Director of UK Border
Agency, Glen S. Fukushima, Chairman of Airbus Japan and Sir Peter
Bonfield, Director of Sony Corporation. We are most grateful tomember companies who hosted these events: HSBC, SJ Berwin and
UBS respectively.

Activities appealing to all ages and interests
The Society continued to offer a broad general programme offormal and informal events to appeal to people with a wide range
of interests and ages. The monthly book club has built up a coreof regular participants, who meet to discuss in an informal setting
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books which are available in both English and Japanese. Althoughreading the same book, participants sometimes discover significant
differences in the translation and enjoy discussing the way cultural
background and expectation influences their interpretation. A
special reading and discussion was held with Who is Mr Satoshi?
author Jonathan Lee in July, where he reviewed the impact of timespent in Japan and work on his next novel.
Particularly noteworthy in August was the screening of a pairof films about people who were victims of the bombings of both
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including Twice Bombed, which focusedon the life of Tsutomu Yamaguchi. Director Hidetada Inazuka
visited London for the screenings where he also answered questions
and discussed the films with the audience.
Two contrasting evenings of performance took place: inFebruary, Hattallica, a Metallica tribute band, entertained over one
hundred enthusiastic fans, while in November, a similar number
enjoyed Japanese vaudeville presented by Hayashiya Imamaru(paper cutting) and Sanshotei Charaku (rakugo). The Japan Society
also partnered with Chinese and Korean organizations for a second
East Asian Friendship charity event, featuring young musiciansfrom the three countries.
Members also had opportunities to socialise over a numberof tasting evenings, while supporting Japanese producers including
Koshu Wine and Niigata Sake Brewers Association. A more ‘English’
note was struck with a tea tasting at the East India Company. As
usual, the Society also had seats for the Major General’s Review
two weeks before the official Trooping the Colour ceremony andorganized a visit to the BADA Antiques and Fine Art Fair.
Following the success of the Japan Matsuri held in 2009 and2010, which were jointly organized by the Japan Society with theJapan Association, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
in the UK and the Nippon Club, it was decided to set up a newcompany (Japan Matsuri) specifically to manage this planned
annual event in London. The Japan Society is a corporate directorof this company with Sean Curtin as its nominated representativeon the board. The 2011 Japan Matsuri took place at County Hall
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on London’s Southbank on Sunday 18 September and was once
again a major attraction for people of all ages interested in Japan.
Collections were taken at the event in aid of the Japan Society
Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund.
The conversation group continues to play an important rolein the Society, providing a valuable opportunity for members tomaintain and develop their language skills. It allows Japanese andnon-Japanese, members and non-members, to talk in a friendly
and informal setting. Special events during the year, such as thehanami picnic, are always well-received. The Society’s popular 10week courses in intermediate Japanese continued, kindly hosted by
Toray Europe. Participants included many who had returned fromteaching in Japan and the cost remained low, so that anyone withthe requisite level of Japanese was able to enrol and to maintain andimprove their language skills.

London Lectures
The lectures programme continued to draw good audiences. The
monthly academic lecture, held every third Monday, formed thecore of this aspect of our public programming. The subjects ofthese lectures were varied and, in addition to those featured in thisvolume, included Martin Dusinberre’s study of nuclear power ina specific local context, Definitely in My Back Yard: Nuclear Powerand Hometown Identity in Late Twentieth Century Japan, Tom Gill
speaking on Japanese Homeless Men in International Comparative
Perspective, John Szostak on ‘Art Historicism’ and Contemporary
Japanese Art, Ulrich Heinze who spoke on Midwife and Manga
Heroine: Oine Siebold, Nagasaki and the Birth of Modern Japan andSierk Horn whose subject was Then and Now: Japanese Investmentin the UK. Many of these lectures were held at SOAS and we weregrateful to the Japan Research Centre for its partnership in thisseries.
Beyond this monthly programme other talks and lectures wereorganized. Kenji Sakatsugi found links between the cities of London
and Tokyo in his talk Enough to Surprise Hiroshige, ‘One Hundred
Famous Views of the City’, while other topics ranged from Lafcadio
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Hearn to subculture and its influence on innovation. The Society
took opportunities to work in partnership with other organizations
wherever possible including SOAS, Chelsea College of Art and
Design and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, thus making
these events open to a broad audience of members, students and thegeneral public. The annual Carmen Blacker Lecture, in partnershipwith the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts andCultures, was another great success. The speaker, Professor Anne
Bouchy, presents her research in this edition of Proceedings.

Japan Society Small Grants
An annual sum of up to £30,000 is set aside for grants in supportof small-scale projects and events related to Japan. The board has
reviewed the grants scheme and believes that by allocating relatively
small sums to a wide range of projects, its objectives are being
met. These grants provide opportunities for people throughout
the British Isles to participate in education and exchange relating
to Japan. Applications are encouraged from those organizing
grassroots projects and from schools and other educational
establishments. Attention is focused on projects where a relatively
small injection of funds can make a real difference. In 2011, 25
grants were made averaging approximately £600 each. Of thesesome 13 were organized in schools or provided opportunities forschool students to participate in Japan-related activities. These
ranged from Japan Days, to complement ongoing study of Japan orJapanese language, to funding for partnership work with visiting
students from the Tohoku region. Small grants enabled event
organizers to put on events which introduced people in the UK to
activities in Iwate and other parts of Tohoku after the earthquake,showing how the recovery was being managed and focusing on
regional culture and artistic exchange. A study day by the Scottish
Garden Society and a film festival on Shugendo by the Centre for
the Study of Japanese Religions, SOAS, each made specialist subjects
accessible to a general audience. Support was also given to community
Japan Days in London (Japan Matsuri and ‘With Children For Children’at the Unicorn Theatre), Essex and Cambridge.
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Schools Education
The schools education programme has been developed out ofa belief in the value to young people in the UK of growing up
with an awareness and understanding of Japan and its culture. In
addition to historical and business reasons for learning about a key
international partner, there are more general benefits of broadening
horizons and raising aspirations.
The national curriculum in England is undergoing major
review but opportunities will remain across the curriculum andthrough extra curricular activity for young people to experience a
range of cultures, ideas, and historical contexts. Through its schools
education programme, the Society supports teachers who may
have limited experience of Japan themselves in providing theseopportunities for their students.
On a day to day basis, the Society’s education team provides
advice and resources to schools engaged in teaching and learning
activities relating to Japan. As well as working in partnership withlocal authorities, it provides materials directly to schools throughout
the country. Loan resources are supplied to approximately 70
schools each year. There were also over 6,000 unique visits to thewebsite to download free resources.
Other targeted activities included:
Sixth form study day
Over 100 sixth form students of Japanese and their teachers attended
a one-day conference which aimed to provide insights into life inJapan, less familiar aspects of Japanese culture, and information on
opportunities to continue the study of Japan and Japanese beyond
school.
Japan in Your Classroom visits
During the year visits were made by volunteers in Greater London,
Brighton, Derby, Manchester and South Wales to over 70 schools.
For most students a Japan in Your Classroom visit is their firstopportunity to meet a Japanese person and to hear about Japan
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13first-hand; the visits have a lasting impact. In the immediate
aftermath of the earthquake in March, there was particular interestin providing pupils with a general introduction to Japan beyond
the images of destruction. Many schools managed to make contact
independently with local Japanese residents and combined theirvisits with fundraising activities. A day of workshops with paper
cutter Imamaru Hayashiya was organized in November.
School links
Support for school links has continued to be an important elementof the Society’s work with schools. A number of new links were
established, while a workshop was held by the chief executive andthe head of education in northern Kyoto prefecture to provide
advice and support to a group of schools linked with partners in
Swindon. It was particularly encouraging to see a number of longer
established links developing further. Plans were in train at the endof 2011 for a visit by 10 elementary school students from Hyogo
Prefecture to their partner school in Gateshead. During their stay inJanuary 2012, the children took part in successful homestays and gavea performance of Yosakoi Soran at the Metro Centre to express their
thanks for British support at the time of the earthquake.

Children from Seka Elementary School performing at theMetro Centre in Gateshead

14 Japan Society Year in Review