The Activities of the Japan Foundation

The Asia Center
Arts and Cultural Exchange

Our mutual exchange program aims to build a network of leading figures that include artists, cultural leaders and researchers from Japan and Asia and to promote mutual understanding among citizens in the Asia region. In FY2017, a total of 466 projects that we either hosted or funded were run, drawing over 1.4 million participants.

SUNSHOWER:
Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia
1980s to Now

In 2017, celebrating the 50th anniversary of ASEAN, the National Art Center, Tokyo, Mori Art Museum, and the Japan Foundation Asia Center co-hosted SUNSHOWER: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now. The exhibition introduced contemporary art from Southeast Asia from nine different perspectives. It aimed to showcase the dynamic development of the region and its multifaceted culture based on two and a half years of field studies by 14 curators from Japan and ASEAN countries. A total of 350,000 people visited the venues during the exhibition period.

Felix Bacolor, Stormy Weather, 2009/2017
Photo: Kioku Keizo Photo courtesy: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

Condition Report

"Condition Report" is a collaborative art project by curators from Japan and Southeast Asian countries. In its third year in FY2017, 12 participating curators held 12 exhibitions and events in 11 cities from seven countries. Participants created networks through the collaboration and gained experience in planning exhibitions, with the project being rolled out not only in the capital cities but also in provincial cities in each country.

(c) Art Vietnam Gallery

Film Culture Exchange Projects with the Tokyo International Film Festival

The Asia Center teamed up with the Tokyo International Film Festival, one of the largest international film festivals in Asia, inviting 81 members of the film industry, figures involved in overseas film festivals, journalists and film buyers and sellers for the opportunity of building networks with members of the Japanese film industry. In addition, special screenings of 13 films by young directors from Southeast Asia in the "CROSSCUT ASIA" section showcasing Asian films attracted some 2,000 people to the event which also included a symposium and other related programs.

(c) 2017 TIFF

The Japanese Film Festival (JFF): Asia-Pacific Gateway Initiative

With the aim of creating a comprehensive platform for the Japanese film industry that attracts potential clients, the Asia Center held Japanese film festivals in 36 cities throughout 12 countries, namely the 10 ASEAN countries, India, and Australia, in FY2017. The festivals sought to showcase the diversity of Japanese films and convey the beauty of Japanese culture through the films. Some 100 films, mainly the latest Japanese films, were shown a total of 771 times, attracting around 120,000 viewers.

DANCE DANCE ASIA—Crossing the Movements

The collaborative project performed three short dance pieces, created last fiscal year, in Manila and Hanoi in April 2017. One of them, a work from a director/choreographer from the Philippines, was made into a longer feature dance and performed in Tokyo in March 2018 together with two new shorter works produced by directors/choreographers from Japan and Indonesia. The works, which fused the diverse range of expressiveness of the up-and-coming multinational dancers with exceptional technique and music, were enjoyed by a combined 4,000 people in Manila, Hanoi and Tokyo.

Yosuke Kamiyama / DDA2018

Tokyo Performing Arts Meeting (TPAM) in Yokohama 2018

Tokyo Performing Arts Meeting (TPAM) in Yokohama, a platform for contemporary performing arts with the longest history in Asia, was held over a nine-day period in February 2018. It included a total of 11 programs, 73 performances and three exhibitions such as One or Several Tigers by Ho Tzu Nyen (Singapore) and Internship by Tetsuya Umeda, drawing around 4,500 people. TPAM Fringe, an open-call program, involved 56 groups, 73 programs and 261 performances, attracting some 18,000 people, while the TPAM Exchange program saw 5,453 participants in group meetings and other events. During the TPAM period, around 40 young performing art presenters mainly from Asia were invited to Japan with the aim of expanding and strengthening the professional network for future collaboration.

Copyright Hideto Maezawa

ASIAN ELEVEN: Football Exchange Project with JFA and J.League

The Asia Center, Japan Football Association (JFA), and Japan Professional Football League (J.League) have worked together to foster football talents and promote mutual understanding among youths in Japan and ASEAN nations through football. Some 169 football-related practitioners were invited and 44 coaches were dispatched. A total of 967 people took part in football clinics that are conducted in cooperation with J.League in the 10 ASEAN countries.

Judo Exchange Program "JAPAN-ASEAN JITA-KYOEI PROJECT"

With the aims of strengthening networks in Japan and ASEAN countries through judo and promoting understanding of "JITA-KYOEI" (mutual welfare and benefit), the philosophy at the core of judo, the Judo Exchange Program "JAPAN-ASEAN JITA-KYOEI PROJECT" held an international seminar that 18 young instructors from ASEAN countries were invited to; dispatched Japanese instructors to Myanmar, Thailand and Laos; and prepared an English translation of judo terms. Of particular note, instructors held lectures and judo demonstrations in collaboration with Japan's Kodokan Judo Institute in Brunei, the only one of the 10 ASEAN countries not to have a judo federation, which resulted in the establishment of the Brunei Judo Federation in February 2018.

Invitation Program for Cultural Leaders

A total of four people were invited as prominent figures in the ASEAN region to provide a firsthand introduction to Japan to enhance their awareness and understanding of the country. The four figures were Ma Thida (Board Member, PEN International), Liza Diño-Seguerra (Chairperson and CEO, Film Development Council of the Philippines), Tan Michael Lim (Chancellor, University of the Philippines Diliman) and Pham Chi Trung (Director, Youth Theater of Vietnam). A total of 127 people attended the lecture given by Ma Thida at Sophia University.

Lecture by Ma Thida

HANDs! — Hope and Dreams — Project

With the theme of "disaster and environment," both critical issues for a sustainable society, training programs were held in Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines for 26 fellows selected from nine countries in Asia. Fellows from those countries with strong motivation in the theme conducted fieldwork and workshops through which innovative disaster-prevention education programs for children were proposed and actually conducted on the ground.

Learning about archiving so as not to forget past earthquakes and disasters

Sanriku-Asian Network Project 2017 (Sanriku International Arts Festival)

As a part of efforts to bolster regional promotion and reconstruction efforts through international exchange, the Asia Center has been conducting and exchange programs for performing arts in Sanriku, the area devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and Asian countries since 2015 based on collaboration with the Sanriku International Arts Festival. In FY2017, artists from Indonesia (Cirebon Mask Dance) and Malaysia (Bajau Traditional Dance) were invited to perform with local performing arts groups in the Arts Festival to further promote exchange. The entire festival attracted around 13,000 people.

Asia-Euro Policy Dialogue (AEPD)

The 1st Asia-Euro Policy Forum was held in Jakarta in June 2017 as part of the Asia-Euro Policy Dialogue (AEPD), a global policy research project. The forum involved prominent figures and policymakers from Japan, ASEAN countries and the Europe. Indonesia's Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as the former Secretary-General of ASEAN delivered keynote speeches. A total of 30 speakers attended at the forum, including six experts from Japan.