The Activities of the Japan Foundation

(c) Yves Noir

Yoko Tawada / Japan (Poet and Writer)

Yoko Tawada is a bilingual writer of poetry and novels who freely transcends the borders and languages of her Japan and Germany. As a bilingual writer of such caliber, she is a unique figure not seen before in modern Japanese literary history, and she vibrantly points to a new direction for the future of world literature. Tawada has pioneered a new transboundary realm of literature, while helping to further free Japanese literature from its confines. Her literary activities have helped to advance true mutual understanding trascending the walls of nations and cultures.

(c) Kaz Ishikawa

Toshio Hosokawa / Japan (Composer)

Toshio Hosokawa is one of Japan's leading composers who has pursued his creative activities mainly in Europe and Japan. Some of his creations, namely Hanjo, Matsukaze and Circulating Ocean, continue to be performed today around the world as part of the contemporary repertoire. The shock he felt from the Great East Japan Earthquake inspired him to compose such pieces as Threnody for Viola Solo in memory of the victims with a musical composition embodying messages that Japanese must never forget. His works have been performed across the world, contributing to the advancement of mutual understanding.

Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center of the University of Salamanca / Spain

The University of Salamanca has been a world-class center of scholarship and international exchange for many years. The Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center of the University of Salamanca established at the university in 1999 has consistently played a central role in the maintenance and strengthening of Japanese-Spanish relations and mutual understanding. The Center actively carries out a broad array of high-quality exchanges and activities throughout the year that have been highly acclaimed both inside and outside Spain concerning Japanese culture, language, history and modern Japan, with particular praise given to Japan Culture Week.

Komatsu Summer School Executive Committee (Komatsu City, Ishikawa)

Launched in 2014, Komatsu Summer School is a college student-led summer school for high school students held annually in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture. Nearly every aspect of the program is planned and run by college students from various countries. High school students from the local community and all across Japan join together for enriching interaction through activities such as liberal arts seminars, professional forums and local cultural experiences. The summer school has created a virtuous circle that cultivates new generations of young people in the community who are eager to pursue international exchange, and has evolved as a role model for other community-based international exchange programs run for youths by youths.

Hamamatsu Global Human Resources Support (Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka)

Hamamatsu Global Human Resources Support provides occupational support to international residents of the Hamamatsu area, including by developing original educational materials and curricula for them and by offering instruction in the job skills and Japanese-language communication competencies needed to engage in caregiving occupations. It is advanced in its focus on developing an environment where foreign residents can take on leadership roles in the community. Their broad spectrum of activities also includes supporting college students' efforts to contribute to the community, assisting local caregiver union programs and nurturing friendly ties with people in other countries as one way of making Hamamatsu an attractive place for international job seekers.

Pangaea (Kyoto City, Kyoto)

Pangaea operates an ICT-based platform for facilitating engagement and communication among children around the world. It hosts activities that connect children at one site with peers at sites in other countries over the Internet and also runs a summer school in Kyoto. Pangaea uses a set of 450 uniquely developed pictograms as well as a machine translation system that can simultaneously translate input into multiple languages. Pangaea's commitment to using communication modes that avoid hierarchies disadvantaging the speakers of any given language is one way that it carries out its mission of nurturing compassion in children.