From March to December 2019, the Japan Foundation Asia Center held Asia in Resonance 2019 as a series of events in Japan and Southeast Asia to widely introduce its various cultural exchange programs. The broad range of special events, which were created through mutual interest in each other's cultures, included cross-border productions of stage performances and films as well as a special international friendly football match between the "ASIAN ELEVEN" team of selected Southeast Asian players against a team from Japan and a NIHONGO Partners symposium. The total of 24 main programs alone attracted approximately 20,000 people and there were 1,350 media reports on the events. This festival reflected back on the achievements of the interactive exchanges implemented by the Japan Foundation Asia Center over the past five years and also become the starting point for further deepening relations between Japan and Southeast Asia.
Asia in Resonance 2019 Gala Concert
Approximately 80 musicians representing eight professional orchestras in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar were invited to form a multinational orchestra together with Japanese musicians. With KOBAYASHI Ken-ichiro serving as conductor, this multinational orchestra performed energetic and passionate Asian sounds.
Date: July 1, 2019
Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Concert Hall
Photo: FUJIMOTO Fumiaki
DANCE DANCE ASIA—Crossing the Movements in Tokyo 2019
Launched in 2014, DANCE DANCE ASIA aspires to encourage exchanges with dancers and creators within Asia and create new culture. Together with a multinational team of up-and-coming dancers, these artists presented exciting works that fused diverse artistic expression, technique and music.
Period: July 12-14, 2019
Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre West
Photo: Yosuke Kamiyama
ASEAN-Japan Music Festival 2019 in VIETNAM —prayer for peace—
Produced by Japan-Vietnam Special Ambassador SUGI Ryotaro, who is also Special Ambassador for Japan and ASEAN, the festival featured passionate performances by singers representing Japan, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos and Myanmar.
Date: July 28, 2019
Venue: Vietnam National Convention Center
Pratthana – A Portrait of Possession
This was a stage adaptation of a novel by Uthis Haemamool, a writer at the forefront of Thai contemporary literature, that was staged with OKADA Toshiki's script and direction with TSUKAHARA Yuya's scenography. This was the first performance in Japan following performances in Bangkok and Paris.
Period: June 27 – July 7, 2019
Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre East
Photo: KONO Yurika
SETAN JAWA –A Silent Film with a Live 3D Sound Concert
Setan Jawa, a silent film directed by Indonesian film director Garin Nugroho, was screened with an accompanying live music performance. This was the world premiere of a 3D sound concert version with a co-performance by sound designer MORINAGA Yasuhiro and KOM_I, vocalist of Wednesday Campanella.
Date: July 2, 2019
Venue: Yurakucho Asahi Hall
(c) bozzo
MASTERS OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN CINEMA
This was a special screening and symposium of Southeast Asian films. At the symposium, guests from Japan and overseas discussed the international human resources needed in the film field and the possibilities of international collaboration while also introducing case studies.
Period: July 3 – July 10, 2019
Venues: [Film Screening] Yurakucho Subaru-za
[Symposium] Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Gallery 1
International Friendly Football Match, JapaFunCup
U-18 players selected from 11 Southeast Asian countries formed "ASIAN ELEVEN" as the most diverse team in Asia and played a match against U-18 players chosen from each prefecture in Tohoku. This match was held as the culmination of the football athlete training program between Southeast Asian countries and Japan that has been implemented since 2014.
Date: June 22, 2019
Venue: J-Village Stadium (Fukushima Prefecture)
(c) JFA
The Breathing of Maps: Transformations of the Geo-Body
This program was a reconstruction of the exhibition entitled The Breathing of Maps held at the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] from December 2018 through March 2019. Through exhibitions, lecture performances and symposia, this event considered the "present" and "future" of culture in Southeast Asia and contemporary art in the Asia-Pacific region.
Period: July 10 – July 15, 2019
Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Gallery 1
Photo: TOMITA Ryohei
International Symposium "Japanese-Language Education Amid Fast Growth of Foreign Workers in Japan -Views Based on Experiences of the NIHONGO Partners Program"
In this international symposium, past participants of the NIHONGO Partners Program, local Japanese-language teachers and guests involved in Japanese-language education and multicultural coexistence discussed about the achievements of the NIHONGO Partners Program during the past five years as well as its future prospects.
Date: June 27, 2019
Venue: NIKKEI Hall