The Activities of the Japan Foundation
Culture: Arts and Cultural Exchange
The Japan Foundation China Center
The Japan Foundation China Center works to enhance mutual understanding between Japan and China by deepening cultural exchange primarily between youths, who play a key role in the future of the two countries, and by providing them with opportunities to experience each other's cultures and lives in each other's countries. Xin Lian Xin ("Heart to Heart" in Chinese)- this is our slogan. The Japan Foundation China Center will continue to implement projects that emphasize interactivity and collaboration, and seek to build deeper, longer-term emotional ties.
Program for Dialogue and Collaboration between Japanese and Chinese High School Students
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to make it difficult to hold international exchanges involving travel and the Long-Term Exchange Program for Chinese High School Students, which was held annually, had to be cancelled. Under these circumstances, in 2020 we newly established the Program for Dialogue and Collaboration between Japanese and Chinese High School Students. This program aims at fostering a sense of solidarity and cooperation among the youth of both nations by utilizing online communications for dialogue and collaboration to enable high school students from Japan and China to deepen their mutual understanding of each other's culture and society and to solve shared problems such as school life and community issues.
Students from Mie High School and Luoyang Foreign Language School discuss school life.
Students from Xi'an Foreign Language School affiliated with Xi'an International Studies University and students from Wakayama Prefectural Hashimoto High School introduce each other's local tourist spots.
Centers for "Face-to-Face Exchanges" in China
Centers for "Face-to-Face Exchanges" are established in universities and other institutions in regional cities around China where opportunities to meet Japanese people and gain information about Japan are relatively limited. The centers provide venues where visitors can experience contemporary Japanese culture by browsing, viewing and listening to the latest magazines, books, visual materials and other contents from Japan while enabling young people from both countries to interact via various events. Furthermore, a wide variety of Japan-China exchange events are held in addition to utilizing online formats such as online seminars on Japanese culture by experts from both countries.
FY2020 summer festival at Chengdu Center for "Face-to-Face Exchanges"
co-sponsored by a local Japanese language school
Network Strengthening Programs
We implement a variety of programs emphasizing collaborative work with the aim of building networks among young people who will be the future bearers of Japan-China exchanges. In FY2020 as well, we held online the University Student Exchange Program in which university students from both countries collaborate in planning, organizing and holding events that introduce Japanese culture along with a program for dialogue on common issues as well as "RLEAD ASIA," an exchange program in which students from both countries engage in discussions using business as a pathway. We also operate the bilingual Japanese-Chinese "Heart to Heart" program website.
An online exchange project (Jinan Center for "Face-to-Face Exchanges") jointly planned and operated by the Wakayama University student group "Reiwa Kishu Han" and students from Shandong Normal University