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The Activities of the Japan Foundation

2020 Overseas Office Initiatives

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities have been in lockdown and restrictions placed on gatherings and events in many countries, which has also greatly affected the Japan Foundation's overseas offices. Despite restrictions imposed on travel from Japan, various overseas offices have made efforts to introduce Japanese culture and promote cultural exchanges with creative solutions through trial and error. Some of those initiatives are introduced here.

World Map. Click on the links from A to H on the map to link to the related article in the text. A イタリア B エジプト C インド D タイ E ベトナム F メキシコ G カナダ H ブラジル

Click on the links from A to H on the map to link to the related article in the text.

Photo of "Yokohama Shashin" exhibited at the Japan Cultural Institute in Rome

(c) Mario Boccia/Istituto Giapponese di Cultura in Roma

A [Italy] The Japan Cultural Institute in Rome
Yokohama Shashin: Introducing Meiji-Period Sceneries and Customs in Rome

October 15, 2020 to April 23, 2021

A series of 64 "Yokohama Shashin" photos by Adolfo Farsari, an Italian adventurer and photographer working in Japan during the early Meiji period, was exhibited in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Tokyo. Despite the restrictive capacity of visitors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exhibition gained popularity thanks to a self-produced introduction video, as well as two lecture videos, respectively presented by the curator OSANO Shigetoshi (Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo) and Rossella Menegazzo (Associate Professor, University of Milan), all of which are available on the YouTube channel of the Japan Cultural Institute in Rome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMFBrbq4AfM External link

Photo of the online Japanese-language lessons at the Cairo Japanese Cultural Center

B [Egypt] The Japan Foundation, Cairo
JF x Palestine: Online Japanese -Language Course

January 4 to March 20, 2021

In collaboration with the Representative Office of Japan to Palestine, Japanese-language lessons were held online over three months for 93 students living in Palestine.
This was our first Japanese-language education project in Palestine, with newspapers and others taking an interest, as this initiative made the most of online tools by providing the lessons remotely from Cairo to Palestine. The students enthusiastically studied Japanese, with many attending every lesson, so we felt this was a good first step toward continued learner support.

Photo of Japan-India Contemporary Dance Project "-scape" by the Japan Foundation, New Delhi

C [India] The Japan Foundation, New Delhi
Japan-India Contemporary Dance Project -scape

16 March 2021

In collaboration with the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, a work of contemporary dance was created by two choreographers, SUZUKI Ryu from Japan and Hemabharathy Palani from India. The plan was initially to do this in India, but this was not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we instead used this as an opportunity to make our starting point the question "Can we dance a duet without actually meeting?" This culminated in a performance in front of an audience at a theatre in Bengaluru (India) in March 2021.

Photo of International Public Symposium "Culture and Diplomacy in the Changing World: Its Relations, Values and Practices" by the Japan Foundation, Bangkok

D [Thailand] The Japan Foundation, Bangkok
International Public Symposium "Culture and Diplomacy in the Changing World: Its Relations, Values and Practices"

December 16, 2020

We held a hybrid symposium that connected the actual venue (Bangkok Art & Culture Centre) and an online platform (YouTube). Ronald Grätz (Secretary General, IFA (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Germany), SHIBASAKI Atsushi (Professor, Komazawa University) and other experts on international relations offered their thoughts about changing cultural and foreign relations, while practitioners of cultural exchange shared their insights from the field. Finally, the experts and practitioners discussed the new possibilities of international cultural exchange in a world that is increasingly divided and post-COVID.
https://www.jfbkk.or.th/en/publications/reports-catalogues-en/ External link (Report)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UsKXKCr7wE External link (Video)

Photo of Traveling Exhibition of "Japanese Dolls" from the Collection in Vietnam by the Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam

E [Vietnam] The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam
Traveling Exhibition of "Japanese Dolls" from the Collection in Vietnam

July 11- August 10, 2020 (Hanoi)
January 8-27, 2021 (Ho Chi Minh City)

The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam rearranged the existing collection of Japanese dolls for a set of traveling exhibitions and held it as a "Japanese dolls" exhibition in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in order to provide adequate opportunities to experience Japanese culture in Vietnam even under the situation that the movement of people was restricted considerably due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of some 6,400 people visited the exhibition, with the exquisite beauty and charm of the Japanese dolls enjoying great popularity. The Center plans to expand the exhibition to regional cities where the number of Japanese-language learners is growing, which we hope will stimulate even more interest in Japan.

Illustration of Online Exhibition Connection Mexico and Japan "Overworld" by the Japan Foundation, Mexico

F [Mexico] The Japan Foundation, Mexico
Online Exhibition Connection Mexico and Japan "Overworld"

December 11, 2020 to March 31, 2022

A total of 18 artists, architects, designers, illustrators and curators based in Japan and Mexico have been engaged in remote collaboration for more than about four months for an online exhibition which regards the five themes "dwelling, working, eating, moving and gathering" as an "island" with its scenery recreated through various modes of expression. By interactively visiting this space with their fingers, viewers had a new form of urban experience, in which they can freely travel Japanese and Mexican cities recreated as the imagined landscapes by the artists.
https://www.overworld.mx/ External link

Photo of the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Japan Foundation, Toronto Japan-Canada Literary Exchange

G [Canada] The Japan Foundation, Toronto
The 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Japan Foundation, Toronto
Japan-Canada Literary Exchange

Streaming period: March 30-May 15, 2021

In celebration of three decades in Canada, a special Japan-Canada literary exchange was held, in collaboration with the Japan P.E.N. Club. "The Impact of the Pandemic on Society and Creativity: Perspectives from Writers from Japan and Canada" was coordinated by SATO Ayako (Professor Emerita, Meiji Gakuin University), bringing together iconic Japanese and Canadian writers (ASADA Jiro, KIRINO Natsuo, HIRANO Keiichiro, Margaret Atwood, Katherine Govier, Vincent Lam) who participated in discussions about the changes in society that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought and its impact on future creative works.

Photo of "Music in the Castle (Música no Castelo)" by the Japan Foundation, São Paulo

H [Brazil] The Japan Foundation, São Paulo
Music in the Castle (Música no Castelo)

August 15-December 20, 2020

We streamed a 10-part solo concert series entitled Música no Castelo by Brazilian and Japanese musicians. The concert title "Castle" means a home. This is because the situation where people stay at home to protect themselves from viruses is similar to the situation where they stay in a castle and protect themselves from enemies. We aimed for each musicians to express his or her artistry through the Internet from his or her castle (i.e., home) to the world and to deliver a message of hope and peace. The performance videos were provided on YouTube in four languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English and Japanese.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlVXpi0uzJFaM-p9y8bgoqnFE4BtHV9LQ External link