24 January – 24 March
Open Tuesday – Saturday 10.30 – 17.00
(Thursdays late night showing up to 20.00)
Brunei Gallery
School of Oriental and African Studies
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG

Tohoku: Images of Disaster is a collaborative venture amongst the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, the School of Oriental and African Studies and Zen Foto. The exhibition comprises images by Japanese and international photographers revealing the terrifying drama and damage wreaked by the earthquake and tsunami along Japan’s north-eastern coastline on 11th March 2011. The work is a mix of art, documentation, reportage and interpretation, first shown in Tokyo earlier this year by Mark Pearson at Zen Foto Gallery. The exhibition will be in place on the first anniversary of the disaster, providing an opportunity for remembrance and commemoration.

In the immediate aftermath of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, Zen Foto Gallery in Roppongi, Tokyo coordinated an exhibition of photographs taken by photographers immediately after the earthquake. Taking place during the aftermath of the disaster, this exhibition included many images of devastation, as they were taken at a time when people were simply struggling to survive an unprecedented natural disaster. Life goes on in Tohoku, but some things have been affected for ever. In this exhibition, we consider how the people in the region and Japan as a whole have responded to the events of 11 March 2011.

Co-organised by:

In association with:

6.00pm: Lecture
7.30pm: Reception
8.15pm: Close

Nomura International
1 Angel Lane
London
EC4R 3AB

Free – Advanced Booking Essential

Members will be extremely pleased to know that the British Ambassador in Tokyo, Sir David Warren has kindly agreed to update the Society on his view of the situation in Japan during a forthcoming visit to London.

Sir David, who has been in post since the summer of 2008, has been asked to give his perceptions of the political, diplomatic and commercial situation in Japan. He has served twice before in the Tokyo Embassy and many of his other appointments have closely involved him in Japan – UK relations.

The annual talks by current British Ambassadors have provided very useful backdrops to the years ahead; they have been both relevant and useful and have always been extremely popular. The Ambassador will speak for about 30-40 minutes, after which there will be time for discussion and questions.

This year the lecture is kindly hosted by Nomura, a strong supporter of the Japan Society and member of the President’s Circle. In order to enable a prompt start, you are asked to arrive by 5.50pm. The event is free but booking is essential.

To reserve your place, please call the Japan Society office on 020 7828 6330 or email events@japansociety.org.uk or submit the online booking form

In association with:

The Old Explorer (Lower Ground Floor)
23 Great Castle Street
Oxford Circus
London, W1G 0HY

Standard Admission ￡5.50,
£1 Discount for: JS Members/Students/Regulars

The Japanese Conversation Group provides a friendly and informal atmosphere for Japanese speakers of all nationalities to come together and speak Japanese. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at The Old Explorer, a central London pub. They begin at 6.30pm with a pay-as-you-go bar, and finish around 10.30pm.

You will receive all discounts for which you qualify. The Regular Attendee Discount will apply if you attended at least 50% of meetings during the previous calendar year, or once you attend six meetings in the current year.

Please visit the Japanese Conversation Group website http://jcg.org.uk for further details on their programme, which may be subject to change.

Pipeline Bar
94 Middlesex Street
City of London
E1 7DA

Cost: £5 in advance, £7 on the door

Well known in Japan for their storming QUEEN covers, tribute band QUEER will make their European debut in London!

Bulsara as Freddie Mercury
BULA!!!ian M Sato as Brian May
Roger M.T. as Roger Taylor
George Deacon as John Deacon

Find out each band members favourite Queen Album and more at www.queer-web.co.uk.

Opening for QUEER will be Jake Emlyn featuring legendary Japanese guitarist Kenji Suzuki, formerly of Britain’s own Simply Red who later embarked on a successful solo career in Japan.

6.30pm Doors Open
7.00pm Jake Emlyn live
8.15pm QUEER live
10:00pm After Party at the Pipeline Bar

With its Scandinavian design and excellent mix of drinks from the Nordic region, the Pipeline Bar offers a comfortable gathering place for Japan Society members before, during and after the performance.

To reserve your place, please call the Japan Society office on 020 7828 6330 or email events@japansociety.org.uk or submit the online booking form

Tickets are also available to purchase at the Pipeline Bar before and on the night of the performance.

Toray Industries
Verulam Gardens
70 Gray’s Inn. Road
London
WC1X 8NH

6.30pm-8.00pm

Fee: £60.00 (for 10 weeks)

The Spring 2012 course in pre-intermediate Japanese will begin in February. This course will be taught by teachers from the SOAS Japanese language teacher training programme.

This is a pre-intermediate level course. Students need approximately Level Three of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test: basic grammar, approximately 300 kanji, approximately 1500 vocabulary items; an ability to carry out conversation in everyday situations and to read and write simple sentences. The focus of the course is on communication in daily life. The classes will start from Lesson 8 of ‘Minna no Nihongo Chukyu Ⅰ’.

Classes take place from 6:30pm on Wednesdays at the offices of Toray Industries, Inc. At 8.00pm the lesson will end and participants move to a nearby pub to practise Japanese conversation in a more relaxed setting.

Places on the course are limited to 12 people.

We are grateful to Toray Industries, Inc. and SOAS language centre for making it possible to continue these very popular classes.

To book a place, or register an interest in this course, please contact Hiroko Kimura on email: hiroko.kimura@japansociety.org.uk or tel; 020 7828 6330

*Please note that we only offer this pre-intermediate level course. This course is only open to members of the Japan Society. To find out more about becoming a member please email info@japansociety.org.uk

We are unable to advise on Japanese courses at other levels. Many can be found on the Hot Courses website.

12.00 – Sandwich Lunch
12.30 – Lecture
14.00 – End

Cost: £12 for member of the Japan Society, JCCI and those introduced by JETRO. £18 for non-members

In this business group lecture, Jun Arima will report on the 17th Conference of the Parties on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17). He attended the meeting recently held in South Africa and will discuss the pivotal role that Japan can play in the field of the environment. During the early hours of the 11th of December, one and a half days after the scheduled closure of the conference, COP17 ended with an agreement. This lecture will present the impact of the conference, what was decided and what remains to be negotiated.

COP 17 in Durban has achieved more than initially expected; an agreement to establish the Ad-hoc Working Group of Durban Platform (AWG-DP) for negotiating ‘a Protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force’ to cover all major emitters by 2015 and implemented by 2020. Further details of the Cancun Agreement of COP16 were fleshed out; including the modalities of MRV (measuring, reporting and verification) of mitigation actions. The broad design of the Copenhagen Climate Fund was also decided. Uncertainties about the global climate regime remain given that the perception of the final outcome allows for diverse interpretations, but there is no question that households and industries in the UK and Japan will be greatly affected by the global endeavour to tackle climate change.

We are delighted that Jun Arima will be joined by Pilita Clark, Environment Correspondent for the Financial Times, who will provide additional comments and insight regarding the global impact of the conference.

Jun Arima is Director General of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), London and Special Advisor on Global Environmental Affairs for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan. He has previously held various international energy/environment related positions including Head of Division, Country Studies, International Energy Agency (IEA), Director, International Affairs Division, Agency of Natural Resources and Energy, METI and Deputy Director General for Environmental Affairs at METI’s Industrial Science and Technology Policy and Environment Bureau. In the COP 14, 15 and 16, he was Japanese Chief Negotiator for AWG-KP.

Pilita Clark was appointed environment correspondent in May 2011. Prior to this role, she was the aerospace correspondent and deputy news editor on the main news desk at the Financial Times. Clark has previously worked as an assistant news editor, and before that she was deputy editor of the FT Magazine.　Before joining the FT in 2003, as a commissioning editor on the FT Magazine, Clark was a senior writer for the Sydney Morning Herald and managing editor of the Eye Magazine, Sydney.

To reserve your place, please call the Japan Society office on 020 7828 6330 or email events@japansociety.org.uk or submit the online booking form

This series of lectures is being attributed to the following companies which are committed to a five year programme of support for The Japan Society Schools Education and Outreach programmes: Itochu Europe Plc, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co Europe Plc, Sumitomo Corporation Europe Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc, Canon Europe Ltd, Central Japan Railway Company, Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd, Eisai Europe Ltd, Mitsubishi Electric Europe BV, PWC LLP, Swire Charitable Trust, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Hitachi Europe Ltd, and “K” Line Europe Ltd.

In association with:

Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street
London
W1D 3NE

Cost: £20 including complimentary pre-performance drink for Japan Society members and guests

Booking Deadline: Friday 3 February

‘This is vivid, imaginative work’ –Times

Celebrated director Hideki Noda returns to London with The Bee. First performed at the Soho Theatre in 2006, and then making a clean sweep of all major theatre awards in Tokyo, The Bee now comes back to Soho following a New York run with original Olivier Award winning star Kathryn Hunter.

The Soho theatre presents the best new work from across live performance and welcomes Japan Society members for a pre-theatre drink and performance from 6.30.

Now on stage in New York

Book directly with the Soho Theatre box office by telephone on 020 7478 0100.

Quote ‘Japan’ to get complimentary drink voucher, access to s designated area of the bar, and reserved seating with other Japan Society members.

I Just Didn’t Do It: Image ©2007 Fuji Television/Altamira Pictures / Toho

Saturday 11 February at 1.00pm

1.00pm Lunch – Mitsukoshi Restaurant
3.30pm Film Screening – ICA

Mitsukoshi Restaurant
14-20 Lower Regent Street
London
SW1Y 4PH

Institute of Contemporary Arts – ICA
The Mall
London
SW1Y 5AH

Cost: £45 per head for lunch and film screening

Advanced Booking Required

Booking Deadline: Wednesday 8 February

The Japan Society is pleased to offer a select group of members the opportunity to dine with acclaimed film director Masayuki Suo preceding a Japan Foundation screening and Q&A of his film I Just Didn’t Do It

Masayuki Suo has directed numerous films including the Japan Academy Prize-winning Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t and Shall We Dance? He is currently filming Tsui no Shintaku. Invited by the Japan Foundation, Masayuki Suo is currently visiting the UK as part of Whose Film Is It Anyway? Contemporary Japanese Auteurs, the 2012 Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme.

To reserve your place, please call the Japan Society office on 020 7828 6330 or email events@japansociety.org.uk or submit the online booking form

An additional screening and Q&A session of I Just Didn’t Do It is scheduled for Sunday 12 February at 4.00pm. Japan Society members will receive £7 discounted tickets for any Japan Foundation programme screening when booking directly with ICA by telephone on 020 7930 3647 or in person by quoting ‘Japan Society.’ To learn more about the film and the Japan Foundation annual touring film programme, visit www.jpf-film.org.uk.

In association:

5th View
Waterstones, Piccadilly
203-206 Piccadilly
London
W1J 9LE

Free for Japan Society Members

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion is loosely based on the events surrounding an arson attack on the Golden Pavilion carried out by a young Buddhist acolyte, Hayashi Yoken in 1950.

Mizoguchi, the main protagonist and narrator of the book suffers a troubled up-bringing in which he sees his mother’s affair with another man exposed in front of his dying father. He also struggles at school where he has no friends and is constantly picked on. His life appears to turn around when he becomes an acolyte at a Buddhist temple, however, he quickly becomes obsessed with the beauty of the temple. Even when persuaded to explore the Geisha district by his friend Kashiwagi, Mizoguchi is unable to escape this obsession with the temple. His attempt to break away with this obsession leads to terrible consequences.

Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and director. He was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize for Literature and is considered one of the most famous and controversial Japanese authors of the 20th century. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion along with Forbidden Colours are two of Mishima’s most well known novels.

The book club is held on the second Monday of the month. There is no restriction on the nationality of the authors read, but books should be available in translation in both Japanese and English. The discussion is conducted mainly in English, but you can choose the language in which you read the book. The intention is simple: to explore the themes of the book, express personal opinions on the style and content, discuss how the book has changed (or not) in translation and to have a relaxed discussion with others who have similar interests.

Please email the office if you would like to attend.

Deadline for Booking: Monday 13 February

Philip Stephens is our guest at the first joint JCCI and Japan Society lunch of 2012. This very experienced and perceptive speaker can be expected to give us much to think about as the British Government faces critical issues at home and in Europe.

Rarely does a day go by without further speculation on the future of the coalition. There is a focus on disunity and difference rather than an emphasis on commonality. The impact on domestic policy is significant, but the question of the UK’s role within Europe is the main concern for the moment.

The coherence of the coalition remains vital for the government; its success dependent on plans formulated within a 5 year election cycle. But will this slightly one-sided partnership hold strong until 2015? Common aim, compromise, accommodation and personal relationships are key.

Philip Stephens is associate editor of the Financial Times and also its chief political commentator. The author of twice weekly columns on global and British affairs, Philip Stephens travels widely in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the United States. In addition, he is a regular contributor to political and foreign affairs journals, radio, television news and current affairs programmes. In 2008, he received the British Press Award for Political Journalist of the Year.

Following a two-course lunch, Philip Stephens will speak for about 20 minutes, after which there will be time for questions until 2.30pm.

To reserve your place, please call the Japan Society office on 020 7828 6330 or email events@japansociety.org.uk or submit the online booking form

In association with:

Monday 20 February at 6.45pm

Free – booking recommended

Touching on research conducted for his forthcoming book, The Peril of Self-Discipline (Harvard University Press, Fall 2012), Aaron William Moore will analyze how Japanese soldiers came to write ‘war diaries’ (jinchu nikki / jugun techo) during the period of total war in East Asia. The completion of this project required the reading of over two hundred diaries by Japanese, Chinese and American soldiers in the Asia Pacific theatre, providing the first truly comparative study of the ordinary soldier’s experience outside Europe. Japanese wartime diaries were not unique, and thus the project demonstrates transnational aspects of battlefield diary writing by soldiers.

The talk will address the history behind these texts with a focus on the technological and political transformations that made diary writing on a mass scale possible in Imperial Japan. But most importantly, this presentation will describe how the diaries were used by soldiers to shape their subjectivity, defining their beliefs about self, other, and the world around them. In order to meaningfully discuss individual responsibility during a time of war, the critical examination of battlefield subjectivity must be the first step, and this talk will argue that the analysis of diaries is crucial to that endeavour.

Dr Aaron William Moore is Lecturer in East Asian History, School of Arts, Histories, and Cultures at the University of Manchester. He received his PhD from Princeton University and has held Postdoctoral appointments at the University of Oxford and the Harvard University Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies. Research support includes grants awarded from the British Academy and the Sasakawa Foundation. Dr Moore’s work focuses on transnational social history and includes documents in Chinese, Japanese and Russian, as well as research in British and American archives. His second book concerns the wartime writings of children and adolescents in China, Japan, the UK and the USSR.

In association with:

FULLY BOOKED

Wednesday 22 February 2012 at 6:30pm

Imagination Gallery
25 Store Street
London
WC1E 7BL

Cost: £20 for Japan Society members and guests

‘I must confess that what appeals to me about Koshu is its very lack of brashness, its delicacy, purity, limpidity, and the way it goes so well with the calmer regions of the Japanese gastronomic landscape.’ Financial Times

The Japan Society is delighted that Koshu of Japan is once again arranging an exclusive wine tasting for Japan Society members at the award-winning Imagination Gallery. This year, the evening will begin with an informal tasting of sparkling Koshu wine matched with light canapés. But the event as a whole will focus on a more formal approach to evaluating an additional eight wines. The highlight of the evening will be a brief presentation by Lynne Sherriff, Master of Wine, who will lead a more tutored tasting or masterclass where participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and benefit from expert knowledge.

Lynne Sherriff is an independent wine consultant based in London. She consults on a global basis and also lectures to a number of European Wine Academies. Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, Lynne Sherriff has obtained numerous qualifications and has more than twenty-five years practical experience in all aspects of the wine trade from production, blending, procurement through international marketing and commercial agreement development.

For more information on Koshu wine, visit http://koshuofjapan.com/.

To reserve your place, please call the Japan Society office on 020 7828 6330 or email events@japansociety.org.uk or submit the online booking form

Friday 24 – Sunday 26 February

The opening times are as follows:
Friday 24 February 15.00 – 21.00
Saturday 25 February 09.30 – 20.00
Sunday 26 February 09.30 – 17.00

Brompton Hall
Earls Court
London

Tickets: Sushi Awards & HJ entry ticket: £20 reduced from £30
Sake Awards & HJ entry ticket: £20

The UK’S biggest Japanese cultural event is back this year at Brompton Hall, Earls Court. Hyper Japan incorporates all aspects of Japanese culture from its cuisine to its films and music. Come and enjoy a taste of Japan in London.

The Japan Society is planning to hold interactive activities at the Hyper Japan festival. The activities will centre around Origami, Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy) and Badge making.

We are looking for volunteers (the more the merrier), prepared to help with the activities, working in shifts. Please contact events@japansociety.org.uk if you would like to volunteer and contribute to the festival. All volunteers must be over the age of 18.

For more information on the Hyper Japan festival please visit www.hyperjapan.co.uk

If you would like to volunteer for the Japan Society at the Hyper Japan festival please contact events@japansociety.org.uk

The Old Explorer (Lower Ground Floor)
23 Great Castle Street
Oxford Circus
London, W1G 0HY

Standard Admission ￡5.50,
£1 Discount for: JS Members/Students/Regulars

The Japanese Conversation Group provides a friendly and informal atmosphere for Japanese speakers of all nationalities to come together and speak Japanese. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at The Old Explorer, a central London pub. They begin at 6.30pm with a pay-as-you-go bar, and finish around 10.30pm.

You will receive all discounts for which you qualify. The Regular Attendee Discount will apply if you attended at least 50% of meetings during the previous calendar year, or once you attend six meetings in the current year.

Please visit the Japanese Conversation Group website http://jcg.org.uk for further details on their programme, which may be subject to change.

5th View
Waterstones, Piccadilly
203-206 Piccadilly
London
W1J 9LE

Free for Japan Society Members

Many may recall the chilling news story of Lucie Blackman’s disappearance and murder. Lucie a British woman had gone to see Japan as well as to find work. She ended up working as a bar hostess in the Roppongi area of Tokyo. Just months after she arrived in Japan, Lucie disappeared and her body was found some time later. The following murder investigation eventually led to the conviction of Joji Obara. In this book Richard Lloyd Parry perfectly captures the murder mystery, the case which lasted nearly ten years and the ongoing appeal of Obara’s conviction. What sets ‘People Who Eat Darkness’ apart from other books of its kind is Parry’s refusal to commit to hysteria but rather just tell the story as he saw it. As well as being about the murder of Lucie Blackman, this book also sheds light on a number of other issues to do with the police, media, famillies and misogyny.

Richard Lloyd Parry is an award winning correspondent who currently works as the Asia Editor for The Times. He has previously worked for other well known groups such as The Independent newspaper. He has worked in 27 countries covering issues such as Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor. He spent ten years working on the book and covering the story of Lucie Blackman’s disappearance and murder which has given him a unique insight into the case as well as Japan as a whole.

The book club is held on the second Monday of the month. There is no restriction on the nationality of the authors read, although this title is an exception, the books are usually available in translation in both Japanese and English. The discussion is conducted mainly in English, but you can choose the language in which you read the book. The intention is simple: to explore the themes of the book, express personal opinions on the style and content, discuss how the book has changed (or not) in translation and to have a relaxed discussion with others who have similar interests.

Please email the office if you would like to attend.

Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace
London
SW1X 9DQ

Japan’s number one iconic concert pianist, Ingrid Fuzjko Hemming is returning to the London stage for one night only. With her unique style of classical piano, Fuzjko will perform works by great composers such as Bach and Chopin. Her style bringing new life to their music!

As a great animal lover, Fuzjko will donate the proceeds from the performance to the Celia Hammond Animal Trust in the UK and Japan’s Doubutsu Kyuen Honbu/Animal Rescue Centre for the animals affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 2011.

Tickets: £35, £25, £15
Box office Tel: 020 7730 4500
Online booking: www.cadoganhall.com
Box Office is open from 10am to 6pm, Monday – Saturday

Monday 26 March 2012 from 6.00pm

Duke of York Square
(Off Sloane Square)
London SW3 4LY

£12 for Japan Society Members
Booking deadline: Monday 19 March

A reception and special talk at the British Antique Dealers’ Association Fair has been organised for Japan Society members and guests. The cost of booking includes attendance at the reception, champagne and gallery talk. A BADA Handbook and voucher for a return visit the following day is also included.

With approximately 100 members of BADA exhibiting from throughout the UK, this is the leading annual national art and antiques fair in the country. A visit is a ‘must’ for anyone interested in art and antiques, where a dazzling array of top quality furniture, paintings, clocks, ceramics, jewellery and silver can be viewed and bought. The group will be entertained to drinks and shown the special loan exhibition Pomp, Pagentry and Protection. The Fair is open to the public daily at 11.00am between Wednesday 21 – Tuesday 29 March. General admission is £10 for single entry, £15 for double.

To reserve your place, please call the Japan Society office on 020 7828 6330, email events@japansociety.org.uk or submit the online booking form. Please make cheques payable to ‘BADA Ltd’

The Old Explorer (Lower Ground Floor)
23 Great Castle Street
Oxford Circus
London, W1G 0HY

Standard Admission ￡5.50,
£1 Discount for: JS Members/Students/Regulars

The Japanese Conversation Group provides a friendly and informal atmosphere for Japanese speakers of all nationalities to come together and speak Japanese. Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at The Old Explorer, a central London pub. They begin at 6.30pm with a pay-as-you-go bar, and finish around 10.30pm.

You will receive all discounts for which you qualify. The Regular Attendee Discount will apply if you attended at least 50% of meetings during the previous calendar year, or once you attend six meetings in the current year.

Please visit the Japanese Conversation Group website http://jcg.org.uk for further details on their programme, which may be subject to change.

Free for Japan Society Members

The Remains of the Day (1989) is Kazuo Ishiguro’s third published novel and was awarded the ‘Man Booker Prize for Fiction’ in 1989. The book was adapted into the 1993 Merchant & Ivory film which starred Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.

Written from the first person perspective of Stevens, the aging butler of Darlington Hall, Ishiguro tells a story of dignity, loyalty, memory and politics. Upon its release Susan Chira of the New York Times called it ‘a dream of a book: a beguiling comedy of manners that evolves almost magically into a profound and heart-rending study of personality, class and culture.’

Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese British novelist. Nominated for the Man Booker Prize four times, his other most celebrated novels are Never Let Me Go, The Unconsoled and An Artist of the Floating World. In speaking about his work Mr Ishiguro has commented: ‘What I’m interested in is not the actual fact that my characters have done things they later regret. I’m interested in how they come to terms with it. On the one hand there is a need for honesty, on the other hand a need to deceive themselves – to preserve a sense of dignity, some sort of self-respect. What I want to suggest is that some sort of dignity and self-respect does come from that sort of honesty.’

The book club is held on the second Monday of the month. There is no restriction on the nationality of the authors read, but books should be available in translation in both Japanese and English. The discussion is conducted mainly in English, but you can choose the language in which you read the book. The intention is simple: to explore the themes of the book, express personal opinions on the style and content, discuss how the book has changed (or not) in translation and to have a relaxed discussion with others who have similar interests.

Please email the office if you would like to attend.