President's Letter
February 2012

Dear Japan Society Board Members:

As we approach the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, we are preparing to host One Year Later, a series of events to remember those lost in the disaster, examine the progress of Japan's recovery, as well as explore the prospects for the future. On March 11, 2012, we open our building at 11:00 am for day of reflection, including a moment of silence at 2:46 pm presided by Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki. Throughout March this series looks at Japan's recovery from varying perspectives, as well as highlights the Society's efforts to support relief and reconstruction in the Tohoku region.

As I reported to you earlier, on December 13, 2011, Japan Society announced we had earmarked an additional $2.5 million from our Japan Earthquake Relief Fund to seven Japanese, American and international NGOs working on economic revitalization, mental healthcare and child welfare. This decision brought total allocations from our $12.5 million fund to $5.6 million distributed to 13 organizations representing 17 projects. On March 13, 2012, Japan Society is organizing a President's Luncheon that will include major donors to the relief fund and representatives from several recipient organizations.

The U.S.-Japan Innovators Network continues to manage the process of identifying and selecting grant recipients for the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, as well as monitoring the progress of existing grants. As part of One Year Later programming, Innovators, in collaboration with the Corporate Program and Lectures Program, is organizing the evening panel discussion, Tohoku Post 3.11: What's Happening Now, which features speakers from three organizations in Japan supported by the relief fund. Additionally, on March 14, we host an invitation-only roundtable discussion among NGOs from the U.S. and Japan working in Tohoku. The goal of the roundtable is to help facilitate greater cooperation and information sharing among Americans and Japanese working in Tohoku.

Also in March, Japan Society's Sakura – Spring Renews, Beauty Blooms programming series features live performances of centuries-old kabuki dance; a 10-part film screening revealing the beauty of transience (mono no aware); a discussion with architect Rem Koolhaas; and a Japanese confections discussion and workshop. The series is presented in conjunction with the New York and Washington, DC centennial celebrations of Japan's gift of cherry trees to the United States.

The Sakura series culminates in the third annual all-day j-CATION festival on Saturday, April 14. j-CATION 2012: SAKURA promises to transport visitors to a blossom-filled springtime haven through activities that include workshops, crafts, and language lessons; a screening of the classic film Killing in Yoshiwara; a Japanese-style game show with audience participation; a live music concert; as well as Gallery access and a hana-mi (cherry blossom viewing) lounge with seasonally appropriate drinks and snacks for purchase. j-CATION visitors will experience Japan's sakura season without ever leaving the New York City.

We hope you will join us for what is gearing up to be a very exciting spring!

Looking back at some recent highlights, in November we presented a sold-out Turntable Duo Concert featuring avant-garde musical legends Otomo Yoshihide and Christian Marclay. Otomo's without records installation was exhibited in our bamboo pond area in conjunction. In January, two long-run theater productions totaling 19 performances featuring celebrated theater artist Hideki Noda's The Bee and the internationally sought-after chelfitsch Theater Company's Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech, were presented here as part of The Public Theater's Under The Radar Festival. Both productions were reviewed favorably by The New York Times.

During the fall-winter season, the Film Program focused on a series of special screenings and invitation-only events: the U.S. premiere of Takashi Miike's latest film, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samura; The Sirota Family and the 20th Century, which featured a Q&A with Beate Sirota Gordon, former Performing Arts Director of Japan Society and Asia Society, and a member of the team that worked under Douglas MacArthur on the postwar Constitution of Japan; and the New York sneak preview of Norwegian Wood, introduced by Academy Award nominees director Tran Anh Hung and actress Rinko Kikuchi.

Our fall exhibition, Fiber Futures: Japan's Textile Pioneers, which closed on December 18, will tour to San Francisco in July, followed by the Art Institute of Chicago in December. Installation is almost complete for our spring exhibit, Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture 1920–1945 which was previewed early this month in The New Yorker. Opening on March 16 (Board and VIP opening, March 14), Deco Japan includes over 200 artifacts that throw light on the vibrant, expansive urban culture of the early Showa period, with a special focus on the Moga ("Modern Girl"). As part of the One Year Later series, the Gallery Program presents Memory: Things We Should Never Forget (February 24-May 27), an exhibition in the Lobby and Level A featuring 47 photographs by staff of the Photo Department of Nikkei Inc., taken both in the immediate aftermath of 3-11 and several months later, showing not only the devastation but also the slow, patient process of recovery.

On November 15, the Corporate Program hosted Admiral Patrick Walsh, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, who spoke about the role of U.S. forces in supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts after the Tohoku earthquake. On November 17, Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of Nissan, spoke about how to drive change through crisis from the Lehman Shock to the earthquake, tsunami and the Thai floods. As part of the One Year Later series, the Corporate Program hosts a panel discussion on March 6 with panelists Takashi Hatchoji of Hitachi America, Yoshimi Inaba of Toyota Motor North America, Kiichiro Sato of JETRO New York, and Paul Sheard of Nomura discussing recovery and resilience in Japan.

Our Lecture Program hosted an event with 2010 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Dr. Ei-ichi Negishi from Purdue University. He enthusiastically spoke about the value for students of studying abroad and the importance of pursing one's dream.

As part of its long term plans to increase the national footprint of Japan Society, Education Programs is recruiting teachers from throughout the country to participate in its three-week Educators Study Tour to Japan. Through taking eight leading U.S. educators to Japan, we will help invigorate the teaching of Japan in schools in all regions of the country. The strong relationships we build with these schools will also help us as we continue to expand our efforts to connect American and Japanese children through our Going Global social networking site.

Finally, on October 24 over 160 guests gathered in Tokyo at Hotel Okura to meet Chairman Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. and honor Professor Donald L. Keene as he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Japan Society. Remarks were made by Seiji Tsutsumi, President of The Saison Foundation; Ambassador Hiroyasu Ando, President of The Japan Foundation and former Consul General of Japan in New York; and cabinet member H.E. Motohisa Furukawa, Minister of State for Special Missions. The reception brought together an impressive group of friends of Japan Society, including government officials, corporate executives, cultural and nonprofit leaders and longtime individual supporters, along with numerous current and former Board members.

We thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you at Japan Society soon.