Japan as Number One Revisited
- Date & Time: Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 5:30-8:00 pm
- Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall, International House of Japan
- Admission: Free (reservation required) *Reservations are now filled.
- Language: Japanese/English (with simultaneous translation)
First published in 1979, Japan as Number One (TBS Britannica, 1979) was a record-breaking best seller in Japan and had a formidable impact on the developing countries of Asia. The point of Ezra Vogel’s book was that at a time when many Americans had lost faith in their own society, Japan had successfully solved many of the problems of modern industrial society – problems such as declining industrial competitiveness, unemployment, crime, health care, business-government relations, pollution, and transportation. Vogel felt that Japan could be an alternative and, in many ways, a better model for both Western countries and the developing countries of Asia. Thirty years after the publication of the book, Japan faces such issues as unstable politics and diplomacy, rapid aging with declining birthrate, and increase in vicious crimes. Can Japan still serve as a model for the rest of the world? This symposium will be an attempt to address where Japan should and can be headed in the next 10-20 years, by looking back on some of the issues Vogel raised in his 1979 book.
Panelists to include:
Ezra F. Vogel (Professor Emeritus, Harvard University)
Gerald Curtis (Professor, Columbia University)
Richard Dyck (President, Alphana Technology)
Robert A. Feldman (Managing Director, Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities)
Glen S. Fukushima (Chairman, Airbus Japan)
Merry White (Professor, Boston University)
[A Commemorative Lecture by the 2010 Japan Foundation Award for Japanese Studies and Intellectual Exchange Awardee: Ben-Ami Shillony]
Japan and I: New Prospects on Japanese Studies
- Speaker: Ben-Ami Shillony, Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Date & Time: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 1:00-3:00 pm
*Following the one-hour lecture, a reception will be held. - Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall, International House of Japan
- Admission: Free *reservation required
- Language: English/Japanese (with simultaneous translation)
- Sponsored by the Japan Foundation with support from the International House of Japan
Ben-Ami Shillony
The leading Japanese historian Ben-Ami Shillony is Professor Emeritus of East Asian history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and has also taught and conducted research at such institutions as Harvard University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Tokyo. He has made an immense contribution to the development of Japanese studies and to the promotion of intellectual exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and Israel and other nations. Born in Poland, he immigrated to Israel in 1948, where he has served as chairman of the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace. His numerous publications include The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders (Tuttle Publishing, 1992), Haha naru tenno [The Emperor as a Mother Figure] (Kodansha, 2003), Enigma Of The Emperors: Sacred Subservience in Japanese History (Global Oriental, 2005) and The Emperors of Modern Japan (Brill Academic Publishers, 2008). In 2000, he was awarded the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star.
[A Commemorative Lecture by the 2010 Japan Foundation Award for Japanese Language Awardee: Savitri Vishwanathan]
India—Japan: Changing Perceptions
- Speaker: Savitri Vishwanathan,, Former Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Delhi
- Date & Time: Friday, October 29, 2010, 1:00-3:00 pm (venue opens from 12:30 pm)
*Following the one-hour lecture, a reception will be held. - Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall, International House of Japan
- Admission: Free *reservation required
- Language: English/Japanese (with simultaneous translation)
- Application: https://comm.stage.ac/svkikinsho/
- For more information and enquiries, please refer to the Japan Foundation website at:
http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/about/award/10/index.html#04 - Organized by the Japan Foundation in cooperation with the International House of Japan
Savitri Vishwanathan
As a teacher and researcher of Japanese language, history, and politics at the University of Delhi, where she headed the Department of Chinese and Japanese Studies, Dr. Vishwanathan has made an immense contribution to the development and promotion of Japanese language education and Japanese studies—both through her academic work and her nurturing of the next generation of scholars. She has assisted the prime ministers and foreign ministers of India in their official talks with their counterparts in Japan, and was a member of the Japan-India Eminent Person’s Group (2000-2002). Her numerous publications include a translation of Shimazaki Toson’s novel Hakai into Hindi (Avagna) and into Tamil (Dalit padumpadu). The Japanese government awarded her the Prime Minister’s Prize in 1967 and the Order of the Precious Crown, Wisteria in 1982.
[A Commemorative Lecture by the 2010 Japan Foundation Award for Art and Culture Awardee: Tadao Sato]
Encountering the World through Cinema
- Speaker: Tadao Sato, Film Critic
- Date & Time: Tuesday, November 2, 2010, 6:30-8:30 pm (venue opens from 6:00 pm)
*Following the one-hour lecture, a reception will be held. - Venue: Iwasaki Koyata Memorial Hall, International House of Japan
- Admission: Free *reservation required
- Language: Japanese/English (with simultaneous translation)
- Application: https://comm.stage.ac/svkikinsho/
- For more information and enquiries, please refer to the Japan Foundation website at:
http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/about/award/10/index.html#04 - Organized by the Japan Foundation in cooperation with the International House of Japan
Tadao Sato
Tadao Sato, Japan’s leading film critic and pioneer in the field of Asian film studies, has served as a judge for numerous international film festivals, including the Moscow International Film Festival, the Montreal World Film Festival, and the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. His film-related activities have contributed enormously to international cultural exchange, particularly by means of highlighting to film-viewers in Japan and around the world outstanding Asian films that have not garnered much attention. His numerous publications include Watashi wa naze ajia no eiga wo mitsuzukeru ka [Why Do I Keep Watching Asian Films?], Chugoku eiga no 100 nen [100 Years of Chinese Films], and Eiga kara mietekuru ajia [Glimpsing Asia Through Film]. He also serves as the president of the Japan Academy of Moving Images.