This Month's Top News - We Need You !

The Japan-America Society is moving into one of its busiest periods ever, with the National Japan Bowl on March 25-26 and the Sakura Matsuri - Japanese Street Festival on Saturday, April 8.

That means the need for volunteers is critical. We also are looking for members who can host some of the Japan Bowl high school contestants in their homes.

We need your help!

If you can volunteer for the Japan Bowl, our national Japanese language competition for high school students, please sign up at:
http://www.us-japan.org/dc/education/2006NationalJB/VolSignup.pdf

If you are able to host some of the high school competitors in the Japan Bowl, please send us an email at jaswdc@us-japan.org .

Finally, the Sakura Matsuri needs volunteers (300 of them !) for a wide variety of tasks. If you can help, please download the volunteer form and send it in to us.
http://www.us-japan.org/dc/events/SM2006/VSignup06.pdf

How is the Sakura Matsuri Shaping Up?

The Japan-America Society will hold its 45th Annual Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival – on Saturday, April 8 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, immediately following the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade.

We believe our Matsuri is now the largest Japanese Street Festival in the United States, and it is growing again, spreading its wings further down Pennsylvania Avenue. This year's Matsuri will stretch west to east from 14th Street to 10th Street on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, and from Pennsylvania to Constitution Avenues on 12th Street, NW.

The Matsuri is also adding a new section, J-POP LAND, to reflect the growing American interest in Japanese popular culture, including anime (Japanese animation) and manga (Japanese comics), as well as karaoke and DDR (Dance, Dance Revolution), two Japanese imports that have become part of American culture.

The Society also is making the Matsuri’s overall design more convenient and visitor-friendly, adding one more Taste of Japan section featuring Japanese and Asian cuisine, and an additional beer garden. We hope this will reduce waiting time considerably.

In addition to the new J-POP LAND, the Matsuri will continue to host its traditional favorites:

--Japanese Performing Arts, including koto music, classical and folk dances, and the dramatic taiko drums, always a crowd-pleaser

--Martial arts demonstrations, including karate, aikido, sumo, and kyudo

--Arts and Crafts demonstrations and exhibits of traditional Japanese culture

--The Ginza Arcade featuring Japanese products for sale, and

--The ever-popular Taste of Japan, with 20 Japanese and Asian restaurants

As the producer of the Sakura Matsuri and a partner of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, the Japan-America Society works with over 100 different organizations and sponsors and 300 volunteers to ensure its success.

Save the Date -- Godzilla and the Yankees are Coming

It will be Japan Nite at the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 16, when the home team takes on the New York Yankees.

So save the date. We plan to host our 2nd annual US-Japan baseball outing in cooperation with the Japanese Embassy and the Japan Commerce Association. This game will be a sell-out, but through a special arrangement with the Nationals, we are now the proud owners of 1,000 infield seats!

We will keep you informed as our plans develop.

WashPost Quotes Society President on Anime Boom

Japan America Society President John Malott was quoted twice in a major Washington Post feature article on the growing American passion for Japanese pop culture. Says the February 17 article:

"Malott admits to being "amazed when I see young [American] kids singing the theme song from 'Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi' in Japanese." A former State Department "Japan hand," Malott tallies "three generations of people who got interested in Japan. There was the original group after World War II, who were attracted to the cul ture. Then there was the next generation -- I would consider myself at the start of that -- who were attracted to Japan because of what was happening there economically. And now we have the next wave, of people who are attracted to Japan because of the popular culture."

The Post reports that " manga and anime fever has not cooled, so it is no wonder that more staid local institutions continue to reach out to anime fans: The Freer Gallery will present its Fourth Annual Cherry Blossom Anime Marathon on April 1, and for the first time this year, the Japan-America Society of Washington will add a "J-Pop Land" to its Sakura Matsuri . Although plans for the April 8 event are not complete, says Malott, president of the society, "we will most likely be featuring anime and manga ourselves. We may have some performers from Japan that are aimed more at the younger set."

National Park Service Needs Japanese-Speaking Volunteers

The National Park Service is looking for Japanese-speaking volunteer hosts and hostesses to staff the National Cherry Blossom Festival Information Trailer during the two-week Cherry Blossom Festival . Volunteers will greet people, answer questions, and provide
assistance so that festival visitors have an enjoyable experience. The deadline to apply is Thursday, March 23, 2006.

The Information Trailer will be open daily during the 16-day run of the Festival, from 9:00 am-7:00 pm, beginning March 25 through April 9. Morning, afternoon, and early evening shifts of four-hour increments are available. Shift times are 9:00 am -1:00 pm; 12:00 noon- 4:00 pm; or 3:00 pm- 7:00 pm.

Training and festival information will be provided to volunteers at the beginning of each shift. Volunteers who work eight hours will receive a festival T-Shirt.

The Information Trailer is located on Independence Avenue, S.W., near 17th Street, S.W. (across 17th Street from the World War II Memorial). The Smithsonian or Federal Triangle Metro stations on the Orange and Blue Lines are the closest subway stations to the Information Trailer. There is no on-site parking.

The deadline to volunteer is March 23. To sign up, please email NCR_CBFVIP@nps.gov and fill out an online application at http://www.blogger.com/www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.

English-language only volunteers also welcome. Please indicate which languages you speak when you apply.

For questions, please call Ms. Polly Angelakis at the Park Service, phone 202-619-7147.

Have You Completed Our Program Survey Form?

We sent all members an email in mid-February asking them to complete an on-line survey form that will help us determine member interest in various kinds of programs and activities.

We have gotten over 125 responses to date.

If you haven't completed the survey yet, please click here to start the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=615611776931

When you click on the link, you will be directed to our survey questionnaire. It is three pages long and should take less than 5 minutes to answer.

The software automatically tallies the results of the survey for us, which we will share with you in a future issue of "Nichi-Bei News."

We ask that you complete this survey no later than March 17.

Gen Aihara Exhibition of Photography

On view from February 25 - April 22 -- Shigeko Bork's mu project is pleased to present " Trace," an exhibit of new works by Gen Aihara.

Mr. Aihara's stark, powerful black and white photography depicts shadows from ever changing drops of water. A photogram process enables him to "trace" the shadows of objects making > images on paper. Mr. Aihara's meticulous record of these shadows challenges the audience to journey through a diverse space like atmosphere.

Mr. Aihara, born in Japan and now residing in New York, studied graphic design and photography at Kyoto University of Art and Design in Japan. His works are included in the public collections of the Museum of Fine Art in Houston and the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts and Kyoto University of Art and Design in Japan.

The Shigeko Bork mu project is located at 1521 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. on the 2 nd fl. between P St. and Q St., NW. Gallery Hours: Wed. - Sat. 11am - 5pm and by appointment.

New Generation of Japanese Cars on the Way

A new generation of fuel-efficient cars is on its way, perhaps dealing another blow to Detroit, reports the Los Angeles Times (February 14).

Japan's big automakers stand to profit from galloping gas prices as they prepare to roll out a batch of fuel-efficient small vehicles. The subcompacts from Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. will deliver fuel economy in high-30-miles-per-gallon territory at prices starting at about $12,000.

In March, Toyota will launch the Yaris sedan and three-door hatchback, followed by Honda's Fit, a five-door hatchback in April, and Nissan's Versa hatchback in May and a sedan in the fall.

Toyota and its two rivals are taking aim at a group of younger buyers who otherwise shop for used cars. The new Japanese subcompacts, which max out at about $15,600 for a top-of-the-line Toyota Yaris, come with long lists of standard and optional equipment.

The extra sales would continue the growth of the big Japanese companies, while American carmakers keep losing market share to foreign brands, Brown said. Last year, Japan's automakers captured a record 32.2% of the U.S. market, up from 22.8% a decade ago, while the American companies' share fell to a record low of 56.9%, down from 73.5% in 1995.

Japan to Be Asia's Economic Growth Driver Again

The Japanese economy, which is now growing five times faster than that of the US, is poised to regain its role as Asia's key growth driver, says Asian Development Bank (ADB) chief Haruhiko Kuroda.

Japan posted a blistering 5.5 per cent annualised economic growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2005, the government said on Friday. It gave added weight to evidence that Asia's largest economy has finally emerged from more than a decade of stagnant growth with bouts of recession.

"I think the Japanese economy has recovered, and it can continue to grow by 2-3 per cent (annually) in the next several years. Although such growth is not as big compared with China or India," Kuroda said, "since the size of Japan's economy is huge - it is three times bigger than China's - even a 2-3 per cent rate could provide enough growth momentum. Not only China and India but also Japan will be an engine of growth for Asia and the world," he said.

The Japanese economic rebound has been so robust that some are predicting the country will outperform the US in 2006 for the first time since 1991.

But Can Japan Kick the Debt Habit?

William Pesek of Bloomberg writes, "Now that Japan is back, the hard part begins: Getting the world's No. 2 economy out of debt....For all the concern about the U.S. budget deficit, that shortfall is 2.4 percent of gross domestic product, while Japan's is 6.9 percent.

"The Japanese economy grew five times faster than that of the United States in the fourth quarter - at an annual rate of 5.5 percent - leaving little doubt that this recovery is real. Now is the time for Japan to wean itself off an unhealthy reliance on debt. The debt-to-GDP ratio is pushing 151 percent, by far the highest among industrialized nations."

Can Japan kick the debt habit?

Special Cherry Blossom Festival Edition

The National Cherry Blossom Festival begins at the end of this month. We want to make sure you stay on top of all the Japan-related events that will be taking place around town during those two weeks.

We will be sending out a special edition of the Nichi-Bei News around March 20, so you can mark your calendars. Don't forget our own special events -- the National Japan Bowl on March 25-26 at the University of the District of Columbia and the 45th Annual Sakura Matsuri - Japanese Street Festival in Downtown DC on Saturday, April 8 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.