Think Tanks Expect Steady Growth in Japan's Economy

Ten private think tanks expect Japan's economy to continue growing steadily in fiscal 2006, thanks to personal spending and corporate capital expenditures.

Their average estimate of growth for Japan's real gross domestic product growth is 2.5 percent for the fiscal year ending March 2007.

The same ten think tanks estimate that growth in the following year - through March 2008 -- will average 2.1 percent.

More Japanese Cars Now Made Overseas

The number of vehicles manufactured overseas by Japanese automakers surpassed the domestic figure for the first time in fiscal 2005, according to data released July 31 by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Overseas production grew 10.6% year on year to 10.92 million units, while domestic output reached 10.89 million units.

Japanese Land Prices Rise for First Time in 14 Years

The Financial Times reports that Japanese land prices rose for the first time in 14 years in 2005, signaling an end to the persistent asset deflation that had dragged the nation’s economy into recession in the early 1990s.

Data released by the National Tax Agency also showed that price gains were spread across Tokyo and four other cities – Chiba, Aichi, Kyoto and Osaka – underlining the strength of the recovery and alleviating concerns that it was limited to a few patches in the nation’s capital. In 2004, Tokyo had been the only prefecture in which land prices rose.

Land prices are expected to rise even more in 2006, according to Yoji Otani, a real estate analyst at Credit Suisse.

Society's New "Japan at the Library" Program is Great Success

The Japan-America Society launched a brand new educational program this summer -- "Japan at the Library." The program -- probably the first of its kind in the country -- was conducted by our educational coordinator Cheryl Ames and the Society's volunteers in cooperation with the Fairfax County Public Library System.

The Society's popular "Japan in a Suitcase" program introduces students in grades 1-3 to Japanese life and culture. This new library program is aimed at slightly older children -- in grades 4-6 -- and provides a more in-depth exposure to Japanese culture. Among other things, the students practice Japanese calligraphy (see above) and woodblock printing, and even learn how to make "onigiri" (Japanese rice balls). They engage in discussions about the difference in daily life between Japan and the United States and also learn how Japanese children celebrate their holidays.

The libraries also set out a special display of all of their books on Japan, aimed at young readers. At George Mason library, all of the books were checked out by the young students just after the class, so the students interest and exposure about Japan continued.

This year's program was experimental and was conducted in four sessions at George Mason and Great Falls regional libraries. We are now evaluating the program for possible expansion in 2007.

Japanese Language School Fall Semester Starts September 18

日本語学校の秋学期は９月１８日にスタート

The fall semester of the Society's Japanese Language School will begin on Monday, September 18. In addition to its normal classes -- from beginning to advanced -- the Society will offer for the first time preparatory classes for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, which has become the international standard for measuring Japanese language skills.

The class schedule will be posted on the Society website around mid-August.

Membership Dues Raised from August 1

The Society's membership dues have not gone up since -- well, no one can remember!

But our expenses certainly have.

So we conducted a survey of membership rates at the major Societies across the United States and found that our dues were the lowest of all.

The Board of Trustees voted at their last meeting to raise general membership dues, effective August 1. However, it directed that the revised dues should be set at the average rate among the six major Societies in the United States (New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco). So our dues still are lower than some of our big city counterparts.

The new rates are $60 for individual members and $80 for families; $25 for students and $40 for seniors; and $150 for sustaining members.

150 Years Ago This Month - Townsend Harris Enters Japan

Townsend Harris arrived in Japan 150 years ago this month, the first American diplomat to reside in Japan. After two years of negotiations marked by deadlock and cultural clashes, he successfully negotiated the "Treaty of Peace and Commerce," or the so-called Harris Treaty, in 1858, which secured trade between the United States and Japan and opened the ports of Kobe and Yokohama. It also allowed Americans to reside in these ports and at Edo (present day Tokyo).

Japanese Troops Complete Iraq Assignment

AFP reports that the final batch of Japanese troops returned from Iraq on July 25.

The mission, where 600 Japanese troops helped provide water supplies and medical assistance for residents in Iraq's Muthanna province since January 2004, was the first of its kind since World War II.

During their mission in Iraq, the Japanese troops suffered no casualties and did not fire their weapons. The mission relied on British and Australian troops for protection as the Japanese troops were barred from using force.

Despite the withdrawal of ground troops from Iraq itself, Prime Minister Koizumi has promised to keep operating its Kuwait-based air force mission transporting goods and personnel for the US-led coalition to Baghdad.

AFP continues: "Japan, bidding to expand its global role to more than just a major economic power, has been gradually increasing its military position. It sent troops to Cambodia in 1993 as part of a UN force and dispatched a 1,000-strong force -- its largest since World War II -- to Indonesia and Thailand after the 2004 tsunami disaster."

CSIS Report on Transforming the US-Japan Alliance

The Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) issued a report on July 12 called "New Roles and Missions -- Transforming the US-Japan Alliance."

The report says that a key principle of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty—the notion that the United States is primarily responsible for regional security and that Japan plays a secondary role—appears increasingly anachronistic when Japan is exploring new ways to expand its contributions to international security.

The joint statement released during the recent Bush-Koizumi summit reaffirms a strategic commitment to define the security relationship in a global context and also welcomes advances in bilateral security coordination that will better position the alliance to meet new threats.

CSIS says that the great potential to expand Japan’s role in the alliance confronts numerous logistical, institutional and legal questions that could affect the extent to which Japan can implement envisioned roles and missions.

To read and download the report, go to http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/060712_jcp.pdf

Do You Sudoku? Playing the Numbers Game

The Smithsonian Associates are sponsoring an all-day seminar on Saturday, September 30 called "Do You Sudoku? Playing the Numbers Game" with Grand Master Wayne Gould.

Novice and more advanced sudoku enthusiasts will have the opportunity to sharpen their skills in this all-day program from 10 am to 4 pm led by Wayne Gould, the man behind the sudoku craze in America. As the writer of the original sudoku program for computers, Gould is the foremost expert on this addictive puzzle.

The seminar is designed so that participants of all levels gain something, but those who want to break through from easy to medium, or from medium to hard puzzles, will find the day particularly rewarding.

A selection of Gould's sudoku books will be available for signing at the end of the program. General admission tickets are $131; Resident Smithsonian Associates pay $85; and senior members are $77. For more information, see the website at

https://residentassociates.org/test/ticketing/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=55042

US Embassy Business Guide to Japan is Online

A 139-page business guide to Japan, prepared by the US Embassy in Tokyo, is now on-line.

The report, called the "Country Commercial Guide Japan 2006," says that U.S. firms will find excellent markets for their goods and services in Japan across a broad range of sectors.

-- Financial services will continue to be a growth area as Japan works through its banking problems and attempts to make its capital markets more efficient.

-- Firms in the energy business will find new opportunities as Japan deregulates its power generation market and studies the privatization of the national oil exploration company.

-- Japan's population is aging, and there are growing opportunities in the "silver services" sector, services for the increasingly healthy, affluent seniors.

-- Japan’s government has an ambitious program to increase the use of information technologies throughout Japanese society, which will open up new opportunities for U.S. suppliers of IT equipment and services.

The Embassy says that Japan’s consumers are rich, sophisticated and highly diverse in their interests and tastes, and U.S. firms that can find a way to cater to those tastes and interests will find that the world’s second largest market can be very profitable.

To download the report, go to http://buyusainfo.net/docs/x_5818157.pdf

Japan Foundation Seeks Applicants for Performing Arts Grants

The Performing Arts Japan (PAJ) program was started by the Japan Foundation to promote Japanese performing arts in the United States. PAJ supports the initiatives taken by U.S. nonprofit organizations to expose geographically diverse American audiences to Japanese performing arts, and encourages collaborations between Japanese and American artists.

The Japan Foundation is now accepting grant proposals for fiscal year 2007-2008.

The Touring Grant assists the presentation of Japanese performing arts in the U.S. and Canada, emphasizing locations outside major metropolitan areas, and the Collaboration Grant allows collaborating artists to create new works with the potential to develop into a touring project. PAJ will fund up to 50% of the project costs.

Applications are due by October 13, 2006 for projects taking place between April 1, 2007, and March 31, 2008. For guidelines and an application form, visit the Japan Foundation New York Office's website (http://www.blogger.com/www.jfny.org/jfny_paj.html).)

Japanese Companies in US Go on Hiring Spree

So says a Wall Street Journal-Nikkei article of July 17.

It says, "Japanese firms operating in the U.S. have started hiring. It is a seller's market because in the U.S., Japanese companies are not as popular as their U.S. and European counterparts. They attract fewer job seekers, and fluency in Japanese and English are a must for top jobs."

The Nikkei Business Daily asked President Scott Tsukasa Sato of New York-based employment agency Pasona NA Inc. about this niche in the U.S. job market. He said that hiring is active in a wide range of industries, from information technology to manufacturing and finance, particularly the automotive sector.

Geographically, Sato said, job demand is increasing primarily in the Midwest, where many auto-related Japanese firms operate. Smaller firms, those with around 500 employees, have begun serious hiring in the U.S. for the first time.

Government Babysitters?

The Yomiuri Shimbun of July 20 reports that in an effort to curb the declining fertility rate, the Japanese Government is considering plans to make it easier for working mothers to hire a babysitter.

Under the plan, the government would provide financial assistance to cover the cost of using a babysitter--a heavy burden for many parents--by partial subsidization, and by introducing a tax exemption scheme according to the amount spent. College students would be hired to fill the babysitting positions. The government hopes to start implementing its plans in fiscal 2007.

Most babysitter agencies charge about 1,500 yen per hour, and, according to the All-Japan Babysitter Association, which has a membership of 110 companies to dispatch babysitters, an estimated 40 percent of users spend more than 50,000 yen per month on babysitting.

Japan Foreign Trade Essay Competition 2006

The Japan Foreign Trade Council is sponsoring the JFTC Essay Competition 2006 to encourage students, younger researchers and business people to express their opinions on matters of national and international importance. One Grand Prize of 1 million yen and three Second Prizes of 200,000 yen will be awarded to the best four submissions, as selected by the distinguished judges. In addition, the Grand Prize Winner will be provided with an air-ticket to Tokyo in order to attend the award ceremony on January 9, 2007.

You can find a flyer on the program at http://www.jftc.or.jp/english/discourse/index.html