A Happy New Year

新年おめでとうございます

Happy New Year from the staff of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC.

This year marks our 50th Anniversary as a Society, and we look forward to celebrating with you at many special events throughout the coming year.

Ambassador John R. Malott, President and CEO
Yukiko Hino, Associate Director
Cheryl Ames, Educational Coordinator
Reiko Hirai, Special Events Coordinator

Japanese New Year Celebration in Washington

Join the Japan Commerce Association, the Japan Information and Culture Center, and the Japan-America Society of Washington on Sunday, January 21 at the first-ever "Japanese New Year Celebration in Washington."

The event is organized by the JCA, with the support of the JICC and the cooperation of the Japan-America Society. It starts at 11 am at the Galleria at Lafayette Center, 1155 21st Street NW, and continues until 4 pm.

The admission charge is $5 at the door; children 12 years and under are free.

The celebration will include a wide range of traditional Japanese New Years games, cultural demonstrations, and musical performances.

And of course there also will be Japanese food and sake available for purchase !!

So come celebrate the New Year, Japanese-style, on Sunday, January 21.

Annual Dinner is Set for January 22

Preparations are well underway for the Society's Annual Public Affairs Dinner, which will be held at the JW Marriott Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday, January 22.

The guest speaker will be the Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, United States Senator from Hawaii and the next chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Technology, and Transportation.

Senator Bob Dole, the Republican Presidential Candidate in 1996, has agreed to serve as the Dinner's Honorary Co-Chairman, together with the Honorable Norman Mineta.

The co-chairs for the dinner are Tetsuo Kadoya of Toshiba and Nao Matsukata of Alston Bird.

The dinner will be preceded by a cocktail reception and silent auction.

Further information is available at the Society's website, at www.us.japan.org/dc .

Society Seeks an Assistant for the Japan Bowl®

The Japan-America Society is now taking applications for a temporary position opening from January to April 2007 to assist the Director of the National Japan Bowl® to prepare and run the 2007 competition.

The Japan Bowl is a competition developed by Society to test the ability of high school students throughout America who are studying the Japanese language. 2007 marks the 15th year of the competition. The competition will be held on Thursday and Friday, April 12-13 in Washington DC and approximately 350 high school students will attend.

The Japan Bowl was modeled on a TV quiz show format and aims to make the study of Japanese challenging and enjoyable. Teams of students are asked questions regarding Japanese culture, grammar, kanji, katakana, kotowaza, and onomatopoeic expressions. The Japan Bowl Assistant must have fluency in both Japanese and English and have strong English-language writing skills. The Assistant will assist the Director in maintaining registration databases; recruiting and training volunteers; assisting with preparation of editing the materials; and assisting with logistics.

Until the end of April 2007 the Assistant will work an average of 30-40 hours each week at a starting hourly rate of $12, but with no health, pension, vacation or other benefits. Depending on the needs of the Society and the skills and experience of the Assistant additional responsibilities may be added, and the term of employment may be extended.

The Assistant must have the legal right to work in the United States; the Society will not seek any temporary workers visa on behalf of theAssistant.Interested applicants should send a letter of interest and resume to JASW by fax (202-833-2456) or email (jaswdc@us-japan.org).

Trustees Elect Their Officers

At the Board of Trustees meeting on December 18, the Trustees elected the following as officers of the Society:

Chairman of the Board -- William Breer

Vice Chairman -- left vacant for now

Secretary -- Yoshie Ogawa

Treasurer -- William Piez

The Trustees also re-elected Dr. Satohiro Akimoto of Mitsubishi International Corporation and Nao Matsukata of Alston Bird to be the Trustees' representatives on the Executive Committee.

Society Elects New Trustees

At the Society's annual general meeting on December 14, the membership elected Yoshihito Tabe of Itochu and Iwao Kimura of Toyota as new Trustees of the Society.

Re-elected to the Board were Trustees William Breer, Raymond Calamaro of Hogan & Hartson, Nao Matsukata of Alston & Bird, and Takashi Ohde of Hitachi.

At the Trustees meeting on December 18, the Board of Trustees elected Ryota Yoshimura of the Sumitomo Corporation to fill a Board vacancy.

We welcome our new Trustees to the Society.

Language School Starts on February 12

The winter semester of the Society's Japanese Language School will begin on Monday, February 12.

The School will be offering instruction at nine different levels, from elementary to advanced, as well as the senior class in reading and discussion [ 日本語読解討論 ].

The Japan-America Society operates the oldest, largest, and -- according to so many of our students -- the best Japanese language school in the Washington DC area.

The deadline for registration is January 31. Further information, including class schedules, fee, textbooks, and the application form, can be found on the Society's website, at http://www.us-japan.org/dc/language/lsinfo.html

The Japan Bowl Is Now the Japan Bowl ®

It's official! The United States Patent and Trade Office has granted the Japan-America Society the trademark rights to the name "Japan Bowl." So from now on, you will see that special ® mark after the Japan Bowl name.

The Japan-America Society of Washington created the Japan Bowl® fifteen years ago as an academic competition for high school students of the Japanese language. From the beginning the Japan Bowl drew interest from other Japan-America Societies and groups across the country, and the Japan Bowl soon became national in scope. This year's competition, which will be held on April 12 and 13, 2007, is expected to draw over 300 students from high schools throughout the United States.

The Society would like to thank Lynn Jordan and David Hill of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP for their services to the Society in achieving this milestone.

Japan's First Lady Has a Blog

Japan's First Lady Akie Abe has started her own blog in which she comments on her activities as the wife of Japan's Prime Minister.

For those who are not familiar with the concept of blogs, Wikipedia describes them as an internet website where the author makes entries in the style of a chronological journal. They often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news, while others function more as a personal online diary.

Mrs Abe's blog is in Japanese and can be viewed at http://www.abe-akie.jp/.

Good Turnout for Society's Bonenkai Party

Almost 100 members and friends of the Society joined our annual Bonenkai (Forget the Year) party on December 14. Thanks to Kenji Iwatake of the Sasakawa Foundation, we were able to use the large reception area in the Sasakawa building, above our offices.

Thanks also to Kirin and Sapporo for providing the beer for the evening, Southwest Airlines for the free "Home for the Holidays" air ticket, and Kenji Iwatake for providing food and sake for the event.

The Bonenkai was organized by the Society's Special Events Coordinator, Reiko Hirai, with help from a number of Society member-volunteers.