Japan-America Society of DallasFort Worth

Social/Cultural Programming (Otsukimi Moon Viewing Festival, Sake Lecture/Tasting, and Shogatsu new year's celebration):As the full moon rose over Simpson Plaza in Frisco, Texas, thousands gathered under its light to celebrate the many facets of Japanese culture at the 23rd annual Otsukimi Moon Viewing Festival on September 10, 2022. Hosted by the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth (JASDFW) in partnership with the Crow Museum of Asian Art, this year's event boasted record numbers of booths and attendance since moving to the Dallas suburbs. There were vendors selling traditional and modern Japanese goods, families and friends making rabbit ear headbands and trying their hand at traditional Japanese calligraphy, as well as Japanese and Asian fusion food for everyone to try. All this and more were relished by residents to the sound of Taiko Drums, Shakuhachi Flutes, and Haiku readings in both English and Japanese. What made this event especially unique was the presence of an international celebrity that is, Musubimaru. He is the lovable rice ball samurai who flew all the way from Sendai, Japan, where he has served as the mascot for Miyagi Prefecture since 2007. Kids young and old enjoyed getting the chance to take a photo with this enjoyable character and learning more about Dallas sister city, Sendai. Those familiar with Japan's unique ability to make a cute mascot for everything, from prefectures to police departments, were particularly excited to see this part of modern Japanese culture up close. Of course, there would not be a festival without the support of our sponsors, who generously chose to invest in cultural education. The presenting sponsor was the Consulate-General of Japan in Houston with 99 Ranch Market, Frisco Arts Foundation, and New Quest Properties serving as pavilion sponsors, and Altair Global, H-E-B, and McDonalds USA, LLC as community sponsors. As always, The Japan-America Society is excited to bring this ongoing festival to North Texas and give everyone throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth region an opportunity to celebrate the moon, the changing of seasons, and the culture of Japan. (People Served: Estimated 4,500 attendees and 530 views of YouTube recap video)Re-branded programming included the annual sake tasting, which featured a guiding experience with a Texas-based sake distributor, and the Shogatsu new year's celebration, a family-themed festive program to fill in for the long-time Mochitsuki event.

Educational Programming (Summer Camp, Language Learning, Nichibei Connections, Book Talk, Japan-in-a-Suitcase, Etc.):The 2022-23 programming season was notable for almost a complete return to in-person events since the COVID pandemic began. The one noticeable exception would be language instruction, which remained as an online offering. A number of new regular events began during the 2022-23 fiscal year, including our inaugural Destination Japan summer camp for kids to explore Japanese pop culture, traditions, food, and language. We also saw the beginning of the Nichibei Connections; an anime trivia series aimed to attract a young professional audience; and a Japanese beer garden event, highlighted by a limited-release rice beer and a traditional drumming performance.The early half of 2023 featured an engaging book talk with Michiko Johnson, who told her story of living in Japan during and after World War II. The Japan-America Society complemented its cultural offerings with a policy discussion under the Geostrategy in the Grassroots series, sponsored by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. Two keynote speakers from the U.S. and Japan discussed Japan's strategic and operational adjustments after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, maintaining that Japan is cautiously watching China's operations in East Asia and the South China Sea.Our education staff and lively volunteers introduced Japan to hundreds of people in the community through our popular Japan-in-a-Suitcase program for elementary and middle school students. We were able to return to an all in-person experience, which enhanced the ability to connect with young audiences interested in Japan.

Business Programming (Japan Currents Symposium): The Japan-America Society was honored to present a program to highlight growing economic connections between the U.S. and Japan. The event was titled "2023 Japan Currents Symposium: The Effect of SMEs in U.S.-Japan Economic Exchange and Trade," which occurred on February 17 at the Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center. Luncheon keynote speakers were Richard Katz (Publisher of Japan Economy Watch, correspondent with Weekly Toyo Keizai, and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs) and Iichiro Uesugi (professor in the Research Division of Economic Institutions and Policy at the Hitotsubashi University Institute of Economic Research).Katz presented a promising evaluation of Japan's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), sharing that moving to a start-up company was once seen as too risky for young workers, whereas now it is increasingly accepted and with better job prospects. He maintained, though, that the Japanese government continues to support large, slow-to-innovate large firms (elephants), as opposed to fast-growing and entrepreneur-led SMEs (gazelles). Uesugi shared that, contrary to belief, there are more SMEs in Japan than in the U.S. as a share of the total economy. He was more optimistic than Katz in his assessment of how the Japanese government is financially backing SMEs, although this can create on over-reliance from public funding and result in zombie firms, which need to be restructured or close.The afternoon panel included Jason Galui (Professor of Practice at SMUs Cox School of Business), Jessica Gordon (Director of the Dallas-Fort Worth office of the U.S. Department of Commerce's U.S. Commercial Service), and Hiroyuki Watanabe (Director of the Texas Japan Office). SMUs Hiroki Takeuchi served as a conversant for the luncheon speakers and the moderator for the afternoon panel.Gordon presented a picture of the many resources that the U.S. government offers to support SMEs, focusing on American companies wanting to expand into new markets abroad, such as Japan. Watanabe looked at Japanese SMEs move to the U.S. as a natural method to grow their business, given that the Japanese market is limited and that its population is decreasing. Galui championed the entrepreneurial spirit of SMEs in the U.S. and the prospects for Japanese firms in North Texas, namely in the high-growth northern Dallas suburbs.The Embassy of Japan (Washington, DC) and the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS) were the lead sponsors for the 2023 Japan Currents Symposium with the SMU Tower Center on Public Policy and International Affairs as a partner. Additional support was graciously provided by the City of Plano, through its Office of Economic Development, and American Airlines as the airline sponsor.(People Served: 85 in-person attendees and 102 views of YouTube event recap)