The e-Japan Journal is the electronic webletter of the Consulate General of Japan at Chicago (CGOJ) and the Japan Information Center (JIC). We hope it proves useful, interesting, and exciting as a window into Japanese culture in the Midwest. As always, your feedback, comments, and suggestions are encouraged and can be sent to our editor, Daniel Drake, at jic@japancc.org.

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The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides a primer and a Q&A regarding the Senkaku Islands. Please click below if you would like to learn more.

The Basic View on the Sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands

Established in 1972, the Japan Foundation has been supporting and developing cultural exchange programs between Japan and the world for forty years. The support and assistance they provide has led to an enduring legacy of Japanese arts, educational, and cultural organizations and programs. So if you'd like to join that legacy, have a look at some of the many grants that the Japan Foundation offers, several with looming deadlines.

Support Program for Translation and Publication on Japan (Due Nov. 19)
The Support Program is designed for non-Japanese publishering houses who are translating and/or publishing Japanese literature. Grant money can be applied to a translator's fee or to book binding and publishing costs. The average assistance provided last year was around $7000.
http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/program/culture.html#4-1

Training Programs for Japanese Language Teachers (Due Dec. 3)
The Training Program is for foreign teachers of Japanese who are still early in the career. Available at a two-month short-term level, a two-month advanced training level, a six-month long-term training level, or a one-year graduate level (towards a master's degree), this program flies newer teachers of Japanese to Saitama, Japan, for intensive language and teaching coursework, as well as several cultural exchange workshops. Applicants must alert the Foundation of their intention to apply prior to submitting an application.
http://www.jflalc.org/grants-jle-teachertraining.html

Japanese Language Program for Specialists in Cultural and Academic Field (Due Dec. 3)
Scholars, specialists, researchers, and more whose work requires Japanese facility are encouraged to apply for this program. Interested applicants can take either a two or six-month course which will provide them with intensive Japanese language classes at the Japanese Language Institute in Kansai, as well as opportunities for field trips and cultural workshops.
http://www.jflalc.org/2013-jlp-for-specialists.html

Exhibitions Abroad Support Program (Due Dec. 3)
Museums or art institutions hosting exhibits about Japanese art and culture can apply for this grant, which is designed to support Japanese art internationally. The grant covers shipping costs for artworks, catalogue production costs, and travelling costs for travelling artists.
https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/program/culture.html

Grant Program for Dispatching Artists and Cultural Specialists (Due Dec. 3)
Artists or Japanese culture specialists looking to perform or engage in Japanese cultural work overseas are encouraged to apply for this grant. Grant provides for international flight and shipping costs for any performance, production, lecture, demonstration, etc. The application is in Japanese only.
https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/program/culture.html

Applications for the 2013 Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program are now available! If you love teaching, Japan, Japanese, working with children, traveling, sushi, and any and all combinations thereof, then you should consider applying for the program. It provides the opportunity to work in a Japanese community, teaching English to primary or secondary students, while also living in Japan. So! Quickly, download the application, ask your professors for recommendations, write your essay, and submit it all by November 21! This means the entire application needs to be in the DC Embassy's JET Program Office by 5:30 PM (EST) on the 21st!

Visit this page for the application and instructions on how to apply
Visit this page for more information on the JET Program

The Japan America Society of Minnesota's annual awards dinner will be held this coming Saturday, November 3. The annual gala event celebrates and strengthens the ties between Minnesota and Japan, as embodied by Walter Mondale, the former Minnesota Senator, United States Vice-President, and Ambassador to Japan.

In honor of Mr. Mondale's life's work, the Japan America Society annually fetes an individual who has made "outstanding contributions to the building of understanding, cooperation and respect between the people of Japan and Minnesota" with the Mondale Award. Additionally, two or three Mondale Scholarships are awarded to undergraduate Minnesotans who demonstrate a commitment to studying Japan. This year's keynote speaker will be Ambassador of Japan to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki.

Click the link below for more information.

Date	Saturday, November 3, 5:00 - 9:00 PM
Place	Oak Ridge Country Club 700 Oak Ridge Road Hopkins, MN 55305 (Map & Directions)
Info	Event Information and Registration

It is now the (almost) beginning of winter, so it is time to start RSVPing to your local Japan America Society's end-of year dinner. First up is the Japan America Society of St. Louis, which will be gathering at the Wasabi Five Japanese Restaurant in Warson Woods, Missouri for an engaging cocktail hour, a delicious dinner, and a raffle of two free tickets to Japan!

Date	Thursday, November 8, 6:00 PM
Place	Wasabi Five 9983 Manchester Road Warson Woods, MO 63122 (Map)
Info	Visit the Society's website for more information

This past summer, the Kizuna Project, an initiative of the Japan Foundation and the Laurasian Institution, sent around 1000 American high school students (100 of them from the Midwest) to Japan to learn about the country and the effects of 2011's Great East Japan Earthquake. This fall, Japanese students from the affected area are visiting the United States to learn about our country, and to share their experiences. 50 students and teachers will be visiting the Midwest this November, visiting Muncie, IN; Lafayette, IN; and Cedar Rapids, IA. They will stay with host families and attend school, but they will also be giving public presentations to the local communities, and you're invited!

The Chicago JET Alumni Association will host a Career Development Workshop at the Consulate's Japan Information Center. Several speakers will present on networking, resume-writing, interviewing, and the dreaded job search. While focused on the career prospects of JET Program Alumni, this free workshop is open to anyone, so please click below to RSVP. There will be wine and cheese!

Date	Saturday, November 10, 2:30 PM
Place	Japan Information Center 737 N Michigan Ave. #1000 Chicago, IL 60611 (Map)
Info	Visit Chicago JETAA's website for more details, or go here to register directly.

From November 10-17, 11 social service professionals from Osaka, Japan will visit Chicago for a social service exchange. This Chicago Sister Cities International (CSCI)-hosted program will give the Japanese delegates a chance to visit Chicago-area agencies and, with their American counterparts, explore cross-cultural similarities and differences in services for children and families, older adults, and persons with disabilities.

On Friday, November 16, the week will culminate with an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural social service exchange conference themed "Trauma, Resiliency, & kokoro wo hiraku." Co-hosted by CSCI and the Consulate's Japan Information Center, the conference will feature prominent social work and psychology scholar-practitioners who will present on topics including post-traumatic growth, resiliency in foster care and orphanages, and an introduction to kokoro wo hiraku, the Japanese concept that loosely translates as "open the heart."

Friday's conference registration will be free, and free continuing education units (CEUs) will be available for professional counselors and social workers. The event is open to the first 100 registrants, and is appropriate for graduate students, professors, and practitioners in various social service related fields.

Visit the Osaka Sister City site for more information

• Throughout November: The Films of Studio Ghibli at University of Chicago's Doc Films
• November 2: A Lecture on "Animals and Civilization in the Japanese Enlightenment" at IU
• November 2 and 9: 3 Kenji Misumi Samurai Films to Show at the University of Wisconsin
• Opening November 3: Exhibit of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Japanese Fashions Collection
• November 7: In Chicago, Author Susan Katz Saitoh to Talk About Her New Book and Her Mother's Life in Japan
• November 8: Pianist Naomi Kudo to Play with a Trio in a PianoForte Foundation Concert
• November 8: Yoshimitsu Morita's 1983 Film Family Game to Show at Washington University at St. Louis
• November 9: Shall We Dance? Will Show at UIUC as Part of a Three-Day Celebration of Dancing
• November 10: Japanese American Service Committee's Annual Kodomo Matsuri (Children's Festival)
• November 16-21: Sushi: The Global Catch Screens at the Gene Siskel Film Center
• November 30: Charity Event for Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake at Omaha's Durham Museum
• Through December 1: Roger Shimomura's Bold Prints on Exhibit at University of Illinois-Springfield
• Through December 30: "Fields of Indigo & Fashioning Traditions of Japan"; an Exhibit at UIUC
• Throughout February: Kodo Taiko's One Earth Tour Brings Them to the US this February; Tickets Now Available!

Monthly Economic Report (October, 2012)
http://www5.cao.go.jp/keizai3/getsurei-e/2012october.html

Diplomatic Bluebook 2012 Summary
http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/other/bluebook/2012/html/index.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba 23 October 2012 – including 2. Sexual assault by U.S. servicemen and 7. Revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2012/10/1023_01.html

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 11 October 2012 – including 1. Japan-US-ROK Trilateral Meeting and 6. Questions concerning Japan-US-ROK Trilateral Meeting
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/2012/10/1011_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba 9 October 2012 – including 1. Deployment of the Osprey to Japan
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2012/10/1009_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba 5 October 2012 – including 7. and 9. Deployment of the Osprey to Japan
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2012/10/1005_01.html

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 4 October 2012 – including 1. Visit by Prime Minister Noda and Foreign Minister Gemba to New York
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/2012/10/1004_01.html

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba 3 October 2012 – including 1. Deployment of the Osprey
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/fm_press/2012/10/1003_01.html

Press Conference by the Assistant Press Secretary, 2 October 2012 – including 4. and 6. Question concerning an article in the New York Times on the Senkaku Islands
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/2012/10/1002_01.html

Shimotsuki, the old Japanese name for the month of November, means “frost month.”

National Holidays in Japan this month include Culture Day (11/3) and Labor Thanksgiving Day (11/23). Culture Day is based on the date on which Japan's Constitution was first announced in 1946 and was first observed in 1948. The spirit of Culture Day is to foster the ideals of the Constitution - peace and freedom - through cultural activities. On this day, the Order of Culture Awards are officially presented by the Emperor of Japan to those who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of science, art, or culture.

Despite its nominal similarity to a certain Western holiday, Labor Thanksgiving Day (Kinro Kansha no Hi) is actually based on a centuries-old harvest festival called Niinamesai. Modern observances of the holiday include a Labor Festival held in the city of Nagano and drawings presented to police officers by nursery school students in Tokyo.

Although not a national holiday, Shichi-go-san (11/15) is a very popular celebration throughout Japan. 7-year-old girls, 5-year-old boys, and 3-year-old boys and girls dress up in traditional clothing and visit shrines. (Shichi-go-san means "seven-five-three.") After the visit, they often receive special "longevity" candy to help ensure long life.

It's November, and when I think of this time in Japan, three things quickly come to mind – enjoying the beautiful momoji, eating with friends under the kotatsu, and cramming for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. If you share any or all of these sentiments, then this month's highlighted books are for you!

First up is the beautiful photographic book Intimate Seasons (call number 173060). A collection of gorgeous pictures taken by father/son team Shinzo and Akira Maeda, Intimate Seasons highlights Japan's natural beauty and reminds us why we all love its four seasons. Beautiful poems in both Japanese and English are interspersed throughout the book, and a list of the photographed places is also included.

While you are recalling Japanese autumn, why not cook some Japanese fall dishes? Eigo de Nihon Ryouri: 100 Recipes from Japanese Cooking (call number 141012) will help you to do just that! Included are such favorites as nabe, shabu-shabu, oden, and daigaku-imo. With over 100 recipes in both Japanese and English, you can enjoy cooking and studying simultaneously.

Speaking of studying, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test is just around the corner and the library's newest addition, Nihongo Nouryoku Shiken Koushiki Mondaishuu arrived just in time! Made possible by the Japan Foundation, these books (and included CDs) are a compilation of former JLPT test questions following the actual JLPT format. Available in all five levels (call numbers 537019-537023) they are a great way to get some "real-life" practice before the actual December test. Plus, they will give you something to do while you wait for the oden to simmer!

Happy reminiscing! Happy eating! And good luck with the test!
Ganbatte,
Emily Toelcke

What's New in the Library is a monthly column written by JIC librarian Emily Toelcke.

It seems an essay contest does not excite you readers as much as a good-old fashioned news quiz! So to return to our old format, here are three questions about current events in Japan. Email your answers for the chance to win a small prize!

1. How have Japanese Burger Kings been sprucing up their regular burgers for autumn?
2. What prefecture does 6-foot-4 baseball phenomenon Shohei Otani hail from?
3. Who filmed the documentary "Japan in a Day," which just opened at the Tokyo International Film Festival?

Study in Japan

If you receive this newsletter, there is a good chance that you are interested in visiting Japan. Well, why don't you upgrade that interest to a pursuit! Study in Japan is a terrifically helpful website put together by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to encourage and assist non-Japanese students who hope to study in Japan, who are studying in Japan, or who have studied in Japan. It provides handy resources, like school directories, scholarship lists, and links to alumni networks all over the world. It is also available in 7 different languages! If you're looking to jump start a career in Japan, Study in Japan is a great first step.

Most of my American readers probably hear "November" and think of "Thanksgiving." Or possibly the upcoming election. Most likely, though, you think of Thanksgiving, and its bountiful feast, its family togetherness, the marathon showings of Home Alone on TV, and pumpkin pie. But did you know that Japan also has a Thanksgiving? Originally called Niinamesai (literally "new taste festival"), it was formalized in 1948 to become Kinro Kansha no Hi, Labor Thanksgiving Day. Unlike the United States, however, it's not feast day, and children don't spend school hours drawing hand turkeys. Instead, it is quite literally a day of thanks for labor--the national holiday encourages Japanese to be thankful for the joy of hard work an prosperity. Many children write letters of thanks to local civil servants, like police and firefighters, while the city of Nagano throws a labor festival. The more you know!

Daniel Drake, Editor