Winners Announced! | JLTI Japanese Language Contest 2023

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We are very happy to announce the winners of the annual JLTI Japanese Language Contest 2023. This year, the theme for contest was “Diving into the world of Japanese”, and organisers invited entries in the form of speech or Japanese language soundtrack videos which tie in with this theme.

 

 

The entries were evaluated on a variety of criteria such as language level and expression, creativity and performance. The judging panel took into account the language background and learning experience of the entrants which was documented through their application forms.

The winners of 2023 contest:

Open Category
Japanese Language Award: Marco Perez-McKay
Language Achievement Award: Nadia Lagrutta & Xiadani Ortega Ramirez
Special Mention Award: Maria Mardiki

6th Year
Japanese Language Award: Andy Yu
Language Achievement Award: Ben Whelan
Special Mention Award: Meenakshy Bino
Language Recognition Award: Weronika Strek

5th Year
Japanese Language Award: Stefanie Reji
Language Achievement Award: Aeryn Noble
Special Mention Award: Aimee Fanning
Language Recognition Award: Cáit Whitmore

We congratulate all the winners and would like to thank everyone for the participation this year! Each winner have received comments from the judges and a voucher that will allow them to purchase Japanese-related textbooks, books, manga, accessories, origami, etc. as prizes.

Japanese Language Contest in Ireland is organised by the Japanese Language Teachers in Ireland (JLTI) with the support of the Embassy of Japan in Ireland, Post-Primary Languages Ireland, and the Ireland Japan Association in order to encourage and promote Japanese education in Ireland.

For more information:

 

Japanese Film Festival 2023

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The Japanese Film Festival 2023 returns for its 14th edition this April, with an exciting programme that will bring the best of Japanese cinema to audiences across Ireland.

Ireland’s only truly national film festival will showcase more than 20 films this year, from the latest anime hits to exciting indie discoveries. The festival will run from April 8 – 28, with screenings in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Dundalk and – for the first time – Wexford town.

 

 

The festival includes screenings of powerful drama A Man, which recently won eight awards – including Best Film – at the Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony in Tokyo, the acclaimed superhero reboot Shin Ultraman, and exciting new anime titles such as Blue Thermal and The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes.

Whether you’re a festival regular or have never been before, we can’t wait to welcome you at our screenings.

Dundalk – An Táin Arts Centre: April 8
Limerick – Belltable: April 12-13
Sligo – Sligo Film Society @ The Model Arts Centre: April 13
Cork – Triskel Christchurch: April 15 and Gate Cinema: April 24-27
Waterford – Garter Lane: April 18-19
Wexford – Wexford Arts Centre: April 20 & 25
Galway – Pálás: April 20-23 and Eye Cinema: April 24-28
Dublin – Light House Cinema: April 20-27

The full list of film screenings is available here: https://www.jff.ie/screenings.html

 

“As the newly appointed ambassador, I am delighted to hear that Irish audiences have enjoyed previous Japanese Film Festivals in Ireland. I am looking forward to visiting Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Dundalk and Wexford where the 2023 Japanese Film Festival is taking place and seeing many of the films on offer this year. I would like to thank access>CINEMA for all their commitment and hard work devoted to making the Japanese Film Festival such a successful annual event since we started our collaboration in 2008. I hope that everyone will enjoy this year’s films and get to know more about Japanese life and culture.” – Mr Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland

 

 

“After the disruption of the past 3 years, we’re excited to be finally able to return our Festival activity to pre-pandemic levels, and are grateful to everyone who loyally supported us during that difficult period. JFF has always been about bringing the diversity of contemporary Japanese cinema to Ireland, and this year we’ve pulled out all of the stops to ensure that the programme has something for everyone. As ever, we’re delighted to be able to bring the Festival to sites across Ireland – with Wexford a new addition to the schedule this year. Whether you’re a Festival regular or have never been before, we can’t wait to welcome you at our screenings nationally.” – Maeve Cooke, director of access>CINEMA

 

More information: https://www.jff.ie/

JFF 2023 is co-organised by The Embassy of Japan and access>CINEMA .

Celebration of Culture Day in Dundalk Grammar School

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The 4th Annual Celebration of Culture Day took place on 15th March in Dundalk Grammar School turning the school into a sea of colour and creating an atmospheric vibe and buzz making it not like any other day. Verity Swan, IJA Council member, was among invited guests attending this event on behalf of the IJA.
‘Many of the students ditched their uniforms to come in wearing their own cultural attire. Whether their own culture or their adopted culture for the day, the colour of the attire made for fascinating imagery and brought the spirit of the day to life. This was a day to celebrate culture, and with over 50 cultures in the school, students were determined that their culture was going to get highlighted. While having pride in their school uniform, this was their opportunity to show their diversity and to demonstrate their pride in their culture, in a sense to celebrate their difference. In highlighting difference, it was also to raise awareness of the richness of the different cultures, thus, to encourage greater understanding and mutual respect, and to show how much each person and culture, although different, actually had in common. Hence the theme of Culture Day, United in Diversity,’ explained Paul Brady, Dundalk Grammar School.
As part of the day long celebrations, the students put on a celebratory concert in the afternoon to celebrate culture through song, dance, poetry and music.  ‘What came through clearly throughout was the ownership that the student body had of the whole Event. The Day was organised meticulously by a diligent and hard-working team of 6th year students, ably assisted by other teams of students, each team performing their own particular function to bring the whole concept together. Stalls, foods, cafe, musicians, flags, posters, decorations. It was all there. It was a celebration. It was a festival of culture,’ said Paul Brady.
The concept of Culture Day started in 2018, and continued in 2019, taking a break during Covid restrictions in 2020 and 2021. Festival returned again to school grounds in 2022, continuing tradition also in 2023.

From left: Verity Swan, Ireland Japan Association and Rotarian, Margaret Morley, Rotary Club District Governor and Rotarian with students of Dundalk Grammar School

The student organisers were delighted to welcome H.E. Mr. Akhilesh Mishra, Indian Ambassador to Ireland, and his wife, Mrs. Reeti Mishra. Other guests on the day included: Ana Alonso, Education Advisor, the Spanish Embassy, Valerie Swan, the Swiss Embassy, Verity Swan, Ireland Japan Association and Rotarian, Margaret Morley, Rotary Club District Governor and Rotarian, and Ulrike Schoeller, Vice President, Irish Austrian Association.
Photos from the event available on Dundalk Democrat here!

Evening with Japanese renowned writer and film director Kōji Fukada in Dublin

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On Thursday, 30th March, IJA members had a rare and unique opportunity to meet Japanese renowned writer and film director Kōji Fukada during his first visit to Ireland. He was one of the special guests at the East Asia Film Festival Ireland, attending his film screening and masterclass in Dublin.

Our members and invited guests met with director Fukada at a small and intimate meet & greet event in Dublin city centre, listening to stories and passion behind his films, and participating in conversations with director Fukada and Japanese Ambassador to Ireland – Norio Maruyama.

 

We would like to thank Keiko Nakata, Embassy of Japan, Azumi Uchitani, ElectroRoute and Tsugumi Yamamoto, IJA, for their support to make this event so special and memorable for everyone.

Event was organised by the Embassy of Japan in Ireland in cooperation with the Ireland Japan Association and ElectroRoute.

Photos: Embassy of Japan in Ireland

IJA Annual General Meeting 2023 | Review

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The 33rd Annual General Meeting for the Ireland Japan Association took place on Thursday, 23rd March 2023. Meeting was held as a hybrid event with members attending in person and remotely via Zoom platform.

 

 

Raymond Hegarty, IJA Chairperson, thanked the outgoing Council members for their work, participation and team effort throughout the past year, Embassy of Japan for their continued support to the IJA, and all IJA Corporate and Individual members who have supported association and its activities in 2022.

Raymond Hegarty warmly welcomed H. E. Mr. Norio Maruyama, the new Ambassador of Japan in Ireland, wishing him and his team a very successful time in Ireland during his service.

In his report, Raymond Hegarty noted that 10 business and culture events were organized online and in person throughout the past year, including IJA Japanese Conversation Group, Ikebana Demonstration Online, Japanese Language and Culture Course, AGM 2022, IJA Annual Dinner, Summer Ikebana Workshop, IJA Golf Outing 2022, Autumn Ikebana Workshop, Ichigo Ichie Dinner Event, and Bounenkai celebrations. Raymond Hegarty thanked all Council members who have dedicated their time and effort to organise these events.

In 2022 IJA supported and promoted a long list of various events organized by the IJA partner organisations, members and friends – UCD Japan, Experience Japan, Unique Japan Tours, the Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce, Japanese Film Festival, East Asia Film Festival, Chester Beatty, EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, Raku Theatre Group, Japan Hockey team games in Dublin, and many more.

The IJA supported Experience Japan festival and Japanese School of Ireland with donations in 2022.

Raymond Hegarty informed that IJA member’s network had 33 corporate members and 58 individual members in 2022. The IJA is delighted to welcome our new corporate members who joined the IJA in 2022 and early 2023: IJA Patron member – ElectroRoute, and corporate members – Openskies Aerial Technology Ltd. and K&L Gates Ireland.

An update on the Dr. and Mrs. Ushioda Scholarship was given during the meeting. Raymond Hegarty informed that in 2022 Ushioda Scholarship was presented to 2 students:

  • Francis Donnelly (2021 winner), studying for BA in Applied Languages, University of Limerick. Francis is currently studying Japanese studies at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. Due to the pandemic, her departure was postponed in 2021;
  • Joseph Peter Talento (2022 winner), studying Business Studies International at DCU. Joseph has travelled to Japan for an exchange year at Toyo University. 

Raymond Hegarty thanked Paula Kelly for her support and assistance with the scholarship management and administration process over the last year.

Summary of the IJA Financial Statements for 2022 was shared with the AGM participants, membership subscription fees were discussed and approved for 2023/2024 and the new IJA Council members were announced.

Raymond Hegarty thanked Eddie Hughes for his valuable advice, work and participation during his time on the Council. E. Hughes stepped down after 3 year servie on the Council. Raymond Hegarty, who is stepping down after serving 3 years as the IJA Chairperson, will continue his work on the Council as Ex-Officio. 

This year the IJA received enough nominations to satisfy the constitutional requirements for Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Ordinary Council members, and all places were filled without requiring a vote.  Raymond Hegarty congratulated Catherine Grennell-Whyte and wished her success in the new role.

Three new Council members were welcomed to the IJA Council this year – Azumi Uchitani, ElectroRoute, Eva Reavley, IJA Individual member and Verity Swan, IJA Individual member who all will join the Council as Ordinary members. All new Council members made short introductions.

The newly elected IJA Council for 2022:

Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson

  1. Catherine Grennell-Whyte, ATTS/Finnair (Chairperson)
  2. Tsugumi Yamamoto, IJA Individual Member (Vice Chairperson)

Ex-Officio

  1. Raymond Hegarty, IJA Individual Member

Corporate Members:

  1. Azumi Uchitani, ElectroRoute
  2. Brian Marconi, JTI
  3. Darina Slattery, Unique Japan Tours
  4. Laura Goonan, Dillon Eustace
  5. Pamela Connell, Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking
  6. Stephen Mullin, CPL Ireland
  7. Yasuyuki Ozeki, JETRO

Individual Members:

  1. Eva Reavley, IJA Individual Member
  2. Hiro Ino, IJA Individual Member
  3. Jonathan Kelly, IJA Individual Member
  4. Paula Kelly, IJA Individual Member
  5. Verity Swan, IJA Individual Member

Not on Council but invited to attend meetings:

  1. Keiko Nakata, Embassy of Japan (Honorary Member)

 

EU-Japan News | March 2023 Issue Available Now

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EU-Japan NEWS is the quarterly newsletter of the EU-Japan Centre launched in 2003 and containing EU-Japan-related news and features on topics of interest to EU and Japan businesses and public bodies.

The newest issue of the March 2023 Newsletter is available in an online and PDF version packed with the EU and Japan related news, partnering opportunities, network news and lots of other useful information and links.

In this issue, you will find:
* Centre’s news: pages 1-8
* EU news: page 9-10
* Japan news: page 11
* EU-Japan news: pages 12-19
* Enterprise Europe Network opportunities: pages 20
* Calendar: page 21

 

EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation is a unique venture between the European Commission and the Japanese government. It is a non-profit organisation established as an affiliate of the Institute of International Studies and Training (IIST). It aims at promoting all forms of industrial, trade and investment cooperation between the EU and Japan and at improving EU and Japanese companies’ competitiveness and cooperation by facilitating exchanges of experience and know-how between EU and Japanese businesses.

You can read full March 2023 Newsletter online here!

You can read full March 2023 Newsletter in PDF format here!

JLTI Japanese Language Contest 2023 | Apply Now!

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In order to encourage and promote Japanese language education in Ireland, the Japanese Language Teachers in Ireland (JLTI) are delighted to host their annual Japanese language Contest with the support of the Embassy of Japan in Ireland, Post-Primary Languages Ireland, and the Ireland Japan Association.

 

 

This year, the theme is “Diving into the world of Japanese”, and organisers are inviting entries in the form of speech or Japanese language soundtrack videos which tie in with this theme. The Japanese Language Contest takes place online.

The entries will be evaluated on a variety of criteria such as language level and expression, creativity and performance, and the prizes will reward a range of different styles, abilities and effort. The judging panel will take into account the language background and learning experience of the entrants which will be documented through their application forms.

The entries will be evaluated on a variety of criteria such as language level and expression, creativity and performance, and the prizes will reward a range of different styles, abilities and effort. The judging panel will take into account the language background and learning experience of the entrants which will be documented through their application forms.
Applications are accepted for:
* Secondary School Category: TY/LC1 Category & LC2 Category
* Open Category
Application Deadline: Monday, 6th March 2023
Results will be announced in early April.
For application forms, competition guidelines and additional information, please visit:

Stage Beyond Borders | Japanese stage performances online

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‘Stage Beyond Borders’ is an online project by The Japan Foundation, which presents outstanding Japanese stage performances with multilingual subtitles for free. The works distributed through this project span the three genres of contemporary theatre, dance performance and traditional performing arts.

Performing arts is one of the earliest forms of entertainment that through strangers and various environments stirs the imagination about ongoing stories and provides hopes and hints about the real world.

For more details and full playlist of performances, please visit: https://stagebb.jpf.go.jp/en/

The ‘Stage Beyond Borders’ playlist is also available on the YouTube channel here:

Photo: The Japan Foundation

A Hybrid Japanese Typewriter project among finalists of the 2023 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition

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A Hybrid Japanese Typewriter project developed by Stratford College 3rd year student Joseph Mudrak was among finalists of the 2023 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.

 

 

Joseph (14) has always loved to discover new and challenging things to learn. He learned to read when he was two years old, and by the time he was ten, he was teaching himself Chinese characters. He loves learning new languages and currently speaks Polish, English, and Irish, and is learning Japanese, French, and German. Joseph is also a pianist and has won a few competitions in Ireland. He is currently doing RIAM Grade 7 at the age of 14.

His passion has always been languages, different cultures of the world, music and programming. Joseph is also very interested in Japanese culture and language, and it is his dream to visit Japan one day.

After starting to learn Japanese at home by himself, he realised that Japanese is a very complex language, with thousands of different characters, which led Joseph to wondered how a hypothetical typewriter would work with such a writing system. After finding out about what currently exists and is available, he decided to make an electric version that fits all the characters used in Japanese onto a standard QWERTY keyboard. There are still industries where typewriters are in use, and this project is a robust and easy-to-use solution.

 

 

There were more than 1700 projects submitted for the competition of the 2023 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. The judges chose 550 for the final exhibition at RDS, Dublin, and Joseph’s project ‘エレキタイプ – A Hybrid Japanese Typewriter’ was among the finalists.

 

‘I very much enjoyed talking to you about your project on a Hybrid Japanese Typewriter. I had no idea how difficult  it is to type Japanese and I was surprised by the complexity of the problem. You presented your project with clarity and confidence. Well done!’ – Dr. Peter Taylor, Judge at the BTYSTE 2023

 

Micheál Martin, Tánaiste, Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport, and Ivana Bacik, Leader of the Labour Party visited exhibition at RDS, Dublin and showed interest in Joseph’s project.

 

Joseph also had a wonderful opportunity to meet with Ms. Keiko Nakata, Embassy of Japan in Ireland, who was delighted to learn about his invention and received a gift book about Joseph’s project.

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is much more than a competition – it is the experience of a lifetime for the students and teachers who take part. Designed to raise schools’ engagement in the critical subjects of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM), the Exhibition calls upon students aged 12-19 years from all over the island of Ireland to showcase innovative science and technology project.
Photos and videos: Agata Mudrak personal archive

IJA welcomes its new 2023 Patron Member – ElectroRoute

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Ireland Japan Association is delighted to welcome ElectroRoute, an international, renewables-focused, energy trading and services company, on board the IJA as our new 2023 Patron Member, and we are looking forward to a long lasting and successful cooperation.

 The company, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, has grown rapidly from its establishment in 2011 to now employing over 90 professionals based in Ireland, the UK, Europe, and Japan.

The company’s vision is to make net zero a reality by solving the commercial mechanics of a decarbonised energy system. ElectroRoute intelligently leverages the benefits of new technologies, our advanced methodologies, and the application of unrivalled expertise to develop innovative energy trading and renewable risk management solutions.

Its team of traders trade and optimise a range of renewable assets on a 24/7 basis using its unique, tech-driven, AI-powered platform, ElectroRoute CORE.

If you wish to learn more about ElectroRoute and services they provide, please visit their website: https://electroroute.com/ or visit ElectroRoute profile on LinkedIn and Twitter!