Roland Kelts interviewed by AnimeNewsNetwork’s Chicks-On-Anime
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A good (and long) interview with Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, by Bamboo and Sara (aka Chicks-On-Anime) has been posted on the AnimeNewsNetwork.
Review: JET Alumni Author Showcase
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JETAANY Hosts First Author Showcase
By Gina Anderson (Nara-ken, 2003-05), former JETAA DC newsletter chair and Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02), editor of JQ (JETAA NY) Quarterly Magazine
New York City’s Holiday Inn hosted a summit for published JETs as JETAANY launched its debut JET Alumni Author Showcase on March 22. The panelists included pro writers Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), Robert Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04) and James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06). (Click here and here for photos and here for video clips.)
Drawing over 60 JET alums, friends and family, the event kicked off with some words from Akira Sugiyama, director of the Japan Information Center of the Consulate General of Japan in New York. Moderator and playwright Randall David Cook (Fukui-ken, 1991-93), creator of the critically acclaimed Off Broadway plays Sake with the Haiku Geisha and Fate’s Imagination, asked each author to share a favorite selection of their works with the crowd.
A professor at three different universities including Tokyo University, a writer and editor for two magazines and a columnist for the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kelts spoke about Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., his non-fiction book about the eponymous subject. He began by Read More
Roland Kelts recent articles in The Daily Yomiuri and Adbusters
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Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, has two recent articles published.
Daily Yomiuri: Soft Power Hard Truths / American anime fans party, but don’t pay
On the widening gap between Japanese and American fandom: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20090320TDY13002.htm
Adbusters: Dame-Ren (No Good People) – A glimpse into Japan’s embrace of Western-style capitalism
On Japan’s new generation of dropouts and street performers: http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/80/japan_no_good_people.html
JET Alums and the art scene
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What’s the connection between JET alumni and the NY art scene? It turns out that a JET alum, Matt Schlecht (Akita-ken, 1998-99), is the editor of NY Art Beat (www.nyartbeat.com), an online art review and listings site, which grew out of Tokyo Art Beat. Matt says they’re always looking for writers to contribute to the NY Art Beat blog, which features reviews, interviews, and photo reports. So if there are any JET alums out there looking to gain exposure for their writing or photography, please feel free to get in touch with him.
Meanwhile, at the JET Alumni Author Showcase earlier today, a JET alum named Alan (I didn’t get his last name) mentioned that he’s an artist in NYC and would be interested in organizing a JET Alumni Artist Showcase one of these days. He inquired about the best way to go about making this happen, and after additional thought my suggestion would be…
- Someone should start a JET Alumni Art group, either on GoogleGroups or Facebook or whatever medium you prefer.
- Let me know about it so I can post info about it on JetWit
- Let JETAA NY and other chapters know about it so they can mention it in their announcements to their members (I can help with this part too)
Tokyo As Seen Through the Eyes of Foreigners (film review)
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By Rick Ambrosio (Ibaraki-ken, 2006-08) and Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03)
Sunshine Cinema is now showing the movie Tokyo!, a compilation of three short films from the French directors Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Leos Carax (Lovers on the Bridge) and the Korean director Bong Joon-Ho (The Host). Gondry himself made an appearance at two showings of the film when it debuted last weekend, for a Q&A session after the 7:30 show and introducing the movie at the 10:30 show. He spoke in his typically quirky way about his time shooting in Tokyo, and how things like the spaces between buildings and how Japanese people falling asleep on each other on the train fascinated him. Before starting the show, he expressed relief that his Japanese producers weren’t there so he wouldn’t feel bad about forgetting to thank them.
Tokyo! kicks off with his contribution of “Interior Design,” a Kafkaesque story about trying to find your place in the world. The story revolves around a young couple that Read More
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
In these tough economic times we are all looking to save money where we can. In eco-conscious Japan, this is taking the form of restaurants looking to reduce their amount of waste. Not only is this better for the earth, but they are also able to decrease processing costs so it’s a double bonus. An interesting phenomenon is that this idea is being applying to the ubiquitous enkai, known to be the worst waster of food. Instead of putting out a great spread and having much of it end up as leftovers, Read More
Daily Yomiuri: Roland Kelts comments on Haruki Murakami’s Israel speech
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In a special column in today’s Daily Yomiuri (“Haruki Murakami: Japan’s 21st-Century Cultural Ambassador“), Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, comments on Haruki Murakami’s speech regarding his recent acceptance of a literary award in Israel.
Roland also has a new “Soft Power/Hard Truths” column out today, this one titled “Cosplayers a breath of fresh air for D.C.“
Also, here are upcoming speaking dates in NY for Roland:
- Mar 10th, New York, NY, The Consulate General of Japan in New York
- Mar 12th, New York, NY, The Japan Society
- Mar 22nd, New York, NY, JETaaNY Author Showcase (*RSVP required)
JQ Magazine: Winter 2009 “New Issue” of JETAA NY Quarterly Magazine Now Online!
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Otsukare sama deshita to Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02), the new editor of JQ, JETAA NY’s Quarterly Magazine, for putting out the first issue of the Magazine. And what an amazing issue it is.
Go to http://jetaany.org/magazine to see the issue online.
Here’s the table of contents:
WINTER 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Page 3…..Letter From the Editor
- Page 4…..Nippon News Blotter
- Page 5…..JETAAnnouncements
- Page 6…..East Meets West
- Page 7…..Nihonjin in New York Featuring the JLGC by Junko Ishikawa
- Page 8…..JETlog by Sean Sakamoto
- Page 9…..JetWit.com Q&A with Steven Horowitz
- Page 9…..Catching Up with Randall David Cook by Lyle Sylvander
- Page 10…Youth for Understanding by Sylvia Pertzborn
- Page 11…Theatre Review: Shogun Macbeth / John Briggs Q&A by Olivia Nilsson and Adren Hart
- Page 12…Speakit LLC: Kevin Kajitani Interview by Junko Ishikawa
- Page 13…Jero: The JQ Interview by Justin Tedaldi
- Page 14…Joost!: Japanese TV on Your PC by Rick Ambrosio
- Page 15…Film Review: Sukiyaki Western Django by Elizabeth Wanic
- Page 16…An Inside Look at Japan Airlines by Kelly Nixon
- Page 17…Japan Society’s Best of Tora-san Series by Matt Matysik
- Page 18…Chip Kidd Talks Bat-Manga! by Justin Tedaldi
- Page 19…Book Corner: Natsuo Kirino’s Real World by David Kowalsky
- Page 19…Restaurant Spotlight: Wajima by Allen Wan
- Page 20…Adventures in SwirlySwirlDates by Rick Ambrosio and Nicole Bongiorno
- Page 21…Yosakoi Dance Project by Kirsten Phillips
- Page 22…The Tale of Eric and Ozawa by Rick Ambrosio
- Page 23…Top 14 List / Next Issue / Sponsors Index
Soft Power, Hard Truths: From Akihabara to Katsucon
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The latest Soft Power, Hard Truths Daily Yomiuri column from Roland Kelts (author of Japanamerica) in which he describes taking his Tokyo U. students on a field trip to Akihabara (i.e., the heart of otaku culture) reflecting on their reactions.
WIT Life #29: International Recognition to Wipe Away Domestic Woes
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
For those of you who didn’t tune in to the Academy Awards last night, Japan cleaned up in all the categories in which it received nominations. Going against heavily favored Waltzing with Bashir from Israel, Director Yojiro Takita’s Okuribito (Departures) took the award for Best Foreign Language Film. Since the establishment of this award in 
1957, Japan Read More
Japan Society (NY) presents KRAZY! (March 13 to June 14) – Reduced ticket price
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KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games
KRAZY! (March 13-June 14) now contains a whopping 200 objects; we’ve reduced the ticket price from $12 to $10 ($8 students/seniors and FREE for children under 16); on the weekends we will hold back-to-back screenings of 7 full-length anime films in our 262-seat theater free to ticket-holders, and patrons will be able to sit and play the featured video games (including a console table Pac-Man) as well as browse hundreds of manga comic book titles.
See the full details below:
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Pac-Man, Paprika, Super Mario, and Afro Samurai: Welcome to New York!
Japan Society Gallery Celebrates the Japanese Art Forms of Anime, Manga, and Video Games in Spring 2009
New York, NY — Once considered the preserve of an insular youth culture, within the last decade Japanese animated cartoons (anime), comics and illustrated narratives (manga), and interactive video games have migrated into the mainstream, with reverberations both high and low. In a first for New York City, Japan Society explores this phenomenon in KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games from March 13 through June 14, 2009. Read More
NY Times article on Japan Society appointment of Ambassador Sakurai to head post
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The February 6 NY Times article “Japan Society Names a New President” offers some additional perspectives on Japan Society and the challenges that Sakurai-san will face as well as some of the tools and uique perspectives he’ll bring to the job. (See the original JetWit post with Japan Society press release here.)
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Just received this announcement/press release from Shannon Jowett, Director of Communications for Japan Society (NY). Ambassador Sakurai has been very supportive of JETAA, plus he’s a real nice guy, so JetWit is a big fan:
Japan Society is pleased to announce that Ambassador Motoatsu Sakurai will be president effective Tuesday, April 7, 2009. Full details are below.
Ambassador Motoatsu Sakurai Named Japan Society President
Ambassador Sakurai with his wife
First Japanese-born president to head non-profit, non-political organization
New York, NY — February 7, 2009 — Ambassador Motoatsu Sakurai will be the new president of Japan Society. The Society’s Board of Directors announced this morning that the Ambassador assumes his new leadership role April 7, 2009. Ambassador Sakurai is the Consul General of Japan in New York and is the former president of Mitsubishi International Corporation, USA. He will be the first Japanese-born president of Japan Society, now a 102-year old non-profit, non-political organization. Read More
Video: Roland Kelts on Studio360 with Kurt Anderson
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A sampling of what’s to air on NPR’s Studio 360 Goes to Japan on Saturday at 10 am, featuring Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99):
Roland Kelts special on NPR’s Studio360 to air Saturday morning
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JetWit just received the official press release from WNYC’s Studio 360 regarding their exclusive Studio 360 Goes to Japan program, featuring a segment written and hosted by Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), which will air this Saturday on NPR stations nationwide. Content, including video, will go live on the Studio 360 web site (http://www.studio360.org/) starting at 6 p.m. today (See the full press release below.)
The segment Roland wrote and hosted is focused on Japan’s Youth Culture and its various pathologies, especially the struggles of haken, or temporary workers, amid the imploding global economy.
Additionally, JetWit has learned that Roland is booked for an interview tomorrow afternoon with Nippon Television for their nightly news and entertainment program, News Zero. He will be interviewed by pop idol and actor Sho Sakurai of the band Arashi, and director Takashi Miike, both of whom are in town to promote the latter’s forthcoming live action film version of the 70s anime series, Yatterman. The interview will be about the Japanese pop culture juggernaut. Read More
