Robert Pekkanen has recently received the “Outstanding Research Award” by JANPORA (Japanese Association of NPO Research), which is the nonprofit studies association of Japan, for a co-authored article titled, “Distinguishing Providing Public Services from Receiving Government Funding as Factors in Nonprofit Advocacy.” The article, authored by Itaru Yanagi, Yohei Kobashi, Robert J. Pekkanen, and Yutaka Tsujinaka was

The UW Japan Studies Program extends its congratulations to Azusa Tanaka who is recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Librarian Award. Through her expertise, creativity, and relationship-building with donors, she has not only greatly expanded the collections of Japanese language materials available from the UW Libraries, but also expanded access through offering information sessions to students

May 15, 2022 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the ‘reversion’ of Okinawa to Japan by the United States. To commemorate this historic event the UW Japan Studies Program has invited an interdisciplinary and international group of Okinawa Studies scholars to present research that reflects on the reversion movement and its aftermath at a two-day workshop

A new book by Robert and Saadia Pekkanen (editors) was published last month: the Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics (Oxford University Press 2021). This handbook is the first / hardback edition. It’s also online through the UW libraries subscription to the Oxford Handbook Online platform. Robert authored a chapter on “Populism in Japan” and Saadia

In this new book, Ted Mack brings the writings of Japanese who emigrated to Brazil in the pre-war era to English language readers.  Aquired Alerity: Migration, Identity, and Literary Nationalism (UCPress 2022) is the first book-length study in English of the Japanese-language literary activities of early Japanese migrants to Brazil. It provides a detailed history

Professor Justin Jesty has been a keen observer and researcher into the role of art in social movements in Japan. In this article (Economist Jan 15th 2022 edition) he brings us up to date on recent interactive installations in rural areas of Japan and the impact the artists are having on communities.

Paul Atkins, Professor of Japanese at the University of Washington, has been awarded the Kyoko Selden Memorial Translation Prize Japanese in Literature, Thought, and Society by the Department of Asian Studies at Cornell University. This is the first time a UW faculty member has been awarded this prize, which comes with a cash award. Atkins

UW Associate Professor Justin Jesty reports on the recent Butoh workshop and series of performances which he attended this past November. Seattle dance collective DAIPANbutoh held their annual butoh festival, November 19-21 at the Yaw Theater in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. Spanning three nights of performance and two afternoon workshops, the festival was a tour-de-force, featuring

On Oct 27th, Ken Tadashi Oshima (UW) joined Hitoshi Abe (UCLA) to host Prairie Stuart-Wolff for the third event of JAPAN HOUSE LA’s lecture series on the application of MA (time/space consciousness) in a variety of cultural spheres.  If you missed the event, a recording is now available, along with previous lectures in this series!

Ken Tadashi Oshima (UW) will join Hitoshi Abe (UCLA) to host Prairie Stuart-Wolff for the third event of JAPAN HOUSE LA’s lecture series on the application of MA (time/space consciousness) in a variety of cultural spheres. This talk will cover the application of MA in Japanese cuisine. Full event description at JAPAN HOUSE LA’s website. This event is hosted by JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles and supported