2021 Activity Report
March Activity Report
31 March 2022
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
Inagaki 21 with Jin Kato
It was wonderful to host a hybrid in-person and online Inagaki seminar for the first time in literally years. This month, we had Jin Kato (Vice Chairman of Japan Wind Development Co, Ltd) present for Inagaki 21, on wind power energy and Japan’s moves towards a decarbonized, net zero society by 2050. It was held in the Yasuko Hiraoka Myer Room at the Sidney Myer Asia Centre, was translated from Japanese to English in real-time by the interpreter Meri Joyce, and was attended by 112 people (89 online and 23 in person) – it was a great turnout and I also received feedback from attendees (and those who couldn’t) requesting a video recording of the event. I’m in the process of embedding it onto the Inagaki website and will also send it out to our mailing list when it’s ready – please contact me at lu.lin@unimelb.edu.au if you wish to be updated on our news and events.
It feels like it’s taken so long to reach this point (of in-person events) after the dawn of the virus, for the development and eventual distribution of vaccines, and a cautious return to being together in person again. While this doesn’t apply to everyone’s experience of the pandemic, it makes a world of difference to have our social lives not be mediated by screens. Of course, the silver lining to pivoting everything online for a while was the wider global reach we were able to have. We’re continuing in this vein for Inagaki 22, which will be presented by David Palmer on Thursday May 12 (12:30–1:30PM), who will be presenting on past and future strategies on opposing Japan’s refusal to recognise Korean forced labour – it will be an important seminar for sure. Stay tuned for the announcement of our registration link, or like I mentioned, please e-mail me to be part of our mailing list.
February Activity Report
28 February 2022
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
First in-person event in 2+ years!
Yes, you read that heading right; we’ve been planning for our first in-person Inagaki seminar for the first time in over 2 years (I believe the last in-person event was in late 2019, presented by Akiko Shimuzu on queering Tokyo). Wow, what a wild ride the last few years have been – and while there’s no ‘returning to normal’ with global upheaval on different fronts left, right and centre (conflict, climate disasters…) – what we’ve seen as being certain amidst all the uncertainty is people’s adaptiveness to major change. In educational settings, as I’ve mentioned much before, it’s been the swift pivot to and delivery of online resources (classes, research, events). Now that many people in the Victorian population are either double vaccinated (or have even had booster shots), we’ve seen a return to in-person events. Here at the University of Melbourne, many in the events-department have seen the benefits of online events having a wider global reach (and economically beneficial without having to fly out speakers from across the globe); and so we aren’t entirely parting ways with those modes – that’s why we’ve introduced hybrid events that allow people to attend online via Zoom, or in-person! On March 11, we’ll have Jin Kato (Vice Chairman of Japan Wind Development Co, Ltd) presenting a seminar for Inagaki 21 on wind energy and Japan’s moves towards a decarbonized, net zero society – wow! If you’re in Melbourne, we’ll be in the Yasuko Hiraoka Myer Room at the Sidney Myer Asia Centre from 5-6PM, otherwise, you’re welcome to join us online on Zoom! Registration link is here. See you there!
Image: Jin Kato
January Activity Report
31 January 2022
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
Another new year
Happy Lunar New Year – if you celebrate it! While it’s not a holiday that’s celebrated among the Japanese community, it’s a big holiday here in Australia (especially with the country’s large Asian diasporic population). I myself am of Chinese heritage, so it’s a big occasion for me. While the Gregorian calendar celebrates the earth making a full rotation around the sun, I do appreciate the notion of transitioning into a new timeline based on the new moon. I always use it as an opportunity to ‘redo’ my new year’s commitments – January being the ‘ride off’ month (if anyone can relate…). January in general, is a quiet time here at the University (of Melbourne) – people are coming back from some time off over Christmas, New Year or just some well-deserved time off, and it’s also a time for staff to slowly prepare for the upcoming academic year. Here at the Japanese program, we’re preparing for the teaching semester (which begins in March), but as always, we’re preparing for our 2022 Inagaki seminars. Next month, we’re having a speaker (to be announced) on renewable energy, and we also have some planned on linguistics, later in the year. Stay tuned for what those might be!
December Activity Report
31 December 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
New year, similar things
I can’t believe it’s the end of (and the beginning of) another year! The teaching semester and exams ended in November (with supplementary and special exams in December), and we’re just starting off the new year with the summer term. Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone’s been able to have some kind of rest and respite over the holiday period – I can’t think of anyone who hasn’t needed it.
Australia is in a strange place at the moment, with rampant infection rates across the country despite relatively high-uptakes of vaccinations among the population. In addition to that, many of us breathed a collective sigh when restrictions eased, and looked forward to finally spending time with friends, family, and community in time for Christmas and the New Year. However, widespread travel across state borders is also what has contributed to the spikes in cases itself, and many people ended up spending their holidays in isolation or having to cancel their plans at the last minute.
I must say, congratulations to us all for making it through another turbulent year of uncertainty and anxiety, and on the university front, online teaching, social distancing, dipping in and out of campus between lockdowns, and continuing to learn in spite of it all. I don’t think I’ve made a single post in the last two years that hasn’t referenced “the virus”.
Here at the Japanese department, we’ve just been quietly chipping away with our work in the same fashion – preparation for teaching, doing our own research, and preparing for our Inagaki seminars in 2022.
Stay tuned!
November Activity Report
30 November 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
Almost the end of another strange year
It’s almost the end of the Gregorian calendar year – and we’ve made it through another strange year of lockdowns, online teaching and working from home, some (occasional) return to campus, vaccines, and in general, collective processing of this pandemic and trying to be ‘normal’ and ‘get on with things’ under very un-normal and ever-changing circumstances. The academic year at the University of Melbourne has just about finished and we’ve just released Semester 2 exam results, with some students sitting special and supplementary exams around mid-December. I can’t believe how fast the year has flown! I’m proud of all the work the Japanese department has been doing amidst this time, and I’m especially proud of our Inagaki seminars which saw many attendees from our Australian-Japanese academic community but also our affiliates, members of the public, and anyone with curiosity and interest in the Japan-related scholarly work that we platform. I personally most enjoyed the seminars by the nuclear abolitionist activist, Setsuko Thurlow, and our latest seminar with University of Melbourne art historian Mark Erdmann. If you’re interested in being updated on our seminars, please e-mail lu.lin@unimelb.edu.au to be added to our mailing list. Until next month – the last month of the year!
October Activity Report
31 October 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
Linking cultural exchange, here and abroad
Things are looking ‘brighter’ in Melbourne – quite literally with the warmer weather and longer daylight hours, and figuratively with higher vaccination rates – this is in line with another year and another semester closing up for the year. While everyone’s circumstances are different, and the socioeconomic and political turbulence is ongoing, there does feel like some hope exists on the horizon. This month we have our last Inagaki seminar for the year – by Mark Erdmann, who is a lecturer here in the University of Melbourne’s Art History department. He’ll be giving a talk on the symbolism of the famous Azuchi Castle Tenshu in the context of Japanese warring state ideology. If you’re available at that time, please register at this link here and join us for our last Inagaki seminar for 2021! It’s been another year of hosting these seminars online, and as I mentioned last month, has widened the scope of who we can invite to speak and who we can reach (globally). With some longer lasting change that feels ‘finally’ on the horizon, perhaps this means that next year we might return to doing Inagaki seminars face-to-face again? It would be great to attend an event where I can be in the same room as the speaker!
September Activity Report
30 September 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
Linking cultural exchange, here and abroad
As you know, the Inagaki seminars here at University of Melbourne are the Japanese program’s primary public-facing activity. While they used to be in-person, taking them online since 2020 has meant that we’ve been able to widen our scope of who gets to speak and who gets to attend. This year, we’ve been offering our community free access to world-leading scholars of Japanese studies from multiple disciplines. In 2021 alone, we’ve covered topics such as: the Fukushima disaster from a science and technology studies perspective; military censorship in US-occupied Japan; comparisons between human rights laws between Australia and Japan; the testimony of a Hiroshima bombing survivor and her advocacy in the abolition of nuclear weapons; and Ainu Indigenous education and how it aligns with Indigenous advocacy here in ‘Australia’. Wow! As you can see; the fields we span are wide. As a graduate student myself, I appreciate the enormous amount of work that goes into researching and collating your work to share with an audience – so I’m grateful for the speakers’ time and effort in sharing this work. I’m reflecting on all the Inagaki seminars we’ve had for the year because we only have one last one coming up! It’s on Thursday October 14, 12:30–1:30PM (AEST) and will be led by UniMelb’s Mark Erdmann – from the art history department. He’ll be giving a talk on the symbolism of the famous Azuchi Castle Tenshu in the context of Japanese warring state ideology. If you’re available at that time, please register at this link here and join us for our last Inagaki seminar for 2021! Until next month.
August Activity Report
31 August 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
Exciting Inagaki seminars
It’s hard not to begin my monthly posts talking about how COVID’s been impacting our daily lives and university operations, but it’s been the throughline of everything in the last almost two years (wow). As cases arise around the country, and with multiple states still in lockdown (here in Victoria we’ve been in our sixth lockdown for a month now), there’s also been an upsurge in vaccination rates which hopefully points towards another tier of ‘normalcy’ – with relief, openings, and contact with our communities – that we can adapt to. This month we’ve been continuing on with our work (as we do), our most public-facing of which are the Inagaki seminars. We had around 216 registrants and 184 people turn up to Inagaki 18 our highest attendance yet! – for From Victim to Activist – by the incredible Setsuko Thurlow. The seminar was a testimony by the survivor of the 1945 Hiroshima bombings (which gave me chills to listen to…), which also led to her lifelong advocacy in the total abolition of nuclear weapons. In turn, she was also a receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of ICAN in 2017. Thank you Setsuko, for your deeply important work, and also for sharing with us so generously. We have two more Inagaki seminars for the rest of 2021; the next one is on Thursday 30 September, 12:30–1:30PM (AEST) with Jeff Gayman (Hokkaido University), who discuss Ainu Indigenous education in Japan and situate his learnings with Indigenous advocacy here in Australia. If you’re around that day, please register!
July Activity Report
31 July 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
New and familiar motions
We’re just a short few weeks into the second semester of the year, and while the beginning of a new school term always feels more upbeat and refreshed after some time to rest in the mid-semester break, we’ve been in and out of lockdowns a lot of this year (in fact, we’ve just entered our sixth one as of tonight, here in Victoria…) and so there’s a lot of lethargy and upheaval as people move back into work-from-home settings and have their routines readjusted yet again! It’s not all doom and gloom though; I prefer to see it like a wave… motions going up, and down, up, and down. Vaccine rates are still low but increasing, and there’s optimism there, in spite of much global chaos occurring elsewhere worldwide. Here at the Japanese department, I’ve been working on our upcoming Inagaki seminars; I’m so excited for our next one in August with Setsusko Thurlow – best known for her activist work in the abolition of nuclear weapons; as a survivor of the Hiroshima bombings herself. She is also an incredibly accomplished social worker and her activist and community work has always been in service of creating a better world for others. If you’re available on Thursday 26 August 2021, 12:30 – 1:30PM (AEST) – then please do join us for this presentation! Registration link is here. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for our upcoming Inagaki 19 and 20 seminars! Until next month!
June Activity Report
30 June 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
Mid-year break
It’s halfway through the year; marked by students’ completion of exams, the mid-year month-long break, and winter solstice – the shortest ‘day’ of sunlight hours in the year. Here in Melbourne, we’re still at the whim of the virus; we’ve just emerged from another lockdown recently as new strains enter the country leading to new outbreaks. However, there’s optimism in the atmosphere with vaccines now available on our shores (Pfizer and AstraZeneca) – while there’s been discontent among the public for the government’s vaccine rollout, at least knowing that a vaccine even exists is a far step from when the pandemic first began early last year. Here at the Japanese department things have been moving in the usual fashion; the delivery of course material through teaching (some online, some in-person), research, and we’ve been continuing with our Inagaki seminars as per usual. We’ve got three very exciting seminars planned for the rest of 2021, however this month we’ve been preparing for our upcoming Inagaki 18 seminar with the incredible Setsuko Thurlow – a renowned activist and social worker best known for her lifelong advocacy in the total abolition of nuclear weapons. As a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombings, her experience has led her on this incredibly important journey and as a result, has been recognised internally for various peace prizes and commendments – including the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). If you’re available on Thursday 26 August 2021, 12:30 – 1:30PM (AEST) – then please do join us for this presentation! Registration link is here.
Image: Inagaki 18 speaker, Setsuko Thurlow
May Activity Report
31 May 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
Legal knowledge sharing
It’s almost halfway through 2021 – wow! – as the month of May marks the end of semester one. Students are going in to SWOTVAC mode (a term we use to describe the period of time between final classes and exams) as we all take some time to reflect on what we’ve been learning over the year. Our activities here at the Japanese studies program continued in the same vein: continuing our rhythm of delivering lessons and of course, our Inagaki seminars. This month we hosted legal scholar Professor Miho Aoi from Gakushuin University Law School, who presented work based on her recent visiting fellowship at Australian National University. The seminar, ‘Enforcing Human Rights: The View from Japan’ was co-hosted with the Asian Law School and explored comparisons between the ACTHRA (Human Rights Act of the ACT) and Japan’s Constitutional rights. It was a fascinating and informative presentation – and we were so glad that Aoi-sensei was able to join us all the way from Japan. While the shift to online delivery of university operations proved an adjustment for everyone over the past 18 months, the silver lining was that it really did enable us to expand the scope of who we could invite to share their work with us. We’ll be taking a pause from Inagaki seminars for the next couple of months but we have some wonderful seminars taking place later on in the year. Stay tuned!
April Activity Report
30 April 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin
Openly sharing about ‘censorship’
Can’t believe it’s May already – we’re already close to mid-year – though the changes can be felt with the cooler weather here in the southern hemisphere; while it gets warmer for our GJO friends worldwide in the north. Things have been operating smoothly and ‘as per usual’ (well, since last year) here at the Japanese department at Asia Institute, preparing and presenting our Inagaki seminars. We’re always so thrilled to share the work of scholars working in the fields of Japanese studies at any corner of the earth (and who we are able to invite has expanded ‘thanks’ in part to online transition), but this month we had our own Dr. Jonathan Glade, lecturer in Japanese studies here at UoM’s Asia Institute. Dr. Glade presented a very interesting seminar titled ‘Fraternization: Censorship and Expression in US-Occupied Japan’ which as the title directly suggests, explores censorship in post-WWII occupation of Japan by the US military. More specifically, the targeted censorship of ‘fraternization’, a term used to loosely describe the explicit portrayal of relations between (US) occupation troops and Japanese women. The suppression of such portrayals also discouraged open critiques of Japan’s imperial past or open critiques of the US military which in turn, impacted cultural production in Japan long after occupation’s end. I (personally) found this seminar to be fascinating due to my own interests in military history and feminism. Thank you so much Dr. Glade for sharing this work with us!
We are also in the midst of preparing for our next seminar, Inagaki 17, presented by Professor Miho Aoi (Gakushuin University Law School), who will present work based on her research at Australian National University. The seminar, ‘Enforcing Human Rights: the View from Japan’ is co-hosted with Asian Law Centre and explores comparisons between the ACTHRA (Human Rights Act of the ACT) and Japan’s constitutional rights. The seminar will take place online in a few days on 10 May, 12:30-1:30PM AEST. All are welcome to attend (online), however registration is essential as places are limited! We hope you’ll join us to hear Prof. Aoi’s thoughts!
Until next month!