2017年2月19日 放送

Feb 19th 2017 O.A.

Feb 19th 2017 O.A.

Japan in 2017 Symposium

On February 8th, Japan in 2017 Symposium was held at Century City by the Japan America Society of Southern California. There, Japanese economy and Japan/US relationships were discussed. Japan America Society of SoCal is an nongovernment exchange organization founded by the experts of Japan and the US. They are involved in various educational and cultural events throughout the year.This year is the 4th year for this symposium to be held. Subjects from politics, economic policies and changes between the relationships of Japan and the US that happened during that year are discussed with guest speakers. Special Adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet, Tomohiko Taniguchi from Japan and Past General Counsel, U.S. Trade Representative, Ira Shapiro from the US was invited this year. Taniguchi is known as Prime Minister Abe’s speech writer. He stated his point of view towards the US-Japan Security Treaty, diplomacy, and political policies at the event.

The Community Swearing-in Ceremony for Al Muratsuchi

The oath ceremony for the California State Assembly, Al Muratsuchi was held at the Torrance City Hall on February 11th. His supporters, staff members and the local resiFeb 19th 2017 O.A.ts witnessed the event. Muratsuchi lost to his rival, David Hadley of the Republican Party in the California general election held last November. This time, he won back his victory and is back in office. He will be representing the 66th District, like Torrance and GarFeb 19th 2017 O.A.a where many Japanese Americans resides. This day, Muratsuchi vowed in front of 200 supporters and local citizens. Muratsuchi is a 3rd generation born in Okinawa and became a politician influenced by Daniel Inouye and from learning the Japanese American history. He won his first election in 2012 and since then, has passed 7 bills related to education and employment measures. Muratsuchi will be dealing with various matters in the next 2 years of his term of office.

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2017年2月12日 放送<li> GENESIS of YAMATO</li> <li> 南加庭園業連盟 新年の総会</li>

Feb 12th 2017 O.A.

Feb 12th 2017 O.A.

GENESIS of YAMATO

February 5th was the 62nd Annual Installation Banquet for the Southern California Gardeners’ Federation at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello. The Southern California Gardeners’ Federation is made of 16 organizations for gardeners based in SoCal. Members help each other and also do volunteer works. And this year’s distinguished service went to Nobu Tamai of the San Fernando. The SoCal Gardeners’ Federation was founded in 1955. Postwar, gardening work expanded as the occupation for many Japanese Americans surviving the concentration camp and rebuilding their lives. 1 in 3 Japanese Americans were gardeners at its peak and gained trust as a Japanese American towards the surrounding community. However, as the years gone by, not many successors were found and the maximum 6000 members decreased now to 780. Chairman, Seiichi Fujitani spoke, “Many longtime managers that were active in the union are still here. So I hope their knowledge and experience can be beneficial to others.”

The 62nd Annual Installation Banquet for the Southern California Gardeners’ Federation

February 5th was the 62nd Annual Installation Banquet for the Southern California Gardeners’ Federation at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello. The SoCal Gardeners’ Federation is made of 16 organizations for gardeners based in SoCal. Members help each other and also do volunteer works. 110 members and organization representatives met to praise the rich history of the union and each other’s hard work. And this year’s And this year’s merit award went to Nobu Tamai of the San Fernando Association. went to Nobu Tamai of the San Fernando Association. The SoCal Gardeners’ Federation was founded in 1955. Postwar, gardening work expanded as the occupation for many Japanese Americans surviving the concentration camp and rebuilding their lives. 1 in 3 Japanese Americans were gardeners at its peak and gained trust as a Japanese American towards the surrounding community. However, as the years gone by, not many successors were found and the maximum 6000 members decreased now to 780. Chairman, Seiichi Fujitani spoke, “Many longtime managers that were active in the union are still here. So I hope their knowledge and experience can be beneficial to others.”

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2017年2月5日 放送<li> ベルデエクスチェンジ</li> <li> LA三田会の新年総会 / 万里村れいさんミニコンサート</li>

Feb 5th 2017 O.A.

Feb 5th 2017 O.A.

VerdeXchange

From January 29th to 31st was the VERDEXCHANGE Green Marketmakers Conference & Expo in LA, discussing environmental policies and technology. In this event, decision makers widely discuss about California’s energy saving, accumulation and water infrastructure issues. Companies and organizations also promote their latest technologies. SB350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act was signed into law by the California state legislature stating by the year 2030, reusable energy will rise to 50 percent. Hearing this, 10 Japanese business have promoted their latest environmental technology that may help the state’s water shortage problem. The Japanese government are also connecting the environmental decision makers for both Japan and the US by using the connections built by the Consul General of Japan in LA. Kazuo Furukawa of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization held a debate with California’s environmental decision makers and spoke about Japan’s technology in making a smart community for a greener environment.

LA MIta-Kai New Year’s Party / Rei Marimura Concert

January 29th was Keio University’s reunion for the LA Mita-Kai, celebrating the New Years in Irvine. There, alumna and singer, Rei Marimura was invited from Japan and held a mini concert. The LA Mita-Kai was founded 55 years ago and currently holds about 250 members. Wide range of age groups from graduates to current students participate and hold pride in the club. At the New Years celebration, announcements of new board members and event announcements were held. After meal was Rei Marimura’s concert. Rei Marimura started her singing career when she was still a student at the university. Her song that was released in 1968, when she was in her fourth year of college, became a trend that year. She was active in the “college folk” era and is said to be the first female college student singer. She took a break for awhile but later came back in 1998 and is still continuing her singing career. After this event, Marimura sang at other locations, like the retirement homes in LA.

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2017年1月29日 放送<li> アジアン・アメリカン・エキスポ</li> <li> NAMMショー</li>

Jan 29th 2017 O.A.

Jan 29th 2017 O.A.

Asian American Expo

January 14th and 15th was the Asian American Expo at Pomona. It is one of the well known Asian culture expo in the US. When it started 35 years ago, only 60 companies exhibited but now, more than 1,000 companies participate. Many Asian companies including Japan, held demonstrations of their new products. At the food court, different Asian foods were served and traditional performances were held at the 7 stages during the event. At the Pechanga Casino & Resort’s booth, they were promoting their New Years celebration event. Not only the new parking space that was expanded last year, they are also planning to build new facilities as well.

The NAMM Show

January 19th through the 22nd was the NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center. The NAMM Show is the world’s biggest music industry expo. This year, about 1700 companies participated. Attendees were able to test the companies’ newest models, enjoy live performances and exchange information. From Japan, a small business from Shizuoka Prefecture, Hamamatsu City participated this year for the first time.Hamamatsu City is a city for musical instruments since more than 200 manufacturers like Kawai, Yamaha and Roland have their facilities in the city. At the booth of the Japanese guitar maker, ESP, custom made guitars were displayed. And guitarist, Keiji by Zero or Keiji Kiuchi has appeared as a special guest. He is just 11 years old and already ties a professional contract with the ESP. His shred techniques left a great impact to the American rock musicians too.

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2017年1月22日 放送<li> JBA 賀詞交換会</li> <li> 成人式 2017</li>

Jan 22nd 2017 O.A.

Jan 22nd 2017 O.A.

2017 JBA New Year Reception

A New Year’s celebration was held by the Japan Business Association (JBA) in Torrance and local Japanese business representatives exchanged their New Year’s greetings. JBA is a nonprofit corporation having 500 companies as their members, developing and improving the business environment for Japanese companies in SoCal. About 500 members exchanged their business cards with their New Year’s greetings. Consul General Chiba stated "Since government change is taking place in the US, it is important for each and every one of us to actively voice that the profits made from Japanese companies in the states are contributions from Japan to this country." President Okawa stated “We will continue to support Japanese companies in SoCal and cherish the bond we have between the Japanese American community. But also, we’d like to make 2017 a year where we can challenge on new matters as well.” A video message from celebrities related to LA was played and the New Years was celebrated by playing the annual door prize games and eating the traditional Japanese New Year’s food, Osechi.

Coming of Age Ceremony 2017

The Japanese coming of age ceremony was held on the 15th and LA residents turning 20 years old have attended. The Nadeshiko Association of Japan Arts Council is a volunteer association, whose mission statement is to spread the Japanese tradition to the next generation. The LA style Japanese coming of age ceremony started back in 2013 and this year was the 5th year. A total of 26 male and female have participated in this year’s ceremony and the members of the Nadeshiko Association helped style the kimono from early morning. At the ceremony, participants said their greetings to their family members and the audience. Consul General Chiba congratulated the new adults and performances like traditional Japanese dance and taiko drumming liven up the stage. One of the participants, Naoki Atkins performed the Tsugaru Shamisen and Eri Wong did the speech, representing the participants. Lastly, the audience sent their words of encouragement and celebrated for the new adults.

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2017年1月15日 放送<li> CES 2017</li> <li> 事始め 2017</li>

Jan 15th 2017 O.A.

Jan 15th 2017 O.A.

CES 2017

World’s largest electronic trade show, CES was held from January 5th at Las Vegas for 4 days. Marking their 50th year, about 3800 digital equipments and consumer electronical appliance makers from all over the world showed their newest models and technologies at the event. The spotlight went to the car manufacturers this year. In recent years, the CES has been the place of announcing new car technologies. The three big automakers from Japan participated for the first time. Honda announced their concept car using the autopilot technology. They also announced their motorcycle using their balance control technology from the robot, Asimo for the first time to the world. This year was Nissan’s first appearance at the CES. They announced their autopilot technology formed with the cooperation of NASA and also stated they are planning an experimental test for the public road. Toyota announced, Concept-I which syncs the vehicle and the driver using the artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The AI learns the driver’s habits and hobbies, supporting the driver to enjoy their perfect drive depending on their physical condition of that day. CES is changing between the years and this year was another success for many technologies were displayed that’ll make our lives more richer.

Kotohajime 2017

“Koto hajime” – New Year’s purification ceremony was held at the Little Tokyo’s Aratani Theater by the JACCC. Artistic Director, Hirokazu Kosaka directed the ceremony with a motif of the Shintoism ceremony and various performances were held. “First Scenery” was this year’s theme and amazed the audience. Performances by the Colburn School’s Trudl Dance Institute performing contemporary dance and Traditional Indian dance was performed by the Arpana Dance Company. Traditional Japanese dance was also performed by Gankyo Nakamura and Bando Ryu Kyo No Kai. Ikkyu: The Rite of Purification (Archery) , a group formed by the LA Kyudo Association appeared at the finale. With the musical performance by L’eclat quintet playing the classic number “Bolero”, Hirokazu Kosaka pulled the first arrow and hit the bullseye. Afterwards, President & CEO of JACCC, Leslie Ito and Consul General, Akira Chiba stated their New Year’s greetings. Then, the Kagami biraki sake barrel breaking was held. Cheers were held celebrating the New Year with the attendees.

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2017年1月8日 放送<li> お正月イン・リトル東京</li> <li> ローズ・パレード</li>

Jan 8th 2017 O.A.

Jan 8th 2017 O.A.

Oshogatsu in Little Tokyo

January 1st was Oshogatsu (New Year’s) in Little Tokyo. At Weller Court, the representatives said their New Year’s greetings and breaking of the sake barrel were held. At the miniature shrine, the chief priest prayed for great harvest and national prosperity. This event started 19 years ago to liven up the community and to spread Japan’s New Year’s culture. It is now one of LA’s seasonal traditions. At the Koyasan Buddhist Temple, a homa ritual was held and many people attended. The Japanese Village Plaza and Francis Hashimoto Plaza held many events and the attendees enjoyed Japanese New Years.

Rose Parade

The annual Rose Parade was held at Pasadena on January 2nd. Floats decorated with colorful flowers and marching bands celebrated the 128th Rose Parade. The largest float was the parade’s sponsor and the front runner of the parade, the American Honda. 20 high school students from Fukushima was invited through the TOMODACHI – Honda Cultural Exchange Program, supporting the restoration from the Great East Japan Earthquake. The students experienced 2 weeks stay in the US including the Rose Parade. The float was decorated with the waterfall cherry tree of Miharu and Nihonmatsu chrysanthemum dolls, which were the ideas of the students symbolizing Fukushima.

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January 1st 2017 O.A.

Jan 1st 2017 O.A.

Jan 1st 2017 O.A.

The movie “Silence” Premire

December 4th, a premiere was held at Westwood for the movie “Silence”, based on the novel “Chinmoku” (Silence) written by Shusaku Endo. Directed by Martin Scorsese, also known for directing “Taxi Driver” and “The Departed” – took 28 years in making this film since first reading the actual novel. It is the story of a Jesuit missionary sent to 17th century Japan, who endures persecution in the time of Kakure Kirishitan (“Hidden Christians”). The movie focuses on the weakness of humankind and the meaning of religious beliefs. Issey Ogata is one of many Japanese actors in the movie who plays the important role of prosecuting and eradicating the Christians. His performance was loved by many movie critics and is nominated as the runner-up for the Best Supporting Actor by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Sharing Is Caring

A Holiday Luncheon was held at Torrance on December 22nd of last year. Meals were served to attendees including the South Bay residents who require social services. This annual event is held by American Honda with the cooperation of local hotels and the salvation army. It all began 26 years ago when a burglar broke into the storage of the salvation army’s, stealing toys on Christmas day. Hearing this incident, Honda started the event for the underprivileged children since then. Approximately, 1,100 children to seniors enjoyed their turkeys and desserts this year. Warm meals are a great feast for ones who do not have any relatives and must spend the Christmas alone. This event usually happens after Christmas but this year was a big event before the Holidays. More than usual numbers of staffs and volunteers made the event possible. Santa Claus came by after the meal. And the children were given their presents. They all took a group photo afterwards and was a memorable Christmas for many children and families.

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