The fourth Thursday of each month is the date for our regular J-Kai social gathering which has been attracting larger numbers sometimes spilling out into the courtyard.  Rather than it being a conversation class we’ve endeavoured to create an informal atmosphere where people can get together for friendship and language exchange.  This has been achieved with the screening of Japanese TV programs including Sumo and J-Pop, the popular 60’s series “Shintaro the Samurai” and Karaoke Nights.

Other social events have included our popular mid-winter Nabe Night which always attracts a lively crowd who enjoy the food and conversation and a recent Ramen Night.  As well we’ve been able to obtain some hard to come by tickets for soccer matches between Adelaide United and visiting Japanese teams.  And our World Cup Soccer Party to watch the game between Japan and the Netherlands was standing room only. 

Our interest in soccer has expanded to include supporting the Nankatsu FC team in the Collegiate League.  Several years ago we had a team competing in the Amateur League so we were very pleased to be asked to support the new team.  They have some very talented players one of whom has begun training with Adelaide United.

But our biggest event of the year is the annual Golden Week Japan Festival.  The highlight of the week is the Kodomo no Hi celebration which this year attracted an attendance of almost 5,000 people. The festival is held to allow the general community a chance to learn about Japanese culture and to provide an opportunity for Japanese residents in South Australia to take pride in their heritage.  Over the years, the event has become the most significant occasion for Japanese people to gather together and has helped to foster a sense of community amongst them.

The success of the festival has been noticed and it has become the template for other similar events put on by other organizations, providing the performers we have identified with further opportunities to present Japanese culture to the community.  And at the recent National Federation of Australia Japan Societies conference in Canberra I was asked to make a presentation on the Kodomo no Hi event which is the largest volunteer community Japan festival in the country.

Other activities that we organize include the regular origami and calligraphy classes.  An enthusiastic group enjoy getting together to improve their skills and have volunteered to assist in workshops that we have conducted. 

The most popular workshop would have to be at the Moon Lantern Festival when hundreds of people besiege the marquee to have their names written in Japanese characters or to learn some simple origami techniques.  We have also arranged for musicians and dancers to perform at this event and have nominated potential performers for the OzAsia Festival which next year will have a focus on Japan.

One of our continuing aims is the promotion of Japanese language learning.  We provide awards to students of Japanese who gain a score of 20/20 in the SSABSA Yr. 12 assessment cycle, to the most outstanding student in the Adelaide TAFE Interpreting and Translating course and to the best student in Japanese at the School of Languages.  As well we conduct the Japanese Language Proficiency Test sponsored by the Japan Foundation.

I’m sure most of you receive my monthly “What’s on” message which now goes out to over 800 people.  This has recently been supplemented by the establishment of a Facebook page that very quickly attracted over 200 friends.  Thanks to Greg Corbett our PR officer for setting this up.  Greg has done a great job publicizing our events even putting up posters at lots of locations around town.

All of the Associations activities are managed by the committee and I would like to thank them for their hard work over the last year.  Unfortunately, not all of them can continue and Paul Smith has tendered his resignation.  He has done a great job recording events and put together a very professional DVD of Kodomo no Hi, which was used for the presentation at the conference in Canberra, and will maintain his interest with Japan as President of the Japan Australia Business Council.

I would also like to thank the volunteers who assist at the Kodomo no Hi celebration and the Moon Lantern Festival and especially those who worked on our festival sub-committee to prepare for Kodomo no Hi, which is becoming a major community event.

Finally, as the committee now has two vacancies I would like to ask all members to consider giving some time to help manage the Association’s affairs.  For the Association to continue to function effectively we need a full committee to share the workload.  It’s not a difficult task and there are benefits both professional and personal so please give it some thought.