The Japan Foundation (国際交流基金, Kokusai Kōryū Kikin) was established in 1972 by an Act of the National Diet as a special legal entity to undertake international dissemination of Japanese culture, and became an Independent Administrative Institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 1 October 2003 under the "Independent Administrative Institution Japan Foundation Law".[1]
The Japan Foundation aims towards comprehensive and effective development of its international cultural exchange programs in the following categories:[2]
Promotion of (Japanese) arts and cultural exchange
Promotion of (overseas) Japanese studies and intellectual exchange – Japan Foundation Information Centers[3] collect and provide information about international exchange and international cultural exchange standard bearers.
Prince Takamado served as administrator of the Japan Foundation from 1981 to 2002.
Japan Foundations worldwide
Building of the "Japanisches Kulturinstitut" in Cologne, GermanyThe Japan Cultural Institute in Paris, France
The Japan Foundation is headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo and has a subsidiary office in Kyoto. There are also two domestic Japanese-Language Institutes in Saitama and Tajiri, Osaka.
Internationally, the Japan Foundation maintains 25 overseas branches in 24 countries:[4]
The Wochi Kochi Magazine (をちこちMagazine)[5] is a Japanese website designed by the Japan Foundation[6] to enhance the strength of information transmission about Japanese culture to the world. It replaced the paper magazines Kokusai-Kouryu (International Exchanges) (1974–2004) and Wochi-Kochi (Far and Near) (2004–2009). Those were the only domestic paper magazines which were especially published for "international cultural exchanges". The word "wochi-kochi" itself is a pronoun from ancient Japanese "Yamato" language meaning "here and there" or "the future and the present". As the web magazine title, "wochi-kochi" demonstrates places and times, and it expresses the desires to spread Japanese language/culture overseas, moreover, play a role as the cultural bridge among countries and people. Keeping those aspects from previous magazines, the Wochi-Kochi Magazine website carries interviews, contributed articles and serialized stories written by the experts from various professional fields each month.
Activities
Delegates of 3rd Asian Cartoon Exhibition, held at Tokyo, in July 1997, organized by The Japan Foundation Asia Center
Let's Learn Japanese – educational Japanese-language learning series, produced 1985, 1995, and 2007
JF Nihongo - Japanese language classes offered using the Can-do evaluation system.
From 1995 onward regularly inviting leading cartoonists from various Asian countries to conduct Asian Cartoon Exhibition and Conference at The Japan Foundation Asia Center, Tokyo as an annual event. Later on the same exhibition travels to the various Asian counties. In the process, it has employed the friendly medium of cartoons for introducing Asian societies to those who would like to know more about them and appreciate people other than their own kind.[7][8][9]
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