Thursday, May 2, 2024
2:00 pm
Japan Society, NYC

Keynote Sessions

U.S.-Japan Economic & Business Outlook for 2024 and Beyond

Amidst the backdrop of soaring Japan stocks and a resilient U.S. economy, the business landscape in the United States and Japan is characterized by growth and promising opportunities. In 2023, the U.S. economy demonstrated robust growth, carrying forward the positive momentum into 2024. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei stock index soared to an all-time high in February 2024, propelled by optimistic expectations for strong corporate performance, surpassing the previous record set in 1989. As we venture further into 2024, questions loom regarding the trajectory of both economies. What lies ahead for the United States and Japan? How do global leaders perceive these pivotal markets? In this program, keynote speakers explore the current economic climate in the United States and Japan, and potential opportunities shaping the U.S.-Japan business landscape.

Keynote #1
Speaker:
Haruhiko Kuroda, Former Governor, Bank of Japan; Visiting Professor, International and Public Affairs, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Presider: 
Merit E. Janow, Dean Emerita, & Professor of Practice, School of International & Public Affairs, Columbia University; Chair of the Board of Directors, Japan Society

Keynote #2
Speakers:
Takeshi Niinami, President & CEO, Suntory Holdings Limited
Douglas Peterson, President & CEO, S&P Global

Presider: 
Eri Kakuta, Partner, PJT Partners

Panel Discussion

Technology Innovation in the U.S. & Japan: What’s Ahead?

The past decade has witnessed remarkable technological breakthroughs, from artificial intelligence to robots to electric vehicles, sparking competition among nations to remain at the forefront of progress. As technological advancement accelerates, countries such as the U.S. and Japan must strategically adapt to these shifts to maintain their competitive edge. In which areas do the U.S. and Japan excel in terms of technology, and how can they leverage each other’s strengths through collaboration? This program explores the digital transformation strategies of Japan and the U.S., discussing their stance on technology and innovation, identifying opportunities and challenges, and highlighting areas for potential cooperation between the two nations.
Speakers:
Linda Kirkpatrick, President, the Americas, Mastercard
Sidney Olinyk, Founder & CEO, Duco
Akihisa Shiozaki, Member, House of Representatives and Liberal Democratic Party; Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan

Moderator:
Joshua W. Walker, Ph.D., President & CEO, Japan Society

『機動戦士ガンダムSEED  FREEDOM』
Kido Senshi Gandamu Shido Furidamu

The East Coast Premiere of the feature film Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM.
With Gundam displays from Tamashii Nations and Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America, and a conversation with Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld. (U.S. voice of Lunamaria Hawke)

Sunday, March 31, 2024
​4:00 pm
​Japan Society, NYC
japansociety.org/events/mobile-suit-gundam-seed-freedom/

Sunday, February 25, 2024 4:00 pm
Japan Society, NYC

​Cast and Producers In Attendance
Justin Marks, Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Showrunner, Writer
Rachel Kondo, Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Writer
Michaela Clavell, Executive Producer 
Hiroyuki Sanada, Producer / Star, “Toranaga”
Anna Sawai, Star, “Lady Mariko”
Eriko Miyagawa, Producer
Frederick H. Katayama, Moderator

FX’s Shōgun, an original adaptation of James Clavell’s bestselling novel, is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Producer Hiroyuki Sanada stars as “Lord Yoshii Toranaga” who is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him. When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot, “John Blackthorne” (Cosmo Jarvis), comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies — the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants. Toranaga’s and Blackthorne’s fates become inextricably tied to their translator, “Toda Mariko” (Anna Sawai), a mysterious Christian noblewoman and the last of a disgraced line. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.

The 10-episode limited series features an acclaimed Japanese cast, unprecedented for an American production, including Tadanobu Asano as “Kashigi Yabushige,” a notorious backstabber and close ally of Toranaga; Hiroto Kanai as “Kashigi Omi,” the young leader of the fishing village where Blackthorne’s ship was found; Takehiro Hira as “Ishido Kazunari,” a powerful bureaucrat who is Toranaga’s chief rival; Moeka Hoshi as “Usami Fuji,” a widow who must find new purpose amidst her lord’s fight; Tokuma Nishioka as “Toda Hiromatsu,” Toranaga’s trusted general and closest friend; Shinnosuke Abe as “Buntaro” (“Toda Hirokatsu”), Mariko’s jealous husband; Yuki Kura as “Yoshii Nagakado,” the brash son of Toranaga with a strong desire to prove himself; Yuka Kouri as “Kiku,” a courtesan renowned for her artistry throughout Japan; and Fumi Nikaido as “Ochiba no Kata,” the revered mother of the heir who will stop at nothing to put an end to Toranaga and his threat to her son’s power.
​
Shōgun is created for television by Rachel Kondo & Justin Marks, with Marks serving as showrunner and executive producer alongside Michaela Clavell, Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca and Kondo. The series is produced by FX Productions.

『天使のたまご』 
Tenshi no Tamago
Sunday, September 10, 2023
6:00 pm
​Japan Society, NYC

​Special event with Yoshitaka Amano in-person. Screening followed by Q&A with Yoshitaka Amano and reception. A groundbreaking collaboration between two anime legends that intertwines Mamoru Oshii’s personal reflections on theology, existentialism and evolution with Yoshitaka Amano’s fantastical ink art style, Angel’s Egg remains a rarely screened and hard-to-find cult classic. Taking place in a seemingly quiescent time, two nameless strangers—a girl bearing a mystical egg and a man with a cruciate cane—journey across a primordial realm of decadent ruins, primitive fish and fossilized relics. An allegorical fantasy enriched by symbolism and biblical allusion, Oshii’s beautifully melancholic OVA ruminates on the tragic underpinnings of existence in a world untouched by God.
This event is presented in partnership with LOMEX Gallery (86 Walker Street), who will be presenting the exhibition Yoshitaka Amano – The Birth of Myth opening on September 9 from 6 to 8 pm. For more information, visit lomex.gallery.

Sunday July 30, 2023
​5:30pm
Japan Society, NYC

レジェンド＆バタフライ
Rejendo ando Batafurai
Introduced by and followed by a Q&A with director Keishi Otomo. Learn More
North American Theatrical Premiere. A sweeping historical romance created to celebrate Toei’s 70th anniversary, The Legend & Butterfly casts megastars Takuya Kimura as Oda Nobunaga and Haruka Ayase as his wife, Nohime. While Oda Nobunaga is one of Japan’s most well-documented historical figures, virtually no information about Nohime remains, and The Legend & Butterfly fills this mystery with a turbulent, thoroughly modern romance. A Sengoku era take on the expression “behind every great man lies a great woman,” The Legend & Butterfly sees over 30 years of defining moments in Japanese history driven by powerful, private moments between Nobunaga and Nohime.
Dir. Keishi Otomo, 2023, 168 min., DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Takuya Kimura, Haruka Ayase.

Tokyo melody: un film sur Ryuichi Sakamoto

Opening comments by Akiko Yano; Screening followed by a Q&A with Director Elizabeth Lennard.
Saturday, July 29th, 2023
7pm

Imported 16mm Print. Filmmaker and photographer Elizabeth Lennard secures unprecedented access to Ryuichi Sakamoto during the recording of his 1984 albumOngaku Zukan in this brief-yet-insightful Franco-Japanese television co-production. A sampling of studio sessions and performances (including a piano duet with then-wife Akiko Yano), archival footage and talking head interviews, Tokyo Melody finds the eccentric artist at his creative peak, pushing the envelope to new sonic frontiers as he reflects on modern life, shifting technologies and his own creative processes. Lennard captures an awe-inspiring portrait of the extraordinary musician—one that taps into the very nature of the artist’s raison d’être and remains a testament to Sakamoto’s profound brilliance.
Dir. Elizabeth Lennard, 1985, 62 min., 16mm, color; in Japanese, English and French with English subtitles. With Ryuichi Sakamoto, Akiko Yano.

At Japan Society

JAPAN SOCIETY FILM
Mori, The Artist’s Habitat モリのいる場所 (Mori no Iru Basho)
North American Premiere

Intro and Q&A with star Kirin Kiki, with CUT ABOVE Award ceremony

Thursday, March 17, 2016
​7:00 pm
Japan Society 

Friday, November 20, 2015
7:00 pm
Japan Society, NYC

​Master photographer Eikoh Hosoe gave a lecture at Japan Society.  He told episodes and process of working with other artists such as an author Yukio Mishima, and butoh dance founder Tatsumi Hijikata. Mr. Hosoe was fluent in English, and audience enjoyed mingling with him at the reception.

Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, a hundred-year old doctor gave a lecture at Japan Society.

Here are some of his quotes, which spoke to me.

"History repeats."
"Have a courage to go against the flow."
"Give a life to your time, your time will be alive."
"Don't eat too much if you want to live longer."

I admit, it is quite convincing when you hear them from a sharp-minded hundred-years old man.
To him, my life has just been warmed up.

A photo shoot for the launch party of "Four Stories", a short film competition, hosted by Intel, W Hotels, Vice, and director Roman Coppola, at W Hotel downtown, New York. 

Starting Aug.14th through Aug. 30, filmmakers can visit intel.com/fourstories to upload their original screenplays – inspired by the highly mobile, 24/7 nature of travel – for the chance to see their idea come to life on the big screen.Three winning screenplays will be selected from a global pool of submissions by an exclusive panel of industry leaders, including Roman Coppola (The Directors Bureau), Michaelangelo L’Acqua (W Hotels global music director), Deborah Conrad (chief marketing officer at Intel), Eddy Moretti (executive producer and creative director at VICE), Michael Pitt (actor), Jeff Baena (screenwriter), Chloe Sevigny (actress), PJ Ransone (actor) and Blake Whitman (vice president of creative development at Vimeo) and Danny Gabai (agent, motion pictures for William Morris Endeavor).

Japan Cuts (The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema) of 2012 showcased the US Premiere of Love Strikes! モテキ (Moteki) with an appearance of actress Masami Nagasawa, this year's recipient of NYAFF's Rising Star Asia Award. Co-presented with The New York Asian Film Festival. The evening also featured a live performance by COBU. 

SOLD OUT

at Japan Society
Saturday, June 9, 2012
7:30 PM

Concert + Talk
Behind the scenes of the Japanese ballad