We continue to enjoy an especially warm summer in Toronto, perfect for street festivals, the CNE and, when it gets too hot to stay outdoors, a trip to the Japan Foundation to see our new contemporary art exhibition, Winter Garden, or to visit the Japan Foundation Library. Please come relax in our air-conditioned Pop Culture Corner and art gallery.

There are so many Japan-related activities going on all over Canada this season, it’s difficult to list them all. Of course, North America’s largest film festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, is on from September 9 – 19, and we look forward to seeing some of the best new Japanese films make their Canadian debut.

Also in Toronto, Canadian and Japanese young people will be wrapping up an international musical summer camp on August 21 with a performance of “Robinson, Robinson” at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.

Several important conferences and symposia are occurring across Canada in the next few months. On August 20, Kwansei Gakuin University will be hosting a symposium at the University of Toronto titled “Canadian-Japanese Relationship in a Changing World.” The keynote speaker of this free event will be Joseph Caron, former ambassador to China and Japan. For more information on this event, please visit our What’s On page.

The annual conference of the Canadian Association of Japanese Language Education (CAJLE) will be held at the University of British Columbia from August 13 - 15.  Also at UBC, the Japan Studies Association of Canada (JSAC) Annual Conference will take place from September 30 – October 3.

The 2010 Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) will be held on December 5, and registration for the test in most locations will be held from September 2 – October 1. This year, the JLPT has been revised, and an information session on the new changes will be held at York University on August 25. This session will be available for viewing on the internet at http://buna.yorku.ca/jlpt/. Please check this website for details, application information and updates about the JLPT in Toronto, and visit http://www.jftor.org/language/proficiency.php for information about other locations.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Consulate-General of Japan in Montreal on its 50th anniversary. Please visit their website to see a listing of the many celebratory events taking place.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the guests who visited the Tenugui exhibition at our gallery this summer. This exhibition of traditional Japanese cotton towels was very popular, and we hope that it will be able to travel to other cities.

Enjoy the rest of the summer, and I look forward to seeing you at some of our events!

Masayuki Suzuki
Director
The Japan Foundation, Toronto