The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles Newsletter
Acting Director's Greeting
Greetings!

I know that there are those in areas that are finally starting to reopen. How is everyone doing? Here in Los Angeles, we are continuing to work from home and we’ve also been enjoying our time at home. So far we’ve had successful Facebook Live events such as Music Mondays and Wellness Wednesdays. It was our first attempt in conducting online events but we’ve had many live viewers. Thank you very much for watching and leaving many warm comments! It’s been two months since we dove into this social-distanced world. It feels too short to see the light at the end of tunnel, yet quite enough to acquire just some basic skill sets to plan and manage online projects. From June, we will kick off several new programs. Among these new programs, I would like to mention that we will be live streaming contemporary dance straight from Japan. Although details will be announced later, it’s going to be a wonderful experience that is not just going to substitute being in a physical theater. And of course, we will continue to improve weekly broadcasting, which were mentioned above, and strongly commit ourselves to supporting the language learning community, which has been severely hit by this situation. We are excited to be collaborating with other organizations and challenging ourselves further. Let’s keep in touch with each other, with 6 feet distance! 
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Shimpei Ishii
Deputy Director
Events
MUSIC MONDAYS
VIRTUAL CONCERT
EVERY MONDAY
June 1 - June 29
12:30PM PT
We want to bring some cheer to your lives through music! JFLA will be presenting live music performances via Facebook LIVE! Every Monday at 12:30pm, talented performers will play their repertoire dedicated specially for you.

This month, we will feature David Neptune (6/1), Ken Koshio (6/8), Sayaka Alessandroni (6/15), Makiko Hirata (6/22) and LAPRETE aka Aidan James (6/29).

To participate, please visit JFLA's Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/JFLALC ).

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY
VIRTUAL MEDITATION WITH JAPANESE SINGING BOWL
Wednesday, June 3 & 17
12:30PM PT (15 Min Session)
We would like to help during these trying times. Meditation with Japanese Singing Bowl will be offered via JFLA Facebook LIVE!

The singing bowl used for this program harmoniously combines the healing qualities of the Tibetan singing bowl and its Japanese traditional singing bowl. Relax and feel your stress dissipate into thin air as the sounds of the singing bowl lead you into a meditative state.

There will be one session starting at 12:30pm. Just go to JFLA's Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/JFLALC ). Stretch and refresh yourself with us at home!

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY
VIRTUAL BILINGUAL YOGA AT LUNCHTIME
Wednesday, June 10 & 24
12:30PM PT (15 Minute Session)
We would like to help during these trying times. Bilingual Yoga will be offered via JFLA Facebook LIVE!

No need to change clothes or use a yoga mat; you will be seated in a chair at home and receive an instruction from our instructor in bilingual (English and Japanese). Easy and relaxed!

There will be one session starting at 12:30pm. Just go to JFLA's Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/JFLALC ). Refresh and recharge yourself with us at home!

EDAMAME CHAMP INFO
For those of you who missed our online event #EdamameChamp JFLA CUP last Saturday, there are more ways to participate the “Chopstick Competition” until July 7!

Please visit their website to find out more information.

Grants
2020-21 JAPANESE-LANGUAGE GRANTS NOW AVAILABLE!
We are accepting applications for the following grant programs to support Japanese-Language Education in the United States.

Note: We understand that many schools are currently closed due to COVID-19, so we are accepting digital signatures in lieu of wet-ink signatures on application forms for the time being.
Please submit your application materials via email since our office is also temporarily closed. Thank you!

Grants for Nationwide/Statewide/Regional-level Events and Projects

Deadlines:  September 1, 2020

Deadline:  Two months prior to the project start date

Grants for Individual Japanese Language Programs

Deadlines:  September 15, 2020

News
Japanese Language Education Update 79
I hope everyone is having a good end of the school year or completed their school year successfully! The current situation has thrown teachers and students in an unprecedented situation but everyone worked very hard to do what they can. In May, the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles (JFLA) worked with the American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) to encourage Japanese language learners all across the United States through #みんなでがんばりマスク project! It took place on Instagram and we received so many wonderful submissions of photos, videos, and drawings! You can check out the submissions on www.instagram.com/jflalc. We also uploaded posts about events on our Instagram so please continue to keep an eye out for them! While handling this project and seeing various students’ thoughts and images/videos, it made me think about how everyone has a different way in how they came to learn Japanese but loving the language and wanting to learn is all the same. It showed me and hopefully it showed others that we may all come from different backgrounds, cultures, and generations, but we could all unite together and wish for the health and safety of others. I am grateful we were able to do a month long project and hope to continue showing our support towards students and teachers through our newsletter and social media.