Date: 8 July - 5 August 2009 Venue: Galerie Besson, 15 Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street, London. W1S 4SP Tel: 020 7491 1706 Fax: 020 7435 2570 Email: enquiries@galeriebesson.co.uk Web: www.galeriebesson.co.uk Organiser: Galerie Besson
An exhibition of new ceramic sculptures by Shozo Michikawa. Michikawa lives and works in Seto - an area rich in ceramic traditions. His works combine traditional Japanese techniques and aesthetics with a modern energy and vigour.
Michikawa will also be a demonstrator at this year’s Aberystwyth International Ceramics Festival.
Shozo Michikawa was born in Hokkaido in 1953. He studied at Aoyama Gakuin University, from where he graduated in 1975. He lives and works in Seto, Aichi. He has exhibited widely in Japan and also in the Philippines, Mongolia, France, New York and London. In 2005 he was honoured with an exhibition at the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Though his techniques are diverse, Michikawa always strives to create ‘functional’ pieces. He writes "no matter how styles change I always insist on creating pieces that can actually be used. Pottery was originally an integral part of people's lives.”
The new Nissan Skyline Crossover represents a fusion of luxury coupe and luxury SUV, a union beautifully expressed in its dynamic design, sophisticated performance and unmatched driving pleasure. Along with its flowing silhouette and modern interior, the Skyline Crossover offers an optimal balance of smooth handling, supple ride comfort and responsive acceleration provided by its powerful 3.7-liter VQ37VHR engine and 7-speed automatic transmission with manual mode. It also features a number of advanced technologies and safety systems, highlighted by an Around View Monitor with Parking Guide and Lane Departure Prevention system.
The exterior of the Skyline Crossover evokes the image of solidity and lightness. Its long front nose, with hood bulge extending from the grille to the front door mirrors, combines with the coupe-like arched cabin to provide classic front-engine/rear-wheel drive proportions. The elegantly curved waistline flows from the front of the vehicle through the dramatic rear fenders and dynamic rear design. Other exterior features include xenon headlights and Active AFS (Adaptive Front lighting System), high-mounted LED stop lamps, bright LED rear combination taillights, heated door mirrors and flat-blade windshield wipers.
The Skyline Crossover is available in a choice of seven exterior paint colors, including a new Sparkling Rose Silver - created for customers seeking a high level of richness and exclusivity.
Venue: Simmons & Simmons, CityPoint, One Ropemaker Street, London EC2Y 9SS(nearest underground: Moorgate, Bank or Liverpool Street)
Fee: Free for members & members of BJLA (booking required)
Tetsuya Ishikawa was born in Japan and educated at Eton College and Oxford University where he read PPE.
Throughout a banking career that included Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and ABN AMRO, he structured, syndicated and sold credit derivatives (CDOs) and securitisation (including subprime) products to investors globally until he was made redundant by Morgan Stanley in May 2008.
He is currently developing other careers and writes regularly for The Guardian online.
His recent book 'How I caused the Credit Crunch' traces seven years at the forefront of the credit markets - a tale from the heart of the banking crisis whose catastrophic collapse has plunged the world into its worst economic recession since the 1930s.
It reveals how a young Oxford graduate came to control vast amounts of other people's money, and explains how a novice to the world of hedge funds, sub-prime mortgages and CDOs was able to arrange complex deals worth billions in London, New York, Frankfurt and Tokyo, and reap the benefits in a colossal annual bonus and an international luxury lifestyle.
'How I caused the Credit Crunch' is both a powerful tale of lost innocence and an expose of the disturbing truth of the collective folly, frailty and greed at the heart of the global banking crisis. Tetsuya will talk for approximately 30 minutes about his experiences, followed by a question and answer session and book-signing.
The retail price in the UK for his book is currently £ 8.99, but the publishers, Icon Books, will also be attending the event and will allow a discount on the published price to BJLA and Japan Society members. To reserve your place, please email Mr Tomohiko Adachi at: tomo.adachi@simmons-simmons.com.
Alternatively you can write to Mr Tomohiko Adachi, Membership Secretary, BJLA, Simmons & Simmons, CityPoint, One Ropemaker Street, London EC2Y 9SS.
A ticket that, for example, takes you from Incheon to LA to Miami to New York to London to Frankfurt to Paris to Istanbul to Bangkok to Tokyo, and then all the way back to Incheon again can now be purchased online for just around 3,670,000 Korean won (equivalent to approximately 2,950 US dollars, excluding tax and fuel surcharge, based on economy class fare with a validity period of 1 year).
Star Alliance is the first to launch such a round-the-world product. Allowing round-the-globe travel at relatively low cost, it is a worldwide bestseller, reaping in 3.4 billion US dollars annually.
Moreover, Star Alliance is the first in the industry to offer cabin upgrades using its membership mileage system. It also has private lounges set aside for customers of Star Alliance members only in all major airports round the world. As the world’s largest airline coalition, Star Alliance is taking a leading role in developing new products with the aim of constantly delivering the world’s best customer service.
Date: 28 July - 4 August 2009 Venue: Buxton Opera House and other venues Tel: 01298 77440 Email: funnywonder@live.com Web: http://www.funnywonders.org.uk/ Organiser: Funny Wonders Puppet Theatre Company in collaboration with Yamabiko-Za Children's Theatre
Buxton Puppet Festival, a partnership formed by the Buxton Opera House and Funny Wonders, will host a delegation of performers, workshop leaders and young people from Sapporo, Japan.
The group will collaborate with UK artists on an International Youth Production to be performed at Buxton Opera House and other venues, and there will be workshops on Japanese tradtional puppet theatre, Japanese drumming and traditional music and games.
Funny Wonders began in the late 1990s as a Saturday morning puppet-making club around a kitchen table – the name coming from a resourceful mother of six who had an old Derbyshire saying “You can do funny wonders with a pound of mince!” Funny Wonders Voluntary Organisation was formed in 2000 to support local events, create and perform puppet shows, run workshops and since 2005 organise International Exchange projects.
The sleek S9110 is a mere 11.98mm thick thanks to the company’s advanced surface mounting technology, making it the slimmest watchphone device in the market. Featuring a 1.76” full touch screen customized for the wrist-watch form factor, the S9110 aims to attract mobile phone users who want a unique fashion item that keeps them connected on the go. The device also enables the users to check their e-mail seamlessly through Outlook. In 1999, Samsung introduced the world’s first watch phone, the SPH-WP10, which became a landmark product in the mobile industry. The S9110 will be available in France this month for around 450 Euros.
Samsung S9110 :
Network - GPRS (900 / 1800MHz)
Display - 1.76” 176X220 262K TFT TSP
Value added features - MP3, Voice recognition, Voice memo, Speakerphone support, Anti-scratch Connectivity - Bluetooth® 2.1
Memory - Internal memory: 40MB
Battery - 630 mAh
Size / Weight - 57.5 x 41.1 x 11.98mm / 91g
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately 164,600 people in 179 offices across 61 countries, the company consists of two business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com
This salad is a mix of mountain herbs, sea food and white hoelen sauce, and good for lessening excessive stresses of the girl at puberty. The white hoelen, which is also called white pine punglyeong, grows on the root of the pine tree after its stem has been cut off. It helps the metabolism of moisture in the skin, thus removing specks and freckles because it contains rasitin and minerals beneficial to the skin.
Materials and Quantity
* mountain herb (yam) 150g, shrimp 100g, mussel 100g, cherry tomato 50g, green pimento 20g, yellow pimento 20g, red pimento 20g
* white hoelen or its juice 10g, water 5 cups, lemon juice 8g, olive oil 20g, sugar 1 table spoon, vinegar 1 table spoon, minced garlic 2g, minced onion 5g, salt 1/4 tea spoon, white pepper 1/8 tea spoon.
Preparations
1. Wash the white hoelen and boil in the pan with water.
2. Par-boil the shrimp and mussel in white hoelen juice, and cool them.
3. Peel off the crust of the mountain herb, cut it into halves. Then cut them into half moon slices, parboiling them.
4. Cut the cherry tomato into halves.
5. Cut pimentos into halves, removing their seeds. And cut them into the shape of the cherry tomato.
6. Make white hoelen sauce and mix in all the prepared materials slowly.
The Miyagi Dance Company is made up of physically impaired and unimpaired people, and is pioneering the field of inclusive dance in Japan.
'Honno Sukoshi' when translated into English means 'just a little bit', and the performance has been created from the idea that when viewing people in this way, from a different angle, we can see a different side to the person. Acclaimed choreographer Osamu Jareo has worked with impro solo dancer and special guest dancer Toru Iwashita, to produce a unique and intriguing production.
Sony has launched the largest-ever capacity Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX, crowning the range with a massive 32GB model. Memory Stick HX already delivers impressive speed, so the introduction of a 32GB version makes it the perfect choice for handling the very large files created when filming in High Definition video. The huge amount of space is also ideal for still photography, whether you are using a sophisticated DSLR like the Sony α, or a compact, go-anywhere Cybershot.
Camcorder users can shoot in Full HD mode (1920 x 1080) for an impressive 225 minutes using a single 32GB Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX, virtually eliminating the nagging worry about how much space is left.
Freedom to concentrate on creating outstanding HD video is matched by trademark Memory Stick HX performance. Using the included USB adaptor, read speeds of 20MB/s and write speeds of 15MB/s1 are achievable, so you spend a lot less time waiting for your video to transfer to your PC.
This potent combination of size and speed is equally good news for owners of technically advanced DSLRs like the Sony α with its continuous shooting capability. Alternatively, anyone with a compact digital camera who simply never wants to worry about filling up the memory now has the ideal solution.
The Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX range also includes 4GB, 8GB and 16GB models, and all versions are supplied with the free USB adaptor for optimum performance and easy connection to a huge range of hardware.
Date: Tuesdays from 23rd June to 28th July Venue: Tron Theatre, , Education Suite, 63 Trongate, Glasgow, G1 5HB / St . John’s Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4B Tel: 01357 522 008 Fax: 01357 522 008 Email: mtd@taiko.co.uk Web: www.taiko.co.uk
Learn to play the taiko drums with the UK’s top instructors in the field & experience the energy and thrill of playing these beautiful instruments. The summer taiko course is run by the Mugen Taiko Dojo, the first and only teaching centre dedicated to the art and discipline of Taiko drumming in the UK. Taiko drumming is an energetic, physical and highly choreographed art form which has thrilled audiences worldwide. Originally from Japan, this traditional folk art is now being developed as a modern European art-form The Mugen Taiko Dojo is the UK’s first centre for Taiko Drumming, based in South Lanarkshire. As well as workshops, classes & courses at the Dojo itself, we have conducted extensive outreach work in schools and communities throughout the UK for the past 12 years, kick-starting a growing taiko scene & helping new groups start throughout the UK. The performers and teachers with the Dojo are the UK’s leading players in this art-form, all professional players with Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers.
Goma ae is a type of 'aemono' - these are cold side dishes, often made with vegetables and a dressing.
One typical aemono is called 'goma ae', which means sesame dressing mixed with green vegetables. The sesame dressing used here is also suitable for other ingredients such as broccoli, carrots, or spinach.
You can also make other types of dressing using nuts - peanuts, cashews, and almonds all work well. They are also tasty when used as a simple dressing on top of tofu.
This recipe uses a sesame grinder to grind the sesame seeds into a paste. It is a very traditional method for this recipe, but you can always use a food processor instead, as it might be quicker. This type of grinder is available in Japanese grocery shops, or some organic grocery shops in London.
*The picture is showing some different types of gomaae with white saseme, cashew nuts, and black sesame at the top.
Ingredients: serves 4
200g green beans
A pinch of salt
Method: 1. Bring the water to boil in a sauce pan.
2. Meanwhile, make the sesame sauce. Grind the toasted sesame seeds into a paste, using a grinder or mortar and pestle, then mix with the seasonings. ( you can toast sesame seeds in a frying pan with low heat. )
3. Add the green beans and a pinch of salt to the boiling water to cook for about 2 mins.
4. Turn the heat off, strain the green beans and wash in cold water to preserve the colour.
5. Trim the green beans then cut into 5cm lengths and set aside.
6. Mix the sesame sauce and beans together just before serving. ( it will become watery if it is mixed earlier. )
Date: 10 July - 23 August 2009 Venue: The Wapping Project, The Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping Wall, London E1W 3SG Tel: 0207 680 2080 Web: http://www.thewappingproject.com
An exhibition of new work by British artist/writer/cook Jake Tilson and Japanese photographer/cultural commentator Kyoichi Tsuzuki, ‘A Net of Eels’ is a playful and evocative exploration of the complex cultural and culinary significance of the Eel in Japan and the UK.
Featuring a selection of photographic images, audio works and found objects drawn from historical contexts and everyday popular culture, the project combines Tilson's highly personal and eclectic approach to his subject (as seen in his celebrated narrative cookbook A Tale of 12 Kitchens, 2006) with Tzusuki's more anthropological observations (evident in his popular photographic publications Roadside Japan, 1996 and Tokyo Style, 1993). A Net of Eels is commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella in association with The Wapping Project.
On Thursday 9th July a historical MOU ceremony was held between Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation and Korea Foods Ltd in New Malden, England. This MOU was based on the vision of the aT’s 2009 Globalising Korean Food scheme which set out the following goals:
* A leader in the globalization of Korean agricultural and fishery products
* Increasing the farmer's income by increasing agricultural & fishery products exportation
* Helping solve the problems in the export field
* Storing and supplying staple agriculture and fishery products for price stabilization
* Efficient management of state trading products under WTO policy
* Developing efficient physical distribution systems
* Providing comprehensive financial support, training, and marketing information services
* Customer-oriented business management
* Advocating the KMS-oriented enterprise culture
During the ceremony, Mr Youn Jang Bae, President & CEO of Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation commented that “the European market is comparatively conservative but it has huge potential for the Korean food industry. Therefore, once the Korea & EU FTA work is done, we must concentrate and corporate to penetrate our splendid Agro-Fisheries products into the European Market. I hope Korea Foods ltd can promote our products better after this agreement”.
Mr Bernard Suh, President from Korea Foods Ltd emphasised that “Our company is involved in a number of many different marketing activities. Our primary aim is to unveil Korean food as ‘Hidden Treasure….the next big thing’ in Europe. We will take the role of Korean food ambassador and do our best to promote Korean food to the European market.”
Suh Byung Il, the chairman of Korean residents society, also expressed his delight. “We are so pleased to be eye witnesses to this historic ceremony. The Korean residents society will be honoured to participate in the Globalising Korean Food campaign. I hope to see more English people enjoying our beautiful Agro-Fisheries products everywhere in the UK soon.”
After the morning MOU ceremony, the Korean food promotion was held through the Korea Foods stores and Wing Yip Croydon until 11th July. A customer who purchased Korean melon, grapes and some Samjin rice noodles made the following comment: “The colour of the Korean melon and grapes is so vivid and the taste is twice as sweet as what I normally have here in the UK. Also the packing for the noodle looks so attractive. I am going to have these for dinner tonight. I must come back to look for some other Korean food here again.”
Currently, Korea Foods is preparing for the Thames Festival in September. And according to Ms Heewon Jun, Marketing & PR Executive, it is expected that Korea Foods Ltd will take part of this festival and introduce many Korean food items during the festival.
About Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp
aT (Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp.) is a government-invested organization, responsible for agricultural marketing services and international trade since its incorporation in 1967. aT is an export promotion organization with nearly 40 years experience of not only supporting the development of first-rate Korean agricultural food products but also delivering them around the world.
Address: 232, aT Center, Yangjae-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul, 137-787, Korea
Tel: 02 6300 1000
Website: http://www.at.or.kr
Email: atwebmaster@kati.net
About Korea Foods Ltd Established in 1999 Korea Foods has since grown to become the leading importer of Korean food in the UK. The company offers the widest range of Korean products in the UK and has an extensive range of Japanese, Chinese and Thai food. The main warehouse has been in New Malden since 1999. The retail division is called Seoul Plaza and has six shops in the UK, one shop in Slovakia and one shop in Germany -which has been an instant hit with the community there.
This summer, Asiana Airlines (CEO: Young-Doo, Yoon) will be offering an exotic flight experience, along with differentiated service, to captivate the customers.
During the summer holiday season, from July 15th to August 26th, 383 specialized staff will provide a variety of exuberantly themed services for passengers travelling on a total of 52 flights.
Asiana’s specialized service team is comprised of 8 teams in total, including the Magic team, the Charming team, and the Tarot team. These teams, consisting of cabin crew, dress in special themed costumes according to the event.
As a part of the new summer event, a cabin crew dressed in a pirate costume greets the passengers, shows them some magic and then serves them a cool freshly-made summer cocktail. For those who are travelling on their birthday, passengers will receive an extra celebratory performance, presented by the Magic team.
Further more, the following activities will also be available to passengers going away on summer holiday: a nail polishing and make-up service with refreshing colors fit for summer fun, as well as a moisturizing facial pack (Charming team)/ Tarot fortune telling (Tarot team)/ an on-board fashion show with traditional costumes from popular holiday destinations (Delighters team)/ a caricature with a vacationland background (Illustration Team)/ a flight attendant trial experience for those interested (Flight attendant experience team)
For the children, Asiana crew will give a briefing about flying in both English and Korean, provide face painting, make folding fans, and take memorable pictures together with the children.
Kang Jang-Won, a flight attendant from the International Cabin Crew Operations Team said, “Our new services will differentiate us from the already existing services that other airliners provide. Our fun and unique airline services will be memorable in-flight experiences for our passengers.”
Date: 7 July - 31 August 2009 Venue: Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, London. SW1Y 5AH Tel: 020 7930 3647 Email: tickets@ica.org.uk Web: http://www.ica.org.uk/film
Treat yourself to six of the best this summer with a selection of fantastic films ranging from documentary, horror, sci-fi and comedy all from the Land of the Rising Sun. Cult Japan is a mix of five new and classic Japanese films including the new release Ichi and 20th Century Boys sequel: Chapter 2. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapter is the classic Paul Schrader documentary restored with a director’s cut - with thanks to Screenlit Festival.
Don't miss out, full details can be found here: www.ica.org.uk/film or call 020 7930 3647.
Korean Air (KE) is expanding its codeshare ties with Uzbekistan Airways (HY).
Starting Monday July 13, the two airlines expand their codeshare arrangement to a mutual free-sale agreement. This means that either airline will be able to book and sell seats on the partner airline’s passenger flight without restriction, as long as the inventory is open. Until now, the relationship was single-sided, in which only Uzbekistan Airways placed its code on Korean Air flights.
With the new agreement, Korean Air customers will be able to choose from a wider schedule than before when traveling to Central Asia. Korean Air operates three roundtrip flights a week between Seoul (Incheon International Airport) and Tashkent, and Uzbekistan Airways has two flights a week on the same route. The expanded arrangement allows Korean Air customers to fly Korean Air and accrue Skypass miles on all five flights.
About Korean Air
In 2008, Business Traveler magazine honored Korean Air as having the “Best Transpacific Business Class” and ranked it “The Best Airline in Asia”; World Traveler magazine rated it has having the world’s best inflight service; readers of Travel & Leisure magazine said it is one of the world’s top 10 international airlines, and readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine voted it has having one of the world’s top five business classes.
Korean Air, with a fleet of 127 aircraft, is one of the world's top 20 airlines, and operates almost 400 passenger flights per day to 118 cities in 39 countries. It is a founding member of SkyTeam, the global airlines alliance - partnering Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM and three Associates to provide customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. More on Korean Air's programs, routes, frequency and partners is available at:
Date: Current ~ 26 July 2009 Venue: Perrott's Folly, Waterworks Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B16
Japanese sound artist Yukio Fujimoto is interested as much in how we hear, as in what we hear. For Ikon, he turns his attention to Birmingham’s historic landmark Perrott’s Folly, transforming this 18th century tower into a site-specific installation using the tick-tocking of 1,111 clocks. As visitors climb up through six floors, the sound of the clocks accumulates. One clock on one floor gives way to ten, giving way to a hundred, giving way to a thousand, with the final result on the top floor being a kind of ‘white noise’. The Tower of Time is remarkable for the way in which it engages its audience; the experience is dependent on our physical movement through the tower as we travel up and down, our steps fitting in with the rhythm of the clocks. The implication of human mortality is inescapable as Fujimoto reminds us, with an abundance of time pieces, that our time is limited. The historical context only serves to reinforce his message. This exhibition is supported by the John Feeney Charitable Trust. Perrott’s Folly is located 15 minutes walk from Ikon and 5 minutes from Hagley Road. Please note the Folly is only accessible via a steep spiral staircase.
Ericcson, the global ICT group based in Sweden will invest a total of US$1.5 billion to Korea for the joint development in green technology area for the next five years. Hans Vestberg, the chairman of Ericcson revealed this plan to President Lee Myung-bak who is currently on state visit to Sweden on Sunday, July 12 (local time).
Vestberg, in his meeting with President Lee explained that his company will open a R&D Center in Korea for joint research with local companies, using Korea as the test-bed in fields of green technology and 4th generation IT technology. The company would also increase the number of employees in Korean branch from current 80 to some 1,000.
The cooperation between Ericsson and Korean companies is likely to further upgrade the broadcasting network of the country and help advance to the world market. The mutual cooperation between Wibro technology headed by Korea and Long Term Evolution Technology (LTE) headed by Ericcson, especially is likely to make the two sides lead the 4th generation (4G) IT market which is only in its birth stage.
The prospect is expected to attract the participation of some of the high-ranking businesses in Korea including Samsung and LG Electronics.
President Lee, openly welcoming the large scale investment, expressed his wish to see Ericcson's active cooperation with not only big companies but also with mid and small companies that have potential. Lee stressed that he would make all efforts to realize fair competition between local and overseas companies in Korea.
Prior to his meeting with Lee, Vestberg also met with Choi See-joong the chairman of the Korea Communications Committee whose trip to Sweden coincided with the president. Choi also looked around Kista Science Park known as the Silicon Valley of Europe.
Vestberg lauded Korea for being one of the most wired nations in the world and for its pursue of low carbon green growth policy, thus forming an excellent test-bed for information technology.
After the talks Ericcson and KT (Korea Telecom) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Choi and Sweden's Vice Minister of Trade Gunnar Wieslander watching. The MOU of the two sides stipulates joint development of green mobile technology, joint establishment and operation of domestic pilot-network to assure quality and improvement and mutual cooperation to advance into the world market.
The latest momentum is also likely to help with other foreign investments in Korea.
To celebrate the publishing of our new card game, Karuta - karate for your brain, which aims to help people learn 50 kanji (Chinese/Japanese characters) without studying, we will have a stall at Leatherhead Life 2009. There will be a chance to try the game for free and win prizes. Also, 50p per game sold will go to the local community charity, B@titude. We hope that visitors will soon realise that learning kanji is easier than they think and will be inspired to learn more, thus strengthening relations between the UK and Japan even further. Leatherhead Life is a local festival complete with a fun fair and a Battle of the Bands.
Date: 8 July - 5 August 2009
Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline coalition which Asiana Airlines (CEO: Young-Doo Yoon) is a member of, has come out with a new round-the-world flight ticket that can now be reserved and purchased online.
Date: 18 July 2009, 12pm - 5pm
Date: 8th July 2009