The conference was convened by Kamei Aphun, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. Aphun received a Sylff fellowship from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2004 and 2005.

In his description of the conference’s theme in the opening session, Aphun outlined the need to study North East India from a wider perspective using a multidisciplinary approach. The region shares borders with five different Southeast Asian and South Asian countries and is of great geostrategic importance.

While many people regard studies of North East India to be limited value, he argued that the region’s proximity to South East Asia was an advantage that can be used to promote tourism and bilateral trade and commerce.

There are also good prospects in the development of sports, horticulture, handicrafts and agro-based industries, in which the region has recently become a leader in India. The region is not only rich in flora and fauna but is also important for anthropological research.

Kamei

At the same time, he noted, it has recently been marked by such problems as growing militancy and insurgencies, ethnic conflict and violence, illegal immigration, and environment-related problems. These issues need to be contextualized within a larger framework of regional economic development and prosperity, compared with the development of the country as a whole.

The conference’s technical sessions addressed such issues “State, Ethnicity, and Development,” “Environment, Culture, and Polity,” the 1958 Armed Forces Special Powers Act that conferred special powers on armed forces in the country’s “disturbed areas,” “Identity, Conflicts, and Violence,” and “Government Policies, Economy, and Gender.”

The seminar was well attended and also featured paper presentations, an exhibition of books, documentary screenings, and special cultural programs.

A lecturer at the Comenius University in Bratislava and a researcher at the Human Rights League, Bratislava, Helena Tužinská has recently published English translations of reports based on anthropological observations of communication between immigrants and lawyers.

Tužinská received a Sylff fellowship in 1998 (as an MA student) and 2000 (as a PhD candidate) while attending Comenius University in Bratislava. “Both of the scholarships in an international academic environment gave me a solid opportunity to address the relevant issues,” Tužinská notes, “which became a base for further investigation.”

The first publication, Questions of Description and Translation: Using Data from Anthropology and Ethnology in the Conduct and Interpretation of Interviews with Immigrants, is written for all who come into contact with immigrants and seek to understand them.

The information is particularly useful for state administrators, members of the police, interpreters, judges, legal representatives, and workers from the nongovernmental sector. The book contains guidelines for conducting interviews, the mechanisms of human memory, and the specifics of interpreting and intercultural communication.

“The motivation to write the book,” Tužinská notes, “came from the experience of observing how various cultural, social, and institutional backgrounds of the participants intersect.”

The second report, Communication with Foreigners: Legal Implications of Interpreting. A Comparison of Practices in the V4 Countries (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia) and the Ukraine, is based on national reports.

Both the national and comparative reports are available in English; the latter also being translated into Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, Hungarian, and Slovak:

The study addresses fundamental problems and illegitimate practices that repeatedly occur during interpretation. It proposes systemic measures that could substantially help prevent undesirable situations, setting out conditions that will make communication easier for the benefit of all participants.

“The aim was to raise awareness of the crucial influence of interpreting on legal proceedings involving foreigners,” comments Tužinská. The study asks whether existing legal norms in Central European countries and their application “sufficiently guarantee respect for the fundamental rights of foreigners, focusing on the issue of proper and lawful interpreting during the proceedings and addressing other risks to which foreigners are exposed due to persistent inadequacies in the observers.”

Message from Dean Sidthinat Prabudhanitisarn

Wishing You Peace and Joy in the New Year!

Dear friends of the Tokyo Foundation,

I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the holiday season in the company of family and friends. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my gratitude once again for your warm and generous sympathy and support in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The disaster and nuclear crisis have caused serious and widespread disruptions to Japanese society in 2011 and have forced us to reflect on how best to advance the reconstruction effort and chart the nation’s future. They have also prompted us to take a step back and reexamine our core social values. While overshadowed by the disaster, other issues—political, economic, environmental, and financial—too, call out for urgent action.

Through our policy research and leadership development activities, in 2012 we will continue offering fresh insights into Japanese society that contribute to bringing about positive change for all.

Wishing you peace, health, and happiness during the holidays and best wishes for the New Year.

Hideki Kato
President, Tokyo Foundation

• Sylff News 2011
• Insight into Japanese Society (recent articles on the Tokyo Foundation website)

We were delighted to welcome many Sylff fellows and other members of the Sylff community to our office in Tokyo this year. Articles detailing the visits can be accessed by clicking on the names/links below. We hope to welcome many more visitors in 2012, so please be sure to contact us when you have plans to come to Japan!

Dorjkhuu Otgontuya (Mongolia), Madhuchanda Ghosh (India), Kurtis Nakamura and Judith Li (United States), Lars Gaupset (Norway), Noah Smith (United States), Yusuke Tanaka (Japan) and Roman Pasca (Romania), Christina Davis (Princeton University, United States), Takeo Hoshi (UCSD, United States), Abu Shonchoy (Bangladesh), Waseda University award ceremony.


Sylff Worldwide

Many universities marked the twentieth anniversary of their Sylff programs in 2011, including Columbia University (United States), University of Helsinki (Finland), Massey University (New Zealand), Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales (Australia), and Howard University (United States).

In addition, Serbia’s National Bank governor expressed gratitude for the opportunities provided by Sylff, Jadavpur University’s Sylff Association released its sixth newsletter, “Hope for Japan” concerts for March disaster victims featuring Sylff fellows were held in Vienna, and the University of California, San Diego, hosted a “Tribute to Friends” event to mark its fiftieth anniversary.

Operation Manual

The Sylff Operation Manual has been revised to keep pace with the rapidly changing financial situation of recent years. The Sylff website and networking page using Facebook were also renewed in 2011. A fellow support program called Sylff Research Abroad has been renewed, and applications are now being solicited. Please note that the first application deadline will be January 13, 2012. We hope that they will lead to the further enrichment of the program worldwide.

Speakers and other participants of the Weatherhead conference.

The symposium opened with remarks by Professor Myron L. Cohen, director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, followed by a keynote speech by Professor Duncan McCargo, visiting scholar at Weatherhead and professor at the University of Leeds.

Duncan McCargo delivers a keynote address on "Mapping National Anxieties: Thailand's Multi-layered Conflicts."

There were two panel discussions, where seven speakers gave presentation.

The moderator of the first panel was Ann Marie Murphy, one of the first Sylff fellows at Columbia. She is now adjunct research scholar at Weatherhead and associate professor at the School of Diplomacy and International relations of Seton Hall University. Among the seven panelists, three were Sylff fellows: Karen Bryner, Anthony Do, and Laur Kiik.

Bryner spoke on the “Cultural Islamization of Indonesia through the PKS-linked Integrated Islamic Schools,” while Do gave a presentation on “Not as a Laughing Matter, but as a Matter of Laughing: Inscribing Agency to Vietnamese AIDS Orphans.” Kiik discussed “Feeling Ethnic Environmentalism and Military-Capitalist Dispossession in Kachin Land, on the Burma-China-Tibet-India Borders.”

The symposium closed with remarks by Akiko Imai, director for public communications of the Tokyo Foundation, who introduced a congratulatory video message by Foundation President Hideki Kato, who was unable to attend due to his government duties.

Many Sylff fellows attended the symposium and the following reception. During the 20 years of the Sylff program, fellowships have been awarded to more than 220 Columbia University graduate students.

Click here for more photos (Weatherhead site.)

Dorjkhuu Otgontuya of Mongolia visited the Tokyo Foundation on October 31, the last day of her stay in Japan. She participated in a two-week training course implemented by the Asian Productivity Organization.

She received a Sylff scholarship in 2009 while studying at the Academy of Management. She is now enrolled in a PhD program there.

She is also a senior expert for the Mongolia Productivity Organization, providing legal consultancy services to Mongolian businesses to improve their productivity. She hopes that her work will improve productivity in Mongolia as a whole and also enhance ties between Japan and her home country.

She speaks fluent Japanese, as she was dispatched to Japan to learn Japanese by the Mongolian Employers’ Association in 2007 and received four months of intensive language training.

Madhuchanda Ghosh from India visited the Tokyo Foundation on October 13 and 26. She was one of the first Sylff fellows at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India, and is currently head of the Political Science Department at Panchur College, Calcutta University.

She specializes in Japan-India relations and was invited by the Japan Foundation to conduct research in Japan. During her stay, she interviewed several Japanese lawmakers. At the Tokyo Foundation, she met with researchers Tsuneo Watanabe, Shoichi Katayama, and Ippeita Nishida and exchanged opinions on security issues in East Asia, including China.

One of her papers can be seen online at the Asian Survey website of the University of California Press at http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1525/as.2008.48.2.282.

Beyond the TPP Flap: Toward a New Dialogue on Trade Policy
Takaaki Asano

In announcing his decision to take part in TPP talks, Prime Minister Noda defied a wave of furious opposition. Although the protesters’ objections bordered on the hysterical, they reflect a widespread concern that Japan is plunging head-first into economic integration without a strategy for coping with its impact.

Political Hurdles to a Japan–South Korea EPA
Takashi Sekiyama

A major diplomatic agenda item of newly installed Prime Minister Noda is a summit meeting with South Korean President Lee. An issue that is sure to come up as the two leaders explore avenues for cooperation is resumption of long-stalled negotiations for a bilateral EPA.

Getting Serious About New Energy: Lessons from Spain
Hikaru Hiranuma

While alternative energy receives a good deal of lip service in Japan, the conventional wisdom is that the country lacks the wherewithal to produce the bulk of its energy from renewable sources. Japan can learn from Spain’s highly successful energy program.

Japan’s Security Strategy toward China: Integration, Balancing, and Deterrence in the Era of Power Shift
Tokyo Foundation

The rise of China is rapidly changing the stra-tegic landscape in the Asia-Pacific. Japan’s strategy toward China should thus be refor-mulated, centering around the key concepts of “integration,” “balancing,” and “deterrence” as the older framework of “engagement” and “hedging” have become outdated.

Clearing the Smoke about Nuclear Energy Costs
Yutaka Harada

Although some are warning of dire economic consequences if Japan abandons its commit-ment to nuclear power, the cost advantages of nuclear energy are anything but clear. Unbiased information and free competition are needed to lead Japan out of its current energy dilemma.

The Search for a Sustainable Partnership
Tokyo Foundation

In September, the Tokyo Foundation coorga-nized a unique symposium in Beijing attended by prominent scholars from China, Japan, and the United States to discuss the trilateral rela-tionship. Participants voiced the need for the world’s three biggest economies to build greater confidence to promote stability and growth in East Asia.

A Community-Based Model of Rural Recovery
Shinichi Shogenji

Many options for post-disaster recovery have been advanced since the March earthquake and tsunami. What is needed to turn the despair of devastated farms and rural communities into hope is not a hail of disconnected proposals from outsiders but integrated plans crafted at the local level.

Beyond Reconstruction: Political Priorities in the Wake of 3/11
Gerald L. Curtis, Sota Kato, Tsuneo Watanabe

Three Tokyo Foundation senior fellows discuss the political challenges raised by the March earthquake and tsunami, the shortcomings of the government’s response, and the many positive developments that have emerged in the wake of the national crisis.

Protecting Our Land from a Post-Quake Fire Sale
Hideki Hirano, Shoko Yoshihara

In the wake of the March 11 disaster, Japan’s precious land resources are more vulnerable than ever, as policymakers seek to encourage investment through deregulation, and imme-diate economic needs trump long-term national interests. Now is the time to begin building a sensible regulatory framework to preserve our land for future generations.

Preparing for the Summer Energy Crisis
Kenji Someno

There is expected to be an acute shortage of energy this summer owing to the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Bold measures, including some that overturn conventional wisdom, are required to cope with the likely shortfall in electricity supply. Japan’s worst nuclear accident also raises serious questions about the future of nuclear power.

Prognosis for the Post-Tsunami Economy
Hideo Kumano

Although direct damage from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami was largely limited to the north¬eastern area of Japan, the economic fallout is expected to blanket the entire nation. What are the risks of a secondary economic disaster, and how can Japan minimize the damage?

An Independent Commission to Explore Japan’s Disaster Response
Tsuneo Watanabe

Japan should create an independent commis-sion of experts to produce an honest and uncompromising report on the response to the earthquake, tsunami, and the nuclear cri-sis—both the successes and failures. Such transparency would demonstrate the strength of Japan’s democracy and the depth of its social resources.

Dejan Šoškić, governor of the National Bank of Serbia, expressed gratitude for the opportunities that a Sylff fellowship provided in enabling him to receive an excellent education and meet outstanding fellows from other countries.

Members of the Tokyo Foundation visited Šoškić in October 2011 following a trip to the University of Belgrade—Šoškić’s alma mater and the tenth university to join the Sylff community. The visit was made with members of the university’s Sylff steering committee.

Šoškić’s contributions to Serbia’s national development are well known among the university’s fellows, who—SSC members noted—are proud of his accomplishments and look to him as a model for their own careers. Watch a video of Šoškić’s comments at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_PzwVklcmc

(From left to right) Marko Ivetic, vice-rector, University of Belgrade; Ljiljana Markovic, vice-dean, Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade; Yoko Kaburagi, program officer for leadership development, Tokyo Foundation; Branko Kovacevic, rector, University of Belgrade; Dusan Nikezic, state secretary, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Serbia; Šoškić; Takashi Suzuki, director for leadership development, Tokyo Foundation.