AJSV International Women's Day Afternoon Tea

5. Secrets from Okinawan people to live a long, healthy life

Conferral Ceremony of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, to Mr Murray Sayers, AJSV former president

In December 2021, Consul-General Shimada presented the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, to Mr Murray Sayers, AJSV former president (2010-2015) for his significant contribution to the promotion of Japanese culture and the strengthening of friendly relations between Australia and Japan. Mr Sayers was joined by family and friends including the current president Ms Celeste Koravos for a reception followed by a dinner at the official residence.

AJSV would like to send the warmest congratulations on his achievement and appreciation for his dedicated time as AJSV president as well as a committee member over the years.

Year End Raffle event report

We would like to thank everyone who supported us by purchasing AJSV End of year raffle tickets.

Here are the lucky prize winners;

*Congratulations!

• 1st Prize: Peninsula Hot Springs - R.C (Ticket Number: #24)
• 2nd Prize: Peninsula Hot Springs- Y.K (Ticket Number: #45)
• 3rd Prize: Sake Ichiban Prize Pack- K.S (Ticket Number: #53)
• 4th Prize: Sake Ichiban Prize Pack - Y. K (Ticket Number: #47)
• 5th Prize: Madman vouchers- A.B (Ticket Number: #9)

The above winners had been contacted by AJSV office after closing the draw.

All funds from the raffle will go to supporting the work of the AJSV in continuing our events throughout the year and bringing the Australian and Japanese community together.

Hope you have a healthy, wonderful year of 2022 and we look forward to sharing great events with you soon.

Onsite Konshinkai report

AJSV onsite Konshinkai was held on 24 November. With over 40 people in attendance, it was a great night.

We all enjoyed this long awaited in-person Konshinkai event. After being through the lengthy lockdown, everyone was delighted to catch up with both familiar faces and new.

The venue (The Bank on Collins) was also great and spacious creating a fantastic atmosphere. It was an event you wouldn’t want to miss. We hope to see you all next time!

AJSV Mentoring Program update 

On Wednesday 13 October, AJSV launched the 2021 AJSV Mentoring Program through an online event. The event was a success and included open remarks from Saito-San, Deputy Consulate General of Japan to Victoria and a panel regarding the role of mentoring in professional development, opportunities for success and lessons learnt with Ross Ciaravolo (AJSV), Izuhara Takero-san (ST Solutions Australia - SoftBank) and Eleanor Gray (State Street Trust Bank, Fukuoka). Each specialist provided insight into the role that mentoring has played in their professional development and network building, including questions from the audience about best practice. The panelists provided these top tips to get the most out the program.

• Ross - understanding. Including of yourself. Things that you may find to be objective truths, are subject to other perspectives/interpretations. A lot of the times your initial impressions change as you understand more. Also reduce apprehension about challenges that people face when building a career. Important to build yourself; hard to do on Zoom. We all look a bit different on screen to real life; we are human beings, and not always as authentic on screen. Mentoring is a natural human behaviour to help get you through life. Goes back to prehistoric times. Big part of Australian first nation peoples, Eastern culture - China Japan India, Western culture going back to Ancient Greeks. If you don't be natural during mentoring session, won't get good outcome.
• Izuhara - communication is very important. Understand who you are. Set goal of what you want to achieve during this program together; want to keep in touch with mentee after the program.
• Eleanor - knowledge beneficial for mentor as well. Be as honest as possible. Have goals and a vision for what you as mentee want to gain in the relationship. e.g. finding job in Japan.

This was followed by information regarding the AJSV Mentoring Program and next steps for those in attendance. A total of 28 (attendee list pending) people attended, including representatives from the 2021 cohort, AJS NSW and ACT, Melbourne University Japanese Club, contacts of the Japanese Consulate and wider AJSV Members. The event was not recorded, however a summary doc was provided to the cohort. The partnerships have been allocated already and this program will conclude in mid December.

Annual Kyoto Writing Competition

AJSV is pleased to support Australian writers to enter Writers in Kyoto's Seventh Annual Kyoto Writing Competition. If you love writing, it's a great opportunity to work on your Kyoto piece and win a great prize!

• Theme: Kyoto (English language submissions only)

• Deadline: March 31st, 2022 (23:59 JST)

• Genre: Short Shorts (unpublished material only)

• Word Limit: 300 Words (to fit on a single page)

• Form: Short poems, character studies, essays, travel tips, whimsy, haiku sequence, haibun, wordplays, dialogue, experimental verse, etc. In short, anything that helps show the spirit of place in a fresh light. A clear connection to Kyoto is essential.

Learn More 

Online Konshinkai report

Another great turnout for our online Konshinkai. With six rooms of conversations going on we had several newcomers as well as a lot of familiar faces. A special shout out goes to all of the people who continue to call in from Japan and from across Australia to share fresh perspectives. Even better it was great to hear that people are slowly being able to travel again be it via the JET program, for work and soon (hopefully) just for fun!

We will hold an in person event in early December so keep a look out for the details in the coming weeks.

AJSV Business Briefing - Solar innovation and sustainability in the global supply chain

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Sakura viewing:  Banksia Park Cherry Grove

Spring has come and that means Sakura time!

In February 1980 the Japanese Government donated 100 flowering cherry trees to the people of Victoria to mark the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister Mr Masayoshi Ohira. Having fought disease, drought and relocation in their 40-year life, the trees are now being maintained and cared for by a dedicated group of volunteers, The Cherry Friends and Parks Victoria rangers.

Since 2018, the Cherry Friends has hosted a visiting arborist from Japan to conduct a pruning masterclass with Parks Victoria rangers and volunteers. This labour of love is celebrated at our annual ‘Sakura’ (cherry blossom) Picnic Day.

The Sakura Picnic Day in Banksia Park has been supported by AJSV and the Japanese Society of Melbourne since 2015, to celebrate spring and promote the multi-cultural face of Melbourne. Unfortunately, there is no event happening this year due to public health measures but that hasn’t stopped the trees from blooming. BYO picnic and go visit Banksia Park if possible to view beautiful cherry trees this month! ( *Please check with the park the best blooming time. )

2022 Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Programme

The JET Programme aims to promote mutual understanding between Japan and other nations, foster international exchange at the local level and enhance foreign language education in Japan

Information Sessions

Saturday 2 October 2021, 12-1pm/ Monday 4 October 2021, 12-1pm/ Wednesday 6 October 2021, 5-6pm

Friday 8 October 2021, 12-1pm/ Sunday 10 October 2021, 12-1pm/ Tuesday 12 October, 5-6pm

Registration essential. Please send your full name and email address to meljapan@mb.mofa.go.jp, indicating your preferred session.

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Spring Konshinkai

Thanks to everyone who attended the online Spring Konshinkai, it was great to see both new and familiar faces. Rotating through the rooms it was great to see people coming together, sharing some light hearted banter and talking about all things topical.

While the Olympics quiz was fiercely contested it was a tonne of fun and in the end Timmy Tam prevailed for his second win this year. Look out for the next Konshikai in early October and we look forward to seeing you there.

For those with a trivia itch:

Question: What was Melbourne’s original name? (answer below)

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Answer: Batmania

eCommerce in Japan program

Join a comprehensive online eCommerce training program, designed to support and equip Victorian exporters to reach online shoppers and navigate Japanese eCommerce platforms.

The eCommerce in Japan program will assist you to operate effectively on Japanese eCommerce platforms, building critical knowledge and skills to facilitate export outcomes.

• Enhance your understanding of Japanese business capabilities, building critical knowledge and skills to facilitate export outcomes.

• Broaden your existing market entry strategy for Japan and develop and refine your focus on eCommerce.

• Access new opportunities in one of the world’s largest eCommerce markets

• Gain the latest insights and trends on consumer preferences and the Japanese business environment.

This program is developed and delivered by Asialink Business in partnership with the Victorian Government through Global Victoria.

Program Dates: Thursday 7 October 2021 – Thursday 28 October 2021

Registrations close: Wednesday 6 October 2021

Meet our new corporate members

AJSV would like to welcome our new corporate members joined in 2021.

• SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre
• Marubeni Itochu Steel Oceania Pty Ltd
• Industrial Growth Platform Inc. Australia
• Australian Institute of International Understanding

Please share with us in welcoming these new organisation members to AJSV and we look forward to sharing our events and programs with all of you.

As always, please get in touch with our office if you are an AJSV member and wish to be introduced to fellow AJSV members relevant to your network.

APCC (Asia-Pacific Children’s Convention) Bridge (Virtual) Summer Camp 2021 update 

Due to the restrictions currently in place around the world – APCC is going virtual this year so that children who would have been eligible to apply for APCC in Fukuoka this year have the opportunity to participate in a specially designed program sharing both with Japanese children as well as children from the Asia Pacific region and wider including Peru, Bordeaux and maybe even Kyrgyzstan. The program will be run over 7 sessions with 5 sessions being shared with children all over the world.

It was great to have such keen interest in this different program and we received a number of high quality applications. It was difficult to short-list and after interviews with each applicant, we congratulate the 12 successful children (6 girls and 6 boys) as junior ambassadors for 2021. The children will be participating in an online camp from August to November with 5 Saturday evening sessions. The theme of this year's program is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which the children will explore, learn about and work on a task together that benefits their communities. They will also be preparing a joint 'performance' that will be shared on line after the program is completed.

We hope they will enjoy interacting and exchanging with children with Multi-Cultural backgrounds to experience many cultures around the world.

We are certain that they will foster friendship with children from many countries/regions. Most of all, we hope they will have a fun time together and share wonderful memories!

EY Webinar- Keeping abreast of changing tax laws & incentives and Managing your interaction with the ATO

One of our valued members, EY is holing a Webinar

Tax laws and incentives are changing rapidly in Australia. Governments have introduced measures to support the economy as well as to repair their budgets. Recently, NSW announced a bold plan to reform its stamp duty and property tax, while the Victorian government just last week announced measures that would increase stamp duty and payroll taxes. In order to help you navigate in these uncertain times, EY is pleased to invite you to a webinar where our Australian income tax, stamp duty and tax controversy experts discuss how to comply with evolving tax laws and manage your interactions with the Australian Taxation Office.

In this Webinar, we will provide a recap of the 2021/22 Federal budget and share some practical observations (that would be useful for businesses) once the dust has settled on the Federal Budget. We will provide an overview of the Federal Opposition’s Budget principles to allow us to understand how tax laws may change in the future if there is a change in Government at the next election. Our stamp duty experts will provide an overview of the local state budgets that have been handed down including commentary on the proposed shift to a “property tax” in New South Wales, details of which are currently expected to be released in the June Budget. Finally, our tax controversy team will provide details of the current audit efforts by the Australian Taxation Office and what needs to be done to prepare for an audit.

Date and Time: Tuesday 29 June 2021 4pm – 5:15pm

Language: Japanese/English with simultaneous interpretation

This event will be held on site at the EY Sydney office and simultaneously streamed via webinar. If you would like to attend the seminar in Sydney, please contact : ey.jbs@au.ey.com

Register 

Autumn Konshinkai

Thanks to everyone with a great turnout at our last Konshinkai where we filled Robot Bar to its COVID approved capacity. As the second in person event for the year, it was great to see just how many people have decided to connect via AJSV, the diversity of their backgrounds and genuine interest in making new connections with others interested in the Australia-Japan relationship.

For our next Konshinkai, we’re taking things back online but are planning several more in person events this years so keep posted!

Register 

AJSV AGM PRESIDENT’S REPORT

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