The Japan Foundation, Sao Paulo：Projects to Introduce Japanese Cultures across Brazil

The Japan Foundation, Sao Paulo

In 2008, Japan Brazil Network Television (JBN) started in Brazil: the world's first medium to offer a broad introduction of Japanese culture. JBN was established as one of the channels on the largest pay-satellite broadcasting network in Brazil that covers 1.7 million households, and it started broadcasting to the entire country on July 18, 2008, the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first immigrant ship Kasato Maru at the Port of Santos.

In collaboration with JBN, the Japan Foundation, Sao Paulo started to produce a number of programs to introduce various aspects of Japanese culture. Here are some of them:

"Wisdom of Flavors" series introduce Japanese food cultures, from foods and ingredients such as rice, miso, soy sauce, and Japanese sake to unique eating habits. 11 programs had already been produced by March.

In the field of music, we are involving in planning and producing a series of programs called "Pentatonica." This project focuses on the relationship between musicians who are researching and performing in Brazil and Japanese music. The latest trends in music are also introduced, and Japanese pop and rock music are adopted as themes of the program.

Our project in the field of art is "Architecture + Design Connection." This project introduces the works of Brazilian designers who are influenced by Japanese architectural style and designs, intending to examine Japanese design concepts that can be found in houses and public facilities.

In addition, TV programs based on the Japan Foundation's lectures on Japanese culture make it easier for the viewers to understand the basic knowledge of Japanese culture. So far, we produced "The World of Ukiyoe" and "History of Dance in Japan," both were presented by former Fellows of the Japan Foundation. Therefore, this project was also proved to be effective as a follow-up project for Fellows after they return to their homeland.

JBN has a TV station on the web to provide people around the world with programs via the Internet. Programs provided by JBN are popular among Brazilians and Japanese-Brazilians who are living in Japan, because these programs are useful for them to understand Japanese culture in their mother language.

From May 2009, JBN will start broadcasting of "Erin's Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese" (produced by NHK). Currently, translation of subtitles is in progress. Other than projects on TV, our "Karaoke Caravan for Learning Japanese-Language" is a project that travels through major cities in Brazil. The final contest held in Sao Paulo in 2008 gathered the audience of over 500 people

Today, more and more Brazilian young people are interested in Japanese language through various aspects of Japanese pop culture. We hope that programs to be broadcasted on JBN will increase the number of people who are interested in Japanese language and culture around the vast country of Brazil.

Page top▲

• Back to previous page
• Next page