Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand 
why the old poets of China went so far
and high 
into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

The UP Asian Center will host a forum and research competition, "Japanese Studies in the Philippines” on 18 January 2020, 8 am–2 pm, UP Asian Center, QC. The event is free and open to the public. Seating a first-come, first served basis. Walk ins are welcome, but participants are encouraged to sign up.

The forum features seven presentations from graduate students in the Philippines. Click on each title to view the abstracts. Registration starts at 8 am.

8:30 am
Panel 1: Politics, International Relations, and Labor in Japan

(Dis)Membered Bodies: Kirino Natsuo’s OUT and the Gendered Japanese Body Politic through Postwar Labor Policies for Women
     Clarice Juliane Ira

Reshaping Japan’s Workforce Strategy through the Digitalization of its Creative Cities
     Ivan Harris Tanyag

The Minidorikutsukoku—Exploring the Micronation Boom in Rural Japan, 1970s and 1980s
     Fredrik Ezekiel de Jesus

Security Pursuits of a Small State: An Examination of the Philippines-Japan Strategic Partnership
     Mico Galang


10:35 am
Panel 2: Art, Gender and Technology in Japan

Genderless Kei: Challenging Gender Binaries in Japan with Accessible Androgynous Styling
    Maria Ysabel Tangco

From West to Japan: Re-imaging Japanese Housewives during the Allied Occupation of Japan
     Angela Louise Rosario

Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Japanese Artistic Painting Style Transfer through Neural Networks
    Paolo Valdez


1:00 pm
Performances

J-Pop: A Short Acoustic Medley (Instrumental)
    Janus Nolasco

J-Pop: A Dance
    Jose Marie Flores


1:20 pm
Announcement of Winners and Prizes

Winners will be selected based on the submitted research paper and the oral presentation during the competition proper. They will take part in an all-expense-paid five-day study tour in Japan in February 2020. They will visit Japanese academic and business institutions and interact with scholars and business persons.

Winning papers will also be published at the Asian Studies Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia. The research competition is organized by the Japan Studies Foundation, Manila and the UP Asian Center. It aims to encourage Japan-related research among young scholars in the Philippines.

For queries, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. View vicinity map.


The Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D.  program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded atthe journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.