【Event Report: Japan Week 2022 at Bellevue College】

After two years of holding Japan Week as a virtual event, Bellevue College (BC) re-opened its campus to host a hybrid version of its public day festival and welcomed visitors to campus on September 24 for its celebration of Japanese culture. The Bellevue College Japanese Culture Exchange Club was able to create another interesting and engaging mix of live streamed and pre-recorded content, as well as in-person programing for visitors to enjoy! 
 
4,500 viewers from a total of 40 countries tuned in to the event this year. In addition, it is estimated that about 4,000 visitors came to the BC campus to enjoy this year’s Japan Week public festival in person. Japan Week was the very first festival that Consul General Inagaki experienced after arriving in Seattle in 2020. After two years of viewing the event online, he was thrilled to finally be able to visit the campus to enjoy the festivities with his wife. 
The Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle was pleased to offer its support for the in-person event by offering an information session about the JET Program and presenting a hands-on furoshiki-tying-techniques workshop. The Consulate also hosted a booth promoting travel to Japan, as the borders have finally re-opened to tourists! Joining the Consulate staff was PARO the therapeutic harp seal robot, who helped welcome over 360 visitors to the booth!   
PARO made a special appearance at this year’s event in coordination with a presentation on AI and Robotics in Healthcare given by Dr. Takanori Shibata, Chief Senior Research Scientist at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tokyo. Dr. Shibata is PARO’s creator, and his presentation was streamed live from Japan. 
Japan Week’s contests were a big hit again. The kendama, cosplay, and trivia contests took place live on campus, and the origami and bento contests were held online. 
 
Japan Week was able to offer a wide variety of live and virtual programing ranging from traditional arts to cutting-edge technology, as well as in-person activities and demonstrations including martial arts, musical performances, kendama lessons, and games.  Encouraged by the success of this year’s event, the organizers are already looking forward to next year!   

If you did not have a chance to attend this year, please visit the Japan Week website to check out its “Topic Tiles” and explore the many Japan-related cultural and heritage videos available. You will also be able to view all the amazing bento and origami contest submissions that were received this year!  

https://studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu/japan-week/