13th JAMCO Online International Symposium./Upon the Occasion of the Holding of the 13th JAMCO Online International Symposium

Opening Remarks

Yoshio Okawara
President
Japan Media Communication Center

      During the past 12 years since its founding in 1991, JAMCO has continued to hold an annual symposium. This year, as in the previous years, we will develop a program of lectures and discussions by specialists from at home and abroad, for the next two months, on the theme of "Japanese TV Dramas that Go Beyond 'Japan': Their Transnational Significance and Influence."

      One of the main tasks of JAMCO is the building and management of the JAMCO video library for the purpose of production of English and Spanish versions of outstanding programs from among TV programs broadcast in Japan and to offer them to broadcasting stations of developing countries.

      This year's symposium will examine the ways in which Japanese TV programs, especially dramas, are received overseas and what influence they exert there, as well as what cultural interaction they give rise to between Japan and the local societies of the countries where they are shown.

      A total of 4 specialists from China (Hong Kong), Korea, the United States, and Japan will present their lectures on this theme on this home page. And we also plan to request comments on those lectures from scholars residing in Australia, Taiwan, and the United States.

      Dr. Koichi Iwabuchi, Assistant Professor at International Christian University, has been commissioned to serve as the overall coordinator for the symposium, and to take charge of the "Introduction" and the "summing-up of the Symposium."

      In the course of this symposium, we encourage and welcome not only open dialogues between these specialists, but also the participation in discussions of all audience members who read their contributions. If you should have any opinions or comments concerning anything about the symposium, please feel free to send them to JAMCO.

      This symposium is co-sponsored by the Japan Foundation, an independent administrative institution, and has been made possible by financial aid from the Hoso Bunka Foundation. We have also obtained the supports of the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), and the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan. I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the related organizations.