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Entrance to Rowayton Community Center
The 2025 annual meeting and culture program of the Japan Society of Fairfield County (JSFC) was held at the Rowayton Community Center on Sunday, November 23, 2025.
We had a toast of sparkling wine or juice, followed by a delicious luncheon of Japanese boxed lunches (bentos) from the Loop by Hachiroku of New Haven. During a brief business meeting President Jackie Alexander described the past year’s events. The officers and board of directors for 2026 were elected.
Our speaker was author, Westport native, and Cool Japan producer Benjamin W. Boas. His entertaining and interesting talk was entitled: From Fairfield County to NHK World: Behind the Scenes of “Cool Japan”. He shared stories from NHK World, lessons from two decades of U.S.–Japan cultural work, with an insider’s view on how international talent land roles in Japanese media—plus what “Cool Japan” gets right (and wrong).
To see some of the work he's done with NHK World, click here. This link takes you to an episode of NHK's program JOURNEYS IN JAPAN, a series providing an eye-opening look at the many unique places to visit in Japan. In this episode, Boas traces the footsteps of Isabella Bird, a British explorer and writer who arrived in Japan in 1878, and traveled deep into the hinterland.
A holiday market by the Japanese craft group “ObiObi” was held during the event.
Fabulous homemade desserts were made by JSFC member Michiyo Seto.
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