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MEXT E-mail Newsletter Focusing on Schools for Foreign Students
11th issue：March 11th, 2021
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(1)Announcement in several languages regarding countermeasures against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) for festivals of foreign residents
MEXT would like to inform you that the notification regarding “Thorough countermeasures against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) for festivals of foreign residents” have been translated into 18 languages. Please kindly find the following link.

https://www.pref.tottori.lg.jp/secure/1240336/omaturikorona.pdf

It would be appreciated if it would be utilized for the countermeasures against COVID-19.

(2)Japan Cultural Expo — Let's experience the culture and arts of Japan online!
① You can now watch by VOD a special program (in English only) from the Japan Cultural Expo titled "The Japanese and Nature — Message of the Japan Cultural Expo," which was internationally broadcast on NHK World-Japan/jibtv, NHK's international broadcasting channel, on February 10-11.

The program will showcase Japanese people's views on nature, as reflected in the country's architecture, performing arts, traditional crafts, gardening, tea ceremony, and traditional flower arrangement, with interviews on how people in Japan approach nature.

Please don't miss this opportunity to see this very interesting program.

・Video streaming service（NHK WORLD-JAPAN）
https://www.jibtv.com/programs/the_japanese_and_nature/　

② At a special venue with the Imperial Palace's Nijubashi Bridge as the backdrop, a Japan Cultural Expo Special Performance at the Kokyo Gaien National Garden, "Representation of Prayer," will be held on March 12-14.

You'll be able to enjoy numerous gems of Japanese traditional performing arts as well as the lush nature surrounding the Imperial Palace. The programs center on Noh and Kyogen performances, based on historical details of the Edo Castle. Also featuring Ryukyu performing arts and folk performing arts from Tohoku region, this "Representation of Prayer" is a prayer for the end of the COVID pandemic, the reconstruction of Shuri Castle, and the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

Since these performances will be streamed live, you will be able to truly feel as if you are actually there (a missed-program webcast will also be available).

Special websites

・See the following websites for details about the performance.
https://japanculturalexpo.bunka.go.jp/en/rop/ (English)

・To purchase live streaming tickets, visit the following website.
https://japanculturalexpo.zaiko.io/e/representation-of-prayer

・To see a video trailer, go to:
https://youtu.be/hFpSqY9hJAA

・The following are the official websites for the Japan Cultural Expo.
https://japanculturalexpo.bunka.go.jp/en/ (English)

*At the bottom of the websites, you can access the official SNS accounts of the Japan Cultural Expo.
*At the Digital Gallery in the websites, you can see multilingual videos and VR contents.

Office for Promotion of New Arts and Culture Creation, Arts and Culture Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs

(3)A video plea from Hello Kitty: "Let's be respectful of copyrights!" 
We often hear the word copyright, but have you ever wondered what it actually means?

The Agency for Cultural Affairs is making various efforts to answer that question, including promoting public awareness campaigns about copyrights. As part of this spreading of public awareness based on recent revisions in the copyright law, the Agency for Cultural Affairs produced a public awareness video starring Hello Kitty, the government's copyright PR ambassador.

The Act Partially Amending the Copyright Act and the Act on Special Provisions for the Registration of Computer Program Works passed the Diet on June 5, 2020, and promulgated on June 12 the same year.

In accordance with this law, from January 1, 2021, it became illegal to download infringed content while knowing that the material was uploaded illegally, even for private use under certain conditions.

Moreover, in the case of illegal downloading, a person who continually or repeatedly downloads regular versions or editions of materials provided at a fee may be subject to criminal prosecution (however, the offense can only be prosecuted if the copyright holder files a complaint).

The public awareness video utilizing Hello Kitty was produced to make the revisions to the copyright law easy to understand and to gain the public's awareness and understanding of copyrights. Please encourage all to watch the video.

・"Let's be respectful of copyrights!" 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQYzbh4Fd6s

・(Short version) "Let's be respectful of copyrights!" 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBBHl789hCM

Office for International Copyrights, Copyright Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs

(4)Others
To register or de-register to this newsletter, please send an email to the following e-mail address at MEXT. In the case of register, please describe your e-mail address and affiliation in your e-mail:
E-mail address: gaikokuzingakkou@mext.go.jp

It would be appreciated if you register the e-mail address of representatives of the schools for foreign students.

To check the previous newsletters, please follow the steps by clicking the specified link below;
https://www.mext.go.jp/magazine/backnumber/symel_00001.htm　

The website focusing on the schools for foreign students was launched in Plain Japanese on the MEXT's official website;
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/kokusai/gaikoku/　

Useful information for everyone at the schools for foreign students focusing on anti-COVID-19 measures will be provided in several languages, for the time being, so please regularly check our updates.

Thank you for reading this e-mail newsletter.

 
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文部科学省大臣官房国際課
「外国人学校・インターナショナルスクール メールマガジン」担当
E-mail Newsletter Focusing on Schools for Foreign Students
International Affairs Division, Minister's Secretariat, MEXT
Tel：03-5253-4111（Ex. 3222） E-mail：gaikokuzingakkou@mext.go.jp
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