Australia-Japan Society ACT

09/06/2026

After the success of the last event, AJS ACT and AJBWN are hosting their second event on the beautiful shores of Lake Burley Griffin in the Marion. Please register early, as we are sure that this event will sell out! All welcome. Here is the link for tickets:

https://events.humanitix.com/aus-japan50thnetworkingevent

04/06/2026

IJSP (Ishikawa Japanese Studies Program) - two-week residential courses in Japanese language/culture in Kanazawa.
27th Sep -10th Oct 26
Deadline for applications for the September/October course is 10 July 2026.
https://ajsact.com.au/

19/05/2026

Ever seen a Blue Moon? Come and join our Tsukimi on the 31st of May. Enjoy Obentō while watching the moon and cruising around the Lake. Buy your ticket:
https://events.humanitix.com/blue-moon-tsukimi-moon-viewing-cruise/tickets

19/05/2026

As the Acting President of the National Federation of Australia Japan of Australia, I recently had the opportunity to present the Annual Koyo Oration at the Cowra Japanese Garden & Cultural Centre. The Matsuri included Children's Day events on the Friday for school children and cultural activities on the Saturday, including Bonsai and Kyudo demonstrations. ANU Za Kabuki also performed.
The Oration was given at the offical reception on the Friday evening and Deputy Consul-General, Mr Yuichiro Nishida spoke and thanked the people of Cowra for their continued efforts with their friendship with Japan. This year being the 50th Anniversary of the NARA Treaty, Cowra stands out as a testament to the work they have done in this space.
I also got the opportunity to experience "Unspoken Contributions" curated by Dr Tets Kimura (Flinders University). This exhibition funded by the Australia-Japan Foundation (DFAT) focuses on Japanese migrants and diasporas contributed to Australia's modern nationhood building (1867-1946). It was great to observe the long history and contribution of Japanese in Australia. The exhibition can be seen up until the 28th of June.

12/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ghikh7gnJ/
An amazing program, which has provided so opportunities to Australians.

Start your journey to Japan at our MEXT Online Info Session! 🇯🇵💻 Get insights and advice on the application process, hear first-hand stories from current and former scholars, and watch presentations from Japanese universities 🎓✨Email [email protected] to register

10/05/2026

IJSP (Ishikawa Japanese Studies Program)
27th Sep -10th Oct 26
The Ishikawa Foundation for International Exchange (IFIE), in association with the Australia-Japan Society (ACT), has resumed the two-week residential courses in Japanese language/culture in Kanazawa.
NOTE: there is a maximum of 15 places available for this course so it has to be “first in, first served”.

Welcome to the Australia Japan Society homepage. Here you will find the latest information on our exchange programs and Japan-related events in Canberra.

06/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17npJ3WNUM/

I had the amazing privilege of delivering the Oration at the Koyo Festival in Cowra. Below is a post from the Consulate-General of Japan, Sydney. It was great to be in the company of Deputy Consul General Mr Nishida. Thank you for the photos and the memories.

Cowra's Koyo Matsuri (Autumn Leaves Festival) was held on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 May at the beautiful Cowra Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre, and Deputy Consul-General Yuichiro Nishida was delighted to attend!

The Matsuri included Children's Day events on the Friday for younger visitors and cultural activities on the Saturday, which took Greenery Day as its theme. There was even a kabuki performance by ANU Za Kabuki, the longest running kabuki troupe in the southern hemisphere.

This year's Koyo Oration was delivered by Ms Dianne Fitzpatrick, Acting President, National Federation of Australia-Japan Societies. Ahead of the oration, a Service of Respect was held at the Cowra War Cemeteries.

An official reception was held on Friday evening and the Deputy Consul-General took the opportunity in his speech to convey his "sincerest thanks to the people of Cowra and to all those involved for their ceaseless efforts which have contributed so much to the strong foundations of today’s Japan-Australia relationship."

Mr Nishida also viewed the photo exhibition "Unspoken Contributions" curated by Dr Tets Kimura (Flinders University). Running until Sunday 28 June, the exhibition is funded by the Australia-Japan Foundation (DFAT) and focuses on how Japanese migrants and diasporas contributed to Australia's modern nationhood building (1867-1946).

26/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HgQZGNCcT/

🌟Interested in working as a Japanese Language Assistant in Western Australia? 🌟
The Department of Education is looking for Language Assistants (LAs) from Japan to support local primary and secondary language programs for the 2027 school year.
Check out the link below for full application details👇
https://www.perth.au.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100998708.pdf

🌟 西豪州で日本語アシスタントとして働いてみませんか？ 🌟
西豪州教育省では、2027年スクールイヤーに向けて、語学アシスタント（LA）を募集しています！
現地の小・中学校で日本語教育をサポートするお仕事です。
応募の詳細はこちらからチェック👇
https://www.perth.au.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100998708.pdf

22/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Gu4RbggZv/
Congratulations to the Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 Champions!! Well deserved!!

Japanese players pose after defeating Australia 1-0 in the Women's Asian Cup soccer final in Sydney on Saturday. See story here.

17/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1D46tzxr3d/

We all can't believe it! But it is true, Muku will be no longer from the end of this week! What an amazing legacy, of yummy vegetarian food with incredible 'gluten free' aspects. The care and love that was put into the food and the hospitality will not be forgotten. AJS ACT really want to thank Rina and Corey for all their work within the community, bringing together like minded people who love Japan. We can't wait for the next chapter!! All the BEST!!

A big part of Muku and Chef Rina’s food philosophy is about seasonality and showing that transience through food. 🍂

And we’re sad to announce that our season at Scullin has come to a close. Our last day of trade will be this Sunday the 22nd of March 2026. Meaning you have exactly 5 days left to come and get your fill of ramen and cafe goodness! 🍜

Muku has been a success. Despite being a niche business out in the suburbs, we’re very lucky to have cultivated a great community who have supported us over the years. We’ve been busy pretty much every night since we opened in October 2023 off the back of a series of sold out pop-up events. We catered weddings and special events, held monthly events including Japanese breakfast events, language and culture exchanges and high teas. All of these were met with such a great response that we were able to run a weekly pop-up cafe every Sunday. And that’s been successful too with so many people showing up to try Chef Rina’s ever evolving menu. In tough economic times with so many businesses closing due to financial issues, we’re lucky to be able to close on our terms. 🙏🏻🙇🏻‍♀️

And, we did it the hard way. We made as much as we could from scratch - being one of the only restaurants in Canberra to make our noodles, broths and almost everything else by hand. We paid our staff fair wages, hired a young cohort of workers for whom Muku was their first job, hired staff from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds and helped support them to build confidence and develop hospitality skills. We composted all of our food waste and reduced our footprint wherever we could. All of this is not the norm in the industry, but we turned it into one of our strengths. 💪🏻

So, why are we closing? Well, we’ve reached the word limit on posts, so check out the comments for more! 👀