"MEPPI Japan Lecture Series – The Tokyo-Berlin Axis, 70 Years Later", February 19.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania presents the next presentation in this year's Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. Japan Lecture Series, ""MEPPI Japan Lecture Series – The Tokyo-Berlin Axis, 70 Years Later", on February 19. The JASP provides an overview of the talk and the speaker:

The lecture will provide an overview of the origins, formation, development, and fall of the Axis alliance between Japan and Germany before and during World War II. How and why did Japan and Germany, so different, distant, and each espousing nationalistic ideologies, come to embrace each other as comrades in arms? How did the Axis function as a diplomatic and military entity? Did Japan and Germany help each other’s war effort, and could they actually have won World War II? The lecture will explore the answers to these questions by examining the history of Japanese-German rapprochement from the end of World War I in 1918 to the conclusion of World War II in 1945. It will discuss major events such as the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936, the Tripartite Pact of 1940, and the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Ricky Law is assistant professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University. He first experienced Japan as a participant of the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program in Hokkaido. He returned to Japan as a graduate student to research for his dissertation and received a Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Currently he is completing a book manuscript on the cultural and intellectual backgrounds of the Japanese-German alliance.

The talk runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the Pittsburgh Athletic Association in Oakland (map). Registration is required and can be done online.

"Covering China from the Ground Up – and Turning Reporting into Book" with Michael Meyer, February 20 at Pitt.

The Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh will host author Michael Meyer and his talk "Covering China from the Ground Up – and Turning Reporting into Book" on February 20. An overview of this stop of his book tour, from the latest ASC newsletter:

Since first arriving in the country as a Peace Corps volunteer 20 years ago, Michael Meyer has witnessed China from the village and neighborhood level. His writing combines immersive reporting, memoir and archival research. Meyer’s award-winning first book, The Last Days of Old Beijing, documents daily life in the capital's oldest neighborhood as the city remade itself for the Olympics. His second book, published this month, In Manchuria: A Village Called Wasteland and the Transformation of Rural China, depicts life on a family’s rice farm as it becomes a corporate agribusiness. Meyer will show slides from his research, and talk about the challenges of reporting from China and how a freelance writer can fund and produce books that reach a wide audience. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

The talk begins at 2:00 pm in the O'Hara Student Center Ballroom (campus map) and is free and open to the public.

Shortstop Jung-ho Kang arrives at Spring Training.

Via Newsen (1, 2).

Newly-signed shortstop Jung-ho Kang (강정호) has arrived at Pirates Spring Training, and the Korean media is watching closely.

New Chinese movie Somewhere Only We Know (有一个地方只有我们知道) at Waterfront, from February 13.

The 2015 Chinese romantic comedy Somewhere Only We Know (有一个地方只有我们知道) will play at AMC Loews Waterfront from tomorrow, February 13. A quick synopsis:

The film tells a story of a girl named Jin Tian, who goes to Prague after her boyfriend breaks the engagement. Then a man named Peng Zeyang appears in her life and a love story begins.

Pittsburgh is one of 28 North American cities to get the film on its US debut. Showtimes through February 19 are currently available online; Friday's show will play at 11:05 am, 1:45 pm, 4:25 pm, 7:05 pm, and 9:45 pm. The theater is located at the Waterfront shopping center in Homestead (map).

Korean Lunar New Year Conversation Club Event at Pitt, February 17.

From the latest Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh newsletter:

Daehwa Korean Conversation club’s first event! Come experience the Korean Lunar New Year with other Korean language learners and enjoy games and food! Daehwa’s goal is to help Korean language learners or students interested in Korean to practice their conversational skills while learning about Korean culture in a fun and casual environment. All students and faculty are welcome, whether or not you are learning Korean! Please join us to celebrate the Korean Lunar New Year!

The event runs from 12:30 to 2:30 pm on February 17 in room 4130 Posvar Hall (campus map).

Chinese-language presentation “Assessing the Quality of China’s Rural Health Care” ("中国农村医疗质量评估") at Pitt, February 18.

The University of Pittsburgh will host Dr. Yaojiang Shi of Shaanxi Normal University on February 18 for a talk titled “Assessing the Quality of China’s Rural Health Care". The presentaton begins at 1:00 pm in 3600 Posvar Hall (campus map) and is in Chinese. Those interested in attending are requested to RSVP to asia [at] pitt.edu.

"Pirate Cosmopolitanism: P2P, Fansubbing, and Alternative Cultural Flow in China" at Pitt, February 13.

Dr. Jinying Li, of the University of Pittsburgh's Film Studies program, will present "Pirate Cosmopolitanism: P2P, Fansubbing, and Alternative Cultural Flow in China" on Friday, February 13. The abstract, via the Pitt Asian Studies Center:

In China, where the world's largest population is quickly getting wired, fansubbing—dubbed "zimuzu" in Chinese—has flourished among a burgeoning digital generation who is active in consuming a large amount of foreign media contents, mostly Hollywood movies and TV series, which are widely available on cyberspace in the form of free digital fansubs that are translated and distributed by fellow fans. This alternative, bottom-up cultural flow between Hollywood and China is rapidly gaining momentum in a media market that is subjected to both extensive information control by the state and suppressive IP enforcement by multinational corporations. This talk will address the political meanings of an imagined cosmopolitan community that is created through the self-organized communication platforms of fansubbing and p2p file sharing of media contents, and examine the changing power relations between global Hollywood, the Chinese state, and a new generation of consumers in the digital age.

The talk will begin at 4:00 pm in 4217 Posvar Hall (campus map), and is free and open to the public.

Valentine's Day in Japan Chocolate Making Social in Shadyside, February 13.

Kenmawr Apartments in Shadyside and the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host "Valentine's Day in Japan Chocolate Making Social" on Friday, February 13. The apartment complex at 401 Shady Ave. (map) has a large number of Japanese residents who work and study in the city, and often hosts cultural events for its international residents. Friday's event runs from 4 to 6 pm.

New Chinese movie Somewhere Only We Know (有一个地方只有我们知道) at Waterfront, from February 13.

The 2015 Chinese romantic comedy Somewhere Only We Know (有一个地方只有我们知道) will play at AMC Loews Waterfront from February 13, according to the University of Pittsburgh's East Asian Languages and Literatures. A quick synopsis:

The film tells a story of a girl named Jin Tian, who goes to Prague after her boyfriend breaks the engagement. Then a man named Peng Zeyang appears in her life and a love story begins.

Pittsburgh is one of 28 North American cities to get the film on its US debut. Showtimes and further information have not yet been released. The theater is located at the Waterfront shopping center in Homestead (map).

Chinese New Year event for kids at Mt. Lebanon Public Library, February 15.

The Mt. Lebanon Public Library (map) will hold a Chinese New Year event for children ages 3 and up on Sunday, February 15, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.

Help bring in the Year of the Sheep today with stories, songs, snacks and fun!

Those with questions can contact the Children's Library at childrenslibrary [at] einetwork.net or 412-531-1912.