The Department of Japanese Studies has secured a substantial grant from the international cultural exchange organization, The Japan Foundation. The grant will allow for two visiting professorships and several research projects to take place over the coming year. Visiting Scholar Professor Koichi Iwabuchi  of Waseda University will be in the department between 12 August – 2 September and Professor Carolyn Stevens of the University of Melbourne will visit between 25 September – 9 October. The grant will cover a comprehensive literature review and various graduate research projects on the theme of  ‘Japanese Culture in Contemporary Southeast Asia.’