COVID-19: Message from the Director

*Update: 6/7/2021*

Monday, June 7, 2021

Greetings from the NC Japan Center!

We hope that this message finds you all healthy and safe. As we move toward a return to a post-pandemic “normal” in our state and country, I wanted you all to have an update as to how the NC Japan Center will be operating in the coming months. The following information is subject to change.

COVID-19 Informational Page:

Website: Our regularly updated COVID-19 / コロナウイルス 2019 informational sub-page was created back in April 2020, as a resource for our community. This page will be phased out at the end of June, 2021, as it is no longer needed like it was previously. We hope this site has been helpful to you. Moving forward, we will post COVID-specific information on our “News/Events/Announcements” page.

Current NC Japan Center Plans:

Spring Hill House: Beginning on July 6, 2021, the Spring Hill House will have a full-time staff presence. Classes and events will not be held on-site until further notice. The NC Japan Center administration and language instructors are in discussion to introduce a “hybrid” model of Japanese language instruction starting in the Fall 2021 semester; the details of this model will be released on the Courses page in the coming months. Outdoor events are being considered for roll-out beginning in the fall. For now, any visits by the public to the Spring Hill House are being addressed on a per-case basis, and with prior arrangement and preparation.

NC-Japan Business Conference: This gathering was originally scheduled to take place on April 16, 2020 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel. With the advent of the pandemic, it was postponed. This event is now slated to be held in spring 2022.

We are looking forward to when the NC Japan Center will be open for unscheduled visits, on-site events, programs and classes; the Spring Hill House will be just where you saw it last, and we’ll be there to greet you (we’ll have some tea ready). In the meantime, we are eager to hear from you with your questions, concerns, or requests for any assistance we can provide.

Please stay safe, stay healthy, and stay optimistic; we’ll get through this together. The NC Japan Center is here for you.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Brewster