Sunday, March 19, 2006

European art show set for Honen-in Temple:
The European art exhibition "Stretch a Point, Draw a Line" will be held at a Buddhist temple in Kyoto from Friday to March 29.

The exhibition, to be held at Honen-in Temple in Sakyo Ward, features recent works in various media by five established European artists living in the Kansai region.

On view are ceramics by Regina Altherr, woodcuts by Moya Bligh, "sumi" paintings by Christine Flint Sato, calligraphy and mixed media by Roma Robinson and sumi paintings by Penny Robertson Sugihara. The artists are longtime residents of Japan and have been exhibiting together since 1998 in Japan and abroad. They also have regular solo shows.

Admission is free. The venue is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, and 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the final day.

The get to the venue, take a city bus No. 5 from JR Kyoto Station, get off at Jodoji bus stop, and walk 10 minutes toward the mountains.

For more information, call the venue at (075) 771-2420 or call the organizer at 090-8468-4521.

Amnesty plans lecture on criminal rehab:
Amnesty International Japan will hold a lecture meeting on what citizens can do to support criminals' rehabilitation Thursday 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Dawn Center in Chuo Ward, Osaka.

The lecture will be given by two activists from the United States. Kay Perry, chair of National CURE (Citizens United for rehabilitation of Errants), a grassroots organization concerned with the issues around the criminal justice system, and Penelope Ryder, director of the criminal justice program of AFSC (American Friends Service Committee), a nongovernmental organization working for social justice and peace.

The speakers will introduce their activities to abolish the death penalty and to improve the conditions of inmates, and discuss how citizens can be involved in the effort to prepare inmates to go back to society so they don't commit crimes again.

The lecture will be conducted in English, with Japanese interpretation.

Participation fee is 800 yen. Reservations in advance are not required.

To get to the venue, walk 350 meter east from Tenmabashi Station on the Keihan and subway Tanimachi lines.

For more information, call the organizer at Amnesty's Osaka office at (06) 4395-1313, fax (06) 4395-1314., or e-mail shihaiamnesty@yahoo.co.jp

General Union to host health-pension seminar:
General Union, an Osaka-based labor union open to all nationalities, is hosting a seminar on the Japanese health and pension system March 26 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the union's office in Kita Ward, Osaka.

The seminar, open to both members and nonmembers, is aimed at deepening their understanding on pension and health insurance through discussion.

The discussion will cover such topics as the differences between the government-run and employer-provided pension and health insurance systems, the differences between the employer-provided system ("shakai hoken") and private insurance policies, and workers' responsibilities in regards to health and pension, and the legal problems of health policies sold to foreign residents.

Participation fee is free. Reservations in advance are recommended.

For more information, call the organizer at (06) 6352-9619 or visit the union's Web site at www.generalunion.org

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