Feb. 20, 1998 Contact Pauline Austin (541) 346-3129 EUGENE---Oregonians can learn about the culture and issues confronting contemporary Japan through a series of five free lectures in Eugene, Portland and Bend. The University of Oregon Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, Central Oregon Community College and the World Affairs Council of Oregon are sponsors of the series, "Confronting Japan." The talks, which are for a general audience, explore contemporary events in Japan. The speakers will present each lecture in three separate regions of the state. The series kicks off Feb. 24 in Bend, where all lectures will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays in Hitchcock Auditorium on the Central Oregon Community College campus. In Eugene, all lectures will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Wednesdays in Room 110, Willamette Hall, 1371 E. 13th Ave. on the UO campus. All Portland lectures will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.,Thursdays in the Mezzanine, 2 World Trade Center, 24 S.W. Salmon St. Dates, topics and speakers are: * Feb. 24-26, "Rendezvous with History: Japan's reckoning with the Asia-Pacific War," by Norma Field, professor of East Asian languages and civilizations, University of Chicago. * March 10-12, "Japan through Chinese Eyes: Imitation and Suspicion between Asian Neighbors," by Richard Kraus, UO professor of political science. * April 7-9, "Managing Japan Inc.," by John Pierson, associate director of Matsumoto Medical Instruments, Inc. , who, from 1969 to 1979, served as assistant professor of history and Asian studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. * April 21-23, "Courting Disaster: Earthquakes on the Urban Archipelago," by Jeff Hanes, UO professor of history. * May 5-7, "Desiring the West: Representations of Westerners in Japanese Popular Culture," by Karen Kelsky, UO professor of anthropology. For more information, call the UO Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, (541) 346-5084; or Central Oregon University Center, (541) 383-7256 in Bend. The Freeman Foundation, which supports programs to enhance cross-cultural understanding between the United States and Asian countries, is providing funds for the lecture series. The private, non-profit foundation is based in Vermont. -30- #P-6066/Local,A&E,OrDailies,PDX