By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02). Justin has written about Japanese arts and entertainment for JETAA since 2005. For more of his articles, click here.
As spring continues and the weather continues to warm, New Yorkers can enjoy activities all over the city both indoors and out.
This month’s highlights include:
Friday, May 1, 8:00 p.m.
Mahler Chamber Orchestra: Yuja Wang, Piano and Director
Carnegie Hall, 881 Seventh Avenue
From $350
For the first time at Carnegie Hall, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra is led by Grammy-winning piano phenomenon Yuja Wang, who directs from her instrument. This exemplary touring ensemble has been a highlight in recent Carnegie Hall seasons, and its collaborations with Wang are highly renowned. It’s an ideal pairing, as Wang is not only one of the world’s leading virtuosos, but also an artist with a true gift for “drawing you into the world of each composer” Financial Times. Featuring concertmaster and leader Matthew Truscott, the evening’s selections will include Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 1, “Classical,” as well as Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1. With more than 45 musicians spanning over 20 different countries, this show will prove that music is truly the universal language.
Sunday, May 3, 8:00 p.m.
Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway
From $88.50
HoYoFair Fan Concert Once Upon HoYoFair LIVE In 2026 will come together in France, Germany, the UK, and the U.S. for six LIVE fan concerts! In celebration of the upcoming 2026, which marks the 5th anniversary of HoYoFair, HoYoverse is excited to announce the HoYoFair Fan Concert—a fan art-driven music feast organized by 54 Entertainment and CHARISMA TANUKI PRODUCTIONS. This unique event will feature musical performances from Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, and Honkai Impact 3rd, all in one show. Fans will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the touching melodies of HoYoverse’s beloved titles.
Monday, May 4, 8:00 p.m.
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$21 nonmembers, $14 members
One late night in an overworked office, Miyabi is offered a bite of home-cooked fish and politely turns down the offer with a white lie. As acts of extreme politeness and Japanese office etiquette begin to stack on top of this innocent lie, office workers are stretched to the breaking point, until a sudden change overtakes Miyabi’s team… In her signature style for finding the farcical in the mundane structures of Japanese society, Kishida Kunio Drama Award winner Kei Ando’s play Earthly Bones dives deep into the inherent absurdities of Japanese office life. NYC-based director Lauren Zeftel and her cast of local actors take audiences on this mad joyride of distinctly Japanese dark humor in an English-language reading.
Read More.
Posted by: Margie Banin (Kochi, 2005-2007), a former CIR with a love of the written word. Currently she connects others to Japan through translating, writing, and editing texts on Japan. Margie also manages the JETwit Bluesky account, serves as the JETwit Volunteer Coordinator and a JETwit jobs-list welcomer, and engages in various other JETwit outreach activities.
A surprising (or maybe not?) number of JET participants and alumni become authors, chronicling their time in Japan in memoirs or fictionalized accounts of their experiences living and working in Japan. Others share insights into the country and culture through nonfiction works. All these books open a window into the reality of life in Japan.
JETwit maintains an online library of JET alum writers. It’s a work in progress, and we’d like to expand it to include as many JET authors as possible. If you’ve published a book rooted in or connected to your JET experience, please let us know so we can add you to the list! Likewise, if you know of a JET author who isn’t in our library yet, please tell us about them.
Email submissions to us at jetwit@jetwit.com and use “JETwit Library” as the subject line.
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Posted by: Margie Banin (Kochi, 2005-2007), a former CIR with a love of the written word. Currently she connects others to Japan through translating, writing, and editing texts on Japan. Margie also manages the JETwit Bluesky account, serves as the JETwit Volunteer Coordinator and a JETwit jobs-list welcomer, and engages in various other JETwit outreach activities.
The third edition of Sarah Coomber’s memoir, The Same Moon, has just been released as of April 2026. Based on Sarah’s experience teaching in rural Japan in the mid-1990’s, The Same Moon is described as a story of encouragement and hope. Here’s a little background from Sarah about her book.
“Many of us experience a time in life where we’d like a do-over, and I sure felt that way about my early twenties.
After being briefly wed and quickly divorced by age twenty-four, all I wanted was a fresh start. I abandoned my Minnesota life for a job teaching English in Japan, planning to take a year to reflect, heal and figure out what to do next.
I ended up the lone English speaker in an isolated rural area, where I was drawn into serving tea to my male co-workers, performing with a koto (zither) group, advocating for female students and colleagues, and embarking on a controversial romance.
Of course I signed on for a second year—not because this was the Japan I was seeking, but because it turned out to be the Japan I needed.”
Learn more at https://sarahcoomber.com/.
Discover more JET alum authors in the JETwit Library.
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Posted by: Margie Banin (Kochi, 2005-2007), a former CIR with a love of the written word. Currently she connects others to Japan through translating, writing, and editing texts on Japan. Margie also manages the JETwit Bluesky account, serves as the JETwit Volunteer Coordinator and a JETwit jobs-list welcomer, and engages in various other JETwit outreach activities.
Yan Sen Lu set off to Japan as a JET in 2006 and has been there ever since. After completing two years in Tokyo on the JET program, Yan Sen transitioned into the local workforce, finding employment in the executive search field.
Now, 18 years later, he has established his own search firm, Makana Partners, and has authored a work he describes as a guide for those looking to hire top talent in Japan.
As he puts it:
“If Japan is breaking your hiring process—this is your field manual.
‘We can open a new market in Southeast Asia faster than we can fill a single Director-level role in Tokyo.’ — Every HR Director in Japan, eventually.
Japan rewards preparation above all else. This book names the mechanisms — the cultural codes, the structural realities, and the exact frameworks that the best executive search firms use to close in this market.”
Yan Sen’s book sounds like a must-read for those supporting foreign companies in Japan by recruiting and building teams for them!
The Hardest Market in the World will be released this summer, in June 2026. Learn more at https://hardestmarket.com/.
Discover more JET alum authors in the JETwit Library.
Posted by: Margie Banin (Kochi, 2005-2007), a former CIR with a love of the written word. Currently she connects others to Japan through translating, writing, and editing texts on Japan. Margie also manages the JETwit Bluesky account, serves as the JETwit Volunteer Coordinator and a JETwit jobs-list welcomer, and engages in various other JETwit outreach activities.
Welcome to Sunny Town is Canadian writer, poet, and photographer Théodora Armstrong’s debut novel. She describes it as a darkly funny portrayal of life inside the ESL world in Japan.
While not a JET alum herself, Théodora’s work is likely to resonate with those who are. Take a look at Théodora’s overview introducing Maggie, the center of the story, and see what sounds familiar to you.
“Set in Japan during the early aughts, Welcome to Sunny Town follows Maggie, a young woman fresh out of art school, who moves to Japan to teach ESL and reinvent herself. Upon arrival, Maggie must learn to navigate the disorienting freedom of life abroad. She meets a group of expats and immediately becomes enmeshed in their relationships and personal dramas. She gets a job teaching English, where she meets Keiko, an overzealous student who offers to teach Maggie Japanese, and before long an unlikely friendship develops between them.”
Fellow Canadian author Sheung-King comments the story is “attentive to the power dynamics between expats and locals… observant and unsparing about who holds language, mobility, and cultural capital.”
Intrigued? Learn more at http://www.theodoraarmstrong.ca/.
Welcome to Sunny Town will be available from May 1, 2026.
Discover more books like this one by JET alum authors in the JETwit Library.
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: EIKEN Speaking Test Examiner
Posted by: Japanese Children’s Society
Location: Bronx, NY, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to EIKEN Test organizer, Midori Otani for passing along the following job opening.
EIKEN Speaking Test Examiners (New York Area)
The Japanese Children’s Society is currently seeking qualified examiners for the EIKEN Speaking Test (Japan’s leading English proficiency exam), administered in the New York area on behalf of the EIKEN Foundation of Japan.
Our New York site is one of the largest overseas testing locations, with approximately 500 examinees per administration. We are now recruiting additional examiners for the upcoming test date:
Date: Sunday, July 5
Location: Lehman College, Bronx, NY
Read MorePosted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Japanese/English Bilingual Account Rep., (Sales Administrator)
Posted by: iiicareer (interesse international inc.)
Location: Northern Kentucky, KY, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to Seiko Maruyama for passing along the following job opening.
Basic Function
- Serves customers by selling products and meeting customer needs.
- Services existing accounts establishes new accounts by planning and organizing daily work schedule to call on existing or potential sales outlets and other trade factors.
- Adjusts content of sales presentations by studying the type of sales outlet or trade factor.
- Focuses sales efforts by studying existing and potential volume of orders.
- Submits quote and product literature.
- Keeps management informed by submitting activity and results reports, such as daily call reports, weekly work plans, and monthly and annual territory analyses.
Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Summer Short-Term Customized Program Coordinator, International Education
Posted by: Bellevue College
Location: Bellevue, WA
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to Marlowe Zoller (Ishikawa, 2009-2011) for passing along the following job opening.
Bellevue College (BC) International Education (IE) is looking for a Program Coordinator (PC) to prepare and run a short-term customized program from mid-July to early August 2026. The following duties are typical for this position but should not be considered all-inclusive as duties may be changed based on management discretion and institutional needs. The primary responsibility is to prepare the program thoroughly and deliver a successful program by actively engaging with the students to create a safe and inclusive learning environment. Typical duties include, but are not limited to, handling all logistics of all on- and off-campus activities, planning and facilitating themed seminars, coordinating an orientation session and a farewell ceremony, leading all on- and off-campus activities, staying within the allotted budget, supervising a few student assistants, and briefing the IE director daily.
Read MorePosted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Civic Engagement & Partnerships Manager
Posted by: Minerva University
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to Jennifer Butler (Shizuoka, 2001-2004) for passing along the following job opening.
ABOUT MINERVA UNIVERSITY
Minerva University is a highly selective four-year institution challenging the traditional approach to higher education. Minerva has been intentionally designed — combining a reinvented curriculum, rigorous academic standards, cutting-edge technology, and an immersive global experience to prepare the most motivated students in the world to solve complex challenges. Students develop both academically and as culturally dexterous individuals, interacting with classmates from more than 40 different countries.
Read MorePosted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Sales Assistant (Entry Level)
Posted by: Quick USA
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to Carlos Medina (Oita, Japan, 2019-2022) for passing along the following job opening.
Description:
A Japanese Infrastructure Services Company is currently looking for a Temp to hire, entry level Sales Assistant to join their Houston, TX team.
This role provides the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in both sales operations and client engagement within the IT and civil engineering sector.
The Sales Assistant will support the Sales Manager with CRM operations, administrative tasks, and client communications, while also delivering professional presentations to city officials.
DOE and skills, the pay range for this position would be between the 45k-50k mark with great benefits.
Job: Administrative Assistant to the Consul-General – Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago (Illinois, USA)
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Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Administrative Assistant to the Consul-General
Posted by: Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to Magda Fuller (Ishikawa, 2015-2022) for passing along the following job opening.
Description: The Consulate-General of Japan is seeking a highly motivated, team-oriented individual for the position of Administrative Assistant to the Consul-General. Please see the job posting for details.
Application Process: For more information and to apply, please click here – https://www.chicago.us.emb-japan.go.jp/files/101012291.pdf
WIT Life #391: Roosevelt Island お花見 🌸
Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life Comments Off on WIT Life #391: Roosevelt Island お花見 🌸
Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR 2000-03) presents WIT Life, a periodic series about aspects of Japanese culture such as art, film, food and language. She also shares her interpreting adventures and the interesting things she has encountered in the course of her work.
Spring has sprung here in New York, and over the weekend I got to enjoy お花見 (ohanami, or cherry blossom viewing) at Roosevelt Island. My previous post talked about the treasure trove of sakura sweets that you can find in Japan, and of course I brought those souvenirs from my trip to our ohanami picnic.
I hadn’t been to Roosevelt Island since 2019 when I was last there for a 桜祭り (sakura matsuri, or cherry blossom festival). At that time I remember having to wade through dense crowds and being surprised by the number of attendees. This weekend was not an official event, so although there were many sakura-seeking day trippers there were plenty of available benches (though the ones by the most beautifully blooming trees were already taken). I also saw a huge Japanese group who had spread their blankets on the grass for Japanese-style ohanami (one of them was even using the familiar massive blue plastic tarp!).
Read MoreJob: Local Staff – Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville (Tenessee, USA)
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Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Local Staff
Posted by: Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville
Location: Nashville, TN, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to Jonathan Contrades (Saga, 2012-2017) for passing along the following job opening.
Description:
Analysis of news articles, making political and economic reports of the states under the jurisdiction of the Consulate-General (Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana), drafting letters, arranging appointments and accompanying diplomats on business trips, participating in various events, other administrative and secretarial tasks as needed.
Application Process: For more information and to apply, please click here – https://www.nashville.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/2026LocalStaffRecruitment.html
Job: English Document Translation Staff – Mori Hamada (Tokyo, Japan)
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Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: English Document Translation Staff
Posted by: Mori Hamada
Location: Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Hybrid
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to Treat Schubert for passing along the following job opening.
Responsibilities:
– Japanese–English translation of various documents, including contracts, filings, and legal opinions (including necessary research for translation)
– Proofreading English translations prepared by Japanese-speaking lawyers and staff (so-called “native check”)
– Training (or assisting in training) junior translators and handling general duties within the English translation section
Application Process: For more information and to apply, please click here – https://recruitment.morihamada.com/recruitment/staff/62.html
Job: Certified Elementary School Japanese Teacher – Bellevue School District (Bellevue, WA, USA)
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Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Certified Elementary School Japanese Teacher
Posted by: Bellevue School District
Location: Bellevue, WA, USA
Contract: Full-Time
Thanks to Jessica Record (Sanda, Hyogo, 2015-2016) for passing along the following job opening.
Bennett Elementary School in Bellevue, Washington are seeking for certificate teachers who have Japanese proficiency at ACTFL Advanced Low or above, and
can teach in both Japanese and English. The teachers are responsible for Japanese language instructions in all elementary subjects in a 50/50 dual language immersion program.
The position involves planning and delivering high -quality, culturally responsive instruction that builds on students’ prior knowledge and supports academic Japanese language development. The role emphasizes fostering an inclusive, respectful classroom environment, using effective teaching strategies, assessments, curriculum resources, and educational technology to support student growth. Responsibilities include collaborating closely with colleagues, communicating effectively with families in both Japanese and English, participating in professional learning and required meetings, maintaining accurate records, and demonstrating professionalism and reflective teaching practices.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Hiromi Pingry at PingryH[at]bsd405[dot]org
Submit Application: For more information and to apply, please click here – https://bsd405.schoolspring.com/?jobid=5520506
