WIT Life #172: Global Justice
Academic, Earthquake Tsunami, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers 
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Last week New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman profiled the Harvard University political philosopher Michael J. Sandel. This professor’s classes were picked up by PBS and made into a television program that has attracted worldwide attention. Last year, Japan’s NHK TV broadcast a translated version of the series, which sparked a philosophy craze in Japan and prompted the University of Tokyo to create a course based on Sandel’s.
As Friedman details, the PBS series is now available at http://www.justiceharvard.org, and here you can find a thought-provoking discussion of the ethical and global implications of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and nuclear disaster among students in Tokyo, Shanghai, and at Harvard.
It is interesting to see Japanese students voicing their opinions in a proactive way, and I am curious to see what kind of feedback the university course has received since being introduced.
JETAA Chapter Beat 6.20.11
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Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08) takes us on a walk around the JET Alumni community for another edition of JETAA Chapter Beat.
- Mixer at Wine Expo – Wednesday, June 29th, 7:00 at the Wine Expo in Santa Monica. Join JET Alumni, friends and family for wine tasting, good eats and a chance to meet the new JETs before they depart next month.
- JETAASC Picnic – Saturday, July 9th, 11:00 to 3:00 at the Torrance in Wilson Park. Celebrate summer sun and fun outdoors in South Bay. Share your wisdom from your year(s) on JET with this year’s departing JETs.
- Japanese Heritage Night at Mets Citifield – Tuesday, June 21st, 6:30 at Citifield Stadium in Flushing. Join JETAANY and the Japanese residents of NYC in celebrating Japanese Heritage as the NY Mets take on Hideki Matsui and the Oakland A’s.
- Nihongo Dake Dinner – Wednesday, June 29th, 7:00 to 9:00 at Vapiano downtown. Practice your Japanese with friends and alumni over pizza and pasta.
- JET Send-off BBQ – Thursday, July 7th, 6:30. Send off the new batch of JETs in style, and enjoy some good food in the process. People with last names A-M bring a side dish, and N-Z bring desserts!
- Book Club – Sunday, June 26th, 1:0 at the Jade Teahouse & Patisserie. This month’s selection is The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Hiashino. Start reading now so you can be part of the discussion.
- Winter Matsuri in Swan Valley – Sunday, June 26th, 10:00 to 5:00, bus departing from Barrack Street Jetty. The trip includes a trip to 2 wineries with tastings, a nougat factory with tasting, a chocolate factory and a brewery.
What happened at your chapter’s event? If you attend(ed) any of these exciting events, JetWit would love to hear about them. Just contact Jonathan Trace with any info, stories or comments.
Auckland JETAA’s Ganbare Japan event raises over $2,500
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Via Emily Duncan’s Japan Earthquake Disaster Relief Idea Exchange via the Auckland JETAA GanbareJapan site:
The Auckland JET Alumni Association (Auckland JETAA) would like to thank everyone who attended the Ganbare Japan Charity Dinner held on 11 June, 2011, exactly three months after Japan was hit by one of the worst disasters in recent history. Thanks to your support, the evening was a complete sell-out and we were able to raise $2550.70 for the Japan Red Cross!
We’d like to say a special thank you to all those who made the evening a night to remember – our guest speaker from Sendai, Kaleb Urike, our talented violinist, Nick Jones, our MC, Linton Rathgen, AV extraordinaire, Dima Ivanov, organiser Krystal Lynes, Consul General Mr Ishida, and Mr Kawakami from CLAIR, Sydney. We’d also like to thank Limon Restaurant and Lion Nathan Breweries for their support.
The Auckland JETAA endeavors to do as much as possible to help our friends in Japan. If you are able to assist us in some way, or if you are interested in attending future charity events, we would love to hear from you.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we look forward to seeing you at future fundraisers,
Auckland JETAA
Justin’s Japan: New York Mets’ Japanese Heritage Night Aids Disaster Relief Efforts
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The New York Mets host their second annual Japanese Heritage Night at Citi Field June 21.
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his page here for related stories.
Following the success of last year’s inaugural Japanese Heritage Night at Citi Field, this new tradition’s second edition on June 21 will pit the New York Mets against ex-Yankee Hideki Matsui’s Oakland A’s.
Scheduled for the pre-game show to celebrate Japan’s culture and heritage are New York-based taiko troupe Soh Daiko; the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York; a tribute to Wally Yonamine, the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II; and the Spirit Award to the People of Tohoku to be accepted by Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki of the Consul General of Japan in New York. A portion of each ticket sold will benefit Japan earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.
Sponsored by the Japanese community of New York, the event is also supported by those outside the five boroughs. California-based artist Andrea Fono purchased two tickets for the game to support the cause in recognition of the enormous contributions Japan has made to other countries, including her husband’s homeland of Fiji, which Japan donated tents and blankets to after Cyclone Tomas battered the islands last year.
“The people of Japan are consistently some of the kindest people in the world,” Fono said. “And the nation is extraordinarily generous in their contributing to other nations. This includes their relief contribution after the cyclone. We are grateful!”
Also involved with relief efforts are members of the JET Alumni Association, a group that raised over $10,000 in a single night for the JETAA USA Fund in April.
JQ Magazine: Book Review – Natsume Soseki’s ‘Kokoro’ Takes New Translation to Heart
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By Sharona Moskowitz (Fukuoka-ken, 2000-01) for JQ magazine. Sharona works at a literary agency in New York City. She is interested in fresh, new voices in fiction and creative nonfiction.
In a magazine article published earlier this year, crooked former banker Bernie Madoff told the public that despite his lies, despite the lives left ruined in the wake of his atrocious crimes, he is not a bad man.
Why do I bring this up here, in a book review of Japanese author Natsume Soseki’s seminal 1914 novel Kokoro? Because Madoff could have learned a thing or two from the book. As the saying goes, the classics aren’t about what happened, they’re about what happens. And Kokoro is no exception.
The novel peels back the layers of an unlikely friendship between a callow university student and a reclusive old man to reveal how experiences shape us and relationships define us, for better or worse. Admiration, greed, curiosity, jealousy; all these ingredients swirl together in the complex stew of the human psyche, the kokoro (“heart”). Only in the face of temptation are a person’s true colors revealed.
The new translation by Meredith McKinney offers readers a more modern version without compromising the impact of the work. The novel is both timeless and timely—it’s as relevant now as it ever was. Maybe cynicism weathers the ages better than unexamined optimism. Or, maybe human nature just doesn’t change that much.
Job: Full-time English Teacher at Keio Junior and Senior High School (Tokyo)
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Via JET alum Celine K. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London and is currently looking for new work opportunities related to Japan, translation, or other fields.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Full-time English Teacher at Keio Junior and Senior High School (Tokyo)
Job Details:
Keio SFC Jr. & Sr. High School, the newest secondary school associated with Keio University, is seeking applicants for full-time teaching positions in 2012. Our students go on to Keio University, one of the most competitive private universities in Japan. SFC Jr. and Sr. High School differs from other secondary schools in that more than two-fifths of the students have lived abroad for extended periods. Many of these students already speak English or other languages fluently. The school provides training in computing, language, and intercultural communication in an effort to equip the students for active roles in the global community.
For more details see:
http://www.sfc-js.keio.ac.jp/recruit/English_Teaching_Position.pdf
