Return to Tohoku Update 10.04.11
Article/Journalism, Blogs, Earthquake Tsunami, Japan Local, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Travel/Tourism, Writers 
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Here are updates from a few more of the 20 Tohoku region JET alumni selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to return to their town to both engage in volunteer efforts and also help document and share what’s going on there.
- Audrey Shiomi (CIR Miyagi-ken, Sendai-shi, 1999-2001) has had some of her excellent writing and observations published in a series titled Tohoku Travelogue (http://rafu.com/news/tag/tohoku-travelogue/) including:
- “Moving On From Tragedy” (Oct 1)
- “Scenes from an Izakaya” (Sept 15)
- “Nearly Swept Away” (Sept 14)
- “Ah Matsushima!” (Sept 11)
- “Signs, Signs, Everywhere!” (Sept 10)
- “Gambarimasu” (Sept 9)
- “The Telephone Booth” (Sept 8)
- “Letters to Sendai” (Sept 8)
- “Ganbarou Nihon!” (Sept 7)
- “Omiyage 101” (Sept 6)
- “To Be Afraid or Not To Be Afraid….” (Sept 2)
- Brent Stirling (Fukushima-ken, Fukushima-shi, 2006-10) – “Why This is Only Blog #3.5” – Brent tries to explain the overwhelmingness of visiting Soma and how it has affected his approach to blogging about his trip. He shares photos and questions why he has taken them.
- Sharon Van Etten (CIR Iwate-ken), President of JETAA Sydney, has blogged about her trip here: Revisiting Iwate: http://revisitingiwate.blogspot.com/ Here are some recent posts:
Click here to read other Return To Tohoku updates on JETwit. You can also check the JETAA USA website post (“JET Alums Return to Tohoku”) for additional information.
JQ Magazine: Japan Society Launches Beer Revolution
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Green Tea IPA, one of over 20 beers ready for tasting at Japan Society's Beer Revolution event Oct. 5. (Courtesy Baird Brewery)
By Vlad Baranenko (Saitama-ken, 2000-02) for JQ magazine. Vlad is an avid photographer.
With an exploding market for craft beer here in the U.S., Japan’s contribution to the industry, known domestically as ji bīru (地ビール), has seen tremendous growth over the past 17 years.
On Oct. 5, beer buffs and those who simply enjoy an occasional cold pint alike will get an opportunity to sample from at least 20 kinds of beer at New York’s Japan Society‘s “Japan’s Beer Revolution: The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Japanese Craft Brewing.”
While previously held back by government regulation, Japan’s microbreweries took off in 1994, and have since been experimenting with a variety of traditional ingredients such as ginger and oysters to create rich and complex flavors to replace the standard lagers in order to satisfy local taste palettes. Since many of the beers are produced in age old sake breweries, the Japanese had no trouble adapting Western methods to manufacture a product whose quality would no doubt impress even the pickiest connoisseurs of Belgian brew.
JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Author/JET Alum James Kennedy on the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival
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"As for how being on JET has influenced my writing—definitely, a lot of the fantastical world in my book 'The Order of Odd-Fish' is inspired by what I saw and experienced in Japan." (Courtesy of James Kennedy)
By Renay Loper (Iwate-ken, 2006-07) for JQ magazine. Renay is a freelance writer and Associate Program Officer at the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. Visit her blog at Atlas in Her Hand.
James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of the acclaimed young adult novel The Order of Odd-Fish, will be curating the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival at the New York Public Library on Nov. 5 and with the Harold Washington Library in Chicago on Nov. 16.
Named after John Newbery (thought to be the founding father of children’s literature), the Newbery Award is considered the highest regarded honor given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American children’s literature, and the American Library Association has awarded it every year since 1922. James took a moment to tell us a little about the festival, curating, and his path as an author.
What is the premise of the festival?
[It is a contest, or challenge of sorts] open to anyone, to make a video that compresses the story of a Newbery Medal (or Honor)-winning book into 90 seconds or less. No book trailers! It has to be the entire story. For it turns out that any book, no matter how worthy and somber, becomes pleasingly ludicrous when compressed into 90 seconds. The goal is comedy.
In a previous JETwit posting, you mentioned three award winners who wrote about Japan and the Japanese that no one has tackled yet. Why do you think that is?
Only because the books aren’t as famous—people are naturally inspired to make movies of books they’ve already read and loved. Everyone has heard of Newbery Medal winners like A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, or Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
The three Japan-related books that won Newbery Medals or Honors—Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus, and Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun by Rhoda Blumberg—are just not as well-known, and so it’s less likely someone would be moved to make a video. Their oversight is your opportunity! (To make it more interesting, you could even do it in Japanese and add subtitles!)
If you had to give one word of advice to entrants, what would it be?
Don’t merely recap the book. Transform the story! Either in style or substance. Some great examples of successful 90-Second Newbery entries are this full-scale musical version of The 21 Balloons, or this shadow puppet version of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.
As I mention in the contest rules, it’s fun to switch up the genre style, like doing Charlotte’s Web in the nightmarish style of David Lynch’s Eraserhead. Or even cross two Newbery books: how about the rodents of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh fight their counterparts in The Tale of Despereaux? Rat fights make for gripping cinema! Basically, make it funny. The deadline for entries is Oct. 17.
WIT Life #181: Volunteer interpreter in Tohoku
Earthquake Tsunami, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers Comments Off on WIT Life #181: Volunteer interpreter in Tohoku
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.
For those want to help out with Japan’s recovery effort and have Japanese language skills, here’s a great way. Please see below message regarding details of a 6-week volunteer interpreting opportunity in the disaster area, and contact Laura/Jiella directly if you are interested. For those who want to help but aren’t able to make it over, think about picking up the new Travel Guide to Aid Japan. It features some fabulous sites in Japan, some of which you might not be aware, written up by an interesting mix of celebrity contributors. All proceeds from its sales (minus expenses) will be donated to the Japan Red Cross for use toward disaster recovery efforts.
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Dear all,
Many of you have heard of the group All Hands Volunteers, an American
NGO that has been working in Ofunato and Rikusentakata in Iwate
Prefecture doing tsunami relief since right after the March 11
disaster. This is an amazing organization that harnesses the power of
volunteers in disaster response. For those of you who were on the
USJLP Japan trip this year, you heard about them in my presentation.
Spencer and I were up in Ofunato again last weekend volunteering with
All Hands and we continue to be very impressed – there were over 90
Japanese and international volunteers working together to clear
highway ditches and rice field drainage systems, to clean and retouch
damaged photographs, and to remove damaged materials from homes
devastated by the tsunami. This organization has made a huge
difference to the people of Ofunato and Rikusentakata, and there were
posters all over town thanking All Hands for their efforts.
All Hands is continuing their project in Tohoku until November 12 and
they are in urgent need of an interpreter for these next 6 weeks of
the project.
Food, lodging and a (small) salary will be provided, and this
interpreter will be heavily involved in the day to day management of
the project, alongside an American Project Director. The interpreter
needs to speak very good English and Japanese, and will need to
relocate to Ofunato right away for the next 6 weeks.
This is a great opportunity to make a big difference and contribute to
the recovery of Japan. Please see this link for more information
about the project: http://hands.org/projects/project-tohoku/
Please let me and Jiella Esmat (jiella@hands.org) if you or anyone you
know is interested. Feel free to pass this around.
Thanks so much for your help,
Laura (USJLP ’11, ’12, and Board Member of All Hands Volunteers)
From: Laura Winthrop Abbot
Date: September 30, 2011 20:43:01 CDT
To: usjlp@listserve.com
Subject: [Usjlp] Interpreter needed urgently: All Hands Volunteers Project Tohoku
Job: Job at the Embassy of Japan in Ottawa
Jobs Comments Off on Job: Job at the Embassy of Japan in Ottawa
Via Embassy of Japan, Ottawa. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Paper Selection Committee Members
Job Details:
The Embassy of Japan requires Paper Selection Committee Members to help select the 2011-2012 JET candidates. Paper Selection Committee members review and evaluate submitted applications according to criteria determined by the JET Desk.
The period of employment will begin on November 14, 2011 and end on December 23, 2011. Hours of work will be from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday at the Embassy of Japan in Ottawa. Remuneration will be based upon experience.
The ability to work full-time during this period is preferred. However applications for part-time committee membership may also be considered.
Qualifications:
- Strong command of English
- Experience in administrative duties
- The ability to work on a team
- A JET Programme alumnus is preferred
- Canadian citizen or permanent resident
How to Apply:
Please submit your resume with a cover letter in English to Stephanie White before 5:00pm on October 24th, 2011 by email to jet@ot.mofa.go.jp.
We thank all candidates for their interest. However, only those candidates whose skills and experiences best match the requirements of the position will be contacted.
Job: Bilingual Market Research (NY)
Jobs Comments Off on Job: Bilingual Market Research (NY)
Via ACTUS. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Bilingual Market Research (NY)
Job Details:
Japanese Marketing/Research Company seeks an Associate Consultant for immediate hire.
Company Information:
-Company Address: Midtown, NY
-Provides companies around the world with online marketing research
-Established in 1997. Headquartered in Japan.
-NY Office has 7 employees（Office Manager, Sales, project Manager, Administrative Staff）
-Company Size: 60~70 employees around the world (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and London)
-Annual Sales: $ 14,000,000
Your Role with the Company:
Job responsibilities include but not limited to: Manage online marketing research projects Communicate with clients and vendors in Japan and overseas Operate System, etc.
Preferred Experience and Skills:
-Must be FULLY English-Japanese Bilingual.
-Excellent Excel skills is required, Pivot Table and Vlookup Skill a big plus.
-Business hours: 9:30~6:30.
Salary: $30K~
Benefit: Medical, Dental, Vision- Company pays 100%
How to Apply:
Please forward your most recent resume and cover letter to stakeda@actus-usa.com as an MS Word attachment. Make sure to mention which position you are applying to in your cover letter. We will contact qualified candidates to have a preliminary interview. We are a Japanese staffing agency and currently searching for candidates for the above position at one of our client companies. We look forward to your application. Thank you!
