Job: Bilingual (J-E) event attendant for trade show (NYC)
Jobs 
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Via Actus Consulting:
*Note: If you apply for this job, please indicate that you learned about it via JetWit.
Japanese company who is attending a trade show seeks a Japanese English Bilingual Event Attendant.
Job responsibilities will include but not limited to:
1. Assist communication between a vendor and visitors by interpreting
2. Explain and promote products
Dates and Hours:
Jan 29, 3:30-5:30pm
Jan30-Feb 2, 9:00am-6:00pm (include lunch break 30 min / afternoon break 30 min)
Feb 3, 9:00am-12:00pm
Salary: $14/hr
Location: New York, NY
Qualification: Must be able to communicate both in Japanese and in English. Event attendant experience a big plus.
Contact: infony@actus-usa.com
A New Year’s Resolution for Law Students: Organize.
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Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) (Saitama-ken 2003-05) is a renegade attorney who plays by his own rules. He operates a think tank of one, The Law School Tuition Bubble, where he archives, chronicles, and analyzes the rising cost and declining value of legal education in the United States. He also maintains the “Bankruptcy Legal Topics,” and, “Bankruptcy Billables,” sections for Steven Horowitz’s Bankruptcy Bill. For further reading regarding JETs and the law, he recommends JETs with J.D.s.
If you don’t know already, the New York Times ran a seven-page article in its business section detailing the crisis America’s legal education system faces. It even generously linked to The Law School Tuition Bubble. Yay! The whole article is worth the read, but towards the end it erred:
Today, American law schools are like factories that no force has the power to slow down — not even the timeless dictates of supply and demand.
There is one force that can stop these factories: law students. Find out why I think they should organize.
WIT Life #148: Mikarimba
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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.
On Friday night I had the opportunity to see the performance of marimbist Mika Yoshida at Carnegie Hall. The program was entitled “Mikarimba Madness” and also featured drummer Steve Gadd and bassist Eddie Gomez, as well as the participation of special father/son guests clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and pianist Peter John Stoltzman. During the night Yoshida wore a wide range of expressions on her face from fierce to completely content, as she both Read More
See some familiar JET faces (including that of JetWit founder Steven Horowitz) in the latest issue of Shukan NY Seikatsu, a free, weekly Japanese newspaper available in New York. Along with Steven, JET alums Stacy Smith, Kia Cheleen, Tamar Entis, and Paul Benson sat down with the paper to talk about their experiences for a special New Year’s issue. The even was organized by Jon Hills, founder of Hills Learning (and husband of JET alum Kendall Murano).
The group was asked about what they learned from Japan, what they loved about their areas, what they thought was cool about Japan, and what their reactions were to some of the criticisms Japanese teachers have of JETs. The resulting “NY Cool” feature is front page news, with the full length article inside.
Read the full issue online here (the JET profiles are on page 4 and 5):
http://viewer.nyseikatsu.com/viewer/index.html?editionID=331&directory=../editions&page=1
For more background on the write-up, see this previous JetWit post.
Happy reading!
-Gail Meadows
Associate Editor, JetWit
JETAA Northern California Rajio Taiso – TOMORROW!
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Hi everyone!
Just a reminder that we will be meeting at 11:00am tomorrow morning for some Rajio Taiso!
JETAANC is kicking off the new year with some good, ole Rajio Taiso! Back in August 2010 at the JETAA National Conference, delegates came up with the great idea of filming JET alumni around the world practicing the long time favorite, Rajio Taiso. This infamous Japanese calisthenics routine is performed daily and at special sporting events, like an undoukai! What a better way to show how JET alumni are still connected to Japanese culture! Who could forget that piano music and voice counting out each movement?
JETAA USA asked all chapters to film themselves doing rajio taiso in front of a landmark and we thought that having the Golden Gate Bridge and SF cityscape in the background would be perfect! So we’re headed to the Marin Headlands!
When: Saturday, January 8 from 11am-12pm
Where: Marin Headlands, Conzelman Road at Kirby Cove (map)
All are welcome to join! Even if you’re a little bit rusty, we will practice the routine a few times before filming, so come on out!
To get a better idea of what we’re doing, here’s the video that our friends at JETAA Portland made (http://www.facebook.com/l/c5af5k7y9RlwljjtpZ4o9Iq06xA;www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqGUsHusnWE).
See you there!
~Melissa Chan
JETAANC Media Coordinator
books@jetaanc.org
JET alum manga artist featured in New York Times
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Kudos to JET alum Zach Wood (ALT Niigata 2007-09), who was recently featured in a New York Times article about the increase in the number of Japanese universities offering degrees in manga and animation. Zach is a graduate of Stanford University in California and is studying manga at Kyoto Seika University, which established Japan’s first manga program. Universities offering these kind of programs say they are hoping to significantly increase the number of international students enrolled. See the article here:
Japanese Universities Draw Foreign Students With Manga
Blog post about JET Programme on U.S. Embassy website
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Mark Dieker with Japanese students in the mid-90s
The following link comes via JET alum Aurelien Hancou (Okayama-ken 2003-06), now a Senior Programme Coordinator at CLAIR. Hancou writes to share a guest blog post by Mr. Mark S. Dieker, Consul for Political and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka:
http://zblog.japan.usembassy.gov/e/zblog-e20101221a.html
The post is a great testimony of the value and benefit of the JET Programme. Check it out!
Sake World e-newsletter by John Gauntner (January 2011)
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The January 2011 issue of the Sake World e-newsletter by JET alum and the leading non-Japanese sake expert in the world, John Gauntner (a.k.a. “The Sake Guy”), is now available online. In this issue:
1. Greetings
2. The Suffix “-shu”
3. Announcements and Events: Sake professional course in Japan
4. Sake Education Central
Additional links:
JET alum shares perspectives of Japan in Metropolis magazine
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JET alum Mark Flanigan (Nagasaki 2000-04) wrote to JetWit to share his writing “debut” in Tokyo, featured in Metropolis Magazine. Following his stint in Nagasaki, Mark returned to Japan as a Rotary International World Peace Fellow at International Christian University (ICU) / 国際基督教大学 in Tokyo. He says:
I am very happy and also humbled to have been selected to write for such a great magazine. In my article, I talk about some of the different impressions I have found here, as a JET and now as a Peace Fellow, and compare/contrast my feelings of my two different times spent living in Japan.
Click here to read the article, “Found and Lost: Reflections on my two Japans.”
Justin’s Japan: Interview with NEA Jazz Master David Liebman
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2011 NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman. (Marek Lazarski, courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts)
By JQ magazine’s Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his NY Japanese Culture page here to subscribe for free alerts on newly published stories.
Brooklyn-born saxophonist and flautist Dave Liebman is one of this year’s recipients of the NEA Jazz Master Award, which since 1982 is the highest honor the United States bestows upon living jazz musicians. Liebman is best known for his work with the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis, joining his band in 1973 for a 16-month stint and playing on two studio albums, the final ones that Davis would record for the rest of the decade, as well as several live bootleg concerts that are available.
Liebman will appear at a free panel discussion with the other 2011 NEA Jazz Mastersat New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Centeron Jan. 10. (Doors open at 12:45 p.m.)The following night, he will perform at the annual NEA Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony and Concert. For those who can’t attend the sold out show, therewill be a live broadcast on the Newark-based WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM and their website, and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s Real Jazz Channel 70. I spoke with the artist about his thoughts on winning this award, his history in Japan, and his intriguing relationship with Miles.
How is one picked to be an NEA Jazz Master?
This is a very good question, which I hope to find out at the ceremony [laughs]…I think past inductees are a part of it—I have no idea. I can’t wait to know, assuming they will tell me the process.
Did you have to campaign for it?
Absolutely not; this was a phone call that came out of nowhere. I think my boss at the Manhattan School of Music, Justin DiCioccio, said he recommended [me], but the truth is, if you go to the site right now, you can put yourself in…the public is free to nominate anybody on the website. So that’s all I know about the process. How it goes from there to deciding [the inductees], I don’t really know, and I’m curious to find out.
You’ve played with Japanese artists and appeared on their albums since the early ’70s. How did that come about, and what were your impressions from visiting Japan through the years?
Of course, I had a lot of action in the ’70s and into the ’80s, but not so much in the last 10 to 15 years. First of all, the Japanese audience at that time was fantastic, and of course Miles Davis was a gigantic hero. The fact that I was with Miles put me right away into a special arena, and sure enough as soon as I got there I recorded. When I was on my first tour with Miles in Japan—it was the only time I went with Miles to Japan—I recorded my first record as a leader [First Visit, with Jack DeJohnette, Richie Beirach and Dave Holland], because Stan Getz’s group was there and the rhythm section was ready to go. I recorded with Abbey Lincoln also that week. In those days, when you went to Japan somehow you ended up with record dates. They were very, very enthusiastic, and business was good.
And then I had, of course, a long-term relationship with Terumasa Hino, the trumpet player, and drummer Motohiko, his brother who passed away a few years ago. I worked many times with the Hinos in Japan at a lot of festivals. Most notably there were two big concerts that I did in the ’80s—one for John Coltrane with Wayne Shorter and then in the ’90s with Michael Brecker, again for Trane ten years later. But as I said, not so much in the last ten to fifteen years. It was fascinating how deep the Japanese audience got into the music and how enthusiastic they were. But it seems to have faded, from what I understand. This generation is not as interested as before. So I can’t speak about the present jazz situation there, but I certainly enjoyed my visits.
Why do you think the Japanese had such an interest and enthusiasm for jazz?
I don’t know. I think they were fascinated by anything American, first of all. They probably loved Dolly Parton, or Sting, or whomever. I think they really liked Western culture. They were fairly prosperous during that period and when prosperity comes, people have more time to do leisure activities, enjoy culture and arts and so forth.
I think the Japanese temperament in general, the arts of Japan—everything from the sword stuff to the tea ceremony to the kimonos to the shakuhachi—they’re a really high class, sophisticated culture; that’s part of their being. And jazz, being as sophisticated as it is appealed to them. I think that’s part of what made them like it more than other cultures in Asia for example. I don’t see China—although we don’t know yet—embracing it the way Japan did, just from the difference of their M.O., the way they are as people. Japan is culturally kind of like the equivalent in Europe of the Germans, who are also very musically sophisticated and are really the best audience to play for as far as educated goes.
When was the last you played in Japan?
I think 2004 or ’05, we did a festival in Kyoto celebrating the history of the city; it was a special festival and I played with my regular working group of the last twenty years. I think that was the last time. You know, in general they just really appreciate art.
Read the rest of the interview here.
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 night I attended the shinnenkai for New York’s very own Battenkai, or group for Kyushu people (Batten comes from Kyushu-ben and means but, and kai means gathering). There are several kenjinkai or prefectural groups here in the city, but Kyushu has this joint group instead of individual ones for each prefecture. I have been attending their events since two summers ago, and it is always a diverse mix of people. You can find accountants, jazz singers, lawyers, graphic designers and karate instructors, all of whom have interesting stories to share.
Battenkai gatherings always include some form of entertainment, and last night’s was no exception. It featured several different acts to welcome the new year. First we were regaled by a beautiful shamisen performance by Read More
Foxhound87: New Year’s
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Joshua Small is a First Year JET currently living in Ikaruga-cho, Nara-ken and has been chronicling his experience on his blog Snorlax87.
I arrived back from my trip home just in time to celebrate New Year’s in Japan! There is a lot going around New Year’s in Japan. After dinner on December 31st, a friend and I settled in to watch all the magical TV programs. There are two shows, that I’m aware of, that are shown specially on the 31st of December.
Show 1: Kōhaku Uta Gassen (“Red vs White singing contest”)
“Popular singers (and singing groups) split into two teams, women in the red team and men in the white, which then alternate while competing for the audience’s heart throughout the evening. At around 11:30 pm, the final singer (or group) sings, and the audience and a panel of judges are asked to cast their votes to decide which team sang better. The winning team gets a trophy and “the winners’ flag.” The program ends at about 11:45 pm.”
-http://satoh490625.blog50.fc2.com/blog-entry-781.html
This show was really fun to watch. I got to watch all the popular artists in Japan including Arashi and Ikimono Gakari. These two groups are INSANELY popular here. In addition to pop music, some traditional singers are also invited to the contest. One enka singer was dressed like a glamorous baby crane. I looked away from the television for a moment. When I looked back, she was RIDING A GIANT CRANE complete with flapping wings. I wish I had a picture of my reaction. It was priceless. By the way, the white team won. Guy power!
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the post.
http://snorlax87.blogspot.com/
JET alum/cartoonist Lars Martinson gives radio interview
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JET alum and 'Tonoharu' creator Lars Martinson.
Check out this great radio interview with JET alum/cartoonist Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), creator of the four-part graphic novel Tonoharu. Lars talked with radio station KFAI out Minnesota in December. Hear him talk about the creation of his book, which tells the tale of an ALT wrestling with the challenges of living in rural Japan (sound familiar, anyone?). Lars lived in rural Fukuoka for three years and spent several years post-JET crafting the novel based on his experiences.
For those who are interested, Tonoharu Part I and Part II (which just hit book shelves in November) can be found here:
Also be sure to check out JetWit’s recent interview with Lars Martinson.
Foxhound87: I. AM. SANTA.
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Joshua Small is a First Year JET currently living in Ikaruga-cho, Nara-ken and has been chronicling his experience on his blog Snorlax87.
On December 14th, I became the embodiment of joy and happiness in the world. I became Santa Claus. I was told weeks before that I would being playing Santa Claus for a local kindergarten. Soon after, my Kyoto Sensei told me that another kindergarten had requested my thespian skills. That’s right, I was in high demand.
The morning of the 14th, my Kyoto Sensei picked me up from school and we traveled together to the first kindergarten. We were greeted by a very nice lady who escorted us into the conference room. She gave me the costume (including eyebrows and beard), then left to let me change. The costume fit fine. It was the beard I was struggling with. It would not stay above my ACTUAL beard. I worried that the kids might see my brown beard beneath the costume…and Christmas would be ruined. I went over my lines for the show one more time, drank some hot tea, and mentally prepared myself for what was about to come…
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the post.
http://snorlax87.blogspot.com/
Job: P/T Bi-lingual Accounting Clerk (Pennsauken, NJ)
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via the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia. Posted by JET alum Gail Cetnar Meadows (ALT, Hiroshima-shi 2007-10).
*Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JetWit. Thanks.
Job Position: Bi-lingual Accounting Clerk
Job Description:
Subaru of America has a temporary part-time accounting clerk positin open in the Fuji USA (FUSA) department located at 7041 North Park Drive in Pennsauken, NJ.
This position is 25 hours per week for about two months. Subaru is looking for a Japanese/English bi-lingual candidate with accounting experience and a thorough knowledge of Quickbooks accounting software. The candidate must be totally fluent in Japanese. The person would support the General Manager of FUSA, manage both U.S. and Japanese payroll, handle invoices from outside vendors and assist the General Managers with budget preparation. This opening is immediate and the salary is negotiable.
How to apply: Send resumes as soon as possible to Pamela E. Epps at pepps@subaru.com.
See the original posting on the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia website here.
