Jul 8

Justin’s Japan: Week One of JAPAN CUTS 2012 Serves Up ‘Love Strikes!’, Adult Anime

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‘Love Strikes!’ has its U.S. premiere at New York’s Japan Society July 14. (© 2011 TOHO CO.,LTD. / TV TOKYO CORPORATION / DENTSU INC. / KODANSHA Ltd. / Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. / Office Crescendo Inc. / PARCO CO., LTD. / Yahoo Japan Corporation / TV OSAKA CORPORATION / TV AICHI CORPORATION)

By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.

From July 12-28, Japan Society ushers in its sixth consecutive year of JAPAN CUTS: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema. Bigger than ever, JAPAN CUTS 2012 boasts the most feature films in the festival’s history: 37 full-length and 2 shorts, encompassing blockbusters, high-concept art house titles, mature anime, audacious documentaries, delirious rom-coms and a splatter of J-horror/gore genre busters. Running alongside the New York Asian Film Festival (June 29-July 15), which co-presents 12 films from July 12-15, JAPAN CUTS 2012’s selections sport the unyielding artistry and out-of-control eccentricity that define modern Japanese cinema.

“This year’s expanded and expansive edition of JAPAN CUTS reflects our (slightly maniacal) ambition to be the ultimate platform for Japanese cinema in North America—in the world perhaps?” says Japan Society’s chief film programmer and festival curator Samuel Jamier. “In this respect, the explosive, purposefully off-balance mix of dark-themed hard-core actioners, blockbusters, hit comedies, nano-budget indie titles and philosophical art house pieces emphasizes the wild diversity of the production in the archipelago, as well as its incredible resilience, despite the rise of its East Asian neighbors and the current severe economic conditions. We might not be solving the epistemological conundrum that is Japanese and world cinema (or event zombie apocalypse), but we’re giving it a good try.”

Upcoming events include the sold out Striking Love! JAPAN CUTS Opening Party following the July 14 screening of Love Strikes!, with an introduction and Q&A with star actress Masami Nagasawa (this year’s recipient of NYAFF’s Rising Star Asia Award) and an introduction and Q&A with Monsters Club director Toshiaki Toyoda for the July 15 screening.

For this week’s list of films, click here.

Jul 8

JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Darryl Wharton-Rigby on ‘Don Doko Don: The Yamakiya Taiko Drum Club Project’

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“This story is about the resiliency of community; how a community comes together in times of crisis. It’s a story about our shared human experience. It’s in some ways my own story, as my family still lives in Fukushima as well.”

By Nichole L. Knight (Shiga-ken, 2007-09) for JQ magazine. Originally from Waterbury, Connecticut, Nichole became active with the JET Alumni Association of New York even before moving to the city. Since returning from Japan, she’s played with the University of Connecticut Taiko Team, and trained with Soh Daiko, the East Coast’s oldest taiko group.

Darryl Wharton-Rigby (Fukushima-ken, 2005-07) is a playwright, poet, professor and filmmaker, who hails from Baltimore, Maryland. He has written for NBC, MTV, and BET. He lectures for Morgan State University’s Screenwriting and Animation Program, and is in the process of writing three books. Married with three children, he splits his time between Baltimore, Los Angeles, and Japan.

From 2005 to 2007, while teaching English in Kawamata-machi in Fukushima Prefecture through the JET Program, Wharton-Rigby was introduced to the talented members of the Yamakiya Taiko Club, a local community group which he would soon join. He began filming their story in 2006, but was inspired to continue after the group was misplaced in the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami and ensuing Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant area evacuations.

Of the documentary, now titled Don Doko Don: The Yamakiya Taiko Drum Club Project, Wharton-Rigby says, “…[T]his very well may be my most ambitious project. I never imagined my journey would bring me to [a] project with such an international scope and [is] profoundly personal on so many levels.” As the film’s writer, director and producer, he has unveiled an ambitious Kickstarter campaign to fund the project that closes July 11. In this exclusive interview, JQ caught up with Wharton-Rigby to discuss the origins of the film, the significance of Yamakiya on its devastated community, and the troupe’s international highlights so far.

Tell us a little about the Yamakiya Taiko Club and how you first came to know about it.

When I was a JET in Kawamata, I had to go to the Yamakiya District high in the mountains to teach at the elementary, junior high, and kindergarten schools. I met Megumi Endo, who was a school worker and head of the group at Yamakiya Elementary School. She invited me to play taiko drums with the Yamakiya Taiko Club and I was hooked. I loved the sound and power of the drums. There are three teams: Kodama, the beginning students; Suzaku, the intermediate students; and Yamazaru, the experienced members. I practiced with the younger members of Kodoma.

What inspired you to start making a documentary about them?

I started shooting footage of the group after breaking my finger. I couldn’t play the drums, but I still wanted to remain connected to the group. My background prior to JET was in film, so, I pulled out my camera and started shooting footage of the group. I would shoot rehearsals, performances, meetings, and on bus trips. I even followed around Genki Endo, who is the leader of the group. Megumi-san mentioned that it would be great to have a documentary about the group. I agreed. She came up with the title Don Doko Don—it’s the basic sound of the taiko beat. Over the years, I had compiled more than 80 hours of footage and when I would return to Japan, I would make sure to visit Yamakiya and I would bring along my camera and shoot more footage.

Why is it important to share this story with the world?

When I learned that Yamakiya was going to be evacuated because of high levels of radiation after the events of March 11, 2011, it broke my heart. I could not fathom this was really happening to a community and people I adored. Then I found out that despite the circumstances, the group was still practicing and performing together. I knew there was a story to be told. This story is about the resiliency of community; how a community comes together in times of crisis. It’s a story about our shared human experience. It’s in some ways my own story, as my family still lives in Fukushima as well.

Read More

Jul 8

WIT Life #207: This week’s NYT Japanese baseball articles

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WIT Life 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.

This week’s NYT offered two interesting articles about baseball, one about a Japanese player in the U.S. and one about a Venezuelan player in Japan.

The first focuses on Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, who shares his story of how abusive treatment at the hands of coaches and teammates while growing up in Japan molded him into the player he is today.  I had heard about things like getting hit on the backside with bats (ketsu batto) and some of the other torturous treatment coaches inflict on their players from Japanese friends of mine who played baseball as youngsters, but I didn’t know the extent of some of the abuse.  What Kuroda had to endure would surely be prosecutable today, but at the time it was tacitly endorsed, even by his mother.

Another article in today’s sports section talks about Yokohama BayStars outfielder Alex Ramirez (aka “Rami-chan”) and his recent attaininment of Read More

Jul 8

JapanLocal: Kamo Aquarium in Tsuruoka

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JETAA Philadelphia Subchapter rep Rashaad Jorden recently wrote the following article for the Japan Tourist website (a great example of JETs helping to promote “local” tourism for Japan):

Kamo Aquarium in Tsuruoka:  More wonderful water fun in Yunohama

(Click link to the article to see photos:  http://japantourist.jp/view/kamo-aqarium)

In a part of Tsuruoka renown for onsen and Yamagata Prefecture’s most popular beach, it’s quite fitting there’s another place where water brings out more fun. Only here animals are stars of the show.

Once threatened with bankruptcy, Kamo Aquarium in Yunohama has grown to become one of the country’s most popular aquariums, welcoming more than 220,000 visitors in 2011 (according to a June 2012 article on the Japan Times’ website). A remarkable number considering only 90,000 people visited Kamo in 1997, sparking rumors of the aquarium’s demise.

Much of the credit for Kamo’s revival goes to one creature: the jellyfish. Read More

Jul 5

Japan Times article on pre-JET Lesley Downer, writer, historian and journalist

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Thanks to JET alum Aurelien Hancou for alerting JETwit to this recent Japan Times article about British writer, historian and journalist Lesley Downer, who participated in a forerunner to the JET Programme.

Author Lesley Downer’s romance with Japan is no fleeting affair

By VICTORIA JAMES

Special to The Japan Times

British writer, historian and journalist Lesley Downer has been visiting Japan and writing about it for nearly 35 years — beginning in 1978, when she was part of the first-ever intake of the English Teaching Recruitment Program, which evolved into the famous JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program) scheme. Read More

Jul 5

Job: Asahi Shimbun – Full-time receptionist/assistant reporter (NYC)

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Thanks to JETAA NY President Monica Yuki for forwarding on the below JET-relevant job listing. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
________________________________________________________________________________

Position: Speechwriter/Public Affairs Specialist
Posted by: The Consulate General of Japan in New York
Type: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary:
Start date: N/A

Overview:
The New York Bureau of The Asahi Shimbun, a premier Japanese newspaper, seeks a full-time receptionist/assistant reporter. Main duties include office maintenance (distributing newspapers/mail to staff; answering phone calls; restocking supplies; handling correspondents’ credentials; making coffee, etc.) Secondary and occasional duties concern helping the correspondents cover a variety of news areas, particularly sports (researching; making appointments; phone-interviewing; transcribing voice files, etc.). Read More

Jul 5

Job: Japan Information Center Seeking a Speechwriter/Public Affairs Specialist (NY)

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Thanks to JETAA NY Board Member Kat Barnas for passing along this job posting. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
________________________________________________________________________________

Position: Speechwriter/Public Affairs Specialist
Posted by: The Consulate General of Japan in New York
Type: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary:
Start date: NA

Overview:
The Consulate General of Japan in New York is currently seeking a speechwriter/public affairs specialist. The incumbent will produce and edit English language public remarks, speeches and official correspondence for the Ambassador and other diplomats, and, working in close cooperation with Japanese officials and staff, will carry out a variety of communications duties within the Japan Information Center, the Consulate’s press and public affairs arm. To apply please send resume and cover letter to Mr. Yoshito Yamashita (yoshito.yamashita@mofa.go.jp). Read More

Jul 5

Job: Esl instructors, Mahidol University (Thailand)

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Thanks to Jet alum Stephen Smith for sharing this great job listing. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
________________________________________________________________________________

Position: Esl instructors
Posted by: Mahidol University
Type: Full-time
Location: Thailand
Salary: Commensurate with experience and qualifications. 
Start date: NA

Overview:

The Faculty of ICT at Mahidol University would like to employ several highly talented individuals to join our staff in the academic year 2012, starting in August, at our Salaya campus. Full-time positions are now available for any successful applicant who holds the following minimum required qualifications: Read More

Jul 5

Job: Reservations and Sales Associate, Asia Division – Amnet (NYC)

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Thanks to JET alum Kathryn Oi (Miyagi-ken, Minamisanriku-shi) who works at Amnet. Kathryn also wrote an essay about her experience in Minamisanriku following the 3/11 earthquake – read here:  http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2011/03/30/minamisanriku-jet-kathryn-oi-shares-her-experience-of-the-earthquake-and-tsunami/)  Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
________________________________________________________________________________

Position: Reservations and Sales Associate, Asia Division
Posted by: Amnet Travel Agency
Type: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary:
Start date: NA

Overview:
If you are interested in travel, have excellent people skills, and like working in a Japanese company environment, definitely consider Amnet New York as a great job opportunity. With an already strong Japanese clientele base, Amnet is looking to expand their name, brand and services to the American market as well as other Asian markets including the Philippines , Singapore and Malaysia . Read More

Jul 5

I’ll Make It Myself!: “Tomato Challenge: ALL the Tomato Recipes”

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L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and web administrator for The Art of Japan: Kanazawa and Discover Kanazawa, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan, and curates The Rice Cooker Chronicles, a series of essays by JETs and JET alumni on the theme of cooking/eating and being alone in Japan.

New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.

I couldn’t resist buying a box of 10 large (230 g), gorgeous tomatoes for only 598 yen at the grocery store a few weeks ago. Tomatoes in Japan can be quite expensive, and although the price drops in the summer when they are in season, 600 yen might get you 5 if you are lucky.

How did I use my 10 tomatoes?

Click HERE for more.

Jul 4

Job: Postings from Idealist.org 7.3.12

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Via Idealist.org. Posted by Geneva Marie (Niigata-ken 2008-09) Geneva is a contributor to both JETwit and JETAANY. Geneva is on a continuous (epic) search for Japanese-related jobs in the United States. Hire me!  :-)

Senior Development Officer, Asia

Posted by: Middlebury College
Type: Full-time
Location: Middlebury, VT
Salary: Competitive
Start Date: Not Specified

Middlebury College is seeking a Senior Development Officer, Asia to join their team. Principal job responsibilities are to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward prospective donors with the capacity to make gifts in the $100K to $1M range. You will be expected to travel frequently and maintain a Middlebury presence in several geographic areas with an emphasis on Asia, requiring foreign language proficiency and cultural sensitivity. Bachelor’s degree required. Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, including experience with cultivation and successfully soliciting gifts from individual donors.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/GWJmmBHfmH8d/

Outreach Manager

Posted by: Action Without Borders-Idealist.Org
Type: Full-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: Competitive
Application Deadline: July 12, 2012

Idealist.org is seeking an Outreach Manager who is friendly, energetic, curious, data-driven, and highly imaginative to help them cultivate their community of nonprofit job posters. Minimum 3 years experience in customer or community development and engagement.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/34nMMNWw427SP/

Jul 3

WIT Life #206: Japan’s Energy Policy

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WIT Life 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.

As we begin experiencing the dog days of summer, Japan has decided that it will restart one of its nuclear power plants to meet the energy needs of this hot period.  Reactor No. 3 at the Oi Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture is due to be reactivated tomorrow, and the nearby No. 4 reactor has also been scheduled for restart at a later date.  There was a huge protest at the plant last Friday night in response to this announcement, with the crowd chanting  ｢再稼動反対！」 (saikado hantai) or “No to nuclear restarts.”

In terms of electricity conservation efforts, Japan’s power companies have agreed to reductions in supply ranging from 5-15%, and they will implement Read More

Jul 3

I’ll Make It Myself!: “Broiled Sawara with Paprika”

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L.M. Zoller (CIR Ishikawa-ken, Anamizu, 2009-11) is the editor of The Ishikawa JET Kitchen: Cooking in Japan Without a Fight. A writer and web administrator for The Art of Japan: Kanazawa and Discover Kanazawa, ze also writes I’ll Make It Myself!, a blog about food culture in Japan, and curates The Rice Cooker Chronicles, a series of essays by JETs and JET alumni on the theme of cooking/eating and being alone in Japan.

New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.

While at Omicho Market a couple weeks ago, I spied a fish-seller with sashimi-grade sawara (サワラ, 鰆), Japanese Spanish mackerel, on sale–for 250 yen, I could get a plate of huge filets much bigger than the ones I usually get at the store–about 500 grams’ worth.* “Two, please,” I told the clerk (the fish monger?). “Onê-san,” he said, “I’ll give you 3 for 500 yen.”

This was probably the only time I’ve had a whole kilo of fish at one time. I don’t know how to gut a fish (it’s on the to-do-in-2012 list, promise), so my choices are more limited than chefs braver than I am. Still, since moving to Kanazawa, I’ve found my supermarkets carry a great selection of filets caught locally, so I’ve finally really learned how to cook fish.

Click HERE for more.

Jul 3

Job:US/Japan Alliance Subject Matter Expert with Booz Allen (Honolulu, HI)

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Thanks to former JETAA Northern California President Cerell Terese (now living in Honolulu) for sending this unique JET-relevant posting. Posted by Kay Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97).
____________________________________________________________

Position: US/Japan Alliance Subject Matter Expert
Posted by: Booz Allen
Type: Full-time
Location: Honolulu, HI
Salary: N/A
Start date: N/A

Key Role:
Provide US/Japan Alliance subject matter expertise for an in-depth study of the historical, cultural, diplomatic, economic, military security, and legal issues pertaining to US bilateral relations with Japan and Japan’s relations with other key countries in the region. Assist the client team with mastering all aspects of that issue through qualitative and comparative research and analysis. Develop, author, and present professional level analysis of the policies that compete with US positions and display a thorough understanding of areas of convergence, divergence, and friction in US/Japan relations, including, the US and Japan’s respective policy positions toward China, Russia, and North and South Korea. Test assumptions via outreach to best available sources of governmental, non-governmental, and academic expertise in the region. Work to enhance the client’s situational awareness, planning, and programs in accordance with the mission assurance operations research, analysis, and development directives for this contract. Develop and present analysis and policy recommendations to the client and support client efforts to effectively implement agreed-upon recommendations.

Basic Qualifications:
-6+ years of experience with research or analysis
-3+ years of experience with working in the military, civilian affairs, diplomatic corps, or other international expertise focused on US/Japan alliance affairs-Ability to obtain a security clearance-BA or BS degree required Read More

Jul 2

JETwit’s Steven Horowitz quoted in Japan Times article on the eikaiwa market in Japan

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Thanks to key members of the JET alum community for providing me with the background info necessary to sound reasonably knowledgeable in my quotes in the below Japan Times article (“The curious case of the eroding eikaiwa salary“).  One of my sub-goals in the article was to try and counter any misinformation or misperceptions about JET that might pop up in the media.  The best quotes in that regard, I think, are at the end of the article:

“I think the quality of English teaching is often reduced and the privately contracted ALTs do not get to know or connect with the community in the same way that JET ALTs often do,” Horowitz says. “The result is that all the potential short-term and especially long-term benefits are not captured.”

While there over 50,000 former JETs living all around the world, with many of them maintaining a strong connection to Japan and helping to facilitate business between Japan and other countries, the JET Program has not escaped scrutiny as Japan struggles to balance its books and cut its huge government debt. The initiative came up for review by the Government Revitalization Unit in May 2010, with some panelists urging reform of the program and greater oversight of spending, although the panel didn’t go as far as to suggest a specific budget cut.

Despite this shot across the bows, Horowitz does not feel that the decline in English teacher salaries has had “much or any impact” on the original purpose for having ALTs such as JETs in Japanese schools, especially when the broader advantages for the country are considered.

“It’s not just about teaching English, but also about investing in its future by creating a long-term way to develop better relationships with the rest of the world,” Horowitz says.

Here’s the full article:

The curious case of the eroding eikaiwa salary

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20120703zg.html#.T_I5F3J5eWg

By PATRICK BUDMAR  Japan Times – July 3, 2012