Mar 7

*************** Here’s another  Fukushima update from JET alum Brent Stirling, one 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. Click here to read other Return To Tohoku updates on JETwit.  You […]


Oct 24

*************** 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. “Back to Iwate“ by Alan Mockridge (Iwate-ken, Ohtsuchi, 1992)  – http://alanmockridge.com/  (Lots of excellent photos.) […]


Oct 15

*************** Thanks to JET alum Christy Jones of the Japan Society in New York for letting JETwit know about fellow JET alum and Japan Society colleague Alma Jennings (Fukushima-ken, Iwaki-shi) who has written about her return to Iwaki City in Fukushima where she went to volunteer and reconnect with old friends and colleagues. Here’s a link to Alma’s writing […]


Oct 5

******************* The following is a personal essay by Audrey Shiomi (CIR Miyagi-ken, Sendai-shi, 1999-2001). Through generous sponsorship by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she spent a week in September visiting her former residence in Sendai City, one of the areas affected by the March 11 earthquake. In lieu of volunteering in disaster-stricken regions, she spent each day […]


Oct 4

*************** 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 […]


Sep 20

*************** 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. Ben Erickson (Iwate-ken, Ninohe-shi) of Pacific Northwest JETAA left yesterday for Iwate.  You can […]


Sep 13

*************** 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. Alan Mockridge (Iwate-ken, Ohtsuchi-shi), originally from the UK and now based in Santa […]


Sep 13

********************** Here’s a link to a nice article on Canada’s CBC News website titled, “Repairing Japan’s image, one teacher at a time:  20 former teachers return to view progress in Japan six months after the earthquake and tsunami.” (By Amber Hildebrandt) “Japan is employing an unusual method in its attempt to rejuvenate its faltering international image after […]


Sep 8

****************** Update 9/11/11:  Michael has also shared a link to photos from his trip along with commentary. Michael Blodgett (Miyagi-ken, Iwadeyama, Osaki-shi, 2005-07) is one 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 […]


Sep 3

Nice article on the Wall Street Journal’s RealJapan blog titled “JET Calls in Favors in Tohoku“ about ex-JET Tanya Gardecky (Miyagi-ken, Shiogama-shi) and her return to Tohoku through the MOFA program.  Follow JETwit updates on Tanya here and follow Tanya’s ongoing blog of her experience here. Link to the article:  http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/09/01/jet-calls-in-favors-in-tohoku/  


Aug 29

****************** Tanya Gardecky (Miyagi-ken, Shiogama-shi) is one 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. Here’s an excerpt from Tanya’s latest post:  “Hi ho!  It’s off to school […]


Aug 26

****************** Sharon Van Etten (CIR Iwate-ken), President of JETAA Sydney, is another  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. You can follow Sharon’s blog Revisiting Iwate at:  http://revisitingiwate.blogspot.com/ JETwit will […]


Aug 25

****************** Tanya Gardecky (Miyagi-ken, Shiogama-shi) is one 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. Here’s an excerpt from Tanya’s latest post: I eventually made it Shiogama (and […]


Aug 22

****************** Tanya Gardecky (Miyagi-ken, Shiogama-shi) is one 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. Here’s a quick excerpt from the first post on her travel blog: […]


Apr 14

Report on the Invitation Programme for JET Alumni to Disaster Stricken Areas in Tohoku

Below is the text of the report on the Invitation Program for JET Alumni to Disaster Stricken Areas in Tohoku (aka Return to Tohoku) where MOFA assesses the results and impact of the program. A very interesting read! Twenty JET alumni who had previously worked in Tohoku were selected from a pool of over 60 […]


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