I just saw this item in the JLGC Newsletter (Winter 2009), which I believe is only issued in print, and thought it might be of interest to some JET alums out there:
Japan Local Government Center (JLGC) Summer Internship Program
Inaugurated in 1992, the program extends to select students interested in Japanese local government the opportunity to spend a summer in Japan. Working side by side with local government officials in either a prefecture or municipal office, students not only gain firsthand exposure to Japanese management in the public sector but are also able to improve their Japanese language skills.
Fort-seven people have participated in this program from 1992 through 2008. JLGC extends a participation qualification to not only the graduate students but also 3rd or 4th year undergraduate students.
If you are interested in the Summer Internship in Japan, please visit the JLGC website at http://www.jlgc.org/activities.php?cid=676&s=summer%20internship.
Translator’s Corner: Keep Our English Out of Your Japanese Puns!
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By translator and writer Jamie Graves (Saitama-Ken 2002-2003)
The Japanese language is notorious for having a relatively small number of phonemes compared to other major world languages, which can be a hindrance when having to learn new sounds outside that structure (the infamous “L” and “R” distinction), but results in a tremendous number of homonyms. While there are slight changes in emphasis between the words for “hair”, “god” and “paper”, they are all kami. I think we can safely assume that the Japanese have been making linguistic tricks like this into bad puns for centuries, if not millennia.
When the Chinese writing system first crash landed onto the Japanese language around fifteen-hundred years ago no one could have predicted the historical fallout: an explosion of bad puns. As Chinese characters were gradually adapted to Japanese, all of the tones that had previously distinguished words like“mǎ” (“horse”, 馬) from “má” (“hemp” 麻) were flattened out. In a language already rife with nearly identical words, this produced a new explosion of homonyms, the building blocks of puns. (The Chinese also use these for puns. In an effort to mess with government censors the phrase 草泥马, “grass-mud-horse” has gone viral on the Chinese blogosphere because the same sounds with different tones mean… something not really printable here. ( This page explains the whole phenomenon.)
Case in point, the furious Japanese tongue twister “Uraniwa niwa niwa, niwa niwa niwa, niwatori ari”. (裏庭には二羽、庭には二羽、鶏あり). Niwa in Read More
A JET alum recently asked if anyone is aware of any scholarships for Americans to study in Japan, particularly in connection with TESOL or applied linguistics.
Any suggestions? Please post in the comments section of this post for the benefit of others, or feel free to e-mail jetwit at jetwit dot com.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
JetWit would like to extend a big omedetou gozaimashita to professional translator and writer Kia Cheleen (CIR, Aichi-ken 1996-98, ALT 1998-1999) who was recently named Assistant Director at the Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture at Columbia Unviversity. The position was previously held by Miho Walsh, former JET Coordinator at the Consulate General of Japan (NY) who left the Donald Keene Center to become Associate Director at the Asian Cultural Council.
JetWit is happy to see that JET alums are movin’ on up (movin’ on up), to the West Side.
Michael Auslin on Obama and U.S.-Asia Relations
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JET alum Michael Auslin, a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has the lead item in the February 2009 Issue of AEI’s Asian Policy Update. (I can’t find a link to the issue on the AEI website, so I’m just copying and pasting the item below.)
Obama and U.S.-Asian Relations
President Barack Obama has made clear his commitment to maintaining, deepening, and fortifying America’s presence in Asia. Yet many in Asia are still curious about the extent of his interest in and knowledge of the region and the vision he holds for its future.
Leaders from India to Japan know that the new president is overwhelmed with the economic crisis at home and two wars abroad. They also know that what he does to fix America’s economic woes will have an impact on faltering global economies. Still, Asia is more interested in whether Obama will pursue his campaign promises to restrict free trade, end America’s pursuit of ballistic missile defense, and to get North Korea to end its nuclear program.
To a large degree, Obama’s Asia policy will be determined by the region itself. If Asia appears to be stable and without the need for immediate action, the president is likely to keep his attention focused on Afghanistan and the U.S. economy. Should he take that path, Asia might look very different when Obama runs for reelection in 2012. In the intervening years, North Korea could develop a fully reconstituted nuclear weapons program; China could continue to increase military spending to deal with Tibet and may achieve the capability of preventing American air and naval forces from moving freely throughout the East China Sea and beyond; tensions between India and China might grow commensurate with their clashing interests; and Japan may find itself increasingly isolated in a region that is becoming more heavily armed.
We are a nation with territorial, trade, and political interests that bind us inseparably to this most dynamic region on earth. America must continue to promote freer trade, democratic governance, and interstate stability. Otherwise, we may find ourselves with problems that dwarf anything we face in the Middle East.
Roland Kelts in Boston for “Grave of Fireflies” Event Feb. 11
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Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, will be at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on Wednesday, February 11 for a screening + discussion of the animated film Grave of the Fireflies. More details here. (Side note: Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) wrote an excellent and succinct review of Grave of the Fireflies for the Spring 2008 JETAAA NY Newsletter.)
BONUS: Roland’s story on Japanese Youth Pathologies for WNYC’s Studio 360 will air on NPR nationwide as part of this coming weekend’s special Japan edition of the show. (See the recent JetWit post on last week’s Studio360 Japan feature.)
Correction: This post previously listed the date of the MFA event as February 9, but it has now been corrected to February 11. Apologies for any confusion.
Japan’s Financial Crisis and Its Parallels to U.S. Experience
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Japan’s Financial Crisis and Its Parallels to U.S. Experience, edited by Adam S. Posen and Ryoichi Mikitani
Has anyone out there read this book? If so, care to share your thoughts on the premise by posting a comment?
Japanese Convenience Store Clerk Dissertation by JET Alum
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I recently learned about an interesting JET alum named Gavin Whitelaw (whom I’ve never met) whose doctoral dissertation at Harvard’s Reischauer Institute involved 18-months of “observant” participation as a convenience store clerk in Japan. Through his writing he then “sought to describe the lifeworld of these stores and understand their cultural significance as industrial system, social arrangement, and personal practice.”
In August 2008, Gavin began working in Tokyo on a new collaborative project through the Asian-Japan Research Center. The project focuses on “the role popular culture plays in the formation of Asian identities” and “the impact of Chinese and Japanese trends in other Asian societies.”
Click here to read Gavin’s introduction with regard to the project. If I can get in touch with him, perhaps we can post a link to his unique dissertation in the near future.
Ozawa and Obama: Michael Auslin comments in WSJ Asia
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JET alum Michael Auslin (Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, former Professor of Japanese History at Yale University and one-time judge on Iron Chef America) has a new article in today’s Wall Street Journal Asia titled Ozawa and Obama that analyzes the state of Japan’s economy and political situation and discusses the ways that Japan and the U.S. need to work together.
Update: Roland Kelts
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Here’s the latest update on JET alum Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica and professor at Tokyo University:
ADBUSTERS: A feature story, co-written with Leo Lewis of the Times of London, about signs of socialism and unrest among Japanese youth and the Kanikosen phenomenon is now online:
http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/81/big_in_japan.html (On a related topic, Stacy Smith comments on recent political unrest following the closing of an auto manufacturing plant in Japan in WITLife #7-Totyota Shock (Part 2).)
DAILY YOMIURI: In his latest Soft Power/Hard Truths column in the Daily Yomiuri, Roland revisits Michael Arias, the only American to have directed a feature anime film in Japan–Tekkonkinkreet—(which, incidentally, premiered in the US at MOMA in 2007). Arias’s forthcoming film is the live action Heaven’s Door (opens 2/7/09 in Japan), which Roland attended at a private screening last week. Link to the column: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20081212TDY13004.htm
Seikai University Talk: Roland’s blog (japanamerica.blogspot.com) has a post about his recent talk at Seikei University in western Tokyo about Japanamerica where he introduced both the ideas examined in the book and the latest happenings in the trans-cultural exchange between Japan and the U.S.
More interesting info from JETAA Chicago:
Applications are now being accepted for the Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Advanced Studies in Economics. (http://www.imf.org/external/np/ins/english/scholar.htm#Japimfa)
Procedure for Applying: Students generally apply for the Japan-IMF Scholarship either the year before beginning their graduate studies in economics or in their first year of graduate school. For more information and to download an application, please go to: http://www.imf.org/external/np/ins/english/scholar.htm#Japimfa. The application deadline is December 31, 2008. Read More
New Graduate School page on JetWit
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Have a look at the new Graduate School page on JetWit.com. These are schools and programs that tend to be popular with JET alumni.
- If you know of a school that should be added, or
- If you attended one of the programs and want to add some information or comments or would be willing to be contacted if other JET alums want to talk to people who have attended your program
just send an e-mail to jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com.
The US-Japan Alliance: A new report by JET alum Michael Auslin
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A new report is out by JET alum Michael Auslin and Christopher Griffin entitled The US-Japan Alliance in a New Era.
Michael Auslin is a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and former professor of Japanese history at Yale. Christopher Griffen is the security policy advisor to Sen. Joe Lieberman (who seems to held on to his chair in the Senate). The two will be speaking together on a panel at an AEI event on November 20.
You can read the executive summary and you can also download the PDF of the full report.
Roland Kelts Update – 11/17/08
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Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), the author of Japanamerica and a professor at Todai, is back in Japan and up to some interesting things.
NPR: He’s putting together a program about Japan’s generation gap and disaffected youth culture for WNYC’s Studio 360. It will likely air in January.
Anime Masterpieces: Creating and editing a Study Guide for the next film in the 
series, Tekkonkinkreet. Go to animemasterpieces.com for more info on the panel. The most recent event was on the 14th at the Waterloo Festival of Animated Cinema in Canada. The next event will be Dec. 6th at the Smithsonian featuring John Dower, Susan Napier and Fred Schodt. The next event in which Roland will appear will be Feb. 11 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The Who: Attending all four of their Kanto area shows and spending time with Pete Townsend and his assistant and crew (with whom he’s become friends!) According to Roland, the shows have been spectacular, with rabidly enthusiastic responses from Japanese fans–who stand and cheer through the entire concert (which he observes is fairly unusual for usually reserved Japanese concert-goers). The final two shows will be at Budokan.
He even received a compliment from Pete Townsend on his latest Daily Yomiuri column, which Pete read one morning when the paper was delivered to his hotel room.
Adbusters Magazine: Has become a contributing writer/editor at Adbusters magazine (http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/79/too_comfortable_to_take_risks.html), which means he provides a story from Japan for every issue, starting this past September. A scan of his story from the lates issue 
is, The MANGA MAN, is available on Roland’s blog. Meanwhile, the current issue of Adbusters has a lengthy feature by Roland on the recent success of Kanikosen (The Crab Ship), a socialist novel written by Takiji Kobayashi in 1929, among young Japanese, and the spike in enrollment in Japan’s Communist Party since the start of this year.
Job Opportunities: Asian Pacific University Translation/Interpreting Jobs – Beppu City
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Professional interpreter/translator (and Beppu Hot Springs Master) Joel Dechant (CIR Fukuoka-ken, 2001-04) mentioned that his former employer, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu City, Fukuoka-ken, often has open positions for faculty and native English staff. Go here for job listings: http://www.apu.ac.jp/administration/modules/opportunities/index.php?id=1&sel_lang=english
Joel says these are contract positions, meaning they’re good for fresh Ex-JETS itching to get back to Nippon
and a good place to hone your skills enough to go solo at some point. He also points out there are several ex-APUer acquaintances that ended up in higher education jobs in their respective home countries.
