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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
I thought my sleepy eyes were betraying me when I turned on the tv to watch the Japanese news this morning. The headline splayed across the screen was that popular boy band SMAP member 34-year old Tsuyoshi Kusanagi had been arrested on charges of public indecency. Evidently he had been found naked, drunk and incoherent in a Tokyo park early this morning.
According to bystanders, some of what he was muttering was jibberish, some was in Korean (he is known for his Korean language skills and has a big following in Korea), and some were Japanese words they could make out like “baka.” When Kusanagi was approached by a policeman, he yelled out, Read More
JETAA Chapter Beat 4.22.09
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Freelance writer/editor Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08) takes us on a walk around the JET Alumni community…
- Japan Festival – April 25th and 26th in Hermann Park, Houston.
- Shushi Course Mixer – Saturday, May 23rd at the Mirage Clubhouse. JETAA Texoma along with the Japan America Society of Houston and the Japanese-American Citizen’s League-Young Professional Group are hosting a sushi making course.
- Nihongo Dake – Sunday, April 26th at 2:00. Brush up on your Japanese skills and join in on a day of conversation, food and JETAA.
- Iron Chef Potluck – Saturday, May 9th, 6:00 at a location yet to be determined. Come put those culinary skills to the test with JETAASC’s annual Iron Chef competition.
- Camp JET at Lake Arrowhead – May 29th – May 31st at Lake Arrowhead. Spend the weekend roughing it with JETAASC.
- AskJET Volunteers Needed! – Volunteers wanted for May, June and July dates to be announced for informal question and answer sessions for departing 2009 JETs. Lend your experience to a new crop of hopeful JETs.
- The Secrets of Haiku from Master Basho – Thursday, April 23rd, 5:30 at the Commonwealth Club Office. Learn about the art of Kaiku from a well-known translator of the medium, Jane Reichhold, author of Basho the Complete Haiku.
- Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival – April 25th and 26th, 10:00 to 5:00 at Memorial Park, Cupertino. Spend the weekend outside under the cherry blossoms. Events include martial arts expeditions, taiko, and dance groups.
- Yoshida Brothers Concert – May 20th, 7:00 and 9:30(two shows) at the Triple Door. Do not miss these highly talented shamisen masters.
- O-Shaberikai – Wednesday, April 29th, 5:30 at the Holy Grail in Civic. Join in and meet Japanese people living in Canberra and other locals interested in Japan.
- JBook Book Club – Monday, May 18th, 6:30 at Penn Quarter Teaism. May’s topic of discussion is “Moribito” by Nahoko Uehashi. New members always welcome, so drop on by.
- Filmfest DC – April 16th – 26th. This year’s Washington DC Filmfest includes the theme, “New Japanese Cinema.” Films from Yojiro Takita, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Sunishi Nagasaki are being highlighted this year.
- JETAA DC Alumni Social Event at Pimlico Race Course – May 23rd at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD. The first race is 11:30 and admissions is free.
What happened at your chapter’s event? If you attend(ed) any of these exciting events, JetWit would love to hear about them. Just email Jonathan Trace with any info, stories or comments.
J-News Mini-Roundup: Chiba Mayor Arrested on Corruption Charges
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
Background: All three newspapers were filled with headlines this morning showing the Chiba Government Office being flooded with police. The mayor Chiba was arrested today on charges of bribery in a construction scandal. The police claim that Mayor Tsuroka Keiichi received about 1,000,000 yen (10,000 dollars) in 2005 as bribe money when new orders were being placed for public works projects. Each newspaper added different sides to the story.
Nikkei: “The Mayor Claims he’s innocent” The Nikkei’s opening paragraph descr
ibes the accusation that is being brought on the mayor, and then the second sentence abruptly states “and he claims he’s innocent.” The Nikkei also mentions that the Public Works Construction Company involved in the scandal is using the defense that the statue of limitations on bribery is three years, and three years have elapsed since the event.
Yomiuri: “The Mayor had a Motive” The Yomiuri paints a vivid picture…
(Click HERE to read the rest of the post)
J-News Mini-Roundup: [Hayashi Sentenced to Death]
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
The year was 1998, in Wakayama-ken. In Japan it was called the “Curry Incident”, where four people were killed eating poisoned curry. Hayashi-san was charged with murder, and had appealed all the way to the Japanese Supreme Court. Today in Japan, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, and sentenced her to death. Each newspaper reported the account differently.
Nikkei Defends the accused The Nikkei focused on the court proceedings, and how under the 3rd Petty Bench of the Supreme Court, all 5 judges ruled unanimously that Hayashi-san was guilty. The Nikkei claims “she insists she’s innocent, and her and her lawyer are applying for a retrial”. The most alarming part of the Nikkei article came at the end, stating “there is actually no direct evidence linking her to the crime. The focus is instead on circumstantial evidence.” This adds new meaning to the Japanese legal philosophy: guilty, until proven innocent.
Yomiuri Condemns the accused The Yomiuri’s headline ran “The Death Penalty has been decided.” It then goes on to describe the event as the “Tragedy that took place in the summer festival”. According to the Yomiuri, in 1998 at an outdoor festival held by the Wakayama City Park Service, someone emptied poison into the curry rice. 4 people died, and 61 people sustained injury from the poisoned rice. If you weren’t feeling bad for the guilty yet, they added that Hayashi-san was a “door to door insurance salesman.”
Asahi Also fights for her innocence The Asahi as well points to the fact that the evidence pointing to Hayashi-san is all circumstantial. It then gives a full account of the appeals process, how the smaller court in Wakayama had given her a guilty sentence, but both her and her lawyer had appealed to the Supreme Court. Although the Supreme Court had ruled that she’s guilty, the Asahi does not give any examples of what the judges ruled, and instead closes their article with the arguments used to defend Hayashi-san. “The expert testimony in regards to arsenic poison cannot be trusted. The witness’s account of seeing Hayashi-san near the curry rice could have easily mistaken her for some other woman. And at any time, other people had access to the curry rice.”
J-News Mini-Roundup: [The Timing of the Snap Election]
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
The Japanese political system is parliamentary democracy. One of the main differences when compared to the American system is politicians can decide to call a “snap election,” in other words they can call to dissolve the parliament and try to realign political alliances to their advantage. The snap election is the general buzz term of the year in Japanese political news, and every Japanese newspaper reports political commentary to try to predict when the snap election will be held.
This weekend the focus was on commentary made by the Secretary General of the LDP’s coalition party, the Komeito party. The Komeito party’s important because both the LDP and the Komeito’s policies should be politically in sync. Here’s what the newspapers reported about Komeito’s Secretary General, Kitagawa-san.
Nikkei “The chance for a snap election is when the economy bottoms out” The Nikkei reported that Kitagawa-san said, “The bill for the 2009 budget needs to be passed before we try to do a snap election.” As to exactly when that timing would be, the Nikkei hinted at the commentary made by Kitagawa-san. “In August, we’ll get the numbers for the GDP for April to June. Once we have the feeling that the economy is bottoming out, that is our chance for a snap election.”
Yomiuri “The snap election will be either in August, or afterwards” The Yomiuri reported a slightly different take on the Secretary General’s words…for the rest of this article please visit http://hillslearning.com/blog2.aspx
This past Saturday we held the first-ever JET Alumni Blog Workshop where we invited JET alums to gather and learn how to set up, use and take advantage of blogs. This was my first activity in my new JETAA NY role as Professional Outreach & Development Chair and it turned out to be both productive and a lot of fun.
- The goal was to help JET alums develop skills that will be beneficial in furthering their careers, whether they want to be independent writers, promote their services and abilities or perhaps just be one of the few people in their company who knows how to use blogs effectively (or at all).
- Location: JETAA NY webmaster Lee-Sean Huang‘s apartment building in the Financial District in Lower Manhattan, which has wi-fi in its library. Two JET alums joined: Randall, who had never used a blog before, and Anton, who is familiar with blogs but was seeking structure for his writing energies and was interested in learning some of the techniques for effectively using a blog and increasing traffic. Rather than a formal class-style lecture, we just sat around with our laptops (3 laptops for 4 people), demonstrated the basics of blogs and then looked over Randall’s shoulder as he set up his first-ever blog. With Anton we discussed using RSS feeds to follow other blogs as well as possible writing topics
and ways to contribute to JetWit.com.
- Next JET Alumni Blog Workshop: Probably on a weeknight in the near future, most likely in midtown at a cafe or other space that has wi-fi. Stay tuned for more information. If you’re interested and you have not already been in touch, just send an e-mail to professional at jetaany dot org and I’ll add you to the list.
- Lastly, I encourage other JETAA chapters to try setting up blog workshops as well. In addition to helping JET alums learn new skills, it was also nice to get together, learn about what each of us was doing and exchange info in a constructive way. In the current economy it’s more important than ever for JET alums to help each other out, and this is just one small way among many to do that.
Job: United Nations University Internship (Tokyo)
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JetWit job poster Stephen Palanik (Fukushima Ken, 2004-08) learned of the following internship available at United Nations University through the JETAABC website and thought it might be of interest to former JETs still living in Japan. Stephen is a translator based in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Ken, and he periodically posts job listings and event information for JET alumni.
The United Nations University’s Media Studio builds interactive content and video documentaries that engage, entertain and educate, as part of the UNU OnLine Learning initiative. This includes a burgeoning web magazine called Our World 2.0 that explores the interactions between our daily lives and the complex and pressing issues of climate change, oil dependency, and food security. The Media Studio seeks interns who would like to contribute in a number of capacities, including helping to develop a contact network, a list of potential Our World 2.0 sponsors and partners, applying for grants from foundations, web marketing, etc. Those interested in research and writing would also have the opportunity to propose articles to the editorial team.
Job: Shiseido- International Marketing Manager (NY)
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Shiseido is looking for a international new marketing head. As one of the top brands in Asia, looks like a great job for those with experience. (Thanks to JET alum Kendall Murano for sending this one over.)
Contact: resumes [at] sac.shiseido [dot] com
Qualifications:
- Professional and effective communication skills, especially with Tokyo HQ and local subsidiaries.
- Ability to manage several projects at any given time
- Flexibility related to situations, high problem-solving skills
- Ability to create and evaluate English written materials
- Some domestic and international travel necessary
- Japanese(native level), English(business-native level)
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Excel, Word and PowerPoint
Job: English Teacher at the Seigakuin Atlanta International School (Atlanta)
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Via JETAA Southeast:
Seigakuin Atlanta International School (a school accredited by the Japanese Ministry of Education) is looking for English Language Arts teachers (Pre-K through 6th Grade). Position starts August 2009.
In their own words: “Our school offers a unique Japanese-English Two-Way Immersion program. Our students’ families are Japanese, Japanese-American, and American (plus other nationalities) .”
Qualifications Required: Teacher’s License and/or ESL-ESOL Certification.
Skills: Japanese language ability would be an asset, but not required.
Application: Please send resume and letter of interest to Maki Brown at employment [at] seigakuin [dot] us.
Job: Admin Assistant at the Japanese Mission to the United Nations (NY)
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Straight from our folks at JETAA NY:
Administrative Assistant at the Japanese Mission to the United Nations
http://jetaany.org/forum/jobs/topic-592/
J-News Mini-Roundup: Ichiro Breaks Record
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
One of the inspirations of this blog entry is to translate directly Japanese news stories from Japanese to English. It is often interesting and enlightening to get the Japanese perspective. After reading an American paper’s account of Ichiro breaking the record and realizing there was no interviews with the man, it became necessary to write about what Ichiro himself said about his record breaking achievement.
Asahi (I was hitting “for dear life”) When Asahi asked Ichiro what it was like up at bat during the seventh inning, when the record could be broken, he exclaimed, “I had no time to think about what was actually going on, or that this was a special moment. It was like I was hitting for dear life.” Asahi then asked, “Can you explain what you mean by “dear life””? Ichiro replied, “Well basically I wanted to take advantage of the moment that my team was doing well. I wanted to add to the flow of the game.”
Asahi also asked if he felt good after playing the game. Ichiro replied “Well I actually had a bad feeling. It was that the current record holder would get upset, hearing cheers after the record was broken.”
Yomiuri (“Not bad at all.”) Ichiro’s feelings while he was at bat, according to Yomiuri, “I was thinking, not bad at all. I should take advantage of the flow of my team. Although I say take advantage, I don’t mean just the act of “taking”, but I think I was more wrapped up in the feeling of the moment.”
Nikkei (“I’ve surpassed the current record holder”) The Nikkei focused on the actual act of breaking the record. Ichiro in the seventh inning left a mark by getting the 3,085 hit of his career. It also went on to explain that Ichiro had stomach pains and was out for eight games last season, and he seems to have recovered well this season. Ichiro exclaimed “I’ve now passed the current record holder.”
The Release of the Mini Coop, in Japan
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
BMW has just released a new version of their convertible in Japan, the Mini Coop Convertible S and the Mini Coop Convertible. Each newspaper focused on different features that its readers would enjoy.
Nikkei (New Functionality) The Nikkei focused on the new engine and catchy functionalities that come with the “newly improved mini coop.” The car “employs an effective new engine, with gas consumption performance increased by 40%.” The roof is now able to close mid drive, in reaction to unexpected rain storms. Its closing time has also been decreased to 15 seconds; quick enough so it can close in the time it takes for a stoplight to turn green. Although both newspapers list the car has come out in two models, the Nikkei lists the models as a selection process, with the faster type “more equipped with a 1600cc engine”.
Asahi (New Comfort) The Asahi describes the car as a “new release” in Japan, with different characteristics than previous models. The Asahi talks about the space available in the car, both when driving with the top down and top up. Not only is there luggage space which exceeds 170 liters when the top is up, but it then goes on to elaborate how 2 people can fit in the back comfortably. The space overall has increased by 55 liters as compared to the last model.
NHK and Yomiuri (Crane Accident) Both the NHK and Yomiuri this morning did not run articles on the mini coop but instead focused on the tragic crane accident in Tokyo. 6 people were injured when a large crane suddenly collapsed on its work site and nearby sidewalk. The cause of the accident is currently being investigated.
J-News Mini-Roundup: The Rise of the LDP and Prime Minister Aso?
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
Various news articles released over the weekend show the differing views of the popularity of the DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) vs. the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party).
Nikkei (Local Elections say “yes”) – The Nikkei’s article about Akita’s governor race stated “The DPJ’s support in the region was broken” by the election. They continued stating the main reason for the loss is the recent scandal involving the DPJ’s Ozawa and his secretary being charged with taking campaign funds from Nishimatsu Construction Company. The Nikkei also cited the domino-like-effects across regions, where Chiba also recently elected an LDP governor over a DPJ one.
NHK (Public Opinion says “yes”, well kind of) – The NHK ran the results of their public opinion poll today. The prime minister’s approval ratings jumped from around 17 to 30%. Also when asked in a survey who the Japanese would like to see as prime minster in the next election, Prime Minister Aso of the LDP was favored over Representative Ozawa of the DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan). How decisive an outcome was it? Well, 19% favored the Prime Minister, while 14% favored Ozawa. 60% of Japanese said neither of these candidates would be good choices.
Asahi (Neither party is popular) Asahi seemed to use the unpopularity of politicians to their advantage in an interview with Prime Minister Aso. They asked the Prime Minister “You’ve been saying in budgetary committee, “Create a budget! Reconcile differences!” But between your party and the opposition party, which side do you think the public supports?” Aso replied “As of right now, umm…currently, looking from…Wait, you have evidence that this budget is supported by the public? Well, do you?”
Job: Technical Japanese to English Translator in Seattle
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Just spotted this posting for a Japanese to English translator with a computer programming background needed for a few months in Seattle. For further info check out the original post on the Honyaku discussion group.
Moving on up
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Shannon Quinn, who has served as a JETAA USA Country Representative for the past 3 years, has stepped down from her position after moving to Tokyo this past fall to start her new job as an ALT Advisor at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
O-tsukare-sama deshita, Shannon, and ganbatte kudasai!
