3 new LinkedIn groups for JET Alums!
Career, Networking, Uncategorized 
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Based on some recent and varied conversations, it seems there may be a need for and interest in three new LinkedIn groups for JETs and JET alumni:
1. JET Alum MBAs
For JETs and JET alumni with MBAs or other business degrees (or JETs who want to talk to alums with MBAs) – http://www.linkedin.com/e/ai06o5-gl30jygl-61/vgh/3820993/
2. JET Alum Creative Types
A catchall group for all the wonderful JETs doing (or trying to do) creative things or working in a creative field. – http://www.linkedin.com/e/ai06o5-gl30lfl9-31/vgh/3820994/
3. JET Alum Media Professionals
JET alums working or doing things in journalism, television, blogging, video or any other media field, plus JETs and JET alums interested in the field. – http://www.linkedin.com/e/ai06o5-gl30msei-2m/vgh/3820996/
Notable JET Alums: D.H. Cermeño, author of “Rising Sunsets”
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The below was shared by Hiroshima JET alum Angela Perrone, herself a travel writer, who recently met another JET alum book author in the course of her research for JetWit on JET local travel writing.
JET Alum Author: D.H. Cermeño (Hiroshima-ken)
Book: Rising Sunsets (click to purchase via Amazon)
Book trailer on youtube at: http://goo.gl/A4P8a
Website: www.dhcermeno.com
Below is a synopsis of the book along with Cermeno’s biography.
Synopsis:
Rising Sunsets is an enlightening journey through the mind of David Fletcher, a bright and ambitious young man who is determined to conquer the world and prove his unsupportive father wrong. When reality strikes and nothing works out as expected, an unusual opportunity to go to Japan to teach English to schoolchildren presents itself. There, he discovers his true self and finds an inner strength and independence he never knew existed. Throughout the story, David uncovers Japanese culture and easily embraces the traditions until suddenly, those age-old beliefs stand in the way of his happiness. And, through an unexpected encounter with love, the course of his life is changed forever.
About the Author:
A third generation Florida native, D.H. Cermeño worked in Japan as an English teacher for a year after graduating from Loyola University in New Orleans with a degree in Broadcast Production. Upon returning to the United States, he earned his M.B.A. from Crummer Graduate School at Rollins College and is a Database Marketing Manager in the hospitality industry. In his spare time, he writes, entertains, and volunteers in the local community and supports local theatre. D.H. has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America and especially loves visiting his extended family in the northern part of Spain. He currently resides in Winter Park, FL. Rising Sunsets is his first book.
Click here to see a list of other JET alum authors and their works. (If you know of others not included in the list, please email jetwit [at] jetwit.com.)
Hyogo Prefecture launches its own “HYOGO JET Alumni Network”
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Thank you to Hotaka Kawasaki of CLAIR NY for passing on this information.
Hyogo Prefecture has launched its own HYOGO JET Alumni Network! The current number of JET participants registered on the network is 555. The total number of JET participants in Hyogo prefecture over the last twenty-four years exceeds 5,000.
If you know anyone who doesn’t know about the Hyogo JET Alumni Network, please let him/her know, or just contact Hyogo prefecture.
CONTACT:
Makiko Nagasawa, Hannah Starr and Jeremy Pichot
International Exchange Section, International Relations Division
TEL: 078-362-9017
E-mail: kokusaikoryu@pref.hyogo.lg.jp
*Please note that this is distinct from the Hyogo JET Alum LinkedIn group set up by JetWit. And while the JetWit version has its role, JetWit encourages all Hyogo JET alums to register for the official HYOGO JET Alumni Network via the above contact information. The easier it is for prefecture governments to stay in touch with their JET alumni, the more likely they are to continue to hire JETs.
FoxHound87: Hadaka Matsuri
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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.
Most people haven’t noticed, but I’ve been training ever since I arrived in Japan. Not physical training, mind you, but social training. Being a gaijin (foreigner) in Japan is sometimes like having two heads. Adults stare you in confusion. Children hide behind their parents. Students are oddly fascinated. All this “standing out” has given me this incredible layer of social apathy. I am no longer fazed when people stare. I no longer die a little inside when children run from me. I relish the times when people don’t sit next to me on the train, even when the train is CRAMMED with people. All this “training” has prepared me for what happened on February 19th, the Hadaka Matsuri (better known as the Naked Man Festival).
The Hadaka Matsuri is a fertility festival held all across Japan, but the largest one is in Ookayama Prefecture. When I say largest, I mean it. There are 9,000 participants, all male. Allow me to tell you a tale of manliness, testosterone, and true grit.
The Ookayama AJET chartered a bus for all the visiting JETs from across Japan. There were probably about 30 of us in all. On the bus, the Ookayama AJET president gave us the lowdown on what to expect at the festival. The main event didn’t start until 10, so they suggested that we “suit up” around 8:30. We had arrived at 6:30 so we had plenty of time to kill. That is, until one Nara JET suggested that we “suit up” now. Screw the whole 8:30 thing. Ok, I’m game. Let’s do it.
I bought my fundoshi (sumo diaper) and running slippers and went into the changing tent with 4 other Nara JETs. I had to fill out a personal form including name, address, and blood type (in case I get injured). That was….unnerving. There were some old men waiting for us in the tent. They were volunteer fundoshi wrappers. I got naked and let the old man have his way with me. He gave me the biggest wedgie of my life. He slapped my belly as he commanded I spin so the fundoshi wrapped tightly. High school bullies could learn a thing or two from this man. I heard that in other tents, there were also old ladies doing the fundoshi wrapping.
There we stood. 4 proud men, buttocks out, ready for the weirdest festival of our lives. By the way, it was cold…ahem. In this festival, groups of men (similarly dressed) run around the temple grounds in Saidaiji shouting “Washoi!” “Washoi” is a mantra meant to heat up the body. Remember, it’s f*cking cold. We waited for a group of men to come running by so we could join their ranks. We were so excited that we jumped into the first group that ran by. BIG mistake.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the post.
http://snorlax87.blogspot.com/
JapaneseLondon Round-up – March 3, 2011
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Thanks to JETAA UK Communications Director Vanessa Villalobos for sharing this with JetWit. Vanessa is also the publisher of JapaneseLondon.com:
Featured article: March 2011 Round-Up Part One
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN JAPANESE LONDON?
From Norwegian Wood, Tran Anh Hung’s film, based on Murakami’s book. What was that? *Head spins on neck*. Erm, that was the first one-sixth of 2011, passed already. But fear not, now spring has most definitely sprung it’s the perfect time to get out and appreciate Japan… in London!
Japanese Literature
Fans of Japan-related scribblings are in for a treat this month. Tran Anh Hung’s highly-anticipated screen version of Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel, ‘Norwegian Wood’, will open at UK cinemas from 11th March. British author David Mitchell’s newest offering, ‘The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet’ isn’t due for release until March 17th, but has already racked up 96 rave reviews on Amazon. If you fancy a literary chinwag, Japan Society book club members will be vociferously discussing ‘Silence’ by Endo Shusaku next Monday March 7th – Japan Society members shouldregister their attendance: events@japanesociety.org.
Madame Butterfly
The enduringly popular Madame Butterfly is on at the Royal Albert Hall only until March 13th, so you’ll need to be quick to catch it. Set in an ‘enchanting’ Japanese Water Garden, an extra show has been already been added to meet ‘huge popular’ demand. If you can’t make it, why not order Angela Gheorghui’s CD recording, lie back and think of Japan? Or, if you’ve seen the opera and you crave more of the same, pre-order a copy of Lee Langley’s Butterfly’s Shadow – a novel in the style of Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, that takes Puccini’s Madam Butterfly as its starting point.
HIBIKI – Japanese Music
Continuing on a musical note (!), HIBIKI: Resonances from Japan at King’s Place will run from today 3rd March, until 5th March 2011. This eclectic event; ‘A 1000-year journey through the rich heritage of Japanese music’ features collaborations with London-based musicians and an exploration of ‘Music in Mange’ with Helen McCarthy. Promisingly, there is also set to be a Suntory Hibiki whisky tasting in the bar.
Bunka-Sai – Japanese Cultural Festival
And finally – a new Japanese Culture Festival: ‘Bunka-sai’ will take over Conway Hall for one day only, this Saturday 5th March, to bring together Japanese culture, language, food and drink. Organised by Akemi Solloway.
JapaneseLondon.com‘s Round-Ups are bi-weekly. If you want to see more Japan-related events in London, check out the JapaneseLondon.com Events Calendar.
Matthew Cook leads 4th & 5th year JETs in a game of karuta at the Mid-Year Conference
Matthew Cook (Osaka-fu, 2007-Present) has been elected as National AJET Chair for the 2011-2012 JET year. Cook has been particularly focused on the challenges faced by the JET Program to its future existence.
According to fellow Osaka JET Cailin Arena (2008-Present):
“Matt has spent the past year completely re-defining Osaka AJET. He and the other members have taken the organization in a new direction – using events planning and fundraising to promote JET within their community, which has been experiencing a diminishing number of requests for JETs every year. In just the past 10 months, Osaka has set up volunteer relationships with local orphanages and public service workers, and it has begun developing a study abroad scholarship for students of JET teachers. AJET has been working hard to show Osaka exactly what the benefits of choosing JET are.”
In addition to his work with AJET, Cook has been extremely active within his Board of Education, developing an English curriculum to help Japanese teachers make the transition to elementary school English education as easy as possible. Using his experiences as both a mid-year conference presenter and Tokyo Orientation presenter, Cook will also be leading training seminars this spring. Together with AJET, he hopes to bring support to both JETs and their contracting organizations.
For more detailed information on Cook’s plans for AJET, please visit the AJET website and read his campaign platform: http://ajet.net/lang/en/about/ajet-elections/2011-2012-executive-candidate-platforms/
You can also visit his discussion page to voice any opinions you have about the direction you’d like to see AJET go: http://www.facebook.com/MCookAJET
Osaka AJET is also on Twitter and Facebook. Follow us to join the discussion! http://twitter.com/OsakaAJET
National AJET’s “Life After JET”: Beth Nicholls
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National AJET shares former JET participants’ experiences – and a little advice – with current JETs in their new monthly interview, Life After JET. Contact lifeafterjet [at] ajet.net to be featured in future posts.
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Beth Nicholls was a CIR in Yamagata from 1999-2000. Since then, she has been busy translating and traveling the world with UNICEF, as well as working at major sporting events.
Currently, Beth is undertaking a new endeavor, called Do What You Love, which includes an e-course starting on March 14 designed to help participants “[discover their] true passion, and [find] a way to make it a greater part of [their] everyday life.” Read the interview and check out Beth’s website to find out more about the course. If the course seems right for you, be sure to take advantage of the discount just for JETs — enter the discount code J1102 when you register at www.dowhatyouloveforlife.com/ecourse–spring2011/.
NAJET: Do you have a favorite story from your time on JET? (Anything that you still pull out at parties to this day?)
Beth: When I was on JET I had the good fortune to land my own TV show – ‘Besu Nikoruzu, minna tomodachi’ (possibly the cheesiest name for a show in cable television history). I loved every minute of it but never suspected anyone actually watched it. One day I went to visit the gorgeous temple Yamadera, and as I climbed the last of the 1000+ steps, windswept and puffed out, a monk came up to me and said ‘Besu-san? I love your show’?! I nearly fell off the side of the mountain!
NAJET: What kind of impact did your time as a CIR in Yamagata have on you? In terms of your future career, personal growth, or anything else.
Beth: My year in Yamagata was a formative one. I lived with a wonderful couple who were jazz musicians, with a studio in the house and parties most weekends. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and I felt an incredible sense of possibility. The experience gave me real confidence in my Japanese ability, and an understanding of the responsibility you have as an interpreter. I had many wonderful experiences – interpreting for athletes at the World Ski Jumping Championships, hosting my own TV show (see above!), being Chief of Police for a day, interpreting for dignitaries like the Governor of Colorado and the Thai Ambassador to Japan. I was frequently terrified but always gave it a go anyway, and as a result expanded my comfort zone massively. I went on to get a Masters’ degree in Japanese Interpreting and Translation, and although I don’t use Japanese much in my current endeavours, it was a crucial element of my path to here.
NAJET: From the ‘About Me‘ on your blog, it looks like you’ve had some amazing adventures so far. Can I hear a little more about one? Either one that stands out above the rest or you can choose at random (I’m voting for meeting the Prince of Bhutan, but I’m not picky). I’d like to hear how it come about, any highlights, and lasting impressions.
Beth: Every single adventure has come about as a result of seemingly random connections, and being a combination of curious and brave. When I was writing my MA dissertation, which specialised in interpreting for elite athletes in a competitive sports environment, I requested an interview with one of Japan’s most famous ever football players, as he had played for several teams overseas and worked both with and without an interpreter. Somewhat bizarrely I ended up teaching him English and we became good friends, meeting up and travelling together in places like Ghana, South Africa, China and Bhutan. When we were visiting Bhutan we were invited to a special dinner as guests of the Bhutanese FA, and our host was one of the Princes of Bhutan, who had studied at Oxford University. We had a wonderful evening discussing football, fashion, food and relationships! We dined on yak curry (which actually gave me really bad food poisoning), and laughed into the early hours.
Click here for the rest of the interview.
JapanInfo Flash: Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki Assumes Post in New York
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An announcement from the Consulate General of Japan in New York:
Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki Assumes Post
On February 25, Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki arrived from Tokyo and began his official duties as Consul General of Japan in New York. His first stop after departing the airport was the former World Trade Center site, where he paid his respects to all those lost on September 11, 2001.
As Japan’s ambassador to Afghanistan for the past year and a half, Ambassador Hiroki has been at the frontlines of the international community’s efforts, together with the United States, to promote peace and security in that war-ravaged region. To date, Japan has implemented approximately one billion of a total five billion dollar commitment in humanitarian and reconstruction aid for the people of Afghanistan.
As former head of the 9/11 crisis management team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, Ambassador Hiroki is dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of Japanese visitors and residents in New York. In fact, New York City holds a very special place for Ambassador Hiroki. He was stationed here for several years in the 1990s. As a consul in the Consulate’s political section, his duties included arranging a visit by their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the city. In his welcome message to the New York community, the Ambassador remarked, “This great city is a vibrant center of the political, economic and cultural ties that make up the Japan-US relationship. With your help and understanding, I look forward to doing my part to further the development of a strong Japan-US partnership in New York.”
Ambassador Hiroki’s extensive diplomatic career began in 1979, and he has held various responsibilities at the Ministry in Tokyo and around the globe, including planning Japan’s security policy, developing Japan-Korea relations, managing MOFA budgetary affairs and overseeing Japan’s foreign policy toward Europe. His other overseas assignments include The Hague in the Netherlands and London, UK.
Ambassador Hiroki’s close personal ties with the US were shaped by his formative experience as a young AFS exchange student at a Milwaukee, Wisconsin area high school. He later served as chair of the 29th Japan-America Student Conference (JASC) and was a graduate student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Ambassador is married to Mamiko Hiroki, an English teacher at a Japanese high school and graduate of Columbia University. They have two daughters. Ambassador Hiroki enjoys tennis and practicing tea ceremony in his spare time. He is looking forward to building upon the success of his predecessor, Ambassador Nishimiya, and doing his part to foster mutual understanding and strong bonds of friendship and cooperation between the people of Japan and New York City.
JET World Festival Held in Toyama
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Thanks to Hotaka Kawasaki and Matt Gillam of CLAIR-NY for sharing news about this nice example of “Return on JET-vestment” at the local government level:
The CIRs and ALTs in Toyama held the JET World Festival 2011 in Toyama City on February 27th to celebrate their respective home countries and deepen relations with the people of Toyama. According to the Japanese news release below, the festival included booths for each country as well as stage shows featuring Irish music, country & western music, capoeira, and puppet performances. The festival also included a “North Pole” themed kids’ corner and a refreshment stand.
How was the festival? Please feel free to tell us more in a comment to this post or via e-mail to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
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FoxHound: Hokkaido Part 3
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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.
Instead of hitting the mountain for another day of skiing (an extra 100 bucks for everything), I decided to join other JETs in visiting Otaru. Otaru is a fishing town about 2 hours from Niseko famous for sushi, glass blowing, and music boxes. I know, pretty eclectic eh?
After we arrived at the main station in Otaru, a Hokkaido JET took us on a quick tour of the town. She walked us down the main street, pointing out the most visible landmarks so we could find our way back. After the grand tour, we chose a time to meet up and we all separated. First on our list was food.
It is unfortunate that in a town famous for sushi, I despise sushi. There were sushi restaurants everywhere. Luckily for my wallet, they were all really expensive which priced myself and one other from eating there. The average set cost about $30. Instead, I ate soup curry. It is just like normal curry, except it is thinner, like a soup. It was good.
I toured the city with another Nara JET. Let’s call her Banshee (xmen names). We stopped by a glass-blowing shop to observe the process. It was neat. They even let children come in and try some of the techniques. They let them blow into the tube. I wanted to try, but it seems that children get preference. Stupid children.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the post.
http://snorlax87.blogspot.com/
New Osamu Tezuka manga
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Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) is a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri. He usually writes for DYWeekend, the paper’s arts and leisure section. You can follow Tom’s blog at tokyotombaker.wordpress.com.
Recently he reviewed the manga “Ayako,” a 1970s manga by Osamu Tezuka that only recently became available in English. At nearly 700 pages, “Ayako” tells the story of a large and extremely dysfunctional Japanese family from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. Here is an excerpt:
The title character…is the baby of the family, and becomes a scapegoat for the other family members’ sins. One way Tezuka illustrates this idea is to show a full page of non-rectangular panels, resembling irregular panes of a stained-glass window, where various family members are depicted in words and pictures. These relatively large panels surround one small panel in the center of the page, where little Ayako sits alone in the darkness, with no accompanying text.
At this point in the story, the family has condemned Ayako to imprisonment in a pit–literally–to keep her from revealing a crime she has witnessed.
Befitting the subject matter, Tezuka often uses film noir effects on his pages, filling them with shadows and strange viewing angles.
When a man tries to rescue Ayako from the pit, after she has been in it so long that she is afraid to leave, Tezuka gives us another full page of nonrectangular panels. Their jagged shapes are filled with exaggerated perspectives as the man reaches down to her, well conveying her feeling of panic.
JetWit Facebook Adjustment
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Click here to “like” the new “JetWit Facebook Page”
Apologies for any confusion or inconvenience. Previously, I had set up a “Jet Wit” personal account on Facebook. However, apparently the Facebook gods frown about any Facebook page that’s not an actual person, and–POOF!–just like that the Jet Wit account which had friended many, many JETs and JET alums…..simply disappeared.
So now I’ve delved into strange world of Facebook “Pages” where you have to get people to like you and setting up and using the pages seems to be far less intuitive than something like this really ought to be. All I ask is for your patience and that everyone be an obedient sheep by “liking” the page while I get my head around the set-up and figure out how to make this all a bit more functional and convenient for everyone.
Thanks for your support and gaman, and yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
The Best Prefectures: By JET Alum LinkedIn Groups
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A couple weeks ago JetWit requested that JETs and JET alums join their respective JET Alum LinkedIn Groups. The goal has been to start laying the groundwork for prefecture governments to see a higher “return on JET-vestment” and over time provide a greater incentive for prefectures to hire JETs rather than NETs or dispatch company ALTs.
How is it going so far? And which prefecture’s JETs have come out the strongest? Here are….
The Top 5 JET LinkedIn Prefecture Groups
(by number of members as of 2/21/11)
1. Shimane – 44 members
2. Ishikawa – 27 members
3. Hokkaido & Niigata – 16 members
5. Nara, Saitama & Fukuoka – 15 members
Note: In addition to signing up for your prefecture’s group, please help spread the word and encourage others to join as well.
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Overall Ranking of JET Alum LinkedIn Groups by Prefecture
(by number of members)
Read More
National AJET’s “Life After JET”: Jabari Smith
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Jabari Smith Climbing Mt. Fuji
National AJET shares former JET participants’ experiences – and a little advice – with current JETs in their new monthly interview, Life After JET. Contact lifeafterjet [at] ajet.net to be featured in future posts.
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This month we will have two special editions of Life After JET. Our first features Jabari Smith, an ALT in Aomori Prefecture from 2007-2009. Jabari now works to “serve as an online source of motivation and positive insight for others” via Twitter (@jabarinspires) and his VLOG.
He is currently competing in the final round of the Paradise Hunter Host Search. You can help Jabari on his way to becoming the host of his own travel series by voting here (early and often) until March 2nd.
Jabari shares how JET helped him “embrace and understand [his own] GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP” (and compelled him to inspire others to do the same), a peek into the competition to be the host of Paradise Hunter, and his best advice for current JETs…
NAJET: What’s the most important thing that you learned while on JET?
Jabari Smith: My experience within the JET Programme opened me up to the dynamic world that we live in and granted me the privilege of gaining firsthand insight on all the uniquely rich culture that is abundant in every nook and crevice of the GLOBE. Prior to living in Japan, I had only ever traveled internationally via cruises. Thus, the JET Programme introduced me to the international stage and all the wonderful opportunities that exist beyond America. During my two years as a JET I traveled to 7 countries and 16 prefectures. The JET Programme made me keenly aware of GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP and my ability to survive and thrive in any corner of the GLOBE.
NAJET: Many JETs struggle with the decision to re-contract or not to re-contract…How did you know it was time to leave JET after two years?
Jabari: I initially only intended to stay in Japan for one year, however within the first few months I knew that one year would be far too short. Thus, the decision to re-contract for a 2nd year was ideal as it gave me the life-changing opportunity to further indulge myself in Japanese culture and the language, as well as build stronger relationships with Japanese natives and members of the JET Community. It also gave me the chance to thoroughly travel throughout Japan and BEYOND! I knew that 2 years was the right amount of time for ME, because there were other goals and passions of mine that I was ready to pursue back stateside. I always say, “One year would’ve been too short, but two years was PERFECT!”
NAJET: Can you tell us a little bit about the history of Jabari Inspires? How exactly did this come about?
Jabari: Jabari Inspires was initially born as my Twitter name (@jabarinspires) when I joined the social networking site in March of 2009. Throughout my 2 years in Japan, and even before, I began to recognize the value of inspiring others and being inspired by others. Friends would always tell me that my life in Japan, various travels, and positive attitude were inspiring. Thus, it felt like the perfect moniker. And perfect it was, as the name slowly morphed into my personal brand. In July of 2010 I launched the “Jabari Inspires…” VLOG as the foundation of my striking out as an entrepreneur and the return to my roots as a public speaker (I competed in Speech & Debate for 9 years). What initially began as me creating 1-2 minute videos in the comfort of my living room quickly evolved into my shooting from various destinations on my travels across the GLOBE. It was via my “Jabari Inspires…” VLOG, and its positive reception, that I realized the viability of merging my passion for inspiration with my passion for exploring the GLOBE.
Click here for the rest of the interview.
Recent news about the fate of the JET Program
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Some interesting recent news about the fate of the JET Program. As you know, there was a bit of a dust up last year as the Japanese government reviewed all of its spending programs and that included JET. Anyone interested in helping to prove the worth of the program should check out the JET Return on Investment (ROI) page on this jetwit site: http://jetwit.com/wordpress/category/jet-roi/ There is also a continuing online petition to support the continuance of the program: http://www.change.org/petitions/save_the_jet_program Apologies if any of this has been posted on jetwit before!
High-profile JET alumni defend the program:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110210f3.html
The same article was also published by the Mainichi:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20110205p2g00m0fe017000c.html
The program may not be in imminent danger after all. Here’s a page from a Japanese government web site that indicates that as of November of last year Prime Minister Kan was telling the U.S. that the program would continue (Regardless of his words, there is a continued need to track and publicize the worth of the program!): http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/usa/visit/president_1011/exchange.html
The page is in Japanese but there’s a link to a pdf of an English document (the original?) on the right-hand side of the page. Here’s the text of that document (Item number 3 contains Japan’s continued commitment to the JET Program):
> FACT SHEET:
> Strengthening the exchange between Japan and U.S.
> for further deepening the Japan-U.S. Alliance
> November, 2010
> Prime Minister Naoto Kan and President Barack Obama met on
> November 13, 2010 in Yokohama. Prime Minister Kan, with the view that
> further enhancement of mutual understanding among wide range of people
> between Japan and the U.S. is necessary for mid and long term deepening
> and development of the Japan-U.S. Alliance,
> 1. announced his new initiatives as follows to further strengthen the
> exchange between Japan and the U.S. aiming at several thousand
> exchanges in 5 years and stated that he would continue his efforts to
> explore other possible effective measures;
> (1) Sending Japanese young teachers and interns to the U.S.
> -Sending young English teachers to the U.S.
> -Sending young Japanese language teachers to the U.S.
> -Sending Japanese students to the U.S. as interns at Japanese language
> courses in the U.S.
> (2) Other programs
>
> -Promoting collaborative education and two-way exchanges among
> universities in Japan and the U.S.
>
> -Supporting immersion Japanese language courses in the U.S.
> -Opening and expanding Japanese language courses and promoting
> Japan Studies in U.S. higher education institutions
>
> -Strategic promotion of international cooperation in the field of
> advanced science & technology and sending young Japanese
> researchers to U.S.
> -Strengthening relationships with U.S. think-tanks
> -Inviting Asian study experts from U.S. to Japan
>
> -Promoting short-visit program for U.S. students
> -Celebrating 2012 Japan-U.S. Cherry Blossom Centennial Anniversary
>
> -Delivering Japanese values such as peace and environment through
> Japanese art
> -Holding modern art exhibits at major art museums in the
> U.S.
> 2. expressed his concern over the decline of Japanese students who study
> in the U.S. and stated his intention to further concentrate and work on
> this issue; and
> 3. reaffirmed the importance of the several efforts addressed so far
> between Japan and the U.S, especially JET(The Japan Exchange and
> Teaching) Programme, CULCON (US-Japan Conference on Cultural
> and Educational Exchange) and Fulbright Program, expressed his
> intention that he would positively continue to utilize these efforts,
> concluded that he would continue to explore measures which contribute
> to the strengthening the Japan-U.S. exchange.
Cheers,
Mark Frey
Communications Director
JETAANC
www.jetaanc.org
