Japan America Society Roundup 10.4.10
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JET Alum Gail Cetnar Meadows (Hiroshima-shi 2007-10), co-founder of Hiroshima JET webzine the Wide Island View, shines a light on some of the upcoming events of Japan America Societies…
Japan’s Emperor System: Bane of Blessing? — Learn all about the history of Japan’s emperor system from James Huffman, who taught East Asian history for 35 years at Wittenberg University in Ohio. Huffman will discuss the dramatic ways in which Japan’s emperor system has changed across the modern era: the use of the Meiji Emperor to create a modern state in the late 1800s, the controversial role of the Shōwa Emperor (Hirohito) during World War II, and the debates that have raged around the emperor in the postwar era. He will include comments on the personal approaches (and quirks) of individual emperors and will conclude with reflections on the role of the emperor system in Japan’s current political system and what the imperial family means to the Japanese society.
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 21
- Time: 6 to 7:30 p.m.
- Place: Conference Center UBS Tower One, N. Wacker Drive, 2nd floor (Superior Room), Chicago
- For more information, click here.
2010 Matsuri — Get your dose of Japanese culture at this festival featuring tea ceremonies, karate and kendo demonstrations, dance performances and live musical performances with taiko drums, the koto and the shakuhachi. The festival will take place at the Water Garden Gems, which also will be hosting the 18th annual Koi & Goldfish Show and the AGA National Goldfish Show.
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 9
- Time: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Place: Water Garden Gems, 3136 Bolton Road, Marion, Texas
- For more information, click here.
Academic Lecture Series Speaker — John W. Traphagan, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, will provide an introduction to general themes in Japanese religions, focusing on Shinto and Buddhism. Rather than exploring religious texts, the talk will look at how people in contemporary Japan use religious symbols and ideas in ritual practice.
- Date: Friday, Oct. 8
- Time: 7 to 8:15 p.m.
- Place: Kumon of Westlake – Math and Reading Center, 3345 Bee Caves Road, Suite 103, Austin, Texas
- For more information, click here.
Does your Japan America Society have an upcoming event that you’d like to share with JetWit readers? Email Gail Meadows the info.
Global Facilitation Skills seminar: 11/18-19
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FOJ Natsuyo Lipschutz shared information regarding an upcoming seminar that might be of interest to the JETAA community. Please see details below:
Seminar： Global Facilitation Skills Open Seminar
Organizers： PFC and ASPIRE
Date & Time： November 18th (Thu) & 19th (Fri), 2010 9:00am – 5:00pm
Venue： ASPIRE Intelligence
750 Third Avenue (Between 46th and 47th Streets) 9th Floor, Conference Room A
Fees: (textbooks & lunch included)：
Standard price ＄900
Discount price ＄675*
*25% discount applies to individuals who have previously attended the program within the past year, and also for groups of 2 or more participants from the same organization (discount applies to 2nd person or more).
Registration Deadline： November 10th, 2010
Minimum Number of Participants: 8 people (In the event that the number of applications doesn’t reach the required minimum, the seminar may be canceled. If canceled, fees will be fully refunded.)
Who Should Attend: Anyone who manages a global team or must lead meetings effectively, project leaders and mangers, HR professionals involved in team effectiveness, anyone interested in learning facilitation skills
Details： www.aspireintelligence.com/english/od （Click on banner）
Inquiries： E-mail NY@peoplefocus.co.jp （Ms. Okubo / Ms. Conaghan）
Phone 212-527-7540 （Ms. Natsuyo Lipschutz）
Update 09/29/10: Turns out Interac is not “belly up” afterall. According to a comment received (posted below):
When companies merge and/or or change their names in Japan, they send out announcements that the previous entity is dissolving. I would get announcements like this from a fund-managed client of mine in Tokyo twice a year. My contacts there never changed. Interac wants Maxceed and Selti and Selnate to all be called Interac for marketing purposes. Nothing has changed.
JetWit apologizes for any confusion.
The General Union Interac Branch announced last week that private ALT recruitment and dispatch firm, Interac, plans dissolution. Having been bought up by Advanced Partners, AP intends to dissolve and liquidate the company.
The fall of Interac, in the midst of questions about the future of the JET Programme, raises interesting questions and concerns. As one of the largest private dispatch companies to go under– Interac has about 1,500 ALTs in the Japanese education system. Will any boards of education choose to direct-hire their ALT, or are we looking at a massive influx of jobless former ALTs as their contracts expire? Will other dispatch companies step in to fill the void, or is this a signal of the end times for the work of ALTs as it exists today?
With the JET Programme’s unclear future, and the private sector’s dispatch model cashing out– what does the future really hold for native speakers in the classroom?
The General Union announcement is available here.
Lengthy (albeit colorful) commentary is available on BigDaikon.
JapanInfo e-Newsletter September 2010
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The September 2010 edition of JapanInfo is now available online: http://editor.ne16.com/he/vo.aspx?FileID=2bbd4d99-ee36-41cb-9c27-6ffba6035701&m=c084f6d45dcb1543a1f92db467644006&MailID=13708788 (Click here to subscribe to JapanInfo by email.)
Of note is a feature titled “Alumni Unite to Stress the Value of the JET Program” which describes the efforts at the recent JETAA USA National Conference hosted by JETAA New York. Here’s a quote:
“At this year’s meeting in New York the main focus was the recent Japanese government review of the JET and JETAA budgets. While JET is the most successful public diplomacy program ever launched in Japan, and JETs are recognized as assets to both Japan and the US, there has been criticism of the high costs local governments must bear to accept JETs. Additionally, Japanese tax payers may not be aware of the contributions JETs make to the Japan-US relationship.”
Also of interest to the JET alum community will be the focus on JET and JETAA by Ambassador Nishimiya in the “From the Ambassador’s Desk” feature. Here’s a snippet:
“I had many conversations with JET alumni during the conference and I was encouraged by the fact that so many of them spoke earnestly about how they became big fans of Japan through their participation in the JET program and its alumni activities. Even in Japan there are not many people who could express their deep love for Japan in such a straight forward manner. I truly hope that I will continue to have the opportunity to promote the JET Program, strengthen my ties with JETAA, and aid the program in the future.”
Additional JapanInfo articles of interest include:
- The 65th anniversary of the end of World War II
- Japanese Training Squadron and Ambassador Nishimiya Visits Maryland
- Dr. Hinohara & “Freddie” convey the importance of life
- Friendship through flowers – Ikebana Demonstration
- Izumo: City of Myths and Dreams – A once in a lifetime journey
- The Japanese Embassy of 1860 Visits Philadelphia
- As well as a number of great listings in the Events Calendar!
JapanInfo is published by the Consulate General of Japan in New York/Japan Information Center and is a great source of info for Japan-related things going on in New York and the surrounding area.
Click here to subscribe to JapanInfo by email.
JET Alum researcher seeks JET Alum respondents for survey on reverse culture shock
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Smitha Prasadh (Tokushima-ken, 2005-07) is a Master of Design Candidate at Carnegie Mellon School of Design as well as an active organizer of the growing JETAA Pittsburgh Subchapter. She is seeking respondents for a survey she is conducting on reverse culture shock as part of her graduate research:
Hello! I am an alumna of the JET Programme. For my graduate thesis, I am designing a resource to help North American JET alumni cope with reverse culture shock upon their departure from Japan. If you are an American or Canadian JET alum, I would sincerely appreciate it if you could fill out this survey about your overall experiences before, during, and after JET. Your participation would help my research greatly.
The following survey should take approximately 15‐20 minutes to complete. (Should you choose to elaborate on your answers, it will take a bit longer.)
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/jet-rcs-thesis
Thank you very much for your time!
Smitha Prasadh
thesis@smithaprasadh.com
JET Alum Video: Eigo Noto – a new perspective
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I found this JET-made parody video (which I’ve since found out was made by Lena Franco (Okayama-ken, 2008-10)) after seeing it posted on a fellow JET alum’s Facebook status:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQrfiJ2WFeQ
And one more cute and fun video by Lena titled “Souljia Boy” which is a compilation of video clips where she taught students the dance that goes with the tune:
http://www.youtube.com/user/francol86
JET alum James Kennedy turns “Odd-Fish” novel into school curriculum
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In a rather brilliantly creative move, James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of the acclaimed young adult novel The Order of Odd-Fish, has developed a classroom guide for the novel which is intended to be used by school teachers in class with their students.
In James’ own words:
Some schools have put The Order of Odd-Fish on their reading lists. That’s great!
So I’ve put together a classroom guide for Odd-Fish. It’s 44 pages of discussion questions, lesson plans, and projects. It also features Odd-Fish fan art by enthusiastic readers—art that was featured in our Odd-Fish gallery show in Chicago in April 2010.
This curriculum does the strangeness of the book justice, I think. Aside from the chapter-by-chapter worksheets, there are also activities such as inventing your own Odd-Fish specialty, writing your own articles for the Eldritch Snitch, researching Japanese rituals that inspired the Odd-Fish festivals, baking avant-garde pies, creating urk-ack music, and inventing one’s own Eldritch City mythologies.
It’s also gateway to other fields of study. The knights of the Odd-Fish are, after all, scholars as well as warriors. This curriculum touches on topics as disparate as cockroach anatomy, Shinto and Hindu mythology, the KGB, Wikipedia, foppery, real-life historical eccentrics, and more.
Download the guide for free here. And of course, I always enjoy visiting schools, either in person or by Skype.
Go pester your teachers now! I’m doing this for you, people!
And in JetWit’s opinion, while the novel is in the young adult category, it’s also one of the funniest books you’ll ever read as an adult. To read more JetWit posts about James, click here. And watch the below video to see James doing an extremely dramatic reading from the book at last year’s JET Alumni Author Showcase in New York:
Job: Freelance Translator, Golf Channel
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Job posting by Lauren Sethney (Niigata-shi CIR, 2000-2003). Lauren serves as the Program Director at the Japan-America Society in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Via the Golf Channel
Title: Freelance English>Japanese Translator (work from home)
Reports to: Director of International Operations Japan
Overview: Freelance translator will create a typed Japanese translation script of Golf Channel’s English language programming. Translation scripts must be broadcast quality in a ready-to-read format for Japanese voice talent.
Job Responsibilities:
- Translate all programming material from English to Japanese
- Type Japanese translations with time code in Microsoft Word
- Proofread and e-mail voice over-ready Japanese translation scripts
Minimum Requirements:
- Native Japanese ability (Tokyo Standard, reading, writing, speaking)
- Near-native English (reading, writing, speaking)
- English to Japanese translation experience; broadcast translation experience preferred
- Excellent knowledge of the game of golf and its vernacular
- Experience with Japanese OS and word processing (Microsoft)
- Ability to work with tight deadlines
- Weekly commitment preferred
Qualified candidates should apply directly to Debra Conrad at dconrad@golfchannel.com
WIT Life #120: Domestic challenges
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WITLife 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.
Yesterday’s NYT had an article about the rise of Japan’s very own Tea Party. It profiles the rise of the Zaitokukai, or the Citizens Group That Will Not Forgive Special Privileges for Koreans in Japan. In comparison to old-line rightist groups this movement is known as the Net right, as they are organized via the Internet and come together for demonstrations. The article focused on their protest last December at an elementary school for ethnic Koreans. This year they also picketed theaters showing the documentary The Cove, which they perceive to be anti-Japanese. The group is led by a 38-year old man who insists that foreigners have caused Japan to go in the wrong direction (members even harassed some Westerners for wearing Halloween costumes!). The far right writes them off as amateur attention seekers, but nevertheless this is a disturbing trend.
In WSJ coverage this morning, there is discussion of how a majority of Read More
Job: Associate Program Officer, Center for Global Partnership (New York)
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Qualifications:
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Minimum of a college degree in a related area;
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Strong analytical skills; the ability through questioning and informal research to understand the feasibility and implications of submitted proposals;
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Desire to think creatively, explore new ideas, and develop new networks to foster innovative program ideas and funding initiatives;
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Strong oral and written communication skills in English;
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Strong organizational skills, keen attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously;
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Ability to work independently and as part of a team;
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Understanding of contemporary Japan; experience living in Japan and proficiency in the Japanese language, including translating ability, preferred.
Books: Lars Martison’s “Tonoharu” gets favorable write-up on BoingBoing, makes Amazon’s Top Ten Bestselling Graphic Novels list
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There’s a nice review of JET alum Lars Martinson’s graphic novel Tonoharu: Part 1 on the BoingBoing site written by Mark Frauenfelder titled “Tonoharu: Excellent graphic novel about an English teacher in Japan.” And according to Lars’ blog,
“Thanks to Mark Frauenfelder’s writeup about Tonoharu: Part One on Boing Boing, the book has made it into Amazon.com’s Top Ten Bestselling Graphic Novels today!”
Here’s the link to the review: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/08/27/tonoharu-excellent-g.html
Here’s a quote from the review:
“Published in 2008, and a winner of the prestigious Xeric Award, Tonoharu is a story of isolation, frustration, and mystery, with just the right amount of black humor to keep it from being depressing.”
For fans awaiting the next installment, Tonoharu: Part 2 is due out in December.
Jobs: 2 Openings at Global Career Partners Inc (Seattle/Tokyo)
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Via the PNWJETAA Listserv:
Position in Seattle:
- Sales/Purchase
- Industry: Trading
- Salary 35K-50K, full benefits
Duties:
- Purchases agricultural products from suppliers in the US and sells to vendors in Japan, China and Taiwan
- Develop new markets and customers
Qualifications: Read More
JET ROI: More extensive Kyodo News article on JETAA USA Conference
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Kyodo News has published a more extensive article on the JETAA USA National Conference (“US JET alums rally to save group’s funding from chopping block”) held in New York City August 12-15. Quotes from JETAA NY President Megan Miller (Hyogo-ken, 2000-02) feature prominently and help make the case for the value of JETAA to Japan while building on existing momentum. Such as:
“We now have a unified goal and position, which enables us to send a strong and consistent message to the Japanese government and to our local communities that JET and JETAA are not only worthwhile but essential to U.S.-Japan relations.”
Here’s the link to the full article in The Mainichi Daily: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20100826p2g00m0fe075000c.html
And here’s a scan of the first page of the original Kyodo article which includes a photo of Megan. (The Kyodo version is only available via subscription.)
Click here for more JetWit posts about this topic and related media coverage.
Notable JET Alums: Maynard Plant and Monkey Majik
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Members of Monkey Majik with Deputy Minister Len Edwards
Maynard Plant (Aomori-ken, 1997-2000) is the founder of the well-known Japan-based band Monkey Majik (www.monkeymajik.com), which consists of two Canadian members (Maynard and his brother Blaise) and two Japanese members-tax and DICK.
For more information you can check out their:
- Website: www.monkeymajik.com
- Wikipedia entry (where you’ll learn about the origins of the band as well as how Maynard is fluent in Aomori-ben): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_Majik
- Embassy of Japan in Canada press release: “Goodwill Ambassadors, Monkey Majik, arrive in Ottawa to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Japan-Canada Diplomatic Relations”
Here is their song Change with the Yoshida Brothers (a video all JET alums will appreciate):
Do you know of any notable JET alums? Let us know at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Call for Volunteers: JET Ambassadors for School Visits
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From Mauric Maloney, President of JETAA DC:
We’d like to thank those members who responded to our earlier call for volunteers for the JET Ambassadors Program. This is a second call for volunteers before we begin our orientation and school visits in the fall.
The JET Ambassadors program wishes to establish a network of volunteers who can visit local schools and discuss their experiences in Japan through photos, videos, games, and other props.
The main focus of these presentations will be life at a Japanese school, but they will vary from person to person.
The goal is to begin presentations in the Fall of 2010 and include all interested schools in the JETAADC area, including the Baltimore Region, Annapolis and the Eastern Shore, Richmond and other points South, and even West Virginia. So regardless of your distance from D.C., please respond if you are interested.
Each presenter will receive be reimbursed for his or her time and travel.
If you are interested, please respond to this e-mail with the following information.
Name:
Current Location:
Preferred E-mail address:
Phone:
Years on JET:
Prefecture:
Grade Levels Taught in Japan:
Current Profession:
Access to Metro/Public Transport:
Access to Car:
There will be an orientation on September 14 at the Embassy of Japan. More details will follow. Please respond by Friday August 27 if you are interested. If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Maurice Maloney
President, JETAADC
president.dc@jetalumni.org
PS – If you know of or work at a school that might be interested in receiving visitors, please let us know with the name of the school, its location, and the best person to contact.
