Overview:
MOTS is seeking a legal assistant who is able to file to USPTO, prepare letters to the clients, assists to the patent attorney and other administrative duties as necessary.

Prefer experienced but will consider the person willing to learn patent execution. Must be fluent in English and Japanese, be detail oriented and have Microsoft Office skills.

Full time position, work hours 8:30 – 5:30(core time 10:00 – 4:30), health and vision/dental insurances, 401(k), no visa support. Salary is commensurate with experience.

Please send your resume with salary requirement to hr(at) motslaw.com

バイリンガル(English/Japanese) リーガルアシスタントの募集

MOTS LAW, PLLC (Farragut North/Farragut West) では業務拡大のため以下の1名を募集しております。
バイリンガルリーガルアシスタント 米国特許庁への出願事務、クライアントへの報告書類作成、特許弁護士の　　補助、その他必要に応じた庶務的な業務。経験者を優遇しますが、未経験者の方も教育いたします。几帳面でマイクロソフトオフィスのスキルある方。フルタイム 勤務時間8:30 – 5:30（コアタイム10:00 – 4:30）各種保険, 401(K) ビザサポートは行いません 待遇は経験により決定 履歴書と希望給与額をhr(at)motslaw.com までご送付ください。

Description:
CRASH Japan is a non-profit Christian disaster relief organization based in Tokyo that is officially recognized by the Japanese government. CRASH has a paid job opportunity at headquarters in Tokyo for accounting staff.

Work Times:
5 days a week, from 9:00 to 18:00

Required Skills / Materials:
At least one year of accounting experience; a recommendation from your pastor or leader, Japanese reading ability (reports and receipts are in Japanese)

Additional Info:
Transportation fees will be covered. Stipend is available. CRASH does not sponsor work visas.

If you are interested, please go to www.crashjapan.com and register as a “volunteer.” After registration, contact Yoneyama at admin.chief@crashjapan.com for more details about the position.

Details:
Japanese speaking sports journalist – Tay 2 Productions – West London
To view details about this job vacancy visit: http://www.jetaa.org.uk/jobs/japanese-speaking-sports-journalist/

April 2012

May 2012

If you or any other JETs/alums have Japan Local video, photographs, writing or other projects you’d like to share, please email jetwit [at] jetwit.com.

A few days ago the New York Times featured an article about a monument in Palisades Park, New Jersey, an area populated largely by Korean Americans, dedicated to comfort women.  The amount is disputed, but “comfort women” (慰安婦 or ianfu) refers to the at least tens of thousands of women and girls, many Korean, who were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers before and during World War II (Some counts put their numbers as high as 410,000).

The Palisades Park monument, built in 2010, is the only known tribute in the United States to the comfort women (Last year one was erected in Seoul, South Korea, in front of the Japanese Embassy).  This picture shows three Korean Congressman who placed bouquets of white chrysanthemums at the stone monu­ment last week.

According to the article, a delegation of  four officials from Japan’s Liberal Democratic Par­ty recently visited Palisades Park Mayor James Rotundo in order to urge him to get rid of the memorial.  During this meeting they disputed the number of comfort women and claimed that they willingly served the soldiers.  This was following a visit from Shigeyuki Hiroki, Consul-General of Japan in New York, who proposed donating cherry blossom trees and making other contributions to the town if the memorial was removed.  However, this was later denied by the Consulate, despite the fact that Rotundo and two others confirmed that this offer had been made at the meeting.

In 1993, the Japanese government accepted its military’s role in setting up brothels, and apologized with a declaration from then chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono. But many, including the surviving comfort women, didn’t accept the statement because it hadn’t been issued by the Diet.  Similarly, in 1995 a $1 billion fund for victims was set up, but surviving comfort women rejected it because it would be financed by private money and they are seeking reparations from the Japanese government.

During a recent International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP)  trip to Dallas, our group had the chance to meet the head of the Human Rights Program at Southern Methodist University, one of only five schools in the country with such a major.  According to Professor Rick Halperin, Program Director, Japan is on the list of worldwide human rights violators.  Thinking domestically, I thought he might be talking about violations against minority groups like the Burakumin or Ainu.  However, upon confirmation it turned out he was talking about comfort women and the Japanese government’s persistent attempts to whitewash this part of its history.  As one advocate in the NYT article commented, let’s hope that this debate over the monument leads to increased awareness of this pertinent issue.

Office Manager
Posted by: Japan Society of Northern California
Type: Full-Time
Location: San Francisco, CA
Salary: Salary is commensurate with experience
Start Date: June 1, 2012

The Japan Society of Northern California is seeking an office manager to work directly under the president. Candidate must be highly organized, and positive team player, a quick learner who can work efficiently with precision and minimal supervision. Bachelor’s degree preferred.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/5K553gWd4fsP/

Volunteers from JETAANY helped make this year's yo-yo fishing game a big success.

By Alma Jennings (Fukushima-ken, 2008-10) for JQ magazine. Alma works at Japan Society in New York as a development assistant in foundation and government relations.

The sixth annual Japan Day @ Central Park took place on a warm Sunday May 13. Over 40,000 people attended the event, which featured live performances, Japanese games and language lessons, and the four-mile “Japan Run.” This year also marked the triumphant return of food tents, where volunteers dished out free sushi, udon, Pocky, and other Japanese vittles to hungry visitors.

According to their homepage, the goals of Japan Day are to build bridges of understanding between the people of Japan and the U.S., showcase the local Japanese community’s appreciation toward New York, and facilitate stronger grassroots connections within the local Japanese community. This year, the JET Alumni Association of New York (JETAANY) teamed up with Japan Society, a New York City-based organization that deepens understanding between the U.S. and Japan, to offer traditional Japanese “yo-yo fishing.” In this addictive game, participants try to win a colorful balloon by using a paper hook to lift it from a pool of water. Volunteers from the Japan Local Government Center, Mitsubishi, K Line Logistics, Mirai IT International, and the Bronx Science Key Club also provided much appreciated help at the tent.

The cute yo-yos look deceptively easy to make. In fact, they are tricky to make and can get messy. Volunteers showed up hours before the event began to blow up the balloons, which tend to deflate over a few days and thus couldn’t be made in advance. Japan Society’s director of special events and JET alum Christy Jones (Nagasaki-ken, 1995-98) served as the yo-yo activity organizer on behalf of the Society, encouraging Japan Society’s staff and JET alums to prepare thousands of paper hooks before the big day.

I wasn’t keen on waking up at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday, so I signed up for the afternoon shift. When I arrived, the yo-yo tent was a blur of activity with volunteers making balloons in the back, directing the line of customers, and encouraging visitors at the pools. Veterans of previous Japan Days directed volunteers new to the yo-yo activity to ensure that everything ran smoothly. At times when the line was very long, the volunteers shifted from allowing families to take their time to hurrying them along to make sure people didn’t have to wait too long.

I started my shift by attempting to make a few balloons and promptly made a mess despite the fact that I had learned the technique a few days earlier. After a few more failed endeavors, I finally succeeded in making a balloon that wasn’t itching to explode. I made a few more and then decided to go encourage fishers at the pools, which was a lot more fun for me. People were very excited and there were a lot of adorable kids who reminded me of my days on JET teaching elementary school students. I even used a bit of my horribly underused Japanese speaking with the Japanese parents and kids.

The rule that we all agreed on prior to Japan Day was to allow one balloon per person. However, the allure of the colorful bouncing balloons proved too much for most of our visitors and many of them absconded with at least two each. Some volunteers also found the rule difficult to enforce when they saw the pleading eyes of the children.

According to a tally taken by Japan Day’s executive producers Gorgeous Entertainment, over 2,200 people participated in the yo-yo fishing (that’s roughly 400 per hour!), making it one of the most popular activities at Japan Day. Many people enjoyed the game so much that they waited in line to go twice or even three times. All the volunteers were in high spirits at the end of the day, which culminated in a group photo.

Japan Day was not only a great success based on attendance and audience enthusiasm, but also as a collaboration between Japan Society and JETAANY. Motoatsu Sakurai, president of Japan Society, was enthusiastic about the participation of JET alumni, saying, “JETs are forward-minded people and their dedication to Japan is impressive. I was greatly looking forward to working with them on Japan Day.”

JETAANY president Monica Yuki agreed.

“It was a really great turnout,” she said. “It was a fun-filled day and it allowed us to share a tradition we learned in Japan with the New York community.”

If this article has piqued your interest, I hope you’ll join us next year as a volunteer!

For more on Japan Day @ Central Park, visit www.japandaynyc.org. Watch a video report that aired on Fujisankei TV about JETAANY’s preparation for the event here.

• PDF:  http://www.jetaabc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/NewsletterV17N1.pdf
• Online viewer version on Issuu.com at http://issuu.com/jetaabc/docs/newsletterv17n1

© Satoshi Narita

What is Photohoku and how (and why) did you become involved with this project?

Photohoku is a family photo-album building project for those affected by the events of March 11th. It’s a portmanteau blending of the words Photo and Tohoku. It was officially started on September 11th of 2011 by myself (Brian Scott Peterson) and our co-founder, Yuko Yoshikawa. We became involved in the project having collaborated on another Tokyo-based project called Tokyo Kids Photo.

Basically we go to the earthquake and tsunami affected areas of Tohoku, armed with instant cameras and instant film and find families who lost all their photos in the disaster and make new photos for them. We put those photos in a new family album for them and present that newly started album to the families. If the families don’t have a camera, we also give them a retired digital camera we’ve collected as donations from our friends and families. Finally, on subsequent trips, we print the photos from the cameras with have given and add those photos to the albums as well so they can continue them. Basically help them start their photographic lives over.

How did Photohoku evolve from being just an idea to becoming a full-on reality?

We basically wanted to repeat our Tokyo Kids Photo portraiture project in Tohoku by simply traveling to the affected areas to make some nice new photos for the affected families. We would have to take the photos, return to Tokyo to print them and send them back to the families, which seemed straightforward enough but then we got the idea to use instant film and instant cameras. Coincidentally we were working with Fujifilm on an unrelated project at the time, so we asked them if they would consider supporting our project with some of their instant film. We were hoping they’d supply us with a few packs of film but they ended up essentially offering us more than we could possibly shoot ourselves in an entire year, which enabled us to start taking other photographers with us.

How frequently does the Photohoku team travel to Tohoku and, on average, how many families do you photograph and make albums for on each trip?

We travel to Tohoku about once a month, twice if we are lucky, and we are willing to go more if our supporters afford us the chance. Since September of 2011, we have been 9 times and gifted well over 100 new family photo albums and given countless photos.

What was the response like from the families who have been photographed and given new photo albums and/or donated digital cameras?

The response is unanimously positive. As the situation has been understandably mined for photos, people are occasionally at first leery, however once they understand we are giving them a photo that is just for them, everybody warms up to the idea, and when they see the magic of instant film, they are thrilled to have a their photo taken and receive a new album. It’s not uncommon for the recipients to shed a tear or two, nor is it uncommon for us to share one with them. It gets pretty emotional at times.

Are there any families in particular that stood out and/or left an impression on you?

There are just too many to mention. Off the top of my head, there was the couple whose granddaughter survived her mother (their daughter). The grandparents told us how sad they were knowing they wouldn’t be able to see the granddaughter grow up, much less give her the care she needed, and was so uncertain about what the future held. The grandmother told us she cried everyday and that she was more miserable than anyone around her. When the she saw herself smiling in the photo we took of her, she told us she hadn’t expected to ever see herself smiling again. She was so happy to have our album. (YouTube video of their meeting here.)

Then there was the family who escaped from their car through a shattered back window — who managed to crawl on the roof of the car (a mother and 4 kids), to then be rescued by others from atop a roof of a home. Stories beyond belief and certainly beyond words.

So far, what has been some of your most memorable Photohoku moments?

Every experience is truly special and unforgettable. We’ve met some amazingly kind people, heard unbelievable stories of both heroism and loss. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve been invited into homes, been fed, been boozed, been sheltered, been given gifts, been bombarded by children (who know us by name), had songs sung to us, even asked for autographs. Every moment stands out as being THE moment of the project. In all of this, we have learned that even if we take a team of 6 people, it’s freezing cold, and we have few opportunities to connect, that even reaching just one family can have an impact on them for the rest of their lives, maybe even after their gone. In that, it’s fully worthwhile and unforgettable every time.

A question from our camera おたくs living here: What kind of equipment do you use for your Photohoku trips?

Basically we use any cameras that take instant film. Some of the cameras have included the Konica Instant Press, the Polaroid 195, the Mamiya Universal Press, a Linhof Master Technika, among others.

One fun camera we have is a homemade 3D (Stereoscopic) instant camera made from two Fuji Cheki cameras which takes two instant photos at the same time which when looked at through a special 3D viewer, which we make with the kids during a workshop, becomes a completely other experience in itself.

Looking forward, what do you want to see happen with Photohoku?

To be frank, we want to see Photohoku blow up. Our ambitious pipe-dream goal is to give every single last family in Japan who lost their photos in the earthquake and tsunami a start on a new album if they want one. To do that, it may take years, it may take a lifetime. But this is what we know how to do and we intend to continue is as best as we can for as long as we can. For the time being, we will keep going to Tohoku once a month and reaching out to as many families as we can.

For those of us living in Canada and other parts of the world, what are some ways that we can help/contribute to Photohoku?

Please consider helping by making a donation though out website. Our main expense is getting there and back. Any donation you consider making will likely be put towards getting a photographer and an assistant from Tokyo to a temporary housing area in the affected areas of Tohoku where they can use their talent to realize our goals which can be distilled down to giving the lasting smile of a photograph.

If you can’t make a financial contribution, please consider sending a retired digital camera to us so we can find it a new home in Tohoku.

If you can’t do either of those, please share about Photohoku with your family and friends. Eventually, it will find itself under the right nose and we can all work together to bring smiles to those who really need them most.

Last question:  What makes you smile?

We’re photographers. Smiles make us smile, naturally. SAY CHEESE!

More information about Photohoku (including a bilingual Press Kit) can be found at photohoku.org. Check out their trips on their frequently-updated Facebook page.

A few minutes ago, I went outside and tested my fancy new eclipse-viewing glasses. Forty-eight hours from now, on the morning of May 21, I’ll be among millions of people in Japan and the western United States taking the rare opportunity to view a “kinkan nisshoku,” or “annular eclipse.”

An annular eclipse is one that occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun at a point in the moon’s orbit when it is far from the Earth and thus appears relatively small – the exact opposite of the effect seen in the recent “supermoon.” In an annular eclipse, this small moon appears superimposed in front of the sun rather than completely blocking it out. The visible portions of the sun form a fiery ring around the moon’s black silhouette.

One positive effect of this event is that it has expanded my vocabulary in two languages. The English word “annular,” which comes from Latin via French, means “ring-shaped.” The Japanese term is even more straightforward and easy to remember, as it is written with a string of kanji characters that literally mean “gold-ring sun-eating.”

The moon’s shadow will fall across a large swath of the Earth, but the full annular effect will be visible only in a narrow band that goes through nearly all of Japan’s major cities (what luck!) Monday morning before moving out to sea in a long arc across the northern Pacific Ocean, where it will slip back to late Sunday as it crosses the International Date Line, after which it will come ashore in northern California, pass over Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, and finally fade out over the border of Texas and New Mexico.

Click HERE for more.

A tourism promotion and exchange delegation from the City of Hiroshima is visiting Honolulu!

Purpose: Hiroshima City and Honolulu City established a sister city relationship in 1959, and over the years, they have enhanced their friendly relations through promoting peace, culture, sports, and other causes. In 2009, they exchanged delegations in commemoration of the 50 years of their sister city relationship. Also the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce established a relationship in 1971, and last year was the 30th anniversary for them. So this year, the City of Hiroshima and the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce are sending a delegation to Honolulu to promote tourism in Hiroshima. They will visit Honolulu by a charter flight with around 200 citizens.

Schedule: From June 7 to 12

Main Content : Joining the “Pan-Pacific Festival” and promoting Hiroshima’s tourist attractions

• Speech and Kagura dance performance on stage (from 11:45am to noon on Saturday)
• Joining the parade (from 5:00pm on Sunday)
• Distributing information at a booth on the street (from 3:00pm to 6:00pm on Sunday)

About the Pan-Pacific Festival: http://www.pan-pacific-festival.com/index.html

New Rice Cooker Chronicles submissions always welcome. Just e-mail it to Leah at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.

More Bread Revolution and Guide to Flour.

“Pita pockets” didn’t excite me as a kid. Toted as a kid-friendly food, the charm of stuffing sandwich fillings into a bread with a pocket was lost on me. I rediscovered pita–fresh pita–in university at Middle-Eastern diners and as (store-bought) hummus became more mainstream. In Japan, I sometimes bought stacks of pita from the import store, but after preparing for an international cooking lesson, I discovered pita are really simple to make, and more importantly, make a great bread substitute for proper sandwiches in Japan. Save the trip to the import store for chickpeas–you don’t even need to make hummus to go with it!*

Click HERE for more.

 ***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***

Position: Purchasing Representative – Auto Parts Manufacturing
Posted by: Futaba North America Engineering & Marketing Corporation (FNA)
Type: Full-time
Location: NA
Salary:  $35,000 (Entry Level)
Start Date: N/A
http://www.futaba.com/

Responsibilities:
The corporate office of four auto-parts manufacturing subsidiaries is seeking a Purchasing Representative. This is an entry-level position. We are seeking a highly motivated, detail-oriented person with excellent customer service and phone skills. The applicant must be flexible, a team player and be able to multi-task successfully in busy office environment.

The position responsibilities include pricing administration for materials and parts for our subsidiaries and suppliers, developing and maintaining excellent client/supplier relations, and maintaining online and physical records. This position includes some traveling to our subsidiaries and suppliers. In addition, the incumbent will support TS compliance requirements. This is an excellent opportunity to learn the purchasing functions of the auto parts manufacturing business. Our purchasing team is responsible for purchasing supplies and parts for the Futaba North America subsidiaries and sister company in Canada.

Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite is essential, with a particular emphasis in Excel and Word.
A college education is required. Japanese language skills are preferred. Most of the communication to vendors will be in English; however, the primary language spoken in this company is Japanese.

Send resumes to: employment@futabanaem.com

Overview:
We are Futaba North America Engineering & Marketing Corporation (FNA). We are a Japanese company. FNA was created in November 2011 to be the holding company for the three auto-parts manufacturing subsidiaries in Illinois, Indiana, and Texas. (Futaba has had a presence in the USA, since 1994.) We also provide support for our sister plant in Canada.

Job Position: Import-Export Assistant/Business Assistant
Location: Manhattan, NY
Position: Temporary (position starting from June until Feb, 2013 with possibility of extension.)
Salary: $18.50/hr. (DOE)
Hour: Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm with 1hr unpaid lunch break.

Job Description:
1. Customer Service Contact
2. Vendor contact
3. Data entry tasks.
4. Certificate of analysis verification
5. Excel reporting
6. Document maintenance
7. Provide backup assistance to colleagues when needed.

Preferred Experience and Skills:
・Good communication skill in English required. Japanese is not required, but a big plus.
・Proficient in MS Office with experience using a business system like SAP or other accounting software
preferred.
・Import/Export related experience preferred.

Company Information:
• Japanese chemical company.
• Customer Service Team: 4 employees in total.
• Friendly working environment. No overtime work. Convenient location.

To apply to this position, email me your resume and a cover letter as an MS Word attachment to mokumura@actus-usa.com.

Thank you!
Actus

LAN Administrator

Posted by: Japan Society
Type: Part-time
Location: New York, NY
Salary: DOE
Application Deadline: June 30, 2012

The Japan Society’s New York branch is seeking a part-time Lan Administrator. Position requires some nights and weekends on call. Bachelor’s degree and 3 years experience preferred.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/32j7757J6Sz5P/

Tomadachi Resident Assistant

Posted by: AYUSA International
Type: Temporary/Contract
Location: San Francisco, CA
Salary: Not Specified
Start Date: Summer

AYUSA International is looking for a resident assistant for their summer academic program at UC Berkeley. Experience working with youth as well as recent grads preferred.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/ktBtZb4bbncp/

Each country with a JETAA chapter has the right to participate in JETAA International.  Most countries have one Country Representative (or “Country Rep”) each.  However, the formula for representation is one country rep for each 9 chapters.  And since JETAA USA has 19 chapters, that means it has 3 country reps.  

Country Reps play a large role in coordinating among the chapters in their country, which in the case of the US, has no central governing authority.  (Kind of like the original 13 colonies before the Constitution, if you will.)  They serve as the shepherds, facilitating the reporting and funding required between CLAIR And the chapters.  However, since 3/11 the Country Reps in the US have played a significant new role, helping to organize and facilitate Japan relief fundraising and communications and helping to think about the future direction of JETAA USA along with their normal duties and obligations.  This adds up to a lot of work in addition to their day jobs.  So make sure to thank your CRs for all their behind-the-scenes work whenever you have a chance.

With that background in mind, here is the introduction message to the chapters from the 3 newly elected JETAA USA Country Representatives:

Hello JETAA Chapter Officers,

Melissa, Jennifer, and I would like to ‘officially’ say hello as your new Country Representatives for the 2012-2013 year. Below are some personalized greetings from us.

As always we can be reached at our JETAA USA emails:

us1.jetaausa@gmail.com - Melissa Chan
us2.jetaausa@gmail.com - Christina Omori
us3.jetaausa@gmail.com - Jennifer Butler

We look forward to a great year working with you!

MELISSA – CR1

Hello everyone! My name is Melissa Chan from JETAA Northern California and I am honored to serve as one of your JETAA USA Country Representatives with Christina and Jennifer.  We are excited to continue some of the great work that Jessyca, Megan and Mike have worked on over the past year.  I also plan to utilize our social media outlets (Twitter, facebook, etc.) as ways to keep all members informed of what’s happening with JETAAUSA and the various chapters.  Be sure to follow us @JETAAUSA.  You are welcome to contact me at us1.jetaausa@gmail.com if you have any ideas, suggestions, or want to help out!  Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

CHRISTINA – CR2

Hi everyone! My name is Christina Omori (NEJETAA) and it is my pleasure to be working with Melissa Chan (JETAANC) and Jennifer Butler (JETAAMC) as your JETAA USA Country Representatives for the 2012-2013 year. We have many exciting efforts such as the JETAA USA Relief fund, evaluating and promoting the success and value of the JET Programme, and much more. Some of the projects I’ll be working on include understanding the success and value of the JET Programme to learn where we have opportunities for improvement while providing support to our communications outlets such as the JETAA USA website and our Google Groups forum. Please feel free to reach out to me at us2.jetaausa@gmail.com for any questions or concerns or just to say hello! I look forward to a productive and successful year working with you all!

JENNIFER – CR3

Greetings!  This is Jennifer Butler from the Music City JETAA chapter and I’m looking forward to working with Melissa and Christina this coming year as one of the JETAA USA Country Reps.  We are dedicated to supporting all 19 US chapters as we work on national projects that will naturally require the cooperation of all of you.  Yoroshiku!  In particular, I’m planning to work on the Sister Cities Initiative and supporting more outreach to other community groups.  If you have any ideas for this or would like to contact me about anything else of concern, just email me at us3.jetaausa@gmail.com.  Thanks and here’s to a productive year!

***************

Position:
Senior Specialist / Analyst in Foreign Exchange Group

Position Summary:
Communicate and negotiate with Japanese Corporate Banking Department (JCBD) customers as well as coordinate with JCBD in (i) executing daily transactional activities including loans and investments, and (ii) developing and maintaining good customer relationships via responding to customer inquiries and solving customer problems.

Responsibilities:
35% Support other traders or RMs to promote Foreign Exchange relevant products to the Division’s Japanese customers, to execute Foreign Exchange transactions with customers (communicating both in English and Japanese) and GMDA or relevant product offices, and to prepare dealing records or other administrations associated with trade transactions.

20% Assist other traders or RMs in enhancing the overall marketing capabilities of the Division by creating FX newsletter and other promotional materials, and sending market related information to both customers and RMs.

20%Performs as a liaison between the Division and GMDA or relevant product offices, and assists other groups of the Division for the marketing and administrations of Market Products.

20% Maintains and enhances the Division’s infrastructure (including system) for market products activities, cooperating with other groups.

5% Other duties as assigned.

Requirements:
1-2 years (Sr. Specialist) / 3 + years (Analyst) related work experience in Market Product Sales is preferred.

Basic knowledge of accounting practices in area of foreign exchange and derivatives products.

Language/Communications Skills: Ability to read and understand a variety of written documents. Must be able to effectively respond (both verbally and in writing) to customer inquiries in a bilingual Japanese/English setting.

Mathematical Skills: Ability to accurately compute FX/Derivatives rates and margins, etc.

Computer Skills: Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint).

BA or BS in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or other related degree preferred.
***********************************************************************************************************
Position:
Senior Specialist / Specialist in Customer Service Department

Position Summary:
Provide Japanese and /or English Cash Management Services (CMS) technical and operational support to the CMS customers in, prior and after implementation of various CMS services; Process currency wires; and Conduct wire investigations.

Responsibilities:
60% Perform BTMU Innovation setups (including adding/modifying/deleting Wire Transfer templates), to provide user training in conjunction with implementation of BTMU Innovation, Lockbox, Direct Deposit of Payroll, Controlled Disbursement, Positive Pay, Nationwide Lockbox and ACH services, to perform setups of other CMS products including, but not limited to, Cash Pooling, Automatic Sweep, Reverse Sweep, Zero Balance Accounting, GCMS, etc., to provide customer support and technical support for the CMS products, and to present and review all necessary agreements and forms for timely and accurate execution.

10% Perform investigations and process customer lifting charges related to wire transfers, to purchase currencies through RET System, to confirm Forex-wire application instructions with customers, and to coordinate with customers and Foreign Exchange Group to determine an exchange rate (for incoming and outgoing funds) – informing customers of exchange for CMS wires and confirming exchange with customers for non-CMS wires..

23%Maintain and review a customer contact log to ensure that customer inquiries and troubleshooting are resolved in a timely manner, to update CMS related listings and databases, to review CMS billings for accuracy; especially, for those with special charges, to monitor and review CMS Wire Template Logs daily, to develop ideas to create better efficiency of CMS customer requests.

2% Participate in Kaizen Activity to improve accuracy and efficiency of operations.

5% Other duties as assigned.

Requirements:
2-3 years experience (Sr. Specialist) 1-2 years experience (Specialist) in servicing Cash Management and other deposit services is preferred.

Knowledgeable of overall payment systems and the related operations.

Good understanding of desktop applications are required.

Bachelor degree preferred (Senior Specialist); Associate degree required (Specialist).
***********************************************************************************************************
Position:
Business Promotion Specialist II (Associate) or Business Promotion Specialist I (Analyst) in Japanese Corporate Banking Department

Position Summary:
As a Relationship Manager (“RM”),responsible for the management of business development activities associated with a group of Japanese corporate account relationships with the primary goal being the creation of revenue opportunities with such clients in order to achieve the objectives of the Bank and the Division. Maintains and develops relationships with existing clients with deposit accounts by obtaining new settlement accounts and providing settlement related services such as Cash Management Services (CMS), investment, foreign exchange and etc.

Responsibilities:
30% Acquire new settlement accounts for existing clients. Develop, maintain, and work to broaden and deepen close business relationship with existing clients for deposit or settlement accounts in promoting settlement services, including marketing presentations to clients, creating pricing proposals, training, implementation and maintenance in supporting client. Collaborate with members of Customer Service Department and Administration Group, Product Offices and support RMs of Japanese Primary Offices in providing settlement services to clients. Maintain regular calling effort with key members of the client and report to the management all important dialogues. Serve as contact officer for clients for matters relating to settlement services. Advise clients, where possible, concerning business management and financial matters.

15% Develop strategies to promote our settlement services such as Cash Management Services (CMS) and implement them by coordinating with relevant groups. Monitor RMs’ activities on this matter and urge them to meet pre-determined target. Report the result of activities to management periodically.

15%Perform as a marketing officer by monitoring client activities, analyzing portfolio profitability recognizing client needs and promoting BTMU’s services to the clients. Collect and analyze information that reflects the current creditworthiness of the clients if necessary.

15% In addition to act as a marketing officer for the clients assigned, also support other RMs for the business related to promoting settlement services.

10% Manage deadlines and ensure timely service delivery for the clients during Cash Management Services Implementation. Deliver ongoing quality assurance and technical support of Cash Management Services to maximize the client satisfaction.

5% Develop and implement marketing strategies to establish new business with new clients.

5% Keep abreast of local, national and international economic, financial and political events and climates that could have an impact on settlement services in the banking industries.

5% Perform special projects and duties relating to departmental services as assigned, including tasks related to internal and external audits and examinations.

Requirements:
1-2 years (Analyst) and 3-5 years (Associate) experience of progressively increasing responsibilities in marketing and commercial lending positions.

In-depth knowledge of business and finance practices, international banking transactions, lending regulations & procedures, and marketing strategies.

Bilingual in Japanese and English

Marketing experience in financial institutions, formal credit training and CPA preferred.

BA in Finance or other business related field required.

***If any JET alumni are interested, they can e-mail me directly (at vicepresident [at] jetaachicago.com) with any questions and their resume. I’ll hand their application directly to the hiring manager and our HR personnel. – Steve Sundstrom***

Overview:
Professor Yasuaki Onuma of Meiji University (he retired to there after 35+ years at Todai) is working on translating into English for publication a short primer on international law he wrote, and he is looking for individuals fluent in Japanese to help him with one or more chapters. Chapter topics include territory, nationality and citizenship, global environment, and dispute settlement. Chapters are 35-55 small-sized pages in Japanese (the book is much smaller than 8 1/2 x 11 size).

If you or someone you know would be interested, please contact Professor Onuma at onuma@j.u-tokyo. ac.jp. He will be in the DC area until the end of the month, and is of course happy to work long-distance once he is back in Japan. I’ve gotten to know Professor Onuma as a visiting scholar at my school, he’s a wonderful guy, and he would greatly appreciate any help he can get. (Doug MacLean, 2002-04 ALT, Akita-Ken)

English version:  http://www.jlgc.org/TopicList.aspx?topicCategoryID=6&topicID=49&languageTypeID=1&controlType=Display

Japanese version:  http://www.jlgc.org/TopicList.aspx?topicCategoryID=24&topicID=263&languageTypeID=2&controlType=Display