Jan 31

Job: 2 Editorial Openings at Japan Times (Tokyo)

Jobs Comments Off on Job: 2 Editorial Openings at Japan Times (Tokyo)

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Position: News Desk Editor
Type: Full-time

Overview:

The Japan Times is seeking an experienced editor, with strong news editing and layout skills to work full time on the news desk. Read More

Jan 31

Job: Executive Assistant at Asia Society (NYC)

Jobs Asia Society, nyc Comments Off on Job: Executive Assistant at Asia Society (NYC)

Thanks to Shimane JET alum Alexis Sanborn, who works at Asia Society, for sharing this great JET-relevant job listing.  Posted by blogger and podcaster Jon Dao (Toyama-ken, 2009-12). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Executive Assistant for VP
Location:  NYC
Type: Full-time

Overview:

A key facilitator in the communication and interaction between the External Affairs Department, the President, and the Board of Trustees. Support the Vice President, External Affairs in the Department’s day-to-day administrative, and operational activities.  Organize administrative and development efforts on behalf of the Vice President’s Office with Trustees, the President’s Office, high-level donors, Asia Society’s management and EA’s senior staff.  The Executive Assistant will serve as the focal point in coordinating and executing the Department’s administrative activities. Read More

Jan 29

2014 Sakura Season Kicks Off

Events, Travel/Tourism Kume Island, Okinawa, Photos, Sakura Comments Off on 2014 Sakura Season Kicks Off

Posted by Benjamin Martin, a JET from 2008-2013 in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of Revenge of the Akuma Clan
(Tuttle).

Down in Okinawa the weather has been rather warm this year. This means that along the way we’ve had some great opportunities to view this year’s cherry blossoms as they begin to bloom from southern Okinawa and work their way north. On Kume Island, there are two great spots to see sakura throughout January. During the season’s peak we get lots of bees and mejiro coming to visit the sakura, not to mention tourists.

One of the biggest events surrounding the sakura  is the Sakura Festival. Though there are many throughout Japan, Kumejima’s is one of the first in Japan. Visit morethingsjapanese.com for more pictures from the Sakura Festival and for more cherry blossoms!

Jan 29

Job: Japan Program Manager at MIT Center for International Studies (Boston)

Jobs boston, MIT Comments Off on Job: Japan Program Manager at MIT Center for International Studies (Boston)

Thanks to JET alum Tim Ogino for passing this listing our way. Posted by blogger and podcaster Jon Dao (Toyama-ken, 2009-12). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Program Manager
Location:  Boston, MA
Type: Full-time

Overview:

The MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI), MIT’s primary international program, sends hundreds of students abroad annually for internships and research in companies and labs. One of MISTI’s country programs, the MIT Japan Program, seeks a full-time program manager to advertise the internship program, recruit and interview MIT students for the program, and match accepted students with internships in Japan. Read More

Jan 28

【RocketNews24】Grated radish art from Japan brings the cute to your favourite dishes

Article/Journalism, Writers 3D art, cute, daikon, Food, food art, radish Comments Off on 【RocketNews24】Grated radish art from Japan brings the cute to your favourite dishes

Posted by Michelle Lynn Dinh (Shimane-ken, Chibu-mura, 2010–13), editor and writer for RocketNews24. The following article was written by Oona McGee, a writer and translator for RocketNews24, a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.

If you’ve been keeping up with the amazing 3-D latte art trends going on in Japan’s barista world right now, then you might want to take a look at their savoury counterparts popping up in grated radish form. Instead of swimming in cups of coffee, these adorable home-made creations are taking dips in winter hot pots and stews. Join us as we take a look at some of the cutest critters on offer, from Ghibli characters to sleeping cats, and see just how easy it is to cook up some edible cuteness at home.

Read More

Jan 28

Job: Internship at Japan Society (NY)

Jobs Comments Off on Job: Internship at Japan Society (NY)

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Position: Individual Giving Intern

Overview:

Japan Society’s Development office seeks a spring 2014 intern to assist with daily operations related to Individual Giving. Working with the Director of Individual Giving and Individual Giving Associate, this is an excellent opportunity to gain firsthand experience in individual fundraising at an internationally-recognized nonprofit cultural organization with a distinguished history of more than 100 years. Read More

Jan 28

Job: Speech Writer/Public Relations Advisor at Consulate of Japan (Los Angeles)

Jobs japan, LA Comments Off on Job: Speech Writer/Public Relations Advisor at Consulate of Japan (Los Angeles)

*Applications due February 15th, 2014

Thanks to JET alum Tiffany Dyer (who works for the Consulate) for passing this great JET-relevant job listing along. Posted by blogger and podcaster Jon Dao (Toyama-ken, 2009-12). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Speech Writer/Public Relations Advisor
Location:  Los Angeles, CA
Type: Full-time

Overview:

The Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles is seeking a motivated and diligent individual to be a Speech Writer and Public Relations advisor. The successful candidate would have excellent writing and research skills, intercultural communication skills, and have an ability to self-motivate and take initiative to better communicate Japan’s policy to the American public. Read More

Jan 28

Japan Times: “Japanese firms mostly unaware of benefits of hiring from JET ranks: poll”

Career, Japan Trends, JETs in the News, Return on JET-vestment Comments Off on Japan Times: “Japanese firms mostly unaware of benefits of hiring from JET ranks: poll”

Article from the Japan Times about a Keizai Doyukai survey that indicates that Japanese companies are behind the curve compared to foreign companies with regard to hiring JET alumni, even though they possess qualities such as familiarity with Japanese language and culture than many Japanese companies need.  

Note to Japanese companies:  If you want to reach JET alumni, it’s as easy as e-mailing your job listings to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.  It’s the best way to disseminate your job listings since JETwit jobs posts get echoed by JETAA chapters, and it’s free!

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/01/27/business/japanese-firms-mostly-unaware-of-benefits-of-hiring-from-jet-ranks-poll/#.UufAYmQo791

BY MASAAKI KAMEDA

STAFF WRITER

Japanese companies are less aware than their foreign counterparts of the government-sponsored Japan Exchange and Teaching Program and are thus missing out on an opportunity to hire foreigners who have the skills they need, a recent survey by a major business lobby showed.

The Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), which conducted the survey released Friday, noted that domestic companies need to strategically hire former JET teachers and urged the government to create a mechanism to facilitate match-making opportunities for them.

The Keizai Doyukai survey, carried out between late November and December, said that only 18 percent of the 167 responding domestic companies knew about the JET program, and that only nine had hired former JET personnel.

By comparison, 83 percent of the 23 foreign companies and embassies who responded said they knew about the program and had employed past JETs. Read More

Jan 27

WIT Life #260: Shohei Imamura Film Festival at Asia Society

Events, Film, Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life, Writers Comments Off on WIT Life #260: Shohei Imamura Film Festival at Asia Society

WIT Life 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 along with her own observations.

First of all, a belated 明けましておめでとうございます！ It’s been a busy start to 2014, but I’m happy to be blogging again in the year of the horse (午年 or umadoshi).  It being umadoshi is good news for people like me whose animal sign is the horse, as one is said to have good luck when the zodiac sign for the current year is the same as the one from the year when you were born.  This makes me what is called a 年女 (toshi onna), and I’m hoping this year of the horse gives me faster feet in the many marathons I run…

In conjunction with the Japan Foundation, the Asia Society is currently featuring the Vengeance is Shohei Imamura film series from January 17-February 1.  I have been a fan of Imamura’s ever since seeing The Eel (「うなぎ」, with Yakusho Koji playing a former convict) in 1997, and was glad to have the opportunity to check out some of his other flicks.  He was the first Japanese director to win two Palme d’Or awards, one for Unagi, and one for The Ballad of Narayama (「楢山節考」) in 1983, screened this past Saturday night as part of the Imamura film festival.

Set in the 19th century, the movie takes place in a small rural Japanese village where they have Read More

Jan 27

Job: International Cultural Ambassador at Fukui City (Japan)

Jobs fukui, Job Comments Off on Job: International Cultural Ambassador at Fukui City (Japan)

*UPDATE 01-27-14:  Fukui City is still seeking applicants.  See below for details.

Thanks to Ayuko Ono of CLAIR NY for passing on this very JET-relevant opportunity. Posted by blogger and podcaster Jon Dao (Toyama-ken, 2009-12). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: International Cultural Ambassador
Location:  Fukui, Japan
Type: 2 Year Contract
Salary: 300,000 yen/month gross

Overview:

Fukui City invites human resources mainly through the relationship with our sister cities to promote internationalization in Fukui City, Japan.

This individual will engage in promoting international understanding and conducting cultural exchange programs. More details can be found on the official site here.

Read More

Jan 26

Job: Intercultural Programs Advisor – Center for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS), Univeristy of Michigan(Ann Arbor, MI)

Jobs Comments Off on Job: Intercultural Programs Advisor – Center for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS), Univeristy of Michigan(Ann Arbor, MI)

Posted by Jayme Tsutsuse (Kyoto-fu, 2013-Present), organizer of Cross-Cultural Kansai.  Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

Position: Intercultural Programs Advisor
Posted by: Center for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS) – Univeristy of Michigan
Location: Ann Arbor, MI 
Type: full-time

Overview:

Established in 2009, the Center for Global and Intercultural Study (CGIS) was created to provide a wide variety of global engagement and learning opportunities to the University of Michigan community. CGIS programming serves students with diverse academic interests at both international and domestic sites.

The Intercultural Programs Advisor coordinates of a range of services for CGIS programs. Programs assigned to this position include, but are not limited to, those in the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Czech Republic. Responsibilities of the position are described below.

Read More

Jan 26

Job: English Teaching Internship (TESOL) at Ibaraki Christian University (Japan)

Jobs Comments Off on Job: English Teaching Internship (TESOL) at Ibaraki Christian University (Japan)

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Position: English Teaching Intern

Overview:

In the teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) internship program, interns help undergraduate English majors in Japan to improve their English. Interns will work with students in and outside of the classroom to help them academically, provide communication practice and create opportunities where students can use their English in nonacademic settings such as playing games, sports and other extracurricular activities. Interns will learn how to plan, execute and improve these activities through working with students and university professors. They will also learn how to be effective educators in English as a foreign language settings. We are looking for interested students who would like to do an international internship related to teaching English as a foreign language and Asian culture. We welcome students of all religious faiths and cultures and secular humanists. Read More

Jan 26

JQ Magazine: MIT Professor Ian Condry Explores ‘The Soul of Anime’

Article/Journalism, Books, JQ Magazine, Notable JET Alums Comments Off on JQ Magazine: MIT Professor Ian Condry Explores ‘The Soul of Anime’

“I think it’s a challenge coming back from JET. But the times and experiences we had will really pay off in the long run even if in the short term it’s hard to see how they will apply.” (Courtesy of Web.mit.edu)

By Sheila Burt (Toyama-ken, 2010-12) for JQ magazine. Sheila is a Chicago-based journalist who blogs at www.sheilaburt.com.

Anime can easily be called a global phenomenon. In the past few decades, several anime TV series and movies have grown so successful that even people with little knowledge of Japanese culture can probably name at least one anime show or character. But how is something that is so labor intensive, costly and culturally quirky able to transcend oceans and inspire rabid fan bases?

A participant in the JETAA Regional Conference held at Harvard University earlier this month, cultural anthropologist Ian Condry (Miyagi-ken, 1988-89) explores this question in his new book, The Soul of Anime. An associate professor of comparative media studies at MIT since 2002, Condry researches cultural movements that go global, looking at how and why certain local phenomenon spread. The Soul of Anime is his second book, followed by Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization (2006), about the inner world of Japanese hip-hop.

Although initially interested in the business model of anime, Condry changed the focus of his research after learning, rather surprisingly, that “No one gets rich making anime. And in fact, it’s a terrible business model.” Rather than looking at how anime sustains itself business-wise, Condry looks at the power of anime as a platform where, oftentimes, fans and other forms of “collaborative creativity” are at the heart of anime’s success. In order to illustrate this argument, Condry tells the story of Gundam, an anime series about giant robots that first aired in 1979. It was initially a ratings failure, but after fans created everything from encyclopedias to timelines about the show, it became a cult sensation, eventually becoming the longest-running anime series in Japanese history.

“If you look at media only in terms of the genius of the creators or the kind of business model that it fits into, then you miss the power of fans and the importance of the value they add to the products,” Condry explains. “That’s sort of what the book is about. I think now we’re starting to see that all over the place with Facebook, Wikipedia, and Twitter, all these kind of media platforms where the content is made by the users but then there’s this interaction between the users and the platform producers that make all the difference.”

Read More

Jan 24

Job: TOMODACHI Alumni Coordinator (Tokyo)

Jobs japan, tokyo, tomodachi Comments Off on Job: TOMODACHI Alumni Coordinator (Tokyo)

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Position: Alumni Coordinator
Posted By: US-Japan Council
Type: Full-time

Overview:

The TOMODACHI Initiative is seeking a talented, dynamic, bilingual individual for the position of TOMODACHI Alumni Coordinator. The Coordinator will be responsible for the development and oversight of TOMODACHI alumni programming throughout Japan and, in coordination with U.S.-based staff, on programs in the United States, with the goal of building upon short-term exchange experiences to promote continued alumni engagement with the United States (or Japan, in the case of American alumni). The Coordinator will report to the Executive Director of the TOMODACHI Initiative in Tokyo, and be co-located with the TOMODACHI team in offices both in the U.S. Embassy and pro bono space provided by GE in Akasaka, Tokyo. Read More

Jan 24

Job: Native English Advisor for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Agency (Tokyo)

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Position: Native English Advisor
Posted By: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Agency
Type: Freelance
Salary: 3,000 yen/hour as the advisory fee

* Transportation fee will be provided according to PMDA’s regulations.

Overview:

The Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) has focuses on enhancing active and smooth dissemination of information to the world by enriching and improving its English web content. To this end, PMDA is looking to recruit for a qualified native English advisor(s) who can proofread and edit English documents, produced by PMDA, so as to make them read naturally. The documents include translated review reports for drugs and medical devices that will be uploaded to the PMDA website. The successful applicant(s) will work on site at PMDA, upon the request of PMDA, to perform the assigned tasks. Read More