Sep 25

Report: Children Bitten by Lion, Parent’s Ecstatic

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Posted by Benjamin Martin, a JET from 2008-2013 in Okinawa, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com and author of the award-winning YA fantasy series Samurai Awakening (Tuttle).

Yes. This past week on Kume Island, children were sent screaming as a single wild lion went rampaging through a peaceful neighborhood. Well, it was mostly peaceful. Since it was the full moon and August 15th of the Kyureki calendar, there were also a bunch of people around banging gongs and playing music. There were also some creepy Hacaburo running around egging the lion on. Warned in advance that something might be going on, I showed up with some local friends just after sunset with my camera ready. What I saw shocked me, and soon my former students were running for cover… behind me.

By the end of the night no less than 5 children had been bitten. When asked, parents responded that they were overjoyed. One parent, while holding a screaming infant, smiled widely and talked about how smart he would be while neglecting to stop the lion from continuing its rampage.

For more on this story, visit MoreThingsJapanese.com for pictures and video.

Sep 24

Job: News Desk Editor at The Japan Times (Tokyo)

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Thanks to JET alum journalist Tom Baker for passing this one 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: News Desk Editor
Posted by: The Japan Times
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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.

Requirements:

• Strong knowledge of current affairs, both global and domestic
• Intermediate computer skills
• Knowledge of AP style
• Proficiency in InDesign/InCopy and the Japanese language is a plus

Application Instructions:

Applicants should send a résumé and a letter explaining why they are interested in this position by Oct. 4 to hr @ japantimes.co.jp or via regular mail to the attention of HR and General Affairs Division, The Japan Times, Ltd., 4-5-4 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8071.

All documents are nonreturnable. Successful applicants will be contacted for an interview.

Sep 24

Percival Constantine at the Japan Writers Conference

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Percival Constantine (Kagoshima 2008-2013) is a writer for GaijinPot and the Pulp Ark Award nominated author of several New Pulp novellas, including “The Myth Hunter” and “Love & Bullets.” He is also an editor at Pro Se Productions and resides in Kagoshima. At the Japan Writers Conference this year, he’s going to give a presentation titled “Self-Publishing: The Pros and Cons of Bypassing Traditional Publishing.” Here’s the official description.

With the advent of new technology such as print-on-demand services and ebooks, the market has opened for authors who wish to go it alone and publish their books without the use of an agent or publisher. There are both positives and negatives to this approach.
In the past, if one wished to publish a book, it required finding an agent and the agent locating a publisher for the product. Thanks to print-on-demand and ebook publishing, self-publishing has become easier than ever for aspiring authors. There are both positive and negative aspects to this. On the plus side, there is no need to write a number of query letters and send out submissions to agents or for the long wait before a book ends up on the market, as well as an increased share of the royalties. On the downside, the self-published author is responsible for all aspects of the production process, from editing the manuscript, laying out the book, creating a cover, and promotion. And though there is a larger share of royalties, the amount of copies sold can be far fewer. This presentation will examine the pros and cons of self-publishing.

To learn more about the Nov. 2-3 Japan Writers Conference, visit the official website HERE.
To learn more about Percival, visit his site HERE.

Sep 23

Job: Publisher’s Assistant at Stonebridge Press (SF Bay Area)

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Thanks to JET alum journalist Tom Baker for passing this one 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: Publisher’s Assistant
Posted by: Stone Bridge Press
Location: Albany, CA
Type: Part-Time

Overview:

Stone Bridge Press, Inc., a Berkeley/Albany-based publisher of books about Asia (mostly Japan and China), is looking for a part-time Administrative Assistant to the Publisher. Duties include performing administrative tasks that relate to editorial, publicity, sales, and marketing; managing/creating social media and website content; entering data in Excel and Quickbooks.

This position is part-time, up to 4 days per week. Flexible scheduling OK.

Requirements:

• proficiency in Excel
• excellent English-language oral and written communication skills
• familiarity with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads Read More

Sep 22

Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York — Martial Arts, Hayao Miyazaki and ‘Evangelion’ at Comic Con

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The Wind Rises, the latest film from director Hayao Miyazaki, has its U.S. premiere at New York’s Alice Tully Hall Sept. 28. (Studio Ghibli)

By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.

Saturday, Sept. 28, 3:00 p.m.

All American Open International Karate Championships

Hunter College Sportsplex, 68th Street and Lexington Avenue

$30 general admission/$65 RES floor/$80 VIP ringside

Get your kicks at this annual event presented by Kyokushin Karate New York, the original and world renowned full-contact knockdown karate style founded in 1953 by Grandmaster Mas Oyama. The All American Open consistently brings the world’s best karate fighters to compete for the amateur athletic championship title. Scheduled fighters Include 2012 All American Open champion Zahari Damyanov, Women’s World Middleweight champion Julie Lamarre, and Men’s World Heavyweight champion Alejandro Navarro.

Sept. 28 & Oct. 4

The Wind Rises

Alice Tully Hall, 1941 Broadway

$13

U.S. premiere! As part of the 51st New York Film Festival, the great Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s new (and reportedly final) Studio Ghibli film is based on the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed the Zero fighter operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. An elliptical historical narrative, The Wind Rises is also a visionary cinematic poem about the fragility of humanity, starring the voice of Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno! Presented in Japanese with English subtitles.

Sept. 29, 5:00 p.m.

Rainbow Bubble Girls Open Audition as Talent Contest

Maid Cafe NY, 150 Centre Street

Free

Girl group Rainbow Bubble, an international all-girl idol group based in New York, is now looking for new members who can sing in different languages and dance. This current contest (which precludes semi-finals and finals to come) offers a top prize valued at $500 and a chance to receive an exclusive artist contract! Click here for contest rules and email StarGenerationsINC@gmail.com to pre-register.

For the complete story, click here.

Sep 22

WIT Life #251: Honolulu’s Byodo-in

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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.

Every time I come to Honolulu I try to find a new place to explore that I haven’t tried before, and during this trip my discovery was the Byodo-in Temple in Kaheohe.  This is the city where my local JET friend lives, who said it was a must see.  For me this was a particularly special spot, as the temple is a replica of the original Byodo-in in Kyoto Prefecture’s Uji-shi, where I first lived in Japan as an exchange student.  The Hawaiian version did not disappoint, as it is located at the foot of the 2,000 foot tall Koʻolau Mountains which provide breathtaking background scenery.

Honolulu’s Byodo-In was built in the 1960’s to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii, who came to work in the sugar plantation fields.  In consultation with Hawaiian religious representatives, the developer of the park chose to Read More

Sep 22

Justin’s Japan: Discover the Joy of Sake

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Click image to read story

By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Shukan NY Seikatsu. Visit his Examiner.com Japanese culture page here for related stories.

Now celebrating its 10th anniversary in New York City, The Joy of Sake—the world’s largest sake tasting event outside of Japan—returns to the Altman Building in Chelsea on Sept. 26, with a staggering 172 breweries serving samples of Japan’s most celebrated alcoholic beverage.

While current statistics show that sake is losing ground to beer in Japan, it continues to make inroads in the U.S., especially among drink-savvy New Yorkers with a palate for the record 384 premium labels to be offered at the event.

“In the last 10 years the amount of sake imported into New York has doubled as more and more people discover how good the premium labels can be,” says event organizer Chris Pearce. “The Joy of Sake is a celebration of the pleasures of the sake cup—and it’s also one of the best annual food and beverage events in New York.”

This popularity is bolstered by the spotlight on sake at other Manhattan events this fall, including the JFC International Sake Expo and Food Show (Sept. 14) and the New York Mutual Trading Japanese Food and Restaurant Expo (Oct. 12). These annual industry gatherings pair the freshest of Japanese cuisines with some subtle, yet powerful, selections.

If you’ve never experienced The Joy of Sake, now’s the time! For more information, visit www.joyofsake.com.

Sep 21

Job: Program Director – Global Experiences (London)

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Sep 21

JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Tom Byer on Life in Soccer, Japan

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“I believe we may see Japan win a World Cup within my lifetime, and I certainly think they will be the first Asian team to do so. They are the type of team that the current world powers would not like to have in their group during a WC tournament.” (Courtesy of K.K. T3)

By Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) for JQ magazine. Lyle has completed a master’s program at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and has been writing for the JET Alumni Association of New York since 2004. He is also the goalkeeper for FC Japan, a New York City-based soccer team.

Tom Byer (a.k.a. Tomsan) is an American soccer coach who has lived in Japan for nearly 30 years. The first professional American soccer player in Asia, he has been a major figure in Japan as a coach and educator. In fact, many people in Japan see him as a major catalyst behind the country’s rising status as a global soccer power. Byer is responsible for increasing soccer’s popularity and teaching fundamental skills to hundreds of thousands of children, including many of the nation’s most celebrated players. In the process, he has become a well-known media personality and has even extended his influence to China, where he signed a contract with the Chinese Football Association to be a technical director for youth teams.

Where are you from? Was soccer popular there when you were growing up?

I was born in the Bronx, New York City. I grew up in Rosendale, Ulster County, Upstate New York. Soccer was just becoming popular when I was a kid. I first started playing baseball and changed over to soccer after my brother and his friends started to play. But soccer was still a very minor sport.

How did you end up living and working in Japan?

I was introduced to Hitachi FC, which is currently playing in the J-League as Kashiwa Reysol, back in 1986 because my college coach at Ulster County Community College had some connections here. So I had a short stint with them, which gave me experience in Japanese soccer. And when I hung up the playing boots I decided to get into youth development. I also did many things on the U.S. military bases for kids playing soccer.

Can you tell us about your company T3, which aims to educate Japanese schoolchildren about soccer?

My company is called T3—the T stands for “Tom” and the 3 for “san,” Tomsan, because I am known by Tom-san throughout Japan from my appearances on daily television for 13 years. The name of the TV corner was, “Tom-san’s Soccer Techniques.” We try to help every child we come in contact with to “realize their potential.” We are technical specialists helping kids, coaches and parents understand the importance of developing technique. I have performed over 2,000 events for more than 500,000 people over the years. I established another company which I headed up for 16 years which established over 100 soccer schools throughout Japan. It’s difficult to find almost any player in Japan today who hasn’t been influenced in some way regarding our activities. This means either they’ve grown up watching my daily TV corner, read the monthly KoroKoro Komikku manga, or have played in one of our 100 schools, camps, or bought our DVDs or books.

Read More

Sep 20

Around Japan in 47 Curries: Yamanashi Fruit

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Tom Baker (Chiba, 1989-91) is writing a 47-part series of posts on his Tokyo Tom Baker blog, in which he samples and comments on a curry from a different prefecture almost every week. Here’s an excerpt from his 14th installment, in which he explores whether or not Yamanashi Prefecture fruit is a good curry ingredient:

Grapes and wine are Yamanashi’s most famous products. The cultivation of grapes dates back about 1,300 years, apparently beginning with a monk who had a vision of Buddha holding a bunch of them. Wine production didn’t get started until the 1868-1912 Meiji era, but there are now more than 80 wineries in the prefecture, making about 40 percent of Japan’s domestic wine.

In 2007, the prefecture was No. 1 in grape production, at 51,400 tons, well ahead of second-place Nagano with 30,700. It was also first in peaches (54,100 tons, ahead of then second-place Fukushima at 27,800) and plums (6,660, ahead of second-place Wakayama at 3,280).

While driving through Yamanashi Prefecture a couple of weeks ago, I picked up some grape and peach curries at a highway rest stop…

Read more HERE.

Sep 20

Book: “This Japanese Life” published by JET alum blogger Eryk Salvaggio

Blogs, Books, JET Alum Author Beat, JETs in the News, LifeAfterJET, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Writers Comments Off on Book: “This Japanese Life” published by JET alum blogger Eryk Salvaggio

Thanks to AJET Chair Kay Makishi for the heads up on Fukuoka JET alum Eryk Salvaggio who writes the blog “This Japanese Life” and recently published a book by the same name.  You can read more about Eryk in this Japan Times interview with him from 2012.

About the book:  http://thisjapaneselife.org/this-japanese-life-the-book/

Most books about Japan can tell you how to use chopsticks or say “konnichiwa.” Few tackle the real stress of life in a radically different culture.

The author, a three-year resident and the writer and researcher behind one of the best Japan blogs, tackles the thousand tiny uncertainties of life abroad with honesty and wit.

Perfect for anyone about to leave home for Japan or elsewhere, This Japanese Life will deepen any reader’s understanding of Japanese culture as it’s fused into a method of dealing with the hardships of working and living there.

About Eryk:

Eryk Salvaggio was an American newspaper editor in Bangor, Maine before teaching English in Japan with the JET Program. He lived in Fukuoka City from 2010-2013, writing a blog, This Japanese Life, about Japanese culture and the tiny anxieties of being an expatriate.

The site was named one of the best Japan Blogs by Tofugu and was spotlighted by The Japan Times. Salvaggio has written for McSweeney’s, The Japan Times, Tofugu and Kulturaustausch.

His work as a visual artist has been covered in The New York Times and elsewhere.

He currently lives in London.

Sep 20

WIT Life #250: Mochi, mochi and more mochi!

Food & Drink, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers Comments Off on WIT Life #250: Mochi, mochi and more mochi!

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.

I am at the tail end of my State Department interpreting gig here in Hawaii, and was glad to find that even when you are far from home you are never far from other JETs.  I sat down to breakfast the other morning in my hotel, and who did I see but fellow NY JET alum Mark Flanigan!  He was here on ICU business, and I was lucky enough to catch him before he flew back to NY that night.  Small world!  Tomorrow when work ends I’m planning on Read More

Sep 20

Job: Cultural Engagement and Study Away Program Manager-University of Minnesota Rochester Campus (Minnesota)

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

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Position: Cultural Engagement and Study Away Program Manager
Posted by: University of Minnesota Rochester Campus 
Location: Minnesota

Overview:

The program manager is responsible for managing Study Away from Rochester, which includes Education Abroad and National Student Exchange, advising undergraduate students at UMR on Study Away from Rochester, coordinating general travel advising services, creating and updating all advising related publications online and in print related to Study Away from Rochester, administering UMR travel scholarships, facilitating pre- and post-travel learning experiences, serving as Designated School Official for SEVIS, and working closely with Global Programs & Strategic Alliance on the Twin Cities campus (50%); serving as the liaison with One Stop Student Services as it relates to travel and capstone experiences, such as explaining financial aid policies, procedures and scholarship options (10%); facilitating curricular and co-curricular integration as it relates to cultural competence, global perspectives, diversity and inclusivity initiatives (35%); and other duties as assigned (5%). This position includes some teaching of appropriate courses and seminars.

Read More

Sep 20

Job: Student Services Specialist III–Study Abroad at University of North Texas (Denton, TX)

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

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Position: Student Services Specialist III
Posted by: Study Abroad at University of North Texas
Location: Denton, TX

Overview:

International (UNT-I) is the administrative unit charged with directing all aspects of UNT’s international operations and partnerships. UNT-I is a growing and strongly supported organization, and is central to the university’s strategic internationalization.

In collaboration with more than a dozen colleges, schools and academic programs, UNT-I is aggressively expanding the university’s global reach. The division serves more than 2,600 international students and more than 100 foreign scholars, primarily on the Denton campus, with departments and offices ranging from International Student and Scholar Services to the Intensive English Language Institute.

Read More

Sep 19

Postings from Idealist.org 9.19.13

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Via Idealist.org.  Posted by Geneva Marie (Niigata-ken 2008-09) Geneva is a contributor to both JETwit and JETAANY. Geneva is on a continuous (epic) search for Japanese-related jobs in the United States. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

InterExchange Au Pair USA North Shore, Long Island Local Coordinator

Posted by: InterExchange, Inc
Type: Part-time
Location: Jerico, NY
Salary: Fee-based
Application Deadline: September 23, 2013

InterExchange Au Pair USA is looking for a professional and dynamic self-starter to oversee our North Shore Long Island Au Pair Cluster. While upholding Department of State guidelines, this individual will help promote a cultural exchange program that provides a unique solution for families seeking affordable and flexible childcare. This is a rewarding opportunity to work with a group of lively international au pairs and American host families. The right candidate will work from home, part-time (15-20 hours per week), with the opportunity for growth.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/XgfGJ5XWKmfP

File Processor

Posted by: American Councils for International Education ACTR/ACCELS
Type: Full-time/Temporary
Location: Washington, DC
Salary: Not Specified
Application Deadline: Not Specified

File Processor is a temporary, full-time position that reports to the Senior Program Administrator for AIS Operations*. The primary responsibility of this position is completing operational and administrative tasks during scholarship applicant selection for the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX), Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES), American-Serbia and Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange (A-SMYLE), National Security Languages Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), and other programs. Hours may vary from week to week, as necessary, with five (5) days and 35 hours per week to be the expected norm. Some weekend and evening work might be available or required. Multiple File Processor positions are projected to run from early October and early November 2013 through March 28, 2014.

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/tW2bmtsHFgnp