Job: Group Guides for Kakehashi Project (DC, Nashville, Chicago, Denver)
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Thanks to JET alum Ashley Greenidge who works for The Laurasian Institution for sharing this great JET-relevant 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: Group Guide
Location: (Chicago, Denver, Washington D.C. or Nashville)
Type: Temp
Compensation:
- $2,250 for 10 days as group guide
- Transportation to/from major cities (either Chicago & Denver or Washington D.C. & Nashville) during the trip
- Transportation to/from the homestay location
- Meals and lodging during trip
Overview:
The Laurasian Institution of Seattle, WA is seeking guides for groups of 25 participants visiting the United States from Japan in October and November 2013. Groups will be comprised of 24 high school or university students and 1~2 adult chaperones. Groups will visit the United States for a period of 10 days, including sightseeing in major cities and a homestay in locations throughout the country.
Requirements:
- Native English speakers with highly functional Japanese abilities (minimum JLPT Level 2/N2 or equivalent)
- Background in education, youth exchange, and/or Japan-related work experience
- All-day time commitment for 10 days, including being on-call at night
- Experience with Japanese students and/or the Japanese school system
- Familiarity with Japanese health insurance procedures
- Residence in and knowledge of the geography, history and culture of at least one of the major cities (Chicago, Denver, Washington D.C. or Nashville)
- Ability to handle emergencies and work under pressure
- Strong communication skills, both oral and written
- Demonstrated experience as a leader
- Bachelor’s degree
- Pass a criminal background check Read More
RocketNews24: Scowling mascot brings a little fame to Japan’s least popular prefecture
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Michelle Lynn Dinh (Shimane-ken, Chibu-mura, 2010–13) is an editor and writer for RocketNews24, a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.
Yoshida-kun, Shimane Prefecture’s snarky and very unhappy-looking mascot
Shimane Prefecture, ever heard of it? If your answer is a resounding “no,” you’re not alone. The oddly shaped prefecture stretching along the western coast of Japan is barely known within its own country, let alone abroad. But one disgruntled mascot is out to bring Shimane’s shortcomings to light, making fun of the prefecture’s lack of popularity and population, and giving the area a little boost in positive publicity online.
For the 95 percent of you who don’t know, Shimane is a prefecture in the Chugoku region of Japan. Its claim to fame is having the most elderly people of any other prefecture and the most centenarians. Year after year, Shimane battles it out with neighboring Tottori for the title of “least populated prefecture” and has repeatedly landed itself at the very bottom of lists ranking areas by popularity.
Return On JET-vestment: “This is Fukushima” Calendar 2014 Fundraiser
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Thanks to Ryan McDonald (Fukushima-ken, 2002-05) for sharing the below. Another great example of Return On JET-vestment:
Last year, I and two other ex-JETs, created a calendar called This Is Fukushima. We paid for it ourselves and took donations from other ALTs in Fukushima. We made 2,500 copies and sent them around the world to the media, government officials, and even royalty. The goal was to show that Fukushima is more than a reactor. There is no Fukushima disaster, but there was a disaster in Fukushima. Too many people hear the word Fukushima and think it’s only a nuclear reactor.
This is Fukushima Calendar (2013)
This year the theme will be people and interesting places. We already have a few people in mind that have and are continuing to help Fukushima. We are also going to have more photos of some of our unique festivals. We want to print 4,000 this time and have a larger version with one month per page.
There’s no question as to whether or not we can do it. We did already and can do it again. The only question is can we raise enough money to make it bigger and better. Any money raised over the goal will go to printing more calendars.
If you would like to donate, please go to GoFundMe.com
You can also look at some photos of Fukushima at http://www.ThisIsFukushima.org
- Ryan McDonald (USA)- (Fukushima-ken, 2002-05)
- Paul Sprigg (CA)– (Fukushima-ken, 2005–10)
- Henare Akurangi (NZ) – (Fukushima-ken, 2007–11)
2013 Kume Island Ha-ri-
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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).
The Ha-ri- races are a yearly event on Kume Island. This year they took place on June 12 at three locations around the island. This year I stuck to the Maja area where locals and students gathered together for a day of races and fun in the water.
While the races are the primary attraction, there is also generally a ball-toss game for the nursery school children and a tug-of-war. There are numerous races from both locals and school participants. At the Maja area, students from the local Nakazato Junior High, Misaki and Nakazato elementary schools, and students from Kumeshima High School all joined together in mixed and separate races.
This year I broke out my gopro to give you a closer look at participating in the Ha-ri- races. Thanks to a few friends and students who wore the camera along the way. Of course with plenty of water a few bucket wars broke out among the high school students, and not all of the boats made it back without a little extra water. Check out the video and pictures below, then come join us next year for this great event.
For more photos and video from this special event visit MoreThingsJapanese.com
Welcome “Kansai JET Alumni”!
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Thanks to former AJET Chair Matthew Cook (Osaka-fu, 2007-12) for sharing the good news. Great to see the JET alumni community expanding!
For more info about Kansai JET Alumni, see below:
- Website: http://kansai.jetalumni.org
- Facebook Organization Page: https://www.facebook.com/kansai.jetalumni
- Facebook Group Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/225984954222698/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KansaiJETAlumni
- LinkedIn Organization page: http://www.linkedin.com/company/3306686?trk=tyah
- Linked in Group Page: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=5149145&mostPopular=&trk=tyah
WIT Life #248: Ralph Carr’s Fight for Japanese-American Justice
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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.
The bust in Sakura Square of former CO governor Ralph Carr, who fought for Japanese-American civil rights
My interpreting for a State Department energy-themed delegation brings me to Denver, Colorado. In the past I’ve written here about the Japanese connection at Sakura Square, where former governor Ralph Carr who took a stance against internment camps during WWII was honored with a bust in 1976. He also was named “Person of the Century” by the Denver Post in 1999. Most recently, his contributions have been recognized by naming the new Colorado Judicial Center after him. This is a 695,767 square-foot building housing the Colorado Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court Law Library, the State Court Administrator, the Colorado Attorney General and the Colorado Public Defender. It seems like the perfect tribute to a past politician who sacrificed his political career rather than betray the rule of law.
Carr was the 19th governor of Colorado who served from 1939 to 1943. He was in office when FDR forcibly resettled residents of Japanese descent from the West Coast to a camp at Amache near Granada, Colorado. The relocation included Nisei who were U. S. citizens by virtue of being born in this country. While many politicians Read More
Around Japan in 47 Curries: Tottori nashi pear
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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 13th installment, in which he reveals that Tottori Prefecture nashi pear curry has a cinematic connection:
In 1990, I went to the theater to see the movie “Ghost.” Patrick Swayze plays a murder victim, and Demi Moore plays his grieving girlfriend. The villain who arranged the murder wants to find out how much she knows, so he sets out to seduce her. In the most shocking scene I saw on film that year, the actor Tony Goldwyn pulled out a crumpled paper bag and presented Demi Moore with some delectable “Japanese apple pears” – a rare, expensive and little-known treat in America, a gift meant to show his generosity and savoir-faire.
I was aghast. My beloved nashi had been introduced to the American public at last – but as a tool of seduction in the hands of a cold-blooded killer. Oh, the injustice! They might as well have taken those pears, chopped them into tiny pieces and made them into curry!
Well, 23 years later, I have learned that someone did just that.
Job: Project Officer with Peace Winds America (Seattle)
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Thanks to Pacific Northwest JETAA for sharing! 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: Project Officer
Posted by: Peace Winds America
Location: Eastlake, Seattle, Washington
Type: Full-Time
Salary: Commensurate with Experience
Overview:
The primary responsibility of this position will be on a new disaster preparedness program that focuses on school preparedness. The Project Officer will work closely with the PWA staff to administer this program, which targets the schools, boards of education and emergency operation staff of several cities. Additional duties will include conducting development and fundraising research, grant writing, reporting, and support for other ongoing programs.
Requirements:
- very strong communication and writing skills
- previous experience with development, grantwriting, NGOs, humanitarian work as well as nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and social media strongly preferred
- ability to perform development and program research independently and communicate findings with PWA team
- be highly organized and able to track, coordinate and manage overlapping areas of a program including correspondence, budget, research and grantor requirements
- should have a BA at the minimum; candidates with MA/MS degree are encouraged to apply
- should be comfortable with periodic (one-three times yearly) travel domestically or overseas Read More
Job: Administrative Assistant – Japan & International Programs, North West Student Exchange (Seattle)
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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: Administrative Assistant
Posted by: Japan & International Programs, North West Student Exchange
Hours: 35-40 hours/week
Location: Seattle, Washington
Salary: DOE (includes medical, dental, and vision insurance)
Starting Date: As soon as possible
Overview:
Seattle-based NorthWest Student Exchange (NWSE) is seeking an Administrative Assistant for its Japan and international programs.
Job Duties:
Assist International Program Coordinators with:
- Processing student applications, preparing mailings to program participants, processing and following up on program documents, data entry
- Communicating with coordinators, students, families, schools, and partner organizations
- Japanese-language advising
- Additional projects and tasks as required (e.g. creating marketing materials, school visits, researching exchange-related resources)
Job: Study Abroad Program Coordinator Position at Ohio University (Athens, OH)
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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: Study Abraod Program Coordinator
Posted by: Ohio University
Type: Full-time
Location: Athens, Ohio
Salary: $35,000+ depending upon education and experience. Employees also enjoy a generous benefits package which includes health benefits, paid time off, and educational benefits for employees and eligible dependents.
Application deadline on September 29, 2013
Overview:
Ohio University is hiring a Study Abroad Program Coordinator within the Office of Education Abroad. We seek a candidate with a commitment to working effectively with students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds.
Job Duties:
- Manage assigned faculty-led study abroad programs.
- Recruit, train and supervise student peer advisors.
- Promote the benefit of education abroad and Ohio University¹s program offerings across its main and regional campuses through presentations, events sponsored by other university offices, and fairs.
- Advise students on study abroad options and follow up with students interested in study abroad.
- Develop and update Education Abroad website and print content as needed.
- Creates and updates advising materials.
JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘The Accidental Office Lady: An American Woman in Corporate Japan’
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“If you are going to Japan soon, live there now, or have lived there already, this book is a survivor’s guide and tool for reflection and growth. It can help the reader better understand what to do, and what not to do.” (Tuttle)
By Lana Kitcher (Yamanashi-ken, 2010-12) for JQ magazine. Lana is the business development associate for Bridges to Japan and enjoys working as a freelance writer for a number of online publications. To read more about Lana’s adventures in Japan, visit her blog at Kitcher’s Café.
Laura Kriska’s experience as recounted in The Accidental Office Lady parallels in many ways what we as JET participants go through when we temporarily leave our lives and routines at home to pursue the “exotic” and uncertain terrain of a new culture.
Based on Kriska’s background and education, she was offered a two-year position at Honda Motor Company headquarters in Tokyo, being the first American woman to do so. She arrived in Japan equipped with her new business attire and a mind full of expectations and dreams about how the next two years of her life in Tokyo would unfold. She was soon instructed to join the secretariat—coordinating schedules and serving tea to managers in her new, polyester uniform.
Through the course of the book we get to see Kriska transform from a newly minted grad into a successful member of Japanese society. She starts out frustrated by her new environment and deeply disappointed that her job is not all that she hoped it would be. As the book progresses, you start to see that she is losing her childish tendencies to fight back, and eloquently navigating the culture with words and mannerisms instead of outbursts and small rebellions. She takes on more responsibility and in the end is able to create lasting change at Honda with a new employee manual in English and the elimination of the mandatory uniform rule.
Australian JETAA chapters recognized for Tohoku revitalization efforts at CLAIR Sister Cities Forum
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Via the JETAA New South Wales (Australia) website: http://www.jetaansw.org/jets-recognised-in-award/
The work and support by members and participants of the JET Programme and JETAA chapters for the revitalisation of Tohoku after the 2011 earthquake, was formally recognised in an award presentation at the 2013 CLAIR Sister Cities Forum.
Presented by Alderman William (Bill) Willson, President of Sister Cities Australia, the award was received by Ben Trumbell, president of the NSW chapter of JETAA. It was given in the presence of Ms Yoko Kimura, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of CLAIR (Council of Local Authorities for International Relations) and Dr Masahiro Kohara, Consul-General of Japan in Sydney.
“The award was presented to me as the closest president representative of JETAA. In my acceptance speech I outlined the importance of the JET Programme and the number of participants and members of JETAA, along with our objectives and a summary of our activities,” Ben said. “Australia has been fantastic in their response to the events in Tohoku. The Victorian JETAA chapter for example did fantastic work with the Big Bento Lunch initiative which raised more than $15,000 across our chapters.” The NSW chapter’s achievements should also be noted for raising awareness, starting with an exhibition of Fukushima school children’s letters at the 2011 Sydney Japan Festival, which lead to the visit of Councillor Alan de Surf of a junior high school in the city of Iwaki, Fukushima.
The 2013 CLAIR Sister Cities Forum marked the 50th Anniversary of the sister city relationship between Lismore, NSW and Yamato Takada in Nara, Japan. This was the first ever sister city relationship between Australia and Japan and was instrumental in initiating the close post-war relationship that exists between the two countries today, thanks to the efforts of Father Paul Glynn who began the first efforts in forging this link.
The subject of sister cities will continued to be explored by JETAA in the annual JETAA conference to be held later this year in Brisbane. Ben states that he hopes to share ideas and case studies including the Lismore-Yamato Takada story at the conference, as well as looking forward to sharing the award with the other chapters and presenting the certificate to the Australian country representative.
CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Ari Kaplan (Hyōgo)
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Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The September 2013 edition includes an article by JET alumn Ari Kaplan. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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“I still remember the ceremony […] held for departing JET participants when I left my position as an ALT. […] I distinctly recall advising the audience members that I was leaving so that I could return someday.”
Originally from the US, Ari Kaplan (Hyogo-ken, Suzurandai, 1993-94) came to Japan upon graduating from Boston University. He is now a business consultant in New York City and the author of Reinventing Professional Services: Building Your Business in the Digital Market Place (Wiley, 2011), which Akishobo recently released in Japan as ハスラー――プロフェッショナルたちの革新. Learn more at AriKaplanAdvisors.com.
JET Perspective
I still remember the ceremony that the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education held for departing JET participants when I left my position as an ALT at Kobe Kohoku High School in 1994. The host asked each of us to line up facing the audience, pass a microphone to one another, and share our reason for leaving. I distinctly recall advising the audience members that I was leaving so that I could return someday.
When Akishobo translated my second book, Reinventing Professional Services: Building Your Business in the Digital Workplace (Wiley 2011), into Japanese and released it in Japan last fall, I felt like I had somehow kept my promise. I was also excited to have the opportunity to publicly dedicate it to the JET Programme and the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education.
I was only 20 years old when in July 1993, following my graduation from Boston University, I took that Japan Airlines flight from New York to Tokyo. Jetlagged the day after I arrived, I went on an early-morning walk into the Tokyo Metro to explore and noticed that there were a few homeless individuals living in refrigerator boxes down below.
As a resident of a major metropolitan city, this sight in Shinjuku station did not surprise me. What struck me, however, was that outside of each box sat a pair of shoes, presumably worn by the occupant inside, highlighting the individual’s personal respect and the extraordinary nature of the place to which I had traveled. Read More
JETwit mentioned in Japan Times article “JET Alumni: Advocates for Japan”
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A great Return On JET-vestment article that ran today in the Japan Times:
JET alumni: Advocates for Japan
Program lauded for continuing to bear cultural fruit, friendships
BY AYAKO MIE
STAFF WRITER
Here’s the full article: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/03/national/jet-alumni-advocates-for-japan/#.UiaU_GRATv0
Here’s the quote:
Steven Horowitz, who was a JET in Aichi Prefecture from 1992 to 1994, likened his former colleagues to a global expat community of around 60,000 people in terms of their shared affection for Japan. “I think it is going to pay . . . dividends for years and years to come,” he said.
To consolidate the alumni network, Horowitz runs JETwit.com, a website that accumulates information about alumni and Japan-related jobs.
JQ Magazine: DVD Review – ‘From Up on Poppy Hill’
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“Studio Ghibli films are known for their fantastical animation and surrealistic landscapes. However, Poppy Hill lacks one other crucial element common to Ghibili films: an emotional depth of feeling.” (GKIDS)
By Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) for JQ magazine. Lyle is entering a master’s program at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (MIA 2013) and has been writing for the JET Alumni Association since 2004. He is also the goalkeeper for FC Japan, a New York City-based soccer team.
From Up on Poppy Hill is the latest film to be released from Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli. Unlike its more prominent titles, this one is not directed by studio founder Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle) but rather by his son Goro Miyazaki. The father did, however, co-write the script (with Keiko Niwa), which was adapted from a manga published in the 1980s. Goro’s first film, Tales from Earthsea, was a commercial hit but received a very negative reception, even receiving “Worst Director” and “Worst Picture” designations from the Bunshun Raspberry Awards, given annually to the worst in cinema by the Bungeishunju Publishing Company. From Up on Poppy Hill received a much better reception (although many reviews were mixed) and became the highest grossing Japanese film of 2011 and won the 2012 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.
The story takes place in Yokohama in 1963, a pivotal point in Japan’s history as the country was preparing for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The nation was on the economic upswing and the Olympics were meant to showcase the “new” Japan as it pushed its postwar ruin firmly into the past. Within this context, Poppy Hill tells two stories, both of which deal with historical consciousness. The first concerns a high school student named Umi, who lives and works in her family’s boarding house. Her father was lost at sea during the Korean War and Umi flies nautical flags daily from her house in order to wish peace upon all sailors. The second story concerns a clubhouse (named the Latin Quarter), which has been slated for demolition to make way for an Olympics-related building. The building is adjacent to Umi’s high school and she meets Shun, the leader of the clubhouse, who also happens to have been decoding her nautical flags each morning. Umi leads an effort to clean up the clubhouse and soon starts to fall in love with Shun.
