Job: IT workshop trainer (Seattle area)
Jobs 
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Via JET alum Stacey Jehlik. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: IT workshop trainer (Seattle area)
Job Details:
A Northwest organization in the disaster management field is looking for 3-4 individuals with an IT background to work on a 7-10 month project involving the implementation of training workshops related to IT recovery.
Ideal candidates will have:
· A bachelor’s degree in an IT field (familiarity with LDRPS a plus)
· Experience giving presentations (or willingness to be trained)
· Ability to lead an organized discussion around recovery strategy improvement
· Ability to help guide working professionals in their adoption of a new IT tool
· Interest in the field of disaster management
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Job: Quality Assurance – Futaba North America Engineering & Marketing Corporation (Chicago area)
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Via JET alum Bianca Jarvis. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Quality Assurance – Futaba North America Engineering & Marketing Corporation (Chicago area)
Job Details:
Company: Futaba North America Engineering & Marketing Corporation
Title: Quality Assurance- General Administrator
The corporate office of three auto manufacturing subsidiaries is seeking a QA General Administrator.
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Job: Fujisankei TV Assistant (LA)
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Via LA JET alumJohn Ellis-Guardiola. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: Fujisankei TV Assistant (LA)
Job Details:
The ideal candidate is a near-native Japanese/English bilingual, written and spoken. This candidate will assist in compiling materials to present to Hollywood executives. Duties include translating TV program material (game shows and comedies) mainly from Japanese to English, as well as, interpreting in meetings between Japanese and American TV executives.
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Job: ESL Tutors needed for Japanese learners on Skype
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Via Scarlett Orork. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika has recently moved back to London but is interested in hearing about any Japan-related opportunities across the globe.
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***Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JETwit. Thanks.***
Job Position: ESL Tutors needed for Japanese learners on Skype
Job Details:
My name is Scarlett and I live in Wilmington, NC. I own a small business that is growing quite rapidly called Hello English.us. I give English conversation classes to people in Japan on Skype. Currently, I have around 230 students. I have about 15 current tutors but it is not near enough. I have over 700 classes that are prepaid.
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Posted by Ashley Thompson (Shizuoka-ken, 2008-2010) of Surviving in Japan: without much Japanese and Lifelines columnist for The Japan Times.
Most homes in Japan aren’t equipped with central heating, so people typically rely on space heaters and similar items. Now, we all know that wearing some extra clothes and warm fleece is a good way to avoid turning the heat all the way up, but most likely you will need (or desperately want) a heater at some point.
And, just to note, I am not an expert on heaters, so if you are curious about how a heater works a certain way, go ahead and google that.
Also, most of the heaters below have timers and auto-turnoff options in addition to running constantly. They also often have automatic shutoff features such as if the heater fell over.
*Keep in mind another way heater might be written is 電気ストーブ (denki stobu).
*The word used for “heating” is 暖房 (だんぼう, danbou).
A guide to heaters in Japan
1. Aircon – エアコン
The air conditioner is commonly known as an aircon in Japan, and most aircons are equipped with a heating function. So, if you have an aircon, you may want to check that out (look for “暖房”). From experience I know it does a pretty good job heating a room, although I found that all the heat rose to the ceiling which was somewhat pointless if you spend most of your time sitting on the floor and don’t have a ceiling fan.
I also found that running the aircon was incredibly expensive. Some are much more energy efficient (look for 省エネ on the outside or description). Aircons are also one of the more expensive options, considering that most will be ¥30,000 – 40,000 and up, depending on the size.
2. Oil heater – オイルヒーター
This heater is the one that looks like a radiator, and some of you may be familiar with already. My family used these when I was a kid, and though they work really well, they are typically energy hogs. Some are better than others though, so it’s best to compare when looking at energy usage. Some of the ones I looked at operate at 1200 watts at the highest level, with an estimated ¥15-20/hour cost to operate (though this varies). Price may range from ¥5,000 – 30,000, though it’s possible to find cheaper options at a recycle shop (this goes for all of the following options as well).
3. Panel heater – パネルヒーター
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the post.
Justin’s Japan: Theatre Review — ‘Kutsukake Tokijiro’ an Inspired Yakuza Yarn
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'Kutsukake Tokijiro' runs through Nov. 27 at New York's Flea Theatre. (Courtesy of Kurotama Kikaku Company)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his page here for related stories.
Mounting a 1920s Japanese gangster play with J-pop flavored fillips may seem like a tough sell, but the new Off-Off-Broadway production of Kutsukake Tokijiro is a successful hybrid that should appeal to fans of “world” stage productions.
Opening last week at Tribeca’s Flea Theater and running through Nov. 27, Kutsukake Tokijiro (if you can pronounce it, you’ve probably already seen it) caps a nearly three-year journey to the stage by New York’s Kurotama Kikaku Company and its artistic director, Jun Kim. A native of Japan with Korean heritage, Kim is an actor, dancer, and director of the show, doing double duty in the opening scenes as Mutsuda-no-Sanzo, the target of the titular Tokijiro (played with noble gravitas by Yasu Suzuki).
If these names sound hoary, consider the source material: written by Shin Hasegawa in 1928, KT is a hallmark of Japanese popular theatre, based in turn upon on a 19th century Japanese Yakuza/lone gambler story cut almost from the same cloth as the Spaghetti Western. In its first-ever English translation by the venerable Keiko Tsuneda, KT is reborn for an American audience.
Kim’s vision for a 21st century KT is to inject Japanese pop culture animation and folk songs as well as the dance movements of Noh, Kabuki and contemporary dance to form a “J-pop Theatre.” This is achieved via Japanese-language scenes between Tokijiro and his rivals (English supertitles are helpfully flashed above center stage) and through his more tender moments with Sanzo’s widow, Okinu (Hiroko Yonekura), whom Tokijiro elopes with along with her young son Tarokichi (Asuka Morinaga).
For the rest of the article, click here.
JET Alumni Parents Facebook group
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Update: This is now a “group.” I originally set it up as a “page” but realized that’s not the way to go. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Are you a JET or JET alum and a parent? Or planning on being a parent? Then here’s a new JET alumni group for you:
JET Alumni Parents Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/231863163545612/
Yes, enough of us have reached that stage in our lives where it makes sense to set this up. So join the group, meet other JET alum parents, share stories and photos, and maybe even set up exchanges across countries where we swap our kids for a week or two! :-)
New Facebook group for Brooklyn JET Alumni
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Update: I originally set this up as a FB “page” but have now more wisely switched it to a “group.” So make sure to sign up for the “group.”
For anyone who’s interested, I’ve set up the Brooklyn JET Alumni group on Facebook for JET alumni who live in Brooklyn, are from Brooklyn or are just interested in Brooklyn.
Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/319357708081547/
I’ve had an informal email list for a few years, since I live in Brooklyn. And it was just time to turn it into a Facebook page. It’s not an official chapter or sub-chapter. Just an informal group for the convenience of those of us living in Brooklyn-cho.
BTW, if anyone wants to come up with a better graphic, please feel free to make one and send it to me at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Now On Sale: Life After the B.O.E. the Book
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Life After the B.O.E. the Book is now on sale at Amazon.com and CreateSpace!
Amber Liang and Sean Harley explain the art of getting a job without ever asking (i.e., informational interviews). (Steven Horowitz)
By Carolyn Brooks (Ishikawa-ken, 2006-11) for JQ magazine. Carolyn is co-author of the blog MadSilence–a cross-cultural blog written with her father–and a current culture/education related job-seeker in the New York area available for full-time or consulting work.
JET alumni from all walks of life gathered this weekend at the Nippon Club in New York City to talk about something important to us all: jobs and how to get them. The Career Forum is a much-anticipated event, with JETAA New York providing a varied and well-planned series of presentations for recent returnees and new career searchers alike.
“We hold this event annually to help the recent returnees get settled back in New York, provide job hunting advice and techniques for highlighting the JET experience on their resume, and give them the opportunity to meet alumni and recruiters in their possible career fields,” said JETAANY president Monica Yuki (Saitama, 2002-04). The Career Forum achieved all those objectives with flying colors, as well as giving us recent returnees a taste of home, which for many of us suffering from reverse culture shock was as welcome as the career advice.
Evan Hyman (Osaka, 1995-96) started the presentations off with a bang, sharing the 10 most important lessons he’s learned in his 14 years since JET. Over the years he’s worked in marketing and planning with some of the world’s largest companies (including Pepperidge Farm and Johnson & Johnson), but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t encountered the same road bumps that new jobseekers do. Some of his advice included practical matters like “Network, network, network!”; “Utilize as many recruiters as you can”; and “Your job search will be determined by the economy”; but it was his more personal advice that really struck me.
Lesson #9 was “It can take a really long time to realize what you want to do.” Mr. Hyman’s had some jobs that, while lucrative and attractive, just weren’t for him. It was those jobs that helped him find his “sweet spot” and learn skills that got him the jobs he liked. No experience is ever wasted! Lesson #5, my personal favorite, was “Have a passion for what you do!” If you work at a job you’re not interested in, you’re not going to do your best work, so find your passion and see how you can use it in a career. Read More
Justin’s Japan: Film Review – ‘Hatsune Miku Live Party 2011 39’s Live in Sapporo’
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"With New York going bananas in between numbers and the room itself mimicking the Sapporo show with timed strobe and lighting effects—the theater’s management really went the extra mile—it truly felt like being at a concert." (Courtesy of Live Viewing Japan)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his page here for related stories.
On Nov. 10 a one-time theatrical screening was held for a new concert film from virtual pop phenom Hatsune Miku. Entitled Hatsune Miku Live Party 2011 39’s Live in Sapporo, the film—captured in August at the 2,000 capacity Zepp Sapporo—is Miku’s latest appearance in America following a Toyota ad campaign and live gigs at L.A.’s Nokia Theatre and the San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year. (In fact, this reporter was interviewed for Japanese TV about that; click here for the news clip.)
Hatsune Miku, whose name means “first sound of the future,” is a Vocaloid (meaning machine-made vocals) digital female avatar and the most popular of Crypton Future Media characters that employ Yamaha technology to create synthesized vocal tracks, similar to Auto-Tune. In Japan, Miku is massively successful and has appeared in numerous popular video games and music videos, and her Sailor Moon-meets-Avril Lavigne image (she is a teen idol, after all) is equally fanboy and fangirl friendly.
Presented by Live Viewing Japan and simulcast in nine U.S. cities, this screening was shown to a capacity Times Square crowd. From the moment Miku’s name flashed up on the dark screen five seconds in, the audience was hooked. Wild applause, shrieks and excitement from the mostly American teens and twentysomethings in the crowd took the older folks by surprise. “This is like Paul McCartney to us,” remarked one lady several seats away. (She and her companion left about an hour in.)
For those unfamiliar with J-pop, the genre’s credo is style over substance (Katy Perry and Lady Gaga are our closest counterparts), but just like with our pop tarts, a catchy hook is a catchy hook. With a black, completely bare stage flanked by a five-piece band (yes, the music seems to be performed live), the only thing besides Miku noticeable throughout are the hundreds of lime green glow sticks pumped energetically by the fans throughout. Again, this was mirrored by the Times Square audience as one enterprising otaku passed out five blue ones (not to be outdone, he carried a massive Darth Maul-ish staff that lit up a chunk of the theater.)
For the rest of the article, click here.
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JETAANY held its annual Career Forum/Welcome Back Reception on Saturday at the Nippon Club in NYC. And in addition to the usual combination of useful advice, networking, natsukashii talk and reconnecting in general, this year’s Welcome Back Reception was notable for one other reason: It was attended by approximately 25 participants in Japan’s new Japan-U.S. Training Training and Exchange Program for English Language Teachers (JUSTE) program, sometimes referred to as the “Reverse JET” program.
The program selected 96 Japanese teachers of English to spend 6 months in the U.S. studying ESL teaching methodology–in English–at 6 different universities across the U.S.: Rutgers University (NJ), University of Delaware, University of Michigan, University of Texas, University of Iowa, UC Irvine and UC Davis. The teachers are in turn supposed to bring back their learning and share it with their respective school systems as part of an effort to improve English ability of Japanese students.
The Reverse JETs attending on Saturday came up from Rutgers and the University of Delaware. It was a terrific opportunity to get to know them and learn more about the program. Following a brief intro by all of the returning JETs, the Reverse JETs were asked to do the same. And as they said their names and prefectures, there was an almost instant connection as JET alums from various prefectures cheered when the Reverse JETs called out their own home prefecture.
It was also apparent that these were top rate teachers–the really genki, creative and engaged teachers you remember from your JET days. (We all were fortunate to have had at least one of these if not more.) This was made rather apparent when the Delaware contingency decided to forego the traditional introduction style and instead go with a teaching game they had all learned in class the day before. (See video below.)
Throughout the reception and the nijikai at Faces & Names, JET alumni found the Reverse JETs extremely friendly and easy to talk to. And it was interesting to hear about their situations and the parallels with our own first time experiences in Japan. For example:
- While the Rutgers participants are all living on campus in a dormitory for foreign students, the Delaware participants are all living with homestay families and generally need to rely on them for transportation to and from the campus (as they’re not permitted to drive while in the U.S.)
- Most participants were surprised to have been selected for the program. That’s because most of them hadn’t even known of the program’s existence until their principals called them into their offices and asked them if they’d like to go to the U.S. for 6 months. In same cases, participants only had hours to contact their spouse and decide whether to say yes. Though in everyone’s eyes, this was too good an opportunity to pass up, not to mention a terrific honor. They realized they had been 1 of 96 selected out of a total pool of 50,000 English teachers in Japan. It sounds like each prefecture is permitted to select a few school systems, and then the Board of Ed in those school systems chooses the teacher. Interestingly, some schools apparently passed on the opportunity because they didn’t feel they could afford to be without one of their top teachers for 6 months. And in some prefectures, the selection process is different and teachers can actually apply to be a participant.
- The teachers seemed to be aware of the costs involved in sending them to the U.S. and expressed a strong sense of obligation to study hard and share their learning upon return. Though one confessed to worrying about maintaining a delicate balance of sharing knowledge while also not wanting to be the nail that sticks up.
- And perhaps most interesting of all, in talking with one of the participants from Aichi (my JET prefecture), I learned that she grew up in Inuyama City and had JET alum and Inuyama City Council Member Anthony Bianchi (Aichi-ken, Inuyama-shi, 1988-89) as her ALT when she was a student! Now that’s full circle. (If anyone knows a good Japanese kotowaza for that idea, please share.)
Hopefully, the Reverse JETs through the U.S. will be able to find JET alumni in their area. And it would be really terrific if JETAA chapters as well as the JET alumni community in general could do its best to reach out to the participants wherever they are. They truly appreciate getting to spend time with the New York JET alumni on Saturday. Imagine how great it must feel to be from Tottori-ken and find an American who is also familiar with Tottori.
Unfortunately, they’re only here through January. So now is the time to reach out. In addition to meeting some great people, you’ll also be helping to support a very unique Japanese education program that we hope will continue in the future and grow to meet the English learning needs of Japan’s society.
Life After the B.O.E. goes on sale next week.
Direct links to Amazon and CreateSpace, which are selling the books, will be posted at that time, but in the mean time, here are some teasers:
The proof peaking out of the box it came in.
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JETwit Career Update 11.09.11
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JETwit Career Update is a new feature where JETwit will list any JET alums who have recently (loosely interpreted) found a new job, gotten a promotion, started a new business, been elected to an office, started a new grad program or have any other career developments to share. You probably see lots of job listings, so I thought it would also be interested to know who’s finding work and what kind of work people are finding.
Let us know about yourself or fellow JET alums by sending an e-mail to jetwit [at] jetwit.com. (Make sure to include prefecture and years on JET. And of course mention if you found your job via JETwit or JETAA listings or connections.)
- Rob Cornilles won the Republican primary for the Congressional seat vacated by David Wu (D-Oregon), who resigned due to allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior. If Rob, who lost to Wu in the last election, wins this election, he would be the first ever JET alum to hold a seat in the U.S. Congress.
- Kiesha Speech (Nagasaki-ken, 2000-02) was elected to the Oak Park School Board last night in Oakland County, Michigan. (http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=POLITICS01) (https://www.facebook.com/#!/kieshaspeech)
- Olivia Nilsson (Tokushima-ken 2006-08) reports she has left her position at the New York Bureau of the Yomiuri Shimbun after three years covering business and economic news. She’s now working as a researcher at Blue Heron Research Partners in NYC.
- Elizabeth Gordon of JETAA Chicago reports: “I am the new Director of Private Events at the Adler Planetarium – totally different from what I was doing, but very exciting!”
- Daniel Sturgeon, a Political Analyst and Speechwriter at the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta who also previously worked as a Chunichi/Tokyo Shimbun staff reporter in D.C. says: “My last three jobs have been Japan related and were found either at JETwit or the JETAA network.” Daniel also mentioned that he is now a Rotarian, so if anyone is interested in applying for their scholarship, he’s a point of contact.
- Shane Taber (Monbusho English Fellow, Nara-ken, 1979-81) says: “After a nearly 30 year “break”, 4 kids (now all grown), plus years of public school teaching innorthern California, I am happily back in Kansai teaching full time at Kobe College High School for the next several years. While I became aware of this job opening through other sources, this teaching position was also listed in JETwit’s job section in 2010. Of course, having been an MEF was a big plus in landing this position, I’m sure! I’d love to hear from other former MEFs from the late ’70s/early ’80s who are also in Japan now.” (JETwit note: There’s a LinkedIn group for MEFs. Please join if you haven’t yet!)
- And Kay Munroe-Johnson in Atlanta says: “This is great to see! I rejoice with all of you in achieving such great job success! Maybe I will have a report to share soon as I am looking for a job in (near Atlanta). Thanks JetWit for your dedication and support of all of us JET Alums!”
- And Greg Beck (CIR Hiroshima-ken, 2006-11) (listed in the previous JETwit Career Update) says: “It is great not just to be employed, but to work in the field I love, not just for a paycheck. That’s a tragically rare thing right now, and a huge concern I had as my JET career wound down. Basically, JETwit ROCKS!”
JET alum Rob Cornilles wins Republican primary for Oregon Congressional seat
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JET alum Rob Cornilles, a sports business consultant, has won the Republican primary for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the Portland-area district. The primary was part of a special election being held in the wake of the resignation of David Wu (D-Oregon) who resigned earlier this year due to allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior. Cornilles was also the previous Republican winner and lost to Wu in a close race in the last election.
Cornilles will next face the Democratic primary winner Suzanne Bonamici, an Oregon state senator.
Here’s a link to the full article: http://www.katu.com/news/local/133507753.html
Here’s a link to Rob’s campaign website: http://www.cornillesforcongress.com/
BTW, if anyone knows Rob’s prefecture and years on JET, please post here or e-mail to jetwit [at] jetwit.com. Yoroshiku!
Suzanne Bonamici (D) (left) and JET alum Rob Cornilles (R) (right)
