Job: Bilingual Exec Asst (DC)
Jobs 
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Seeking Bilingual Executive Assistant
Fri Nov 14, 2008 2:17 pm (PST)
Executive Assistant Position for Fortune 500 Company
Washington, DC
Salary up to $45K Read More
A Book About JETs in Japanese?
Article/Journalism, Books, Humor, Translating/Interpreting, Writers Comments Off on A Book About JETs in Japanese?
Thanks to Ken Haraguchi, a NY-based reporter for Japanese weekly newspaper Frontline, I recently learned that there’s actually a book called どうしてYesも言えないの-アメリカ人が見た日本の学校現場 (Why Can’t You Say “Yes”?) in Japanese written by Yoshio Hotta, a Japanese journalist who interviewed a number of JET alumni in the Washington, DC area. The title dervies from one of the stories in the book about a JET’s frustration with Japanese people’s tendency to keep things vague, resulting in awkwardness for the gaijin.
Translation Break: “Risk averse” and “Risk taker”
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Last night I was having dinner with a Japanese friend and an American friend (both members of the Writers Interpreters Translators (WIT) Group), and when the term “risk averse” came up in conversation, my Japanese friend hadn’t heard the word “averse.” After we explained it to him, I asked how he would translate that into Japanese. He struggled with it for a moment, and then shared a kotowaza (石橋をたたいて渡る – ishibashi wo tataite wataru) that translates as “Knock on a stone bridge and cross it,” implying someone who test every step on a stone bridge, which implies excessive caution.
I wondered if there is a more direct translation for “risk averse” and also for “risk taker,” and so I put the question out to the WIT Group this morning, just for fun, which resulted in the below responses. (Thanks to professional interpreters/translators George Rose, Joel Dechant, Stacy Smith and Jamie Graves for their responses.)
***********
risk averse: リスク嫌い or リスクを嫌う人 (risukugirai or risuku o kirau hito)
risk taker: リスクを恐れない人 (risuku o osorenai hito)
***********
リスク嫌い for “risk-averse”
Although I think something more colloquial might be more suitable. i.e.
リスクを避けようとする
And to get nice and Japanese for “risk taker,” I say
チャレンジャー
***********
The yomikata is “risk girai no” (someone who hates risks)/”kiken wo saketagaru you na” (someone who tends to avoid risks) and “risk wo ou hito” (someone who accepts the burden of risks (on his/her back))/”bouken suru hito” (an adventurer)/”risk wo osorenai” (someone who doesn’t fear risks).
***********
Two people also both strongly recommended Alc.co.jp, the definitive Japanese-English online dictionary, from a translation company, constantly being updated and supplemented by completed translations from their company.
“Risk Averse”:
http://eow.alc.co.jp/risk+averse/UTF-8/?ref=sa
And for “Risk Taker”:
http://eow.alc.co.jp/risk+taker/UTF-8/
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Have more to say on the topic? Post your comment below.
Event at Center on Japanese Economy and Business: Lessons from the Japanese Bubble for the U.S.
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Thanks to CJEB’s Jennifer Olayon (Nagasaki-ken, 1999-2000) for passing this along.
Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School Panel Discussion:
Lessons from the Japanese Bubble for the U.S.
Panelists
Takeo Hoshi, Pacific Economic Cooperation Professor in International Economic Relations, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego
Paul Sheard, former Global Chief Economist, Lehman Brothers
Michael Woodford, John Bates Clark Professor of Political Economy, Economics Department, Columbia University
Moderator
David E. Weinstein, Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Economics Department, Columbia University; Associate Director of Research, Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School
Wednesday, November 19
4:30 – 6:00PM
Uris Hall, Room 301, 3022 Broadway
Co-sponsored by the Program on Alternative Investments, Center on Japanese Economy and Business of Columbia Business School; Columbia University’s Program for Economic Research and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute
For more information and registration details, please visit www.gsb.columbia.edu/cjeb
Bankruptcy Bill – Haiku #4
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Bankruptcy Bill is a cartoon created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall.
Consumers suffer
But my main worry: How to
pronounce BAPCPA?
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If this haiku brought you some measure of inner bankruptcy peace, you can read more on Bill’s Bankruptcy Haiku Page and/or make a donation to the Bankruptcy Bill Karma Bank via the Amazon Honor System.
Bloggers/websites/publications, please feel free to include Bill’s fourth haiku in your blog/website/publication as long as you include all of the text and links in this post (including this paragraph). Feel free to use the image with the haiku as well.
JET alum Michael Auslin (Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and former Professor of Japanese History at Yale University) will be speaking on the future of the U.S.-Japanese Alliance together with Christopher Griffin, defense policy adviser to Sen. Joseph Lieberman, on November 20 at the American Enterprise Institute.
Securing Freedom: A Report on the Future of the U.S.-Japanese Alliance
You can find this online at: http://www.aei.org/event1840
“In a new report entitled Securing Freedom: The U.S.-Japanese Alliance in a New Era, AEI’s Michael Auslin and Christopher Griffin, defense policy adviser to Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-D-Conn.), demonstrate that the United States and Japan should reorient their alliance to support political and economic liberalization. These reforms would in turn create bulwarks against authoritarian expansion and ensure that democracy, free markets, and transparent security policies become the animating principles of politics in Asia.” Read More
Julie Matysik (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-07) is a freelance copy editor and aspiring in-house editor who recently moved to NYC with her husband (also a JET alum). She is seeking an internship or entry level position in editing/publishing/writing. Editorial Pursuits will chronicle her job hunting efforts, experiences and lessons learned.
Here’s one thing I’ve learned about job hunting: Always follow up with contacts because you never know where they might lead. Even if you don’t get the job, or even an interview, you might find that something completely unexpected evolves from the relationship.
What do I mean by these somewhat cryptic “words of wisdom”? Here’s what happened to me.
Last year I worked as a Teacher Assistant at a Madison preschool. No, this has nothing to do with my editorial pursuits, but it was a job that paid the bills and a great place to work for a limited period. I am still in contact with some of the parents of children in my after-school class, and they know all about my job search woes.
One of the parents remembered having a contact at Macmillan Publishers, and he graciously introduced me to his friend who expressed great interest in getting extra attention for my resume.
I was tickled pink at all the possibilities this could mean for me, and I even started dreaming about walking into the Flatiron Building every day for work at a major book publishing company.
Meanwhile, in addition to going to bat for me, she also invited me to her house to meet her and her two-year-old son! How fantastic! She wanted to meet me face to face! Read More
2008 Japanese Ex-pat Election Survey (from JETAA NY Fall 2008 Newsletter)
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Who says Japanese people don’t voice their political opinions? Read on to see what some of our ex-pat friends think about the U.S. presidential candidates.
Voter Turnout LiftUp Bra
The process: An e-mail was sent out to JET alums to ask their Japanese friends and colleagues to tell them for whom they would vote in the upcoming U.S. election and for what reason. Here are their responses:
MCCAIN
Good for Japan’s economy and good for US’s Business.
RON PAUL
I vote neither Obama nor McCain. I think I would vote for Ron Paul. From my understanding, he has specific plans and interesting background (Is he used to be a republic but now a third party?).
OBAMA
I still want Hillary to be the next president but it is not happening, so I would vote for
Obama. The reasons is that I am strong anti-gun and pro-abortion (freedom of choice). So, I don’t Read More
JETAA NY Newsletter: JET Alumni 2008 Election Survey
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Welcome to the second-ever JET Alumni Election Survey! Forty-five people from around the U.S. and representing over 30 prefectures responded to “vote” and share their thoughts.
The survey was conducted anonymously using SurveyMonkey, all responses were received between 9/10 and 10/6 (i.e., before the economy started imploding) and an effort was made to make the survey available to as many chapters as possible. In other words, it’s completely un-scientific. That said, it’s still fun to do, so see the results below.
VOTE TOTALS
- McCain – 3
- Obama – 37
- Ron Paul – 1
- Undecided – 4
COMMENTS
Ron Paul
***Ron Paul…real change. My experiences in Japan have provided me with a much different perspective since “return,” made me more receptive to initially intimidating political and economic ideas. I left the American Matrix for a while, and now there is no falling back to sleep.
Undecided
***I’m torn on the issue. At this point I could see myself voting for either party. Originally I planned on voting for Obama, but recently I do not like how his camp has been handling the issue of McCain choosing Palin as VP. I really could see the Republicans winning again. Since I live in California the state will go Democrat, so either way I guess it doesn’t matter all that much. Read More
Job: Copywriters – Japanese Market (West LA)
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Creative Circle: Copywriter – Japanese Market (West LA)
Reply to: LA37@creativecircle.com
Date: 2008-11-12, 5:34PM PST
Position: Copywriter – Japanese Market
Location: West LA
Status: Freelance
Estimated Duration: 7 Months
Starts: ASAP
Rate: DOE
Job Description (see below the jump): Read More
Job: Japanese Translation (Portland, OR)
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I saw this on Craigslist in the “Writing Jobs for Portland, OR” section. Not a lot of detail but seems worth sharing.
Japanese Translation
Reply to: job-915346793@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-11-11, 4:25PM PST
Our company is looking to fill a position for a Japanese translator on an as needed basis. This position will translate from English to Japanese. Salary based on experience.
Job: Translator – Patent Business – Tokyo-to, Tama-shi
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Translator Wanted (in Patent Business) (Tamasi)
Reply to: job-917144987@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-11-13, 6:18PM JT
Have a job listing that you want to reach the JET alumni community? Send it in to stevenwaseda /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com.
Another relevant job listing from Craigslist:
ESL Editor Needed Immediately (White Plains, NY)
Reply to: gupta.pooja@verizon.net [?]
Date: 2008-11-12, 12:45PM EST
Education Publisher located in White Plains,NY is looking for an ESL editor to start immediately.
1 – 2 years of ESL editing experience required. This is a temporary position with the possiblility of going permanent. The office is very close to the metro north train station, so an easy commute from NYC.
All qualified candidates send your resume with “ESL” on the subject in a word document or PDF file to:
Pooja Gupta at Ribolow Associates, Inc.
gupta.pooja@verizon.net
* Location: White Plains, NY
* Compensation: $15.00/hour
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
* Please, no phone calls about this job!
Job: Sports Writer in Japan (via Craigslist)
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Saw this interesting job posting on Craigslist for a sports writing job in Tokyo.
Sports Writer Wanted!
Reply to: job-913414746@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-11-11, 4:17AM JT
Join the exciting world of sport journalism and work under a former ESPN writer and current Yahoo! Sports contributor and blogger. Here is your chance to build your writing resume on a growing sports website. We are looking for knowledgeable baseball writers that have an understanding of the game and also an insiders information to future baseball prospects of Japan. Also we are looking for contributors in other sports as well. You must love sports and be willing to contribute exciting material.
Please contact us if you are interested and feel you are ready to be a sports writer.
