Japan Local Government Center (JLGC) Newsletter – #65
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The Japan Local Government Center (JLGC) Newsletter (Vol. 65) is now available online (PDF). Make sure to check out the page-3 feature on the always ganbatte-ing JETAA USA Liaison Taichi Hanzawa entitled appropriately enough: “A Year in My Life as the Liaison for JETAA America.”
FYI, The JLGC (also known as CLAIR New York) is essentially JETAA’s headquarters and also where JETAA NY holds most of its meetings.
A JET alum translator e-mailed with the below questions. Feel free to share your response in the comments section of this post, or e-mail to jetwit at jetwit dot com if you’d prefer your comment to remain anonymous.
1) At the moment, the Japanese economy is doing just terribly. Has anyone seen declines or reductions in the amount of work they are receiving?
2) In the longer term, as well, the economy doesn’t look like it is going to improve much, either. How do they feel about the prospects for making a business out of translating, are they feeling pessimistic for the future?
Via the Honyaku Group
Marc Adler has just posted some info about a job in Austin, Texas on the Honyaku discussion group. It involves sorting through a large amount of Japanese documents for a law firm and simply sorting them into their different types (invoices, etc.), and may take around two months. For further info you can find his original posting here:
Corrected job description via the Consulate General of Japan in Miami:
Program Coordinator in MIAMI, FL
Description:
The Japan Information and Culture Department of the Consulate General of Japan in Miami has an opening for a program coordinator. This is a full-time contract position. The ideal candidate will be fast-paced, results oriented, creative and flexible. Excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills in team planning, public speaking and presenting are required.
“Bankruptcy Lover” – by Bankruptcy Bill and The Fresh Starts
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Bankruptcy Bill is a cartoon created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall. To see more strips as well as original bankruptcy haiku, go to bankruptcybill.wordpress.com.
Ladies and gentlemen, debtors and creditors, we are pleased to share the debut single by Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts….
“Bankruptcy Lover“
http://bankruptcybill.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/bankruptcylovermp3.mp3
(Click either the link above or the image below to listen.)
Bankruptcy Bill & The Fresh Starts groupies can get their…
Click here for the lyrics and explanatory notes as well as a note on copyright and use restrictions. Read More
WIT Life #32: Hisashiburi Hello
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
I have been on a bit of a hiatus as I was traveling around Japan for the last 2 weeks! It’s always great to go back and experience what a wonderful, crazy, beautiful, amazing country it is. This trip was particularly special as I had the chance to visit my JET hometown of Kumamoto where the sakura were in full bloom!
The ones in Tokyo were just starting to bud, but I unfortunately wasn’t able to see them in all their grandeur. I was, however, able to Read More
JET alum Michael Auslin to moderate panel on North Korea missile launching
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Testing the Obama Administration: Implications of a North Korean Missile Launch
Event Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2008
At this event, JET alum and AEI’s Director of Japan Studies Michael Auslin will moderate a panel that will discuss the implications of a North Korean missile launch, including how the launch will affect U.S. relations with other countries in the region, and the future of the six-party …
“Death in a Hole” 3 Takes on the Sad Story of Takae Gasho
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, founder of Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
Background Story: While golfing i
n Rupetau Golf Course with her two sons and husband, Takae fell into a 5 meter deep, 1.5 meter around hole and died.
NHK Briefly Mentions – NHK News, after the G20 Summit and North Korea, mentioned the story of Taka e ¾ the way into their news broadcast. “We were walking behind Takae when she fell, but we did not see any hole” as reported by a policeman who spoke with the family.
Yomiuri Dramatizes –Yomiuri’s title tells it all: “Woman falls into deep hole and dies before her husband and children’s eyes”. Add the grizzly detail of “when her body was found it was half covered in sand” and you feel like you’re reading a Stephen King novel.
Asahi Accuses – Asahi’s choice of words compared to Yomiuri’s made it clear who’s responsible. Yomiuri tells “workers that morning had surveyed the golf course and found nothing irregular” while Asahi claimed “the manager had surveyed the golf course and found nothing irregular.” Asahi’s closing paragraph stated the golf course could be investigated on “suspicion of professional negligence leading to death.”
Happy Fun Smile, will play at Columbia on April 10.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/japansociety/matsuri.html
Date: Friday, April 10, 2009
Raindate: Friday, April 17, 2009
Time: 4:00 – 8:00 PM
Location: Low Plaza
JETAA Job Fair in Chicago!
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SATURDAY, April 4 – JETAA JOB FAIR!
This Saturday, JETAA Chicago will be hosting its annual JETAA Job Fair. Although the fair is open to everyone, it may be especially beneficial to those with previous experience in Japan or Japanese language skills. Representatives from top Japanese companies and recruiting firms will be on hand to accept resumes and explore job opportunities in Chicago.
The fair will run from 12-4 with a wine & cheese reception to follow from 4-5. This will be a great opportunity for those interested in networking to meet some Chicago-area Japan-related company representatives!
The fair will be held in the Japan Information Center located at 737 N. Michigan Avenue, 10th floor.
For more information or to submit your resume, please contact Rob Corder at chicagojetaajobfair at gmail dot com.
Japan-America Society Round-Up 4.2.09
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Current Hiroshima-ken JET Gail Meadows shines a light on some of the upcoming events and activities of Japan-America Societies across the U.S. …
49th Annual Sakura Matsuri – Saturday, April 4, 11 a.m – 6 p.m. at 12th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Come enjoy the biggest Japanese festival in the world (outside of Japan!). Bonus: it’s free. For more information, see the society’s event listing.
- Acupuncture Lecture and Demonstration – Monday, April 6, 7 p.m. at Casa de Luz, 1701 Toomey Road. The first blind acupuncturist in Texas will share the history of blind acupuncture practitioners in Japan, as well as demonstrate how the Toyohari method is different from other methods of acupuncture. See the society’s e-newsletter for more information.
- Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival – Saturday/Sunday, April 11 & 12 in San Francisco’s Japanese quarter, centered at Post and Buchanan streets. Two hundred thousand people attend this bustling street festival each year. This year, for the first time, Hello Kitty and her entourage will be visiting from Japan’s Puroland. For more information, see the society’s event listing.
- Nichibei Luncheon – Friday, April 17, 12 – 1:30 p.m. at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, 300 Carew Tower 441 Vine St. Lauren S. Crane, Assistant Professor of Psychology & East Asia Studies at Wittenberg University, will give a presentation titled “Building Japanese-style and American-style Relationships.” The talk will explore the cross-cultural similarities and differences in relationship-building and consider why Americans and Japanese have different relationship styles in the first place. For more information, visit the society’s website.
Does your local Japan-America Society have an upcoming event you’d like to share with others? Let JetWit know by sending an e-mail with the info to Gail Meadows at japansociety (at) jetwit (dot) com.
Even more video from the JET Alumni Author Showcase
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Thanks to Lawrence Brenner (www.lawrencebrenner.com), an online video and content specialist who covers a lot of Roland Kelts’ events, we have even more video from the JET Alumni Author Showcase laid out in nice YouTube video clips:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E204A157B05C1AEC
Seattle-based Kevin Kajitani (Kyogo-ken, 2006-07) just let us know about his blog, iSpeakJapanese.net, which features current events as well as videos and other tools for learning or improving your Japanese. Kevin, who was featured in the Winter 2009 issue of JQ (JETAA NY Quarterly) Magazine, is the co-founder of Speakit LLC along with his partner Aaron.
As you’ll notice, Kevin and Aaron have a rather unique and creative approach to Japanese language and culture learning.
Zorgamazoo wins 3rd prize at New York Book Show
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Good news to report from Rob Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), author of the rhyming novel Zorgamazoo:
One reason I travelled to NYC last week was because my book was up for a design award from the Bookbinder’s Guild of New York, presented at the New York Book Show.
…I’m very pleased to announce that Zorgamazoo won 3rd prize in the Young Adult Hardcover category! The book was beaten out by two other impressive entries, Moribito by Nahoko Uehashi, which took 2nd prize, and Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley, which claimed the category.
(Click here to read the rest of Rob’s post)
(Click here to watch a video clip of Rob reading reading a selection from Zorgamazoo at the recent JET Alumni Author Showcase.)
Roland Kelts interviewed by AnimeNewsNetwork’s Chicks-On-Anime
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A good (and long) interview with Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, by Bamboo and Sara (aka Chicks-On-Anime) has been posted on the AnimeNewsNetwork.
