Mar 21

Radio Interview about JET and Japan on WOR 710 AM New York

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I was interviewed on a radio program earlier this week on New York radio station 710 AM and asked to talk about the JET Program and some of the cultural context for what’s going on in Japan.   As I explained about the JET Program to Denise Richardson, the interviewer, I realized how impressed she and others there were to learn that something like the JET Program even existed, that there are currently between 4,000 and 5,000 JETs in Japan and 55,000+ JET alumni worldwide.

Correction:  In the interview, I realized afterward that incorrectly agreed with the statement that there are 4,000 to 5,000 JETs from the US in Japan.  That number actually includes JETs from all countries.


Mar 21

WIT Life #157: Bye Bye Kitty!!!

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WITLife 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 together with her own observations.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the opening for the Japan Society’s newest exhibit, Bye Bye Kitty!!! The title refers to opposition towards the domination of Japan’s kawaii-ness, the idea of cuteness that has become Japan’s major export as represented by Hello Kitty.  It features 16 artists, many of them quite young and not household names, and their interpretation of this concept.  I was particularly drawn in by the intricacy of the works of 38-year old Manabu Ikeda, whose pen and ink masterpieces were incredibly detailed and required several minutes of close examination to take in all of their elements.

Equally interesting was the large-scale Read More


Mar 19

JETAA Chapter Beat: Disaster Relief Efforts

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After the devastation in Japan last week, JETAA chapters around the world have stepped up with a variety of efforts to aid those affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Check out what your chapter is doing and lend your support to a place you once called home.

JETAA USA

  • JETAA USA Relief Fund – The “JETAA USA Japan Earthquake Relief Fund” is the official relief fund of the all-volunteer Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program Alumni Association of America (JETAA USA). JET alumni have experience living and working in communities across Japan, so the disaster has struck very close to home. All 19 JET alumni chapters across the U.S. are currently working together to raise funds to aid in the disaster relief and recovery efforts. JETAANY, the New York chapter of JETAA USA, is hosting the fund. JETAANY is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, and PayPal has graciously offered to waive all transaction fees from March 11 to April 10. The proceeds will go to supporting earthquake relief and recovery efforts in Japan and fees related to administering the fund.

JETAA D.C.

  • Town Hall Meeting and Fundraising Event – Wednesday, March 23rd, 6-8 at L’Enfant Cafe and Bar. This event will serve not only as a fundraiser to generate income for the JETAAUSA Earthquake Fund, but also as a platform to gather the JET community and to discuss ideas about how we can develop consistent, high-quality events throughout the year to maintain awareness about the situation in Japan.

JETAA Northern California

  • Japan Relief Donation Night – Monday, March 21st, 6-9, at PiQ Italian Bakery and Cafe. PiQ is collaborating with the Red Cross @ CAL, represented also will be Red Cross USA, and the JETAANC, representing JETAA USA. All individual donations and all sales for the night will be pooled together into the PiQ Japan Relief Donation Fund. Half of that will go to the Res Cross who will distribute it to the Japan Red Cross. The other half will go to the JETAA USA Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.
  • Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund – Sponsored by the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, this relief fund goes directly towards citizen relief efforts in most affected areas.
  • Chibi Chan Preschool Auction – Chibi Chan Preschool, a program of the non-profit organization Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC) in SF Japantown, is holding their annual auction fundraiser. This year they will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Japan earthquake relief efforts.
  • Earthquake Relief Fundraiser – Wednesday, March 23rd, 6-8 at O! Izakaya. JETAANC will be hosting a community fundraising event in the upstairs mezzanine of O! Izakaya, located in the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco’s Japantown. Donations will go to the JETAA USA Japan Earthquake Relief Fund and 100% of of the proceeds will be used to support earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan.

JETAA UK

  • Give a Day for Japan – JETAA UK is asking all former JET Programme participants to support relief efforts in Japan by giving a day’s pay to the Japan Society Fund. The Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund link will channel all donations received to the ongoing work of voluntary and community organizations(NPOs) working in the most affected prefectures. Donations can be made via the Japan society website or by phone.

JETAA Pacific Northwest

  • Seattle Japan Relief – SeattleJapanRelief is a collaboration of Japanese American and Japan related cultural, educational, and civic organizations standing together to promote relief and recovery following the devastating earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan. We are committed to mobilizing funds quickly in support of immediate relief efforts. We are also steadfast in our resolve to remain involved with long-term recovery efforts.

JETAA New York

  • Xaverian High School Concert for Japan (alma mater of Inuyama City Councilman and JET alum Anthony Bianchi (Aichi)) – Thursday, March 31st, 7:00 at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn. In an effort to help friends in need, Mr. Joseph Loposky, Director of Music at Xaverian, has announced a benefit concert that will take place at the school.  Admission will be $10 per person.  In addition, a clothing drive has been organized in cooperation with Catholic Relief Services.  If you’d like to participate, you can drop off any garments you’ll be donating at the performance.  Coinciding with our event, will be another in Japan, organized by Anthony Bianchi ’76, Inuyama City Council Member.
  • Run for Japan – Sunday, March 20th, 8:30, 10, and 11:30 at Central Park at the 72nd and 5th Ave Entrance. Dosokai, a group of NY runners from Hokkaido, will run for victims of the unprecedented disaster that happened last week in Northeast Japan. It won’t be a competition, but will be a peaceful group run.

JETAA Minnesota

  • Fundraiser Event – Tentatively scheduled for April 15th or 16th, Minnesota JET will be putting together a benefit event for disaster relief in Japan. Funds will go to the USA national JET Alumni Association to be donated to a TBD cause in Japan. More details to be announced.

JETAA Great Lakes

  • Tsunami Fundraising Brainstorming Event – Saturday, March 19th, 4-7 at Yotsuba Restaurant.

JETAA New Orleans

  • NOLA Japan Quake Fund – Having survived Hurricane Katrina, the people of our community share a special bond with the people in Japan whose lives will be forever changed by this disaster. The NOLA Japan Quake Fund Coalition’s hope is that we can assist the Japanese in their time of need, just as they did for us following Katrina.

 

 


Mar 19

Kyodo News: Little Tokyo Community (LA) Mourns Tragedy, Rallies Support – by JET alum Jody Godoy

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Kyodo News article by LA-based JET alum and Kyodo News reporter Jody Godoy (Fukui-ken):

Little Tokyo Community Mourns Tragedy, Rallies Support

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined Japanese Consul General Junichi Ihara and more than 600 attendees at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in the Little Tokyo area on Thursday evening to mourn Japan’s quake and tsunami victims and show solidarity with the shaken country.

CLICK HERE to read full article.

 


Mar 18

Ways JET Alums Can Help: Wear a button that says, “Ask Me About Japan”

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AS a JET alum, you know far more about Japan than most people in your country (unless you live in Japan of course).  One of the really helpful thing you can do in the coming weeks and months is to help keep up awareness and understanding of Japan.  Help people continue to feel connected to and empathetic toward Japan, even after the story falls from the headlines.  Because support is going to be needed for a long while.  This is not a short term effort.

Here’s one more way you can help:

  • Wear a button (or a t-shirt or other wearable item) that simply says:  “Ask me about Japan”.
  • Do this not just now but in the coming weeks and months as well.

This will:

a) Keep Japan in everyone’s consciousness

b) Turn JET alums (and others who have lived in Japan) into a resource for people who want to know more about Japan, to connect with Japan, to support Japan.

This is something all JET alums can do to help.


Mar 18

Ways JET Alums Can Help: Make yourself available to talk to schools, churches, companies, other organizations

Earthquake Tsunami, Volunteer Comments Off on Ways JET Alums Can Help: Make yourself available to talk to schools, churches, companies, other organizations

AS a JET alum, you know far more about Japan than most people in your country (unless you live in Japan of course).  One of the really helpful thing you can do in the coming weeks and months is to help keep up awareness and understanding of Japan.  Help people continue to feel connected to and empathetic toward Japan, even after the story falls from the headlines.  Because support is going to be needed for a long while.  This is not a short term effort.

Here’s one more way you can help:

  • Make yourself available to talk to schools, churches, companies or other organizations in your community.  People do not know a lot about Japan, but many will want to know more.  Put yourself out there and offer to be a link.  To answer questions for students.  To share some personal experiences about what it was like to live in Japan.
  • Better yet, work with your local JET Alumni Association chapter and/or Japanese Consulate to make it a more organized effort.

This is something all JET alums can do to help.


Mar 18

Ways JET alums can help: Engage your grad school or college alumni offices

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JET alumni are helping in so many ways–fundraising, volunteering, translating, communicating, etc–that it’s hard to keep track of.  (Which makes me feel prouder than ever to have served as a JET.)

If you’re looking for ways to help, here’s one more:

  1. Get in touch with your grad school or college alumni office.
  2. Let them know you’re a JET alum (you might have to explain what that is).
  3. Offer to be a resource for helping them to support Japan in some way.  Or encourage them to do so.

Your school most likely has some form of connection with Japan.  But they may not be focused on the details of what’s going on.  Or how to engage their alumni in an appropriate way.

Be a resource for your school’s alumni organization.  Offer to write something, to share helpful links or information, to explain things, to translate, to be a point person for reaching out to other alumni.  Figure out whatever their needs (or obstacles) are in connection with supporting Japan and figure out a way to be helpful to them.

Many people who don’t have a connection to Japan want to help but may not know how.  Be the person that enables them to help.  And to do that, make sure you’re up to date and educated.  Reading JetWit is a good start.  Also check the websites of your nearest JET Alumni Association chapter as well as any other Japan-related organizations in your area.

This is a role all JET alumni can play.

 


Mar 18

Japanese Moms United – Union Square, NYC

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A group of Japanese moms in NYC held a fundraising event in Union Square on Thursday.  Here’s the article along with a video worth watching:

http://www.ny1.com/?ArID=135758


Mar 18

Pacific Northwest JETAA – Yoku ganbatta!

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Pacific Northwest JETAA was involved in a fundraising event at Uwajimaya (the big Japanese food store in Seattle).  Here’s a recap from PNW JETAA officer Shun Endo:

“I don’t have official numbers, but at the end of the day we had over $10,000 in donations! I was so moved at everybody’s concern and kindness. Even high school kids and junior high school kids were giving! People really do care, and are looking for an opportunity to give. It really moved me.”


Mar 18

Video: Escaping the tsunami

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Mar 18

Helpful info and links from the Japan Foundation (NY)

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Via Tatsuaki Kobayashi, Deputy Director General for the Japan Foundation in New York:


Mar 18

The Encounter

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Renay Loper (ALT, Iwate 2006-2007) is a freelance writer and international education professional currently seeking FT opportunities.

As we watch the news…check our emails…and receive phone calls and updates about what is happening in Japan daily, I am sure that images and fond memories of our time there flood our minds. Our hope, prayers, and positive energies remain with our friends, families, colleagues, and fellow JETs still in Japan.

I wanted to share a positive note and reflection that I wrote during my time as an ALT in Iwate. In the least, I hope I can incite a smile.

Enticed by your beauty and charm.  My interest was peaked from the first time I heard about you…only in passing.

“I’ve got to meet her”.

I willingly left my land behind.  Blindly following your majestic legend.  Your mystery captivated me.  I was led like a shy schoolgirl following a strange hand offering a piece of candy.

Not knowing where my decision would land me, I went.

Greeted by the rising sun, and the setting smiles. You hugged me. I hugged back.

I was consumed by your culture and charm.  Your fickle mind left me unarmed.  Your questioning eyes stare at me.

Piercing my being.

I want to give you my all.  Share with you everything that I am.  I am nervous.  Borderline afraid. I am forced to ask myself, “why?”  You have shared with me the intricacies of your history.  Your timeless culture has embraced me.

Surely I can do the same.

Greeted by a room full of your children My worries are trumped, to return no more. You have welcomed me unconditionally.

To you, Lady Japan, I say thank you.

Published 2007 JET Journal


Mar 18

JETAA UK Fundraising Campaign

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Via JETAA National Executive Member 2010-2011, Fiona Steel.

GIVE A DAY FOR JAPAN

  • JETAA UK is asking all former JET Programme participants to support relief efforts in Japan by giving a day’s pay to the Japan Society fund.
  • The Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund link will channel all donations received to the ongoing work of voluntary and community organisations (NPOs) working in the most affected prefectures.

    • Read More


    Mar 18

    Unaccounted for JETs 03.18.11

    Earthquake Tsunami Add Comment (3)

    JET Taylor Anderson - still unaccounted for

    Two U.S. JETs remain unaccounted for as of Monday, March 21 8:22 am NY time.  If you have any information, please email it to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.

     

    Montgomery "Monty" Dickson

    Read More


    Mar 18

    Two more JETs located

    Earthquake Tsunami Comments Off on Two more JETs located

    10:43 am NY time Friday Mar 18

    Good JET news:  Got confirmation that Jessica Besecker and Edward Clemons have been located.  Here’s a Chicago Tribune article about Edward when he was still unaccounted for.

    Edward Clemons in an earlier photo

     


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