JET alum Richard Fontaine featured in NY Times article on foreign policy of Republican candidates
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JET alum Richard Fontaine (1997-98), President at the Center for New American Security, outside advisor to Jeb Bush, and former security advisor to Sen. John McCain
A great article on the foreign policy advisors to several Republican candidates, including JET alum Richard Fontaine–outsider foreign policy advisor to Jeb Bush and former security advisor to Sen. John McCain–who is featured and quoted extensively in the article.
“Between Iraq and a Hawk Base”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/magazine/between-iraq-and-a-hawk-base.html?_r=0
Contest: Design your dream Shikoku trip!
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Thanks to Tori Koyama (ALT Tokushima-ken, 2011-13, CIR Kagawa-ken, 2013-Present) for sharing this opportunity:
Want to travel Shikoku?
The Shikoku Transport and Tourism Bureau is sponsoring up to 20 foreign nationals who currently reside in Japan to design a tour of their choice, and use social media and online outlets to promote themselves and Shikoku; those that reach the widest audience could receive a cash prize! This is an excellent chance for budding travel-bloggers to get funding and explore Shikoku while honing writing skills.
The deadline is May 18 to apply; there will be a mandatory meeting on Saturday, May 24, in Takamatsu to kick things off. Any foreign national living in Japan is welcome to apply; limited Japanese ability is not a problem.
If you have any questions before applying, feel free to contact Tori Koyama (Tokushima 2011-13) at dt0102@pref.kagawa.lg.jp .
Specifics about the application can be found by clicking HERE.
Emily Metzgar’s op-ed: “The JET Program and the US-Japan Relationship”
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A great summary of the long-term value of the JET Program (i.e., Return on JET-vestment) by University of Indiana journalism professor (and JET alum) Emily Metzgar:
The JET Program and the US-Japan Relationship: Alumni of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program are an important part of bilateral ties.
As official Washington prepares for the late April visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his scheduled address to a joint session of Congress, many aspects of the bilateral relationship between the United States and Japan will rightly be feted, including a robust strategic alliance and significant economic ties between the two nations. The visit also presents an opportunity to consider a less discussed but increasingly important aspect of the U.S.-Japan relationship writ large: The extensive – and growing – network of American alumni of Japan’s long-standing Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program.
Click here to read the rest of the op-ed: http://thediplomat.com/2015/04/the-jet-program-and-the-us-japan-relationship/
Be interviewed for a book about the JET Program!
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Dear American JET Alumni,
I’m writing a book about American alumni of the JET Program and the growing influence of this community on the broader US-Japan relationship. I’m a professor at Indiana University and a JET alum (Shimane, 1993-1995). I’ve already published some research about American alumni of JET and the tremendous potential of this pool of college educated people with on-the-ground experience in Japan. My book will document that influence in a variety of contexts — political, cultural, educational, corporate, etc.
As I work on this book I need your help. I’m interested in talking with American alumni about the various ways they remain involved with Japan after finishing their tenure with JET. Would you be willing to be interviewed for this project?
I’ve set up an online data collection site and am asking that alumni who are willing to be interviewed use that link to provide a few details about themselves so I can determine whom to contact and when, based on my research timeline. This project is authorized by my university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and as the first item at the link below indicates, all safeguards associated with such university-approved research are in place.
If you’re willing to share your post-JET experiences and your insights about the growing influence of the American JET alumni community please click on this link (http://bit.ly/1Fvjvof) and provide the requested information (name, contact info, years & position on JET, current job, and nature of continued involvement with Japan). I will follow up with you soon to set up a phone or Skype interview.
If you have any questions about this request or if you’d just like to know more about this book project — I’m always happy to talk about it! — please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Thanks so much for any insights you can share. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Emily
JET alum’s column on Ebola in USAToday
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JET alum Emily Metzgar (Shimane-ken, 1995-93), a professor of journalism at Indiana University, has a column in USAToday this week titled, “Is U.S. ‘stuck on stupid’ on Ebola outbreak?”
If Emily’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she’s also the author of Promoting Japan: One JET at a time, a paper based on surveys of and research on the JET alumni community that attempts to measure return on JET-vestment.
Tennessee JET alum wins non-profit award for “ESL to Go” program
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Thanks to JET alum Jennifer Butler, who works for the Consulate in Nashville and also is a former JETAA USA Country Rep, for passing on the link to this news about JET alum Leah Hashinger who created a mobile ESL program – http://www.lipscomb.edu/news/archive/detail/101/28681:
JET alum Leah Hashinger, a student in the Master of Arts in Civic Leadership program at the Nelson & Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership at Lipscomb University, was recently awarded a Salute to Excellence Award from the Center for Nonprofit Management for her coordination of the ESL to Go program at the Tennessee Foreign Language Institute.
TFLI won first place, receiving a $25,000 prize in the Frist Foundation’s Innovation in Action category at the Center for Nonprofit Management’s awards ceremony. Hashinger, ESL to Go program manager, and Angela Harris, director of ESL/TESL at the institute, accepted the award.
Responding to the repeated identification of transportation as the number one barrier for refugees and immigrants in accessing English classes, ESL to Go offers a unique model of service delivery and access. The classroom-on-wheels (a truck outfitted as a classroom) brings English as a second language classes to refugees and immigrants in Davidson County.
“In 2011, I had the unique opportunity to transform an innovative idea into a reality,” said Hashinger. As a volunteer at TFLI, I began working with my supervisor on developing a mobile classroom that would bring English classes to the apartments where refugees live. The challenge allowed me to step into a leadership role where I learned to gather support from the community, build partnerships, gain trust and continue to respond to the dynamic needs of our students.”
Each year, CNM hosts Salute to Excellence, the “Academy Awards” of the Middle Tennessee nonprofit community, with a dinner and awards presentation that honors area nonprofits for their commitment to management excellence. The ceremony featured 12 awards and $210,000 in prize money for this year’s finalists. More than 1,000 guests and 35 of Nashville’s nonprofit organizations attended.
Hashinger is also the 2014 recipient of the Center for Nonprofit Management Award for Andrews Institute students. The award provides students a discounted tuition rate to earn their master’s degree in civic leadership.
“Watching Nashville become a leader in embracing cultural and ethnic diversity has inspired me to pursue a path of leadership as well,” said Hashinger. “As a civic leader, I will continually work to highlight the positive impact that immigration has on Nashville’s culture and economy, while developing innovative ways to fund nonprofit programs and rethink service delivery.”
New: JETAA Middle East
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JET alum publishes book on getting unstuck: “Dream in Color, Think in Black & White”
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Jonathan Bissell (Chiba-ken, 1995-2000) has written a “how-to” guide to getting unstuck and pursuing your life or career dreams. A timely topic as many JETAA chapters are hosting career forums over the next few weeks. His book, entitled “Dream in Color, Think in Black & White: How to Get Unstuck and Fulfill Your Dreams” is now available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback. For complete details visit amazon.com/author/jonathanbissell.
Description:
The world is filled with dreamers, but it’s owned by people who do. Yet too many dreamers are stuck, unhappy and unfulfilled in their life or career. They don’t know how to move forward or what to do next. Dream in Color, Think in Black & White is a focused and powerful book that provides practical and encouraging step-by-step guidance for dreamers everywhere who want to get unstuck and fulfill their dreams, but don’t know how.
Introduction:
Admit it. You’re stuck. Somewhere along the way, you had a dream that you let go of. But it hasn’t let go of you. You’re the reason this book was written. Because dreams matter. Dreams are powerful. And sometimes dreams just won’t go away – no matter how impractical, ill-timed or financially risky they are.
This is a book about getting unstuck in your life or career. It’s about learning to Dream in Color and Think in Black & White. There are three parts to this book: Dreaming in Color, Thinking in Black & White, and Fulfilling Your Dreams. Each part contains practical “how to” steps and examples explaining how to get unstuck and move toward your dream. The rest is up to you. Let’s get started.
Early Responses to Dream in Color, Think in Black & White:
“a superb must-read…a roadmap of balance and success”
Chaya Abelsky, Master Certified Coach, Principal at Triumphant Journeys LLC and Director of the NonProfit HelpDesk.
“powerfully written…compels you into creating a plan”
Jane A Creswell, Master Certified Coach, founder of IBM Coaches’ Network, CEO of iNTERNAL iMPACT, LLC, and the author of two books.
“a how-to guide for anyone seeking career and personal fulfillment”
Luther Jackson, Board Member, American Leadership Forum – Silicon Valley.
Daily Yomiuri: Japanese government announces increase for JET Programme
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According to a Daily Yomiuri article, the Japanese government plans to increase JET Programme participants by 2,300 between 2015 and 2019 with an eye towards eventually increasing the program to 20,000. This seems to be in line with LDP policies announced back in April.
Update 1:32 pm Sep. 22: Here’s an English version of the article:
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001586882
ALTs to be placed in all primary schools
The Yomiuri ShimbunThe government has decided to increase the number of Assistant Language Teachers considerably over a five-year period, starting from the next school year, to strengthen English education at primary schools.
Aiming to create a system in which ALTs will be assigned to all public primary schools by the 2019 school year, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry and the Foreign Ministry plan to increase the number of ALTs by about 2,300 over five years as a national project. Combined with ALTs who are hired independently by municipalities, the ministries intend to expand the total number of ALTs to 20,000, or 1.5 times the current level, by the 2019 school year.
The education ministry has decided to lower the starting age for English education from the current fifth year of primary school to the third year by the 2020 school year, and make it an official subject from the fifth year.
Experts have said it is important to secure a sufficient number of native English speakers, and utilize them to enhance the learning environments for students.
About 800 ALTs first came to Japan in 1987 when the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program was launched as a state international exchange project. As of 2002, the number of ALTs had increased to about 5,600, but it began to decrease after that due to financial problems. The current number is about 4,100.
Besides ALTs on the JET Program, about 8,000 ALTs hired independently by municipalities and other organizations have been dispatched to local primary and middle schools across the nation. In some cases, an ALT teaches at several schools.
According to experts, considerable disparity exists among the nation’s 21,000 public primary schools. While some schools have resident ALTs, some schools are visited by an ALT once about every six months.
The government therefore plans to increase the number of ALTs in the JET Program in stages. From the 2020 school year onward, English lessons will increase from the current once a week to three times a week for fifth-grade and sixth-grade students. Third-grade and fourth-grade students will have English lessons once or twice a week, and the education ministry plans to have ALTs frequently instruct students in English classes.
The budget for English education utilizing ALTs is expected to increase from about ¥30 billion this school year to about ¥50 billion a year eventually. The government also plans to launch a subsidy system for supporting municipalities that independently hire ALTs.
ALT
An ALT assists Japanese teachers in teaching foreign languages such as English at primary, middle and high schools. In addition to ALTs who come to Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, a state international exchange project, others are directly hired by municipalities or private organizations contracted to dispatch ALTs.
From the 2011 school year, foreign language studies became compulsory for fifth-grade and sixth-grade primary school students. The role of ALTs has expanded to include assisting with pronunciation and listening comprehension.
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Here’s the article in Japanese. Attempted translations or paraphrases are welcome in the comments section:
全公立小に英語指導助手、５年間で２万人に
2014年09月22日 17時27分
小学校の英語教育を強化するため、文部科学、総務、外務３省は、学校で英語指導などにあたる外国語指導助手（ＡＬＴ）を来年度から５年間で、国の事業だけで約２３００人増員し、６４００人以上とする方針を決めた。
自治体が独自に採用しているＡＬＴなどと合わせ、２０１９年度までに総数を現在の１・５倍の２万人に拡充し、すべての公立小学校に配置できる体制を目指す。
小学校の英語教育では、文科省が２０年度をめどに、開始時期を現在の５年生から３年生に引き下げ、５年生からは正式な教科にする方針を固めている。質の高い学習環境を整える上で、英語を母国語とするＡＬＴの確保や活用が課題として指摘されていた。
ＡＬＴは、国の国際交流事業（ＪＥＴプログラム）が始まった１９８７年に約８００人が来日し、２００２年に約５６００人となったが、その後財政難で減り、現在は約４１００人。ほかに、自治体の独自採用などで、約８０００人が各地の小中学校などに派遣されている。全国の公立小学校（約２万１０００校）では常駐する学校もあるが、１人で数校を受け持つケースもあり、半年に１回程度しか派遣を受けられない学校もあるという。
A loss in the JET alumni community
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From the CLAIR New York Facebook page:
We are saddened to learn of the passing of Ms. Nancy Kikuchi, one of the founding members of the JETAA Southern California chapter and a tireless advocate for the Japanese-American community in Los Angeles. Nancy was a Mombusho English Fellow before becoming one of the original JETs back in 1987. Returning to LA, she helped organize the chapter and served as its president from 1989 to 1993. Remaining active in alumni affairs, she went on to pursue a career in real estate, served as an advocate and consultant for the people of Little Tokyo, and worked for a number of community-based organizations. She was among five 2012 Women of the Year named by the Downtown Los Angeles Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and the Japanese Women’s Society of Southern California . Nancy embodied the talents, abilities, and aspirations of the finest JET Program participants, strengthening ties between Japan and her home country, and building on that experience to serve her community while always being there for Japan, for JET, and for her fellow alumni.
Japan Times: Osaka bets big on TOEFL to boost English levels
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Interesting article about the Osaka Prefecture Board of Education’s English education initiative and further discussion of the “Super English Teachers” (SETs). Former AJET Chair Matthew Cook (Osaka-fu, 2007-12) is not quoted but is very involved in the initiative. Matt is also the founder of the Kansai JET Alumni group.
Osaka bets big on TOEFL to boost English levels
In the perennial debate about English-language education in Japan, there is widespread agreement that the system is archaic and change is needed. The consensus stops there.
Everyone concerned has a panacea: more (or less) assistant language teachers, more teacher training, more technology, more of a focus on language production, less testing, better testing, smaller class sizes, eviscerating and overhauling the curriculum, greater use of English in class. The remedies are as numerous as the debate is old. But in a consensus-bound country such as Japan, change, if and when it comes, is usually incremental — and perhaps then, even obsolete.
No one could accuse Toru Nakahara, the superintendent of education for Osaka Prefecture, of kowtowing to the status quo. He is responsible for pushing through a raft of initiatives, chief among them the introduction of TOEFL (the Test of English as a Foreign Language) at top-performing high schools, which will be taught by an elite group of teachers earning approximately ¥8 million a year. (Disclosure: I teach part-time at one of these schools.) From the board of education’s perspective, this is radical. But is it also just a formulaic riff on the “teach to the test” approach? Read More
JET-alum owned Chin Music Press opens in Seattle’s Pike Place Market
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Thanks to JET alum David Jacobson, who works for Chin Music Press, for sharing this press release. Chin Music Press is a Seattle-based publisher owned and run by Bruce Rutledge (Monbusho English Fellow, Chiba-ken, 1985-87) with a reputation for noteworthy cover art.
Indie Book Publisher Opens Office/Retail Space in Seattle’s Pike Place Market
Press Release
July 16, 2014
Local independent book publisher Chin Music Press today opened a new office and retail/exhibit space in Seattle’s famed Pike Place Market. The retail space, open from 11am to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday, will feature all Chin Music titles as well as related posters, zines, chapbooks, stationery, broadsides and other artwork.
“It’s a great privilege for a small publisher like us to be able to obtain space at Pike Place Market,” said Chin Music Press Publisher Bruce Rutledge. “We now have room to give all of our titles the shelf space and attention they deserve. But more importantly, we can add to the literary ecosystem in Seattle. We look forward to connecting with other presses, bookstores, artists and lovers of literature to make our space a vibrant part of the community.”
“The Pike Place Market is very pleased to have Chin Music Press join the market community,” said Kelly Lindsay, director of programs and marketing for the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority. “We believe the Seattle community, as well as visitors from around the world, will enjoy Chin Music’s first retail store and the opportunity to directly engage with featured artists, writers and photographers. Now home to five independent bookstores, the Pike Place Market is a destination for people who love to read. ”
Chin Music Press is best known in Seattle for such titles asShiro: Wit, Wisdom and Recipes from a Sushi Pioneer,Yokohama Yankee and A Commonplace Book of Pie. It has won awards and accolades for its books, with one NPR reviewer saying the press provided “a triumphant kick in the pants for anyone who doubts the future of paper-and-ink books.” Read More
By Nick Woolsey (CIR Tottori-ken, 2011-13), an engineer based in Japan who works for Eureka, a Japanese company.
The time is right to start your career in Japan
The JET Program has always worked very hard to provide its participants with a smooth entry into Japan, support during their tenure, and facilitation for the transition back to their countries of origin. It is a wonderful and incredibly organized teaching exchange system, but the primary pattern is, however, to finish the program and life in Japan at the same time. Every year, a large percentage of those participants ending their tenure feel pained as they leave the country they have grown to love, and a few find ways to stay or come back. That is about to change.
The few JETs (and other foreigners) who brave working life in Japan after their initial contract have found it difficult to find gainful employment outside the education industry because there simply hasn’t been demand for it. Other than the JET Program, the education system in its entirety is also highly organized, standardized, and rigid in its timeline: by far the optimal time to find employment is directly after high school or college. Even an extra year or two spent studying abroad or getting a master’s degree has been looked down upon more often than one would suspect. In addition, changing companies was seen as almost as disgraceful as a samurai betraying one’s feudal lord, and there was no such thing as work/life balance because life was one’s work and one’s company. Japanese companies have been designed to hire from this homogenous talent pool and allow for gradual training and growth with seniority. Participants in the JET Program were not meant fit in this system.
Since finishing the JET Program in 2011, I have learned that at the ground level, small and medium sized businesses, that system is now finally increasingly ready for change. While not newsworthy yet, Japan’s workforce crisis has started. A number of social and economic factors, all heavily linked to the aging population, seem to be causing the Japanese human resource talent pool to shrink and maybe worsen. Small businesses especially feel this blow because the best hires often go to larger companies, whose human resource demands have not decreased. As the total number of working people decrease, therefore, larger businesses take up an even greater percentage of talented employees, leaving less desirable employees and unmet demand in human resources. Read More
Leading U.S.-Japan Exchange in Northern California: JETAANC
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The following was written by JETAA Northern California President Mark Frey (Kumamoto-ken, 2002-06) with contributions from Xander Peterson (Miyazaki, 2009-2012) and was originally published in Japanese in the most recent edition of the CLAIR Forum which is distributed to pretty much every prefecture and town government in Japan as well as every Japanese consulate and embassy. Below is the English version. Here’s a link to the CLAIR Forum (PDF) which has the article in Japanese.
Leading U.S.-Japan Exchange in Northern California: JETAANC
By Mark Frey, President, JETAANC, mark.frey@jetaanc.org
Many of you know participants of the JET Program (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program). They may be your co-workers or friends. But what happens to them when they return to their home countries? I hope to show you some of the exciting things that former JETs are doing on behalf of U.S.-Japan relations. I will also suggest some ways that you can engage JET alumni to further your own goals.
In 1989, two years after the start of the JET Program, former JETs gathered and established the JET Program Alumni Association (JETAA) with the aim of giving each other support and continuing the mission of the JET Program to foster grassroots international exchange.
Over the past 25 years, JETAA has grown into a vibrant worldwide organization. There are now over 57,000 JET alumni living across the globe. Over 28,000 of them live in America. That’s about 1 in every 8,000 American adults! You can see the positive impact that JET alumni can have in promoting Japan around the world.
This year I became President of JETAA’s Northern California chapter, JETAANC. With over 3,000 members, I am proud to say that we are one of the largest and most active chapters in the world. Next year we will celebrate our 25th Anniversary.
Our alumni are working at every level of every sector of the local economy, including for-profit, non-profit, education, and government. They are promoting exchange between the U.S. and Japan whenever and however they can.
Every year, our alumni provide substantial support to the JET Program. Read More
Leaving JET: “Dear God, what have I done!?”
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By Hollie Mantle (Gunma-ken, 2011-13) who lives in the UK but has great memories of Gumma, home to the wonderful choking hazard konniyaku.
In February some of you would have ticked that fateful box and signed away all ties to that sweet, sweet wage packet and comfortable life you’re living tucked away in one of Japan’s mountainside prefectures, famous for cabbages or sweet potatoes or a particular flavour of senbei. (Oh the fame, the glory!) As it’s coming up to just before home time, I thought I’d give you a few tips just to horrify you into clinging desperately to your futon and make you comfort-eat kara-age as you think ‘DEAR GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE?’ Read More
