Rikuzentakata, Iwate: 9 months after the tsunami by Alison Brown
Article/Journalism, Earthquake Tsunami, Japan Local, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Writers 
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Thanks to Vancouver-based JET alum Alison Dacia Brown (Iwate-ken, Rikuzentakata-shi, 2005-08) for sharing this article she wrote with JETwit, which also appears (with photos) on page 8 of the latest issue of the JETAA British Columbia Newsletter. It is a follow-up to a previous article she wrote titled “Rikuzentakata.”
Rikuzentakata, Iwate: 9 months after the tsunami
The last article I wrote for JETAABC was just a few weeks after the tragedy happened. I lived in Rikuzentakata, a small city in Iwate prefecture on the coast, whose location and landscape could not have been worse on March 11th. Over nine months has passed, and even though Rikuzentakata, or Takata for short, is far from being fully healed, it’s unbelievable what has been accomplished to make the city liveable again in such a short period of time.
Temporary housing has been built. Grass has begun to grow again. Debris has been cleared. The Tanabata festival has been celebrated. A Lawson has been opened. Possessions have been returned to their owners. Possessions thought to have been lost forever. As an example of this, could you imagine losing your home and possessions and barely escaping with your child and a few clothes? Could you imagine the happiness you would feel when a volunteer is able to give you a memory card with pictures on it you thought were lost forever? There was one volunteer department responsible for this ‘Photo Recovery Project’. In an online video, I smiled when I saw those blue laundry hangers with the clips holding photos that had been recovered and carefully cleaned.
I was devastated when I saw the images of the destruction in the days that followed the tragedy. What was worse was seeing a video taken of the city from a helicopter. It wasn’t just destruction; it looked apocalyptic. I recognized about three buildings which were some of the biggest: The Capital Hotel, City Hall and the building that housed Daiso and the town supermarket, Maiya. Even though they were spared from the waves which swept mostly everything away, they seemed to stand there like ruins, completely gutted from the inside. In the days that followed, a closer look at these buildings showed trapped trees, cars, and probably people which were swept into their paths. Boats on top of buildings seemed commonplace.
I keep in regular contact with my friends in Rikuzentakata and Ofunato, the city next door. In addition, I do some volunteer editing on the Save Takata website. I feel like doing all these things is keeping my spirits up. What also keeps my spirits up is hearing all the stories about my town from volunteers and friends. The day-to-day activities that show that life really does go on are amazing. One of humankind’s best qualities is the ability to adapt, and the residents of Rikuzentakata have certainly adapted and carried on. Enzo Caffarelli, a good friend and former ALT from Takata, has since returned with the volunteer group All Hands. I remember messaging him back and forth on Facebook after he arrived and he told me was doing some work at a rice harvest cooperative, and being managed by a dirty old Japanese man who loved women and sexual innuendos. Awesome. Read More
JETAA British Columbia Newsletter – January issue
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Thanks to JETAA BC Newsletter Editor Thomas Law for sharing the latest issue of the JETAA BC Newsletter. If you haven’t seen their newsletter, they do a really nice one so take a look.
- PDF: http://www.jetaabc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NewsletterV16N3.pdf
- Online viewer version on Issuu.com at http://issuu.com/jetaabc/docs/newsletterv16n3
The MEF and JET Programs in US-Japan Relations by Michael Green
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Here’s an article titled “The MEF and JET Programs in US-Japan Relations” (PDF) recently published in the CLAIR Newsletter (in both English and Japanese) and written by Michael Green, former Director of Asian Affairs for the National Security Council during the Bush Administration and currently a Japan policy expert in D.C. Michael was a Monbusho English Fellow (MEF), the forerunner to the JET Programme.
Article link: http://www.clair.or.jp/j/forum/forum/pdf_267/10_jet02.pdf
Here’s an excerpt:
“I was authorized to chair a special committee of the top Japan experts from the State, Defense, Treasury, the CIA, Commerce and USTR. Each agency would designate its own representative. When we first gathered in the Old Executive Office Building and introduced ourselves, we came to an intriguing realization. Every official around the room but one had either been an MEF, a JET or a Mansfield Fellow. We had lived in small towns and cities all across Japan. We could have conducted the entire meeting in Japanese.”
New Facebook group: Queens JET Alums
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JETAANY Secretary Pam Kavalam just set up an informal “Queens JET Alums” Facebook group for anyone living in the Borough of Queens, with a connection to Queens or perhaps even just aspiring to live there. With a gazillion cultures and ethnic groups in Queens (along with gazillion types of great food), it’s fair to say that Queens is indeed the new Brooklyn. (FYI, here’s the informal Brooklyn JET Alums Facebook group.) And with a large population of young Japanese ex-pats and more and more JET alums, there are even parts of Queens (e.g., Astoria) that are starting to look like Harajuku!
Ok, JETAANYers, whose going to get the Bronx and Staten Island JET alum Facebook groups going? Oh, and Manhattan. (Does anyone still live there anymore?)
Call out to Scotland JET alumni
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Via the JETAA UK mailshot:
Dear JETAA UK Members,
We are JETAA Scotland and we would like to wish all JETAA UK Members a Happy New Year!
Here in Scotland we are looking forward to a year of collaboration with other chapter members. If you are interested in coming to JETAA Scotland events, (perhaps you have moved, or will be visiting one of our wonderful cities), please email us and find out what events we will be holding. We would also love to hear any suggestions for collaborative events. We are available via scotlandchair [at] jetaa.org.uk , Facebook JET AA Scotland and Twitter JETAA Scotland.
We are also looking for long-lost JETAA Scotland members who may not be receiving Scotland JETAA mailshots, please let us know if this is the case, we would love to meet new members and re-connect with old friends.
Have a wonderful 2012 and we hope to meet you soon!
The JETAA Scotland Committee
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A few of the events on the agenda:
- From the end of January we are running regular Japanese Classes in Edinburgh, (JLPT preparation and conversation).
- We are looking forward to hosting our Shin’nenkai – in Glasgow on Sat 4th Feb.
- Edinburgh Pub Nights: 7pm on Fri Feb 3rd @ The Baillie, Stockbridge, Edinburgh and 7pm on Fri March 2nd @ Dragonfly, Grassmarket, Edinburgh.
- JETAA Scotland AGM to be held on Sun 25th March. Venue and time TBD.
- BBQ on Sat June 9th @Meadows, Edinburgh.
- Sumo Run: London – 23rd June or Manchester – 21st April http://www.sumorun.com/
- Hanami party in the Japanese garden at Lauriston Castle date TBC.
For more information about any of these events…
- Email: scotlandchair [at] jetaa.org.uk ,
- Facebook: JET AA Scotland
- Twitter: JETAA Scotland
“Tonoharu” author Lars Martinson launches new webcomic – “Kameoka Diaries”
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Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), author of the graphic novels Tonoharu: Part Two andTonoharu: Part 1, has just launched a new cartoon series called “Kameoka Diaries“ about his return to teaching English, this time in Kameoka, Kyoto.
Click hereto read the post and the first cartoon.
Here are links to two videos on YouTube that Monty Dickson’s sister Shelley let us know about. The first video shows Monty briefly walking in front of the Rikuzentakata City Hall building shortly before the tsunami struck (1:15-1:32). The second video was taken two days after Shelley left Japan (which she visited after the tsunami) and shows footage of Monty’s building.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5iXBaLM7mI&feature=player_embedded
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gidOApxxo_Q&feature=player_embedded
Thank you to Shelley for sharing the videos as well as her words and thoughts about Monty and the video, used with her permission from two separate emails:
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November 21, 2011 (originally sent to family and friends on an earlier date)
I do not know who may want to watch this video, some of you I know have already seen this. I have viewed it many times and always find myself talking to the image on the screen, begging him to run or turn around and go to the roof. It is a video of Monty’s last moments. I only watch from 1:15 to 1:32. That is all I need or want to see. I think of the times we all scoured through videos hoping to catch a glimpse of him or find him in a picture. Now this is the only 15 seconds of video from that time that I can watch. It is as if stopping it at 1:32, I have some power to freeze time and stop what is to come.”
Here is the video. Monty walks out of his office building at 1:15 in the video. He is wearing his yellow coat, grey hat, glasses and as always carrying his green, bike messenger bag. This was normal attire for him so to me he is easily recognizable. He walks across the street to the city hall building and hesitates, then turns back and walks up the street (evacuation route) passing the cameraman again at 1:30. Monty looks directly at the cameraman at 1:32. The tsunami comes within seconds so I know he did not get far. I will forever wish he had not hesitated and instead gone into the city hall building. He would have gone to the roof with the others. The cameraman most likely did not survive either. The video then resumes with a different cameraman on top of the building (City Hall) that Monty almost entered. When the cameraman walks across the roof to view the other side, Monty’s office building is under water and no longer visible.
When we were in Japan we stood at this very spot viewing this video on his friend Kumagai’s iphone. It was haunting. I placed flowers at this building where his office was located.
The second video was taken only two days after we left Japan. It is exactly how we saw it, even the bundle of papers tied in a yellow cloth still sit near what used to be the door of Monty’s building. The cameraman just misses the spot I placed the flowers when he pans in the beginning of the video.
Oh the powers I wish I had.
Shelley
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November 28, 2011
We first viewed this video in April while we were in Japan. At the time it was poor quality given the bright sun and viewing via iphone, but we were certain we were seeing Monty. I just recently decided to find it again since I wasn’t sure myself if I wanted to see it again. The video provided some answers for us as to where he was (exactly) at the time the tsunami hit. I think it would do the same for any of his friends or colleagues and have forwarded it to as many as I can. Still it is hard to watch. It had always been my fear that he was scared and I was not able to help him in any way or remove that fear from him. He is so calmly walking, simply evacuating as the announcements plead.
I still wonder why walk or run from an approaching tsunami when a vertical evacuation would be more immediate? I think the video could offer some thought as to what not to do perhaps, in an emergency such as this and it should be shown to future JETs.
I notice, in the second video taken after the fact, the tile on the exterior of the building seems undamaged and in fact, still shiny. The concrete has visible damage, scrapes and gouges while the tile seems unscathed. A future building material to be used more predominately I hope. Designated evacuation buildings measuring at least four stories with the exterior designed in tile. Just a thought.
Monty never wanted me to worry about him and he always made every effort to ease my mind when something happened there. He always called to tell me he was alright, that I will hear about it in the news tomorrow, and not to worry. I was certain I would get that call from him, “Hey Shell, it’s Monty” as always. Sometimes he called at 1:00 a.m. because he would forget the time difference. We would talk anyway. I miss my brother. I know a lot of people miss him, he touched so many. I am encouraged to see so much interest in his work and so many still inspired by him.
Shelley
New LinkedIn Group: JET Alumni Working in TESOL
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Thanks to Osaka-based JET alum Joshua Flannery for setting up the JET Alumni Working in TESOL, a subgroup of JETAA Education Professionals.
Click this link to join: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=4221521&trk=anet_ug_hm&goback=%2Egmp_2973279%2Eanb_4221521_*2
Click here to see all JET Alum Linkedin groups, both prefectural and professional.
December edition of “AJET Connect” now online
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A really terrific December edition of AJET Connect online magazine is now available for viewing at:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/AJET/AJET+Connect+DEC+2011.pdf
Grant made in honor of Taylor Anderson to strengthen Japan Studies at Randolph Macon College
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R-MC RECEIVES GRANT IN HONOR OF TAYLOR ANDERSON ’08
http://www.rmc.edu/News/11-12-13%20-%20Taylor%20Anderson.Japan%20Foundation.aspx
Randolph-Macon College has received a grant from The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP) to strengthen Japanese Studies, a part of the college’s Asian Studies program, in memory of R-MC alumna Taylor Anderson ’08. Anderson perished during the March 2011 earthquake & tsunami that devastated parts of Japan.
“We are pleased to receive this generous support from The Japan Foundation,” said Randolph-Macon President Robert R. Lindgren. “This grant will help us increase our students’ awareness and appreciation of Japanese culture and will aid the college in laying the groundwork for a lifetime of engagement and exchange with our Japanese neighbors.”
The Japanese Foundation grant, entitled “Honoring the Life, Work, and Good Spirit of Taylor Anderson – Enhancing Japanese Studies at Randolph-Macon College,” will help Randolph-Macon reach its goal of increasing course offerings in Japanese language and culture. The college received $100,000 for this academic year with the anticipation of receiving additional funds during the five year duration of the grant, which will allow for faculty travel to Japan to develop broader course offerings and establish student travel courses to Japan.
R-MC’s Asian Studies Progam will also develop and offer a spring workshop and curriculum website for Virginia elementary, middle, and high school teachers of history, geography, world language, and literature. This seminar workshop will be led by R-MC Professor Todd Munson and provide teachers the opportunity to engage in the study, analysis and discussion of topics related to Japanese history, geography, and culture. It will provide ten hours of instruction and will convene on the Randolph-Macon campus beginning in spring 2012.
The Japan Foundation grant will also support the following Randolph-Macon initiatives in the current academic year:
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Taylor Anderson, who had a lifelong love of Japan, graduated from Randolph-Macon College in 2008 with a Bachelor’s degree inInternational Studies and minors in Asian Studies and Political Science. She joined The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program and was assigned to teach in Ishinomaki, Japan. The JET program is one of the world’s largest exchange programs and is aimed at developing strong international relationships between Japan and other nations.
“This grant will help to continue strengthening relationships with a country she loved and Randolph-Macon College,” said Anderson’s father, Andy. We are grateful to both the college and the Japan Foundation for so generously supporting this project in her memory and honor.”
JET alum paper published: “A New Framework for US-Japan Development Cooperation”
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Jim Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94), Executive Director of the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA), has a new paper published as part of JCIE’s “Enhanced Agenda for US-Japan Partnership” paper series titled:
- “A New Framework for US-Japan Development Cooperation“ (PDF) http://www.jcie.org/researchpdfs/USJapanPapers/Gannon.pdf
Click here for other JCIE papers in the series.
Call for submissions for CLAIR’s “JET Streams” publication
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Via CLAIR Tokyo’s Scott Borba (a JET alum himself):
Each year in the Spring, CLAIR publishes JET Streams, an annual newsletter for JET alumni. We will be compiling this newsletter again during the next few months. I am e-mailing today to request article submissions from JET alumni. Article topics are usually about such themes as: your life/experiences after JET, memories/reflections of your time as a JET, connections with the Japanese community in your home country, etc. We ask that you please avoid articles advertising your current company or books you have written, etc. as we cannot publish these.
If any JET alumni are interested in writing an article, please notify me by e-mail by January 10 and I will give you more details regarding article length and content.
Email: jet-aa [at] clair.or.jp
You can view past issues of JET Streams here:
http://jetprogramme.org/e/former/jetstreams.html
Songwriting contest for Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival
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Thanks to JETAA Music City President (and Arkansas Cherry Blossom Princess) Terry Vo (Kumamoto-ken, 2007-09) for sharing info about the songwriting contest for the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival.
Terry writes: “It’s open to ANYONE that believes that they can create a song (lyrical or instrumental) that exudes the spirit of the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival (or any cherry blossom festival). This is an awesome opportunity and I would love for a JET alum to win this!! Let’s hope we get some entries on the JET or JET community side!”
GRAND PRIZE: $3,000 + A spread in the premiere Nashville Arts Magazine (February 2012) + Opportunity to have the song performed at the annual Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival (March 24, 2012)
Deadline: January 15, 2012
For questions or inquiries, please contact 615-383-0278 or songs@nashvillearts.com.
Photos from Rikuzentakata Tutoring Project supported in part by JETAA USA Earthquake Relief Fund
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Thanks to Jim Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94) for forwarding the below photos of the “Youth Empowerment Iwate“ Rikuzentakata tutoring project that received $25,000 in support from the JETAA USA Earthquake Relief Fund. These photos are from a November 10 visit to one of the several middle schools in town where the project is operating three times a week. These photos are of three rooms, one where individual students can study quietly on their own, a second dedicated to group study (and relaxing, too…which is important), and a third that is tutoring for the entire group. The tutors you see are university student volunteers, who are the ones running things.
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A very heartfelt video thank you from the people of Tohoku that includes a number of Taylor Anderson’s students. According to Taylor’s father Andy, “the video was shown at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York’s annual dinner on November 15 where Taylor received their Luminary Award. Executive Director Karino had the video made for the event. The students who were being taught by Taylor at the time of the earthquake on 3/11 are in the video. Taylor’s students are in front of The Taylor Anderson Reading Corner. It’s very moving and reminds us all of how much is yet to be done for the area to recover.”
