Help CLAIR revamp its Newsletter
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Via JETAA International Secretary Kay Dunkley.
CLAIR is ready to revamp JET Streams, it’s annual newsletter. The aim is to make it look good, maximise the readers out there, making sure ALL JET Alums get it, and make it more interesting so more readers will be tuned to what JETAAI and CLAIR are doing.
Here is the list of articles that CLAIR would like to include:
1. Interesting JETAA Chapter activity articles.
2. Articles from 3 JETAA Alums, stories they would like to share about JET and Japan.
3. Articles from 3 JETAA Alums specifically talking about if they are involved in anything now that has kept up with their former contracting organisation, school to school, sister city events, etc. (or prefecture) (this is actually the hottest topic that we can use to promote the JET programme in Japan as well)
Please respond by December 27, 2010.
Click here to e-mail Kay with your input/submissions.
JetWit Diary 12.03.10
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JetWit Diary is a new feature by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94), founder and publisher of JetWit. Steven is available on a consulting basis to assist organizations with any membership building, social media consulting, creative communications and writing needs.
JET and the Local Government Challenge
In light of recent information about Aichi’s decision to forgo prefectural JETs and awareness that, in contrast, Hyogo and Kobe seem to be very supportive of JET, and after a suggestion by JETAANY President-to-be Monica Yuki that perhaps it would make sense to focus our energies on the the prefectures that are the most JET-friendly, I thought it would be a good idea to figure out statistically which prefectures or contracting organizations are making the most use of JETs.
To that end, further below (after the “Read More” break) is a list of the contracting organizations with the most JET ALTs. (FYI, a “contracting organization” is a prefecture, city, board of education, etc. that allocates budget towards hiring JETs.)
In the meantime, I think it would also be very helpful to get a sense of why some contracting organizations continue to support and hire JETs while others do not. So I’d like to request that any JETs and JET alums out there (especially CIRs) get in touch if you have any perspectives based on conversations or other interactions.
- Email responses to: jetwit [at] jetwit.com
Generally speaking, of course, I’m well aware that tight budgets have a lot to do with the attrition. But it might be helpful to dig a little deeper and know why JET is prioritized above or below other budget items. Also, what factors might cause a contracting organization to change the way it views or prioritizes JET? And perhaps any ways that some prefectures may have found to extract more value (short and long term) from having JETs that helps justify the expenditures. e.g., Perhaps some prefectures have found successful ways to incorporate JETs into strong sister city relationships that continue to benefit the prefecture/city over time.
On a related note, thanks to conversations with knowledgeable JET alums, I now understand a bit more about how the relationship among budgets, the JET Program and dispatch companies such as Interac. The central government used to provide a certain amount of funds to the local governments to hire JETs. Now, as I understand it, the funds may be used to hire ALTs. This means that the local governments can (and increasingly seem to) choose to hire ALTs via a dispatch company rather than JETs. (There’s a whole separate issue on the legality of public schools hiring contract employees via dispatch companies, about which I know very little, but I don’t think it makes sense from a JETAA perspective to focus on that.)
JetWit is starting to get more and more job listings. That’s because
- We don’t charge to post job listings and circulate them to the JetWit Jobs Google group (because I never want to create barriers to JETs and JET alum access to job opportunities); and
- We’ve gotten a few more U.S.-based Japanese staffing companies to see the light, i.e., that if they’re not posting their JET-relevant jobs on JetWit, they’re missing a huge opportunity. (Though I do encourage them to make a contribution if they’re happy with the results and want to make sure that JetWit continues to exist for their benefit.)
If you know any staffing companies with JET-relevant job listings, tell them to email jetwit [at] jetwit.com and we’ll get them out to the community.
That’s all for this edition of JetWit Diary. Have a Happy Chanukah and enjoy your bounenkais.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,
Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94)
Brooklyn, NY
jetwit [at] jetwit.com
******** Read More
JETAANY Logo Contest – open to all
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Via JETAANY:
Calling all graphic designers, artists, and creative types!
We are looking for people to enter their designs for a new logo to be featured on JETAANY’s website, announcements, marketing materials, letterhead, business cards, etc. Your logo will be the visual cornerstone of our rebranding effort. You’ll win some prize money and some recognition, so what’s keeping you from entering?!
Prize:
In addition with providing JETAANY with a visual calling card, you will have the logo of a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to add to a design portfolio, and the winner will also receive $100 as a small token of our appreciation.
How to Enter:
Please send your designs to Janelle (secretary [at] jetaany.org) by November 30, 2010 December 31, 2010. The contest has been extended to allow as many entries as possible! You may enter as many designs as you like. Participants do not have to be JET Alumni or affiliated with the JET Program. To increase your chances of winning, please be sure to send in a high resolution graphic, preferably in .png/.gif/.jpg form.
Judging:
Winners will be selected by a vote, pending Board approval. The winning entry will become property of the JET Alumni Association of New York.
Need some inspiration? Check out the logos from other JET Alumni Associations from around the United States!
Any JET alums in Hong Kong?
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If you’re a JET alum who is living or has lived in Hong Kong, please get in touch via email at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
A fellow alum who recently signed up for the JET Alum China/Chinese Connection group on LinkedIn had asked me about Hong Kong, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to find out if there are any JET alums out there with a Hong Kong connection.
US media coverage of Japan’s economy overly negative?
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There’s an excellent letter in the New York Times from Yasuhisa Kawamura of the Consulate General of Japan in New York in which he makes the case that U.S. media coverage of Japan’s economy has been overly negative. The gist of it is, Sure, times are tough in Japan. But they’re also tough in the U.S. and elsewhere. Nonetheless, there’s still a vibrant economy and significant innovation and other activity going on in Japan.
If any JETs or JET alums or Friends of JET would like to weigh in on this, it would be nice to hear some first-hand perspectives from people who are currently living in Japan or travel back and forth frequently.
Here’s a link to the letter: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/opinion/lweb03japan.html?scp=1&sq=kawamura&st=cse
And here’s the full text of the letter:
To the Editor:
By oversimplifying and exaggerating certain socioeconomic aspects at the expense of the broader picture, “Japan Goes From Dynamic to Disheartened” (“The Great Deflation” series, front page, Oct. 17) depicts some interesting “trees” but misses the “forest” that is Japan today.
Unfortunately, the story’s few anecdotal views do not accurately reflect a diverse nation of 120 million people and one of the world’s largest economies. During these times of severe economic challenges around the globe, similarly pessimistic views about the future could surely be found in almost any Group of 8 country.
Far from being an “afterthought” weary of its global role, Japan remains committed to active leadership in the world. This international outlook is best reflected in Japan’s policies and the vibrancy of its young people. Take Afghanistan, where a $5 billion aid commitment supports 96,000 local policemen, has built 650 schools and has provided polio and other essential vaccines to 47 million children.
Additionally, Japanese youngsters, supported by the affluence of the past decades, enjoy diverse career choices, and, according to recent surveys, the most desirable job for Japanese university graduates remains working in the field of international trade.
Yasuhisa Kawamura
Director, Japan Information Center
Consulate General of Japan
New York, Oct. 29, 2010
JETAA Northern California Newsletter needs articles
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Via JETAA Northern California:
The Fall issue of Pacific Bridge, JETAANC’s quarterly newsletter, is now in production and we NEED YOUR HELP!
There’s a list of short articles that still need to be written and edited. E-mail communications@jetaanc.org if you could potentially help out.
The issues’ theme is “Japan in NorCal and Nevada,” so suggestions for articles related to Japan in our neighborhood are also welcome.
You don’t have to be Hemingway and you will get a byline–so turn your creative side loose and add a line to your resume!
Thanks in advance!
Researcher needs JET alum help with interesting survey
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I recently had an interesting conversation with Justin Kraemer, a PhD student at Rutgers University, who is conducting research on how Japanese and local employees in the U.S. build trust within Japanese companies. Justin needs more respondents, so if there are any JET alums out there who work for Japanese companies in the U.S., please get in touch with him. It’s a very worthy research topic, and it would also reflect nicely on the JET alumni community to play a helpful role.
Japanese-American Research with JET Alumni in Mind
Trustful relationships at work are the foundation on which performance is achieved. However, building such relationships may be particularly complex when employees come from different national cultures. To better understand intercultural relationship-building and to highlight Japan in the conversation about East and West, cross-cultural researchers from the Business School at Rutgers University are studying how Japanese and local employees build trust within Japanese companies in the USA. JetWit is enthusiastic about this partnership as the work of these researchers has been endorsed by the Honjo International Scholarship Foundation, the Japanese-American Association of New York and the Japanese-American Association of Kentucky (JASK).
These researchers are now seeking Japanese firms in the USA to supplement the number of Japanese firms which have already agreed to participate. Though certain things must be included in this Japanese-local “matched-set” survey, this would be a great opportunity to better understand the opinions of employees in your Japanese firm. As it stands, the survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. Though a traditional paper-and-pencil deployment would be preferred, online deployment can be arranged. In any case, there will be no direct costs for participation as all expenses related to the research will be paid by the researchers.
With at least a handful of individual participants, each participating firm will receive anonymous data from its own employees as well as select aggregated data from all participating companies. An in-person presentation of results can also be organized. We look forward to discussing how this research project can benefit your company.
Please direct inquiries to:
Primary Researcher: Justin Kraemer
Email: jkraemer@andromeda.rutgers.edu
James Kennedy reviews “Pluto killer” book for Wall Street Journal
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James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of the acclaimed young adult novel The Order of Odd-Fish, has a great review in the Wall Street Journal of a sugoku omoshiroi book titled, How I Killed Pluto, And Why It Had It Coming by professor of astronomy Mike Brown.
Here’s the link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704243904575630683559145518.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
Write for Ibuki Magazine? Book ideas for Chin Music Press?
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After running a “Culture Spreaders” post on MEF Bruce Rutledge a couple weeks ago, Bruce sent the following response:
“Wow. This was a pleasant surprise. Thanks for the accolades!
I encourage anyone interested in writing about Japan to get in touch. We’re looking for contributors to Ibuki (stories should have a Pacific Northwest hook) and book ideas for Chin Music.
You can reach us at speak [at] chinmusicpress.com. JET alums Jessica Sattell and Joshua Powell are on our staff.”
Lars Martinson interviewed in Hero Magazine re “Tonoharu: Part 2”
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There’s a nice interview with JET alum Lars Martinson in Hero Magazine. Lars recently published Tonoharu: Part 2, a graphic novel about teaching English in Japan that follows up on the success of Tonoharu: Part 1.
Here’s the link to the article: http://heromagazine.org/?p=189
Video: English Teachers – The Series
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Thanks to JET alum Jennifer Wang for forwarding the link to “English Teachers: The Series,” an original web-based comedy series about teaching English in Japan. (Kind of like Scrubs if it took place in a private English school.)
http://englishteachersseries.com
Here’s the first episode. Click the above link to see more episodes:
New JET Alum China-Chinese Connection group on LinkedIn
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With the economic rise of China, there are an increasing number of JET alums who live in China, do work related to China, have an interest in China or speak or want to learn Chinese. On top of this, there are already a number of JET alums who have a connection to Chinese culture.
As a way to connect JET alums and friends of JET who share this connection, there’s now a new LinkedIn group you can join called:
“JET Alum China/Chinese Connection.”
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3691966
This admittedly awkwardly-named group is an attempt to encompass all of the above and create a way to help each other out in various ways. For example…
- You’re planning a trip to China or want to work in China and want to find other JET alums there to talk to in advance.
- You live in China and want to link up with other JET alums, or better yet, start a JETAA chapter there
- You want to learn Chinese and learn about creative study approaches for people who aren’t intimidated by the whole “kanji” thing
- You’re just curious about the intersection of JET alums and China
Culture Spreader: John Gauntner – The Sake Guy
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Culture Spreaders is a new feature intended to shine a spotlight on JET alums involved in spreading and sharing Japanese culture in their home countries. If you know of a good JET alum for a future post, just e-mail jetwit [at] jetwit.com tell us why you think that alum is a Culture Spreader. (Self-nominations welcome too.)
JET alum and leading sake expert John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy“) has established himself as the leading non-Japanese sake expert in the world. See, e.g., this 2009 Japan Times article titled, “Nihonshu evangelist preaches heady mix of culture, taste.”
Not only does John spread the sake gospel through numerous appearances and events in the U.S. and elsewhere, but he also offers a Sake Professional Course in various locations to teach others how to be sake experts and evangelizers. As a result, there are now four sake-only specialist shops in the U.S.–True Sake (San Francisco), Sakaya (NYC), SakeNomi (Seattle) and The Sake Shop (Honolulu)–and the owners of all four attended John’s Sake Professional Course for the purpose of starting their respective businesses.
For his work spreading Japanese sake culture around the globe (and helping the Japanese sake industry expand its markets), John Gauntner is hereby recognized by JetWit as a serious “Culture Spreader.”
Editor’s note: In the “JET’s a small world” department, it turns out that both John Gauntner and last week’s “Culture Spreader” Bruce Rutledge are both originally from Cleveland and previously have met at SakeNomi in Seattle, where Bruce currently lives.
JetWit Diary 10.21.10
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JetWit Diary is a new feature by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94), founder and publisher of JetWit. Steven is available on a consulting basis to assist organizations with any membership building, social media consulting, creative communications and writing needs.
There’s a lot going on in the JetWit (i.e., JET and JETAA) world right now. New ideas. New information. New projects. New people.
Seattle
I had a great trip to Seattle, primarily to visit JET alum friends (and take in the JETAA Pacific Northwest Happy Hour). I reconnected with former PNW Newsletter Editor Liz Sharpe, former PNW officers Ryan Hart and Shun Endo, and current President Sandra Sakai. Also got to meet a lot of new people, and even JetWit contributor, Stephanie Boegeman, whom I’d never met in person and who is heading to Cambodia to work for JET alum-founded PEPY Tours). As a chapter, PNW very much has their unchi together. e.g., At the happy hour, they had a staff of 2 or 3 alums manning a spreadsheet on a laptop, taking everyone’s orders and keeping track of who owed what so that the bill worked out right in the end.
I also learned that the Kobe-Seattle sister city relationship is strong, and that despite the reduction in Aichi prefectural JETs, Hyogo-ken is still a big supporter of JET and perhaps a good model of how to really extract value from JET and from sister city relationships. In fact, there’s a Hyogo Business & Cultural Center in Seattle that typically employs a JET alum. (Currently it’s Ben Erickson who also serves as PNW’s Webmaster.)
Sister Cities
Speaking of sister cities, I recently spoke with Laura Giroux, Membership Director of Sister Cities International (based in D.C.) The conversation came about thanks to Carlo Capua, a Fort Worth, TX-based JET alum who is on the Board of SSI and who got in touch after seeing the JET-Sister Cities List Project on JetWit. The purpose was to learn more about SSI and see if there’s any potential for collaboration with the JET alum community. But in the process, I gained some historical perspective on sister cities from Laura.
Did you know that the first ever sister city relationship was apparently formed in the 1930s between Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain? Also, SSI was formed thanks to President Eisenhower who, following WWII, pushed for grassroots cultural exchanges especially among the Axis Powers (Japan, Germany and Italy) which led to the creation of SSI as well as many other sister city relationships in those countries. As many of us have noticed, Japan in particular really took to the sister city concept.
FYI, the potential for collaboration with JET alumni may lie in the fact that sister city relationships often involves the over-60 set who have time to maintain the relationships and high school students who have time to go on exchanges. As a result, it sounds like energy from internationally-minded folks in the 23-to-50 age range could be beneficial in some form. Just something to tuck away in your brain for future use and ideas generation.
State of JET
The reason I’ve been focused on the sister city relationships is because it’s becoming clear that one of the key links to sustaining JET lies in identifying its value to Japanese local governments. Based on feedback from knowledgeable sources, I’ve heard that the value of JET has been strongly recognized at the central government level. The JETAA USA press release, the series of op-eds in the Japanese media (including one by JET alums Jim Gannon, Michael Auslin and Paige Cottingham-Streater), pressure perhaps from the U.S. State Department and general common sense of have merged to make key political constituencies aware of how significant a role JET has played and continues to play in US-Japan relations.
That said, there remain long-term concerns about JET’s survival. And attrition at the local level figures as a major one of those concerns.
JET-Visitors Tally Project
In addition to the JET-Sister Cities List Project, another upcoming JetWit project aimed at the JET-local government relationship will be the “JET-Visitors Tally Project.” (That project name is not set in stone, btw.) The gist of the project is that JETs are directly responsible for some amount of tourism revenue for Japan given that most of us had family and friends visit them in Japan. Hence, JETs have been directly responsible for significant tourism dollars (or rather, yen) pouring into Japan’s economy. And this tourism income, as far as I can tell, is not being factored into any cost-benefit analysis or discussion of the JET Program or JETAA.
So, working off an idea raised by Dennis Li (an officer of the Texoma JETAA chapter) at this year’s JETAA USA Conference in NYC in August, this project will invite JETs and JET alums to tell us how many people (and “people-days”) they have been directly responsible for bringing to Japan. The result will be a minimum estimated amount of tourism revenue that JET has generated for Japan. So start reaching back into your visitor memories and stay tuned for the official announcement.
JetWit Funding
And lastly, it’s time to have a potentially uncomfortable discussion about money.
In a nutshell, for the last 3+ years I’ve been building JetWit as a free resource for the JET and JET alumni community. This has all been an extremely enjoyable labor of love. But I’m at the point where I need to start generating enough revenue to justify the time I’ll need to continue spending. (And ideally to be able to pay other key contributors at some point.)
I’m going to put up a more detailed post about this in the near future. But I believe to make JetWit continue to work and grow, the 3 most likely sources of revenue, and the 3 ways you can potentially help are:
1. Direct member contributions – If you think JetWit is a public good worth supporting and that you’d like to see continue to exist, please feel free to contribute via PayPal.
2. Advertising– Advertise your business or services on JetWit. Or introduce JetWit to businesses likely to advertise. (Contact information for a specific person at a company is always helpful.) JetWit has become the de facto central source of JET-relevant information, original content and job listings, is read by key people at CLAIR, the Consulates and MOFA and gets over 13,000 hits/month. Pretty good demographic, right?
3. Grants – Do you know of a grant or foundation that would be a good fit for JetWit? Even better, can you help put a proposal together?
I’m always open to ideas, suggestions and experimenting. So feel free to get in touch with ideas and suggestions or just to brainstorm.
********
Here’s wishing JetWit readers a Happy Thanksgiving (and a belated Happy Thanksgiving for our Canadian readers). I should mention that I’ll be in Tampa, FL around Christmas time and will be looking to meet up with folks from the JET alum community down there on Dec 26 or 27. So get in touch if by any chance you’ll be nearby at that time.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,
Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94)
Brooklyn, NY
jetwit [at] jetwit.com
Japan Foundation NY Newsletter (Nov 18, 2010)
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NEWS FROM THE JAPAN FOUNDATION NEW YORK AND CGP
//// VOL. 9: November 18, 2010 ////
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CGP Grant Program (Deadline: December 1)
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This is a reminder that the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership’s (CGP) Intellectual Exchange program open competition deadline is December 1, 2010.
[ http://cgp.org/index.php?option=section&id=3 ]
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JAILA: “An Evening of Japanese Jazz” in Jamaica (Nov 27-Dec 1)
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As part of the Japanese Arts in Latin America (JAILA) program, the Japan Foundation, New York will dispatch flutist YUKARI and pianist Ms. Eri Yamamoto to Jamaica to give a concert and workshop to local audiences and music students. They will be performing their own compositions as well as well-known Japanese songs in a jazz style. They will also be joined by local musicians for collaborative performance.
About YUKARI: [ http://www.yukariflute.com/Site/Welcome.html ]
About Ms. Eri Yamamoto: [ http://www.eriyamamoto.com/ ]
[ http://www.jfny.org/arts_and_culture/jaila.html ]
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Call for JFNY Grant for Arts and Culture Applicants
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We are accepting applications from nonprofit organizations for the JFNY Grant for Arts and Culture. This grant aims to support projects that will further
understanding of Japanese arts and culture. Applicants must be from the 37 states east of the Rocky Mountains.
Successful candidates may be granted up to $5,000 for projects conducted in the 14 Southern and 12 Midwestern states, and up to $2,000 for all other states.
[ http://www.jfny.org/arts_and_culture/smallgrant.html ]
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CGP US-Japan Journalism Fellowship Program
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10 graduate journalism students from across the US will embark on a 13-day study-tour of Japan starting on November 20, 2010. This second cohort of students, along with Emerson College and CGP staff, will visit Tokyo, Okinawa, Kobe and other cities during their stay in Japan.
[ http://journalism.indiana.edu/news/bomersback-headed-to-japan-as-postgrad-fellow/ ]
[ http://www.merrill.umd.edu/deadline/index.php/2010/11/10/two-merrill-graduate-students-receive-fellowships-for-travel-to-japan/ ]
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