Does anyone in the JetWit-a-sphere have any connections with administrations or faculty at any Japanese universities?
I ask because I know that there’s been a trend of Japanese universities trying to attract foreign students to study on their campuses. I think the reason is related to the declining population in Japan but I’m not sure.
Regardless, it seems to me that perhaps some of them would be interested in advertising on JetWit. JetWit has recently been getting over 400 hits per day and is used not just by JET alums all around the world but also by current JETs who are interested in getting a sense of what comes after JET. Simply put, there’s no other way to reach this many JETs and JET alums this efficiently.
So if anyone can put me in touch with appropriate people at some of these universities, or better yet, make them aware of JetWit and get them interested in sponsoring the site in some way, then that kind of help would be greatly appreciated.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,
Steven (Aichi-ken, 1992-94)
JapanInfo eNewsletter – August 2009
Japan Trends, JETAA Chapters 
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The August 2009 edition of JapanInfo is now available online. JapanInfo is published by the Consulate General of Japan in New York/Japan Information Center and is a great source of info for Japan-related things going on in New York and the surrounding area.
Highlights include:
- Farewell Reception for 2009 JET Participants
- House of Representatives Dissolved: General Election to Be Held on August 30
- First Japanese to Complete Extended Stay on the International Space Station
- Bon Appétit with Self-Made Japanese Dishes!
- World Heritage Sites in Japan: Yakushima
- Netsuke – The Art of Utility
- From the Ambasador’s Desk
- And plenty of things to do and see on the Events Calendar.
Roland Kelts column in Daily Yomiuri: Miyazaki, Horibuchi and the virtues of change
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http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20090828TDY13003.htm
Related JetWit Posts:
- Roland Kelts interview with Hayao Miyazaki
- Transcript of Roland Kelts full interview with Hayao Miyazaki (via GhibliWorld)
Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) backstage with Hayao Miyazaki at Berkeley event
Job: Bilingual Project Manager
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This job listing was received directly from Staffing Solution Inc. Executive Search, a Florida-based staffing company that conducts confidential executive searches for global companies:
Project Manager
Japanese / English Permanent position
Location: South East US
Salary: $130k plus generous Bonus
Responsibilities: Working as part of the corporate integration team. Fluency in English and Japanese. Experience implementing integration polices and procedures with American and Japanese partners. Business liaison who will ensure the corporate goals are measured and implemented in a timely manner. Experience ensuring strategic polices, budgets, creative opportunities and processes are being followed. Experience in finance is a plus.
Experience in a manufacturing environment is a plus.
Benefits: Excellent, Relocation provided
Additional info: “The position below would be perfect for someone with great people skills who spoke and wrote fluent English and Japanese and has worked in a corporate environment working with both cultures. The ideal person would have a financial background and merger experience working in a team environment on Project management integration projects. They would act as a go-between both companies ensuring everyone is on the same page. It is truly a great opportunity and actually seems as if it would be a very pleasant job as well. I know the American team and they are very professional and pleasant to work with.”
Send resume to: hdhunter3@aol.com (Very important! Please indicate in the email that you learned about the position from JetWit. I don’t ask for much, but in this case it’s sugoku taisetsu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.)
http://www.staffingsolutioninc.com/
Job: Bilingual Account Manager – OSG Tap and Die (Cincinnati, OH)
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Job listing received direct from the company’s HR Dept:
Bilingual (Japanese/English) Account Manager
Cincinnati, OH
Company
OSG Tap and Die, Inc. is an industry leader in the manufacture and sale of high end cutting tools. OSG Tap and Die, Inc. is part of the OTD family of companies that have worldwide operations and 70 years experience in the cutting tool industry. OSG is a great place to work! OSG is concerned about the wellness of its employees, the community and the environment. OSG is an equal opportunity employer.
Job Description
The position will entail establishing new business, maintaining existing sales and increasing our market share by working closely with a network of distributors. Conduct periodic sales meetings and technical training seminars for distributors and end-users. Also, provide support to troubleshoot end-user application problems and identify new prospects and opportunities. Read More
Job: Japanese Speaking Customer Representative for On Process
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Job listing received directly from On Process Technology:
Japanese Speaking Customer Service Representative for On Process Technology
We are seeking native Japanese speakers to join our team. OnProcess Technology assists large computer and telecom companies in the management of their global supply chain. Work at home. Flexible evening hours.
Responsibilities: Communicate via telephone, or email. Assist customers in the part exchange process
Contact: If you are interested in this position please contact us at hrcareers@onprocess.com
Website: http://www.onprocess.com/
Roland Kelts article in Adbusters: “Japanese Simplicity”
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Check out the latest article by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, in AdBusters magazine, titled “Japanese Simplicity: The only way to leave a smaller footprint would be to die.”
Also stay tuned for Roland’s forthcoming novel titled “Access.”
There’s a short article in the New York Times titled “Healthcare Abroad: Japan” which is part of a series that looks at healthcare systems in other countries. It briefly gets at what works well, what the weak points are and why it’s that way.
How do JETs and JET alums feel about Japanese healthcare and the points in this article? Share your thoughts by posting a comment.
See this recent post on JetWit (“JET alumni and healthcare“) for additional discussion of JET alumni and their experiences and concerns with healthcare.
Update: Turns out PBS’ Frontline did a documentary called “Sick Around the World“ which examined the healthcare systems in five countries, including Japan, which you can watch on their website here.
Japan Times review of Chin Music Press book “Oh!” by Jeff Kingston
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The Japan Times has a nice review of the novel Oh! A mystery of ‘mono no aware’ by Todd Shimoda, and published by JET alum Bruce Rutledge’s Seattle-based publishing company Chin Music Press.
The review describes “an emotionally numb and alienated technical writer” who “suddenly decides to bolt Los Angeles and visit Japan, his ancestral home.” The main character subsequently stumbles into an exploration of teenage suicide clubs as well as “mono no aware” (the pathos of things), one of those Japanese emotional concepts that tend to baffle us gaijin.
Go here for more information about Oh!: http://www.ohthenovel.com
Go here for more information about Bruce Rutledge and Chin Music Press: http://chinmusicpress.com
Japan Society (NY) Weekly eNewsletter 8.24.09
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Academia: JET alum Christopher Hood heads Japanese Studies Centre at Cardiff University
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Thanks to Dr. Andrew Staples (Fukuoka-ken, 1996-99) (whom we learned about thanks to Eleanor Robinson (CIR Aomori-ken, 1999-2002)), JetWit has learned of another JET alum in the world of academia:
Dr. Christopher P. Hood (Aichi-ken, 1993-94) is the Director of the Cardiff Japanese Studies Centre at with is part of the Cardiff Business School at Cardiff University in the U.K.
Chris’ website does a good job of describing his background and career path as well as listing his books and other publications. Hopefully it serves as a guide and perhaps inspiration for other JET alums as well:
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Having become interested in Japan while I was at Concord College, I went on to study Japanese Studies and Business Studies at the School of East Asian Studies (University of Sheffield). Then, after a year on the JET Programme, I returned to Sheffield to do a PhD. Since August 2000, I have been a lecturer at and the Director of the Cardiff Japanese Studies Centre, part of the Cardiff Business School at Cardiff University. I am also an Associate Fellow at Chatham House.
I have also been working on a number of other projects over the past few years. For example, I was the editor of The Politics of Modern Japan, a 4 volume collection of articles on Japanese politics, published in 2008. I was also co-editor, with Prof. G. Bownas and D. Powers, of Doing Business with the Japanese, published in 2003.
My research interests relating to Japan are broad, however the central themes are relating to identity and symbolism. My doctoral research and first book, Japanese Education Reform: Nakasone’s Legacy, were on education reforms in Japan and the influence of Prime Minister Nakasone.
My next project was on the shinkansen (‘bullet train’), looking at the ways in which it both reflects aspects of Japanese society and the ways in which it has influenced Japanese society. This book, Shinkansen – From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan, was published originally in 2006, with a paperback version published in 2007.
I am currently writing a book about the Japan Airlines flight JL123 crash in 1985. Although the book, Dealing with Disaster in Japan: Japanese and Global Responses to the Flight JL123 Crash, due to be published in 2011, will discuss the reasons for the crash, it will primarily be looking at what can be learnt about Japanese, and to some extent global, society by looking at what happened following the crash.
After this I am planning a book which will bring together my research to date as well as including some new material based on further fieldwork which has been ongoing for the past couple of years. This book will be looking at identity within Japan using several topics (education, attitudes to city mergers, attitudes to natural and man-made disasters, and attitudes to the development of the shinkansen network) as case studies.
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To learn more about Chris and his publications, go to the following links:
- Chris’ website: http://www.hood-online.co.uk/index.php
- Chris’ books and other publications: http://www.hood-online.co.uk/publications/
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You may have read recently about Eleanor Robinson (CIR Aomori-ken, 1999-2002) and her work with the new Doshisha Global MBA Program which begins in September. Thanks to Eleanor, we’ve also learned about another JET alum, Dr. Andrew Staples (Fukuoka-ken, 1996-99), who is a Special Visiting Professor at Doshisha Business School with a number of published writings that should be of interest to the JET alumni community.
Here’s more about Andrew and his career path so far:
JetWit: We understand your work has been published. Can you tell us what and where?
Andrew: I’ve published a few times with Palgrave in the Asian Business Series including the chapter in the new textbook (we are in the process of making PowerPoint slides to accompany the book, which has been selling well), a chapter in an edited volume titled Emerging Multiplicity, and my own single authored text published last year, Responses to Regionalism, which was based on my PhD thesis.
Publications by Andrew Staples:
- Asian Business and Management: Theory, Practice and Perspectives (see chapter 4)
- Responses to Regionalism in East Asia – Chapter titled “Japanese Production Networks in the Automotive Sector”
- Emerging Multiplicity – Integration and Responsiveness in Asian Business Development
JetWit: What was your path from JET to academics?
A: I was an ALT for two years in a senior high in Fukuoka prefecture before becoming the ALT prefectural coordinator in Fukuoka City for the final year. After JET I enrolled at the School of East Asian Studies (SEAS), University of Sheffield, U.K. to study for an MSc in East Asian Business (1999-2000). I funded this, by the way, with my pension and tax refund and a bit of university English teaching here and there, which is something other JETs could consider doing. Read More
Bankruptcy Bill #19 – Law Firm Raids
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BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall. For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.
(Click here to see larger version of the cartoon.)
Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post. Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.
Job: Sales Represenative with Japanese manufacturer (Mississauga, Ontario)
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Via Pan-Pacific Personnel Inc.:
If you are interested in this position, please send your resume (MS-word formatted) to info@panpacificpersonnel.com.
- Reference #: PFSRON080609
- Job Title: Sales Representative (Japanese – English)
- Employer: A Japanese Manufacturer
- Location: Mississauga Ontario
- Start Date: ASAP
- Probation Period: 3 months
- Compensations: $40 – 55, 000 / year with competitive benefits
*If you are a resident of different province, relocation cost will be paid by the employer.
This is a great opportunity for someone who Read More
BAPCPA Man #5 – 341 Meeting of Creditors
Blogs, Cartoon/Illustration, Humor, Translating/Interpreting, Writers Comments Off on BAPCPA Man #5 – 341 Meeting of Creditors
BAPCPA Man and Bankruptcy Bill are cartoons created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall. For more cartoons, original bankruptcy haiku and even a bankruptcy country song, go to bankruptcybill.us.
(Click here to see larger version of the cartoon.)
Additionally, if anyone would like to take a stab at translating the cartoon into Japanese for JetWit’s Japanese fans out there, feel free to post in the comments section of this post. Some cultural explanation might be helpful as well, given that Japanese bankruptcy laws are very different than the U.S.
