Why Japan does not celebrate the Lunar New Year to the extent of its Asian neighbors
By Jessica Kennett Cork (CIR, 1997-2000, Hiroshima-ken)
With the large number of Asians in the U.S., it was hard to overlook the fact that the Year of the Dragon by the lunar calendar began on January 23. But had we been in Japan, January 23 would have passed quite uneventfully. Have you ever wondered why Japan does not recognize the lunar New Year to the extent of its Asian neighbors? And as we approach the Doll Festival (Hina Matsuri), has it ever struck you as odd that this festival is also called the Peach Festival, and yet March 3 is way too early for peach blossoms? The explanation is actually quite fascinating. Read More
Youth For Understanding scholarships extended for US high school students
Academic, Cultural Outreach 
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Shared by JET alum and YFU alum Jessica Cork who currently works for the Japanese Consulate in Atlanta:
Did you know that scholarships for American students to go abroad have been extended? There is still a chance for students in your area to apply for our 300+ scholarships to have the exchange experience of a lifetime!
Deadlines for Japan summer scholarships have been extended to February 1, 2012 and deadlines for Germany year and semester scholarships have been extended to February 7, 2012. Please spread the word in your area that YFU is actively seeking American teenagers with a sense of adventure to go on scholarship abroad!
Scholarships available include:
- Kikkoman National Scholarship
- Mazda/Nationwide Community Scholarship
- Japan-America Friendship Scholars
- Japan-U.S. Senate Youth Exchange
- Okinawa Peace Scholarship
- Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
- Stipendium and Stiftung Scholarships
- And more!
All of our scholarship information can be found online at www.yfuusa.org. Please let students know that they can call 1.800.TEENAGE or email admissions@yfu.org if they have any questions.
We’re also always looking for insightful scholarship evaluators – if you would like to help determine who goes on scholarship with YFU, please contact Carla James at cjames@yfu.org.
Thank you for your help in telling students in your area about YFU’s scholarship opportunities!
Mike Finnell
President
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.
JET Alum Projects $54.3 Billion in New Law School Debt by 2020
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Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) (Saitama-ken 2003-05) is a renegade attorney who plays by his own rules. He operates a think tank of one, The Law School Tuition Bubble, where he archives, chronicles, and analyzes the rising cost and declining value of legal education in the United States.
On December 5, the American Lawyer (aka the AmLaw Daily) published Leichter’s most recent article, “Law School Debt Bubble, Part II: Data Show Feds Will Lend $54.3 Billion to U.S. Law Schools by 2020,” in which he uses American Bar Association data to project the exponential growth of law school debt in contrast to the small number of new lawyer jobs in the U.S.
JET Alum Calculates American Law Graduate Debt Grew $475 Million from 2008 to 2010
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Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) (Saitama-ken 2003-05) is a renegade attorney who plays by his own rules. He operates a think tank of one, The Law School Tuition Bubble, where he archives, chronicles, and analyzes the rising cost and declining value of legal education in the United States.
On November 22, the American Lawyer (aka the AmLaw Daily) published Leichter’s most recent article, “Law School Debt Bubble: Aggregate Law School Grad Debt Grew $475 Million Between 2008 and 2010,” in which he uses U.S. News and World Report and American Bar Association data to illustrate the ever-increasing growth in law school debt graduates have taken on even though law jobs have been disappearing for decades.
Links to Leichter’s previous AmLaw articles can be found here.
I was emailed today by a JET alum who has a daughter of her own getting ready to apply to colleges. She asked if I have any insights on the Waseda University’s international program and on programs in general at Japanese universities.
So, do any JETs/JET alums/other readers have any insights or perspectives to share for an American student who wants to go off to study at a Japanese university in lieu of a U.S. university?
Please post responses in the comments section of this post. Or feel free to e-mail them to jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
JET alum Lee-Sean Huang in Fast Company, recruiting alumni interested in design for social innovation for new MFA program
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JET alum and JETwit webmaster Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken, Nakatsu-shi, 2003-2006) recently appeared in the Fast Company article “An MFA Degree For Designers Who Want To Change The World” by Michael J. Coren.
So you want to change the world? Cynics may send you off to Wall Street or a white-shoe law firm. Those with gumption will look for another way. The new Master’s of Fine Arts in Design for Social Innovation has opened its doors just for them.
“We’re adamant this not be a program where people sit in a classroom and talk about how great it’s going to be when they go out and change the world,” says program chair Cheryl Heller at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York, and a board member of PopTech. “It is helping designers go beyond self-expression, which is how most designers are taught, and how to put [design] into practice to create a change.”
Read the full Fast Company article here.
Lee-Sean, a faculty member in the department, is reaching out to the JET community and encouraging returning JETs and alumni to apply to the MFA Design for Social Innovation program. The program is for applicants from a broad range of backgrounds with an interest in design and social innovation, and not just those with college degrees or prior professional experience in design. Email leesean@purpose.com with inquiries, and apply here. The deadline for applications is January 15, 2015 for Fall 2012 enrollment.
Photo: Lee-Sean with fellow MFA Design for Social Innovation faculty member Alessandra Orofino.
Media Outlets Claiming ‘Law Is no Longer a Golden Ticket’ Conceal Decades of a Profession in Decline
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Matt Leichter (matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com) (Saitama-ken 2003-05) is a renegade attorney who plays by his own rules. He operates a think tank of one, The Law School Tuition Bubble, where he archives, chronicles, and analyzes the rising cost and declining value of legal education in the United States.
The popular lawyer periodical, the Am Law Daily, ran an article I wrote, titled, “Media Outlets Claiming ‘Law Is no Longer a Golden Ticket’ Conceal Decades of a Profession in Decline.” In it I use Bureau of Economic Analysis data, charts, and animations to demonstrate that the legal sector of the U.S. economy stagnated about 20 years ago, and along with increasing law school tuition creates a crisis for legal education in the United States.
Tsunami: JET alum Harvard professor Ian Miller’s NY Times article
Academic, Article/Journalism, Earthquake Tsunami, Japan Local, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Writers Comments Off on Tsunami: JET alum Harvard professor Ian Miller’s NY Times article
Harvard history professor Ian Miller (Miyagi-ken, Miyako-shi)
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Thanks to a recent conversation with Peter Kelley, President of the National Association of Japan-America Societies, I just learned of this New York Times article by Harvard history professor and JET alum Ian Miller (Miyagi-ken, Miyako-shi) which ran March 19, 2011.
Bitter Legacy, Injured Coast
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/opinion/20miller.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1
By IAN JARED MILLER
Cambridge, Mass.
THE rugged Sanriku Coast of northeastern Japan is among the most beautiful places in the country. The white stone islands outside the port town of Miyako are magnificent. The Buddhist monk Reikyo could think of nothing but paradise when he first saw them in the 17th century. “It is the shore of the pure land,” he is said to have uttered in wonder, citing the common name for nirvana.
Reikyo’s name for the place stuck. Jodogahama, or Pure Land Beach, is the main gateway to the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park, a crenellated seashore of spectacular rock pillars, sheer cliffs, deep inlets and narrow river valleys that covers 100 miles of rural coastline. It is a region much like Down East Maine, full of small, tight-knit communities of hardworking people who earn their livelihoods from tourism and fishing. Sushi chefs around the country prize Sanriku abalone, cuttlefish and sea urchin.
Today that coast is at the center of one of the worst disasters in Japanese history. Despite the investment of billions of yen in disaster mitigation technology and the institution of robust building codes, entire villages have been swept out to sea. In some places little remains but piles of anonymous debris and concrete foundations.
I taught school in Miyako for more than two years in the 1990s, and it was while hiking in the mountains above one of those picturesque fishing villages that I came across my first material reminder of the intricate relationship between the area’s breathtaking geography, its people — generous and direct — and powerful seismic forces.
On a hot summer day a group of middle-school boys set out to introduce me to their town, a hamlet just north of Pure Land Beach. While I started up the steep mountainside the children bounced ahead of me, teasing me that I moved slowly for someone so tall. “Are you as tall as Michael Jordan, Miller-sensei?” yelled one boy as he shot past me up the trail.
“Not quite,” I told him, pausing on a spot of level ground to look out over the neat collection of tile roofs and gardens that filled the back of a narrow, high-walled bay.
“What is this?” I asked, pointing to a mossy stone marker that occupied the rest of the brief plateau. A chorus of young voices told me that it was the high-water mark for the area’s biggest tsunami: more than 50 feet above the valley floor.
“When was that?” I asked, but the boys couldn’t say. Read More
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Thanks to Japan Society of Boston President Peter Grilli for passing this on:
July 19, 2011
The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation
and
The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership
Announce Recruitment for the Second Group of Participants for the
“U.S.-Japan Network for the Future” Program
[JETwit note: FYI, JET alum David Boling was recently appointed Deputy Executive Director at the Mansfield Foundation.]
The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, after a successful inaugural program, are pleased to announce the recruitment of a new group of participants for the “U.S.-Japan Network for the Future” program. This program was launched in 2009 to foster a new generation of Japan specialists. The inaugural group of fifteen Network participants has met regularly throughout 2010 and 2011 to build their knowledge of Japan, their policy expertise, and their contacts in Japan-related policy circles. The Foundation and CGP are pleased to make this opportunity available to a second group of emerging Japan specialists.
Purpose of the Program
The purpose of the “U.S.-Japan Network for the Future” program is to identify American professionals who demonstrate an interest in and potential for becoming Japan specialists and policy intellectuals and to support them in this effort. The network will include Japan specialists from all regions of the U.S. with diverse expertise and perspectives and the ability to participate constructively in the bilateral policymaking process and to contribute to U.S.-Japan understanding. The program seeks to nurture a new generation of scholars and professionals working on the following policy areas: U.S.-Japan security relations; U.S.-Japan economic relations; regional cooperation; issues where the two countries confront common domestic challenges (such as aging societies or income inequality); and issues where the two countries have opportunities to work together to resolve global challenges (such as climate change or food security).
Eligibility and Terms
Applicants must be American citizens or permanent residents who are currently and actively involved in the U.S.-Japan dialogue and have a working knowledge of the Japanese language, The program is targeted at scholars with a professional interest in Japan, and professionals who have a strong engagement with Japan and who have work experience in policy-relevant fields. In addition to having an interest in public policy, successful applicants will be able to demonstrate their interest in and potential for becoming future leaders in the U.S.-Japan relationship.
Because we are seeking to identify a future generation of leaders, our preference is for candidates in the mid-career stage. In the academic context, normally this translates into scholars at the advanced assistant or early associate professor levels. Policy professionals should have a Master’s degree and at least five years of Japan and Asia experience.
Participants must be fully dedicated to the two-year program and able to participate in all scheduled meetings. Network participants will be expected to participate in: a two-day workshop in Washington, D.C. (January 2012); a week-long meeting in Washington, D.C. (June 2012); a two-day retreat in Montana (autumn 2012); a week-long Japan study trip (June 2013); and a January 2014 public symposium and current issues panel discussions.
Throughout the two-year program, participants will be expected to: develop their network of contacts; engage with other Network members; engage others in the academic and policy fields with what they have learned about Japan; prepare for and actively participate in the program’s meetings, workshops, and study trip; participate in group activities and support the program’s larger goals and objectives; conduct independent research on key issues of particular interest to them; produce op-ed pieces and commentary/blog posts on important policy issues in U.S.-Japan relations; and produce and seek to publish or otherwise disseminate a brief policy paper. Network participants will present their papers and discuss current issues in the region during the last meeting, the January 2014 public symposium in Washington, D.C.
Financial support for those selected is limited to coverage of travel, accommodations, and meal expenses associated with participation in program meetings and study trips. Program participants may be eligible to compete for cash awards contingent upon publication of their pieces.
Applications and Selection
For an application and application instructions, please go to: http://www.mansfieldfdn.org/programs/networkforthefuture.htm.
Applications are due October 3, 2011 and can be submitted electronically to hr@mansfieldfdn.org or by mail to: The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, 1401 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 740, Washington, D.C. 20005. Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee and participants will be announced by mid-November, 2011. The Foundation and CGP will select up to fifteen Network participants for this program.
For further information, please contact Sam Dundon, Program Associate, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, (202)-347-1994.
Organizers
The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation is a 501(c) 3 organization that promotes understanding and cooperation in U.S.-Asia relations. Maureen and Mike Mansfield’s values, ideals and vision for U.S.-Asia relations continue through the Foundation’s exchanges, dialogues, research and educational programs, which create networks among U.S. and Asian leaders, explore the underlying issues influencing public policies, and increase awareness about the nations and peoples of Asia. The Foundation has offices in Washington, D.C.; Tokyo, Japan; and Missoula, Montana. Please visit the website at http://www.mansfieldfdn.org/
The Center for Global Partnership (CGP) is a part of the Japan Foundation which is a Japanese Independent Administrative Institution (Dokuritsu Gyosei Hojin). To enhance dialogue and interchange between Japanese and U.S. citizens on a wide range of issues, CGP operates grant programs as well as self-initiated projects and fellowships. CGP has offices in Tokyo, Japan and New York, New York. Please visit the website at http://www.cgp.org
WIT Life #172: Global Justice
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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 New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman profiled the Harvard University political philosopher Michael J. Sandel. This professor’s classes were picked up by PBS and made into a television program that has attracted worldwide attention. Last year, Japan’s NHK TV broadcast a translated version of the series, which sparked a philosophy craze in Japan and prompted the University of Tokyo to create a course based on Sandel’s.
As Friedman details, the PBS series is now available at http://www.justiceharvard.org, and here you can find a thought-provoking discussion of the ethical and global implications of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and nuclear disaster among students in Tokyo, Shanghai, and at Harvard.
It is interesting to see Japanese students voicing their opinions in a proactive way, and I am curious to see what kind of feedback the university course has received since being introduced.
I just set up a new LinkedIn group for JETs, JET alums and Friends of JET who work in academia or are interested in working in academia. This includes any professors, PhD candidates, masters degree students or anyone related in any way to research and academia.
CLICK HERE to join the
JET Alum Academics LinkedIn Group.
2012 Japanese Government Scholarships
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via PNW JETAA. Posted by Dipika Soni (Ishikawa-ken, 2003-06). Dipika currently works as an in-house translator for PFU (a Fujitsu company) in Kahoku-shi, Ishikawa-ken. She is also the vocalist for the Japanese hardcore punk band DEGRADE.
*Note: If you apply for this position, please let them know you learned of it from JetWit. Thanks.
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The Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle is now accepting applications for the following 2012 Japanese Government Scholarships for studying in Japan.
There’s a very thoughtful article titled “This is what public diplomacy looks like“ by JET alum Emily Metzgar, Assistant Professor at Indiana University’s School of Journalism, on the Center for Public Diplomacy blog (which is part of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications). (This is the same Emily Metzgar conducting the Survey of American Alumni of the JET Program.)
Here’s an excerpt that captures the gist of the piece, namely that JET is providing Japan with a significant “return on JET-vestment“:
“But in the aftermath of Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, the value of having a large, worldwide network of college-educated foreigners who understand, respect and appreciate Japanese society and culture continues to emerge. A look at a JET alumni networking website, JETwit.com, provides ample evidence of the many ways in which current and former JETs are responding in whatever ways they can to the disaster hitting a country that all of them, at one time or another, have called home.”
CLICK HERE to read the full article.
