Posted by Albert David Valderrama (Ibaraki-ken, 2010-present), JET Programme ALT/PA, co-founder and National Co-Representative of API AJET, and Chief Editor of the @api webzine.
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@api #005 is out now! Read the full issue at http://goo.gl/rnrBqh or click the image below.
@api #005
Inside this issue:
- People: Faces of API AJET, National Representatives
- Essay: A Year of Pretending to be Japanese by Aimee Wenyue Chen
- Review: HOME:WORD by Cat Dinh
- Interview: @api Exclusive with Sandy Cheng, Chair of the AJET National Council
What is “@api“?
“@api” is a web-based magazine put together by contributors and members of the Asian Pacific Islander Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching (API AJET). Archived issues are available on Issuu and WordPress.
What is API AJET?
Asian Pacific Islander AJET (API AJET) was created during the summer of 2012 following many talks about the specific issues the API community faces.
This special interest group (SIG) aims to create a supportive environment for all APIs living in Japan. We also hope to increase awareness about API issues and incite dialogue among curious JETs and non-JETs. Furthermore, API AJET hopes to act as a tangible resource for anyone interested in understanding an API’s unique perspective (as a foreigner) in Japan.
The group is open to all. Join to share, discuss, and learn about the API experience. Membership is free!
For more information go to our website at api.ajet.net, email us at api[at]ajet.net, or find API AJET on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter (@apiajet).
AJET: Stonewall Japan – LGBT Computer-based Q and A sign-in
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Saw this originally posted to the JETAA Southern California Facebook group by Stephen Haverfield:
Passing along info from Stonewall Japan: LGBT Computer-based Q&A sign in:
Greetings from Stonewall Japan! Many of you may know of our organization already but for those unfamiliar, we are one of the national AJET special interest groups. With almost 800 members, we are definitely the largest of the SIGs, and our mission is to provide a safe community for LGBTQIA English language speakers living and working in Japan.
http://ajet.net/contact-ajet/special-interest-nationality-language-groups/Stonewall.ajet.net
We are contacting you today to let you know about the resources we have been putting together for the incoming 2014 JETs. As departure looms, we’re sure you are all extremely busy with preparing the new JETs for their life abroad. In order to help with that process, we have created a small handout about living as an LGBTQIA person in Japan. It includes links to resources and has a lot of great information that we certainly wish we had had when we first arrived on JET! We have also gathered some wonderful volunteers from Stonewall’s leadership to provide Q&A sessions through Google Hangouts for incoming JETs BEFORE they leave, which we hope will answer a lot of lingering questions and alleviate some stress from the often stressful process of preparing for departure.
The orientation handout is attached and the link to the Q&A session sign-up is here:
http://stonewall.ajet.net/new-jet-info-session-sign-up-2014/
However, as you know, the time for orientation is limited, especially considering AJET will no longer have a presence this year at Tokyo orientation. So we were encouraged by National AJET to send this out to the JET alumni associations / orientation coordinators post-haste. We hope that you can distribute the handout and the link to the Q&A to the incoming JETs in your area as soon as possible (the deadline for the Google Hangouts sign up is July 12th and we have a limited amount of spots open).
Lastly, we want to congratulate you on the work you’ve done and continue to do to make sure the new JETs arrive in Japan with the knowledge they need to hit the ground running. A big Otsukare-sama goes out from the whole Stonewall team.
Thank you and onegaishimasu,
Sincerely,
The Stonewall Japan Leadership Team
stonewallsig@ajet.net
Attachment: Handout https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n2WwAeSZYmv2nqVETSA8SI4lKbMLKi9vp3AUn4salVc/edit?usp=sharing
AJET Chair Kay Makishi (front row, left) at the Spring AJET Opinion Exchange Meeting in Tokyo, June 2014. (Courtesy of AJET)
By Eden Law (Fukushima-ken, 2010-11) for JQ magazine. Eden lived and worked in the core city of Iwaki on JET, and is JETAA New South Wales‘s webmaster, meaning he is the voice on all the online and social media for the Sydney-based chapter like Twitter, Instagram (both @jetaansw) and Facebook.
At the start of this year, dramatic changes took place as CLAIR (the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations) formally announced changes to its relationship with AJET (the Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching), with the full details made public by the latter on their Facebook page on a post dated January 27. The immediate outcome of this decision means that AJET’s participation and input at CLAIR-organised events such as the Tokyo Orientation and After JET conferences will be discontinued.
While AJET has had a low profile in the collective consciousness of many on the programme, these changes will inevitably impact all JET participants, most immediately in how conferences will be held and run, and how AJET will continue to represent and assist the needs of the JET community. Historically, the volunteer organisation has existed from the start of the JET Programme and is run by JETs to benefit and support participants in Japan. Now, it faces the biggest challenge of its 27-year history.
For those who may not have heard of or know about AJET, its constitution describes it as a volunteer organisation whose purpose is to foster a successful working relationship between JET Programme sponsors and participants, as well as to promote and support the JET community. In turn, it presents itself as a representative of the same community. Founded in 1987 right from the start of the JET Programme itself, AJET’s early work was very much focused on providing a support network for the first participants.
Kay Makishi (Fukuoka-ken CIR, 2011-14), 2014’s outgoing AJET chair who completed her one-year term on the AJET council, sums up her focus on the JET community: “I wanted to see more energy spent on starting projects like our Professional Development Conference Calls…[and] collaborating more with JETAA so JETs have more support finding jobs post-JET,” she explained.
AJET Connect Magazine Interviews an Award-winning Saga JET Author
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Via the Saga JET Programme website:
This month’s edition of AJET’s Connect Magazine features a double (DOUBLE) page spread interviewing current Karatsu City JET Andre Swartley about his award-winning book – Leon Martin and the Fantasy Girl. If you haven’t read this month’s edition, the interview and short review is below. If you want you buy a copy of the book click here.
Review and Interview: Leon Martin and the Fantasy Girl
Leon Martin and the Fantasy Girl delves into cultural exchange on a level that most people never get a chance to experience. When a group of American high school students arrive at a small German town for a summer work-study program, they find themselves caring for a potentially illegal alien in a life-threatening situation.
Leon and Autumn, a pair of teens staying with the same host family, are at the forefront of the action. Instead of spending their summer doing the work they traveled to Germany to do, they find themselves looking after a girl named Shin. Her presence is the glue that holds this story together, as well as what makes it so unbelievable. Shin’s story is vague at first and takes its time in clearing itself up.
The build-up to the second half requires readers to have some faith that that these characters will eventually find themselves in slightly more realistic situations, which they do. Spending a summer abroad in Germany is adventurous, but saving a fellow foreigner who should have been taken into custody from the beginning is a bit of a stretch. Read More
Members of the JET Alumni Association of New York volunteering in the annual Japan-a-Mania community event with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, January 2014. (Courtesy of Monica Yuki)
By Eden Law (Fukushima-ken, 2010-11) for JQ magazine. Eden is JETAA New South Wales‘s webmaster, meaning he is the voice on all the online and social media for the Sydney-based chapter like Twitter, Instagram (both @jetaansw) and Facebook. Outside of JETAA, he doesn’t exist, and is merely a concept of a shadow of a dream of an enigma, wrapped in mystery and served with a side of salad.
Introduction
The following is a shamelessly biased opinion: Being a member of JETAA is fantastic. One gets to help organise and be involved in events and projects that reach the general public here in Sydney (like the Japan Festival), hang out with a great group of like-minded people that know all the best Japanese places to eat, drink and be merry, and who are rarely inhibited in any karaoke session. There is ample opportunity to new people constantly, both inside and outside that chapter’s home city’s J-community, so in a way, the JET experience never truly ends.
That’s a personal assessment of what it’s like being a member of JETAA, the alumni association for former JETs. JETAA chapters exist all over the world from where the JET Programme has drawn its recruits. They give former JETs a way to connect with their local J-community and like-minded peers, and are essentially a non-profit social organisation with a Japanese cultural bent. And because JET is made up of a diverse group of people from all walks of life, JETAA chapters have great potential as a resource with links in government, business, education, academia and social networks.
But it can’t be denied that many chapters struggle with visibility or relevancy, in attracting members to events or to join their committees. The last point is especially important, as new members help to keep the organisation dynamic and active. And while the reasons for this are different for every situation, some similar and salient points can be discerned, notably from online forum comments (like LinkedIn). While a comprehensive discussion can probably fill a volume or ten, this article will nevertheless discuss these points.
So what does JETAA have to deal with?
Japan Times article on AJET report on disaster preparedness
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Great article written by a JET alum journalist Patrick St Michel.
Clarify Your Role, Prepare Before a Disaster Strikes
When she first arrived in Japan from Ireland in 2008, Sarah Hickey was mostly concerned with adjusting to her new life in Fukushima Prefecture. The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme placed her in Iwaki, which is itself a large city, but she found herself near the coast in less metropolitan surroundings.
“There was nothing there, just a supermarket and a school I was teaching at. It was an incredibly beautiful place — but it was tough,” she says.
Gradually, Hickey grew accustomed to her corner of Iwaki, where she taught English at several junior and senior high schools. One thing she wasn’t ready for were natural disasters, which she says scared her. She also doesn’t recall receiving information about what to during a natural disaster at school during JET’s Tokyo orientation or when she first arrived in Fukushima. Read More
Here’s a link to the latest AJET eConnect News including election results for AJET National Council and Block Representatives: http://ajet.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/t/41D89C9C8F5BDDC3/F3775150656FF295C9C291422E3DE149
And, fyi, here are the current election results:
Congratulations to the newly elected members of the 2014-2015 AJET National Council!
Executive Council
Chair, Sandy Cheng
Vice Chair, Xan Wetherall
Treasurer, Aaron Gilling
CIR Representative
Rochelle Zheng
Block Representatives
Block 1, Pending
Block 2, Matthew Headland
Block 3, Chris Low
Block 4, Patrick Loyer
Block 5, Derek Gumb
Block 6, Ashlie O’Neill
Block 7, Kevin Chen
Block 8, Casey McGarraugh
Block 9, Dustin Reimar
Block 10, Emily Maitland
Block 11, Tka Tyne
You can see the official resultshere on AJET.net.
New Saga JET website!
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Here it is! http://sagajet.com
(Sorry, kind of a bare bones post I know.)
“I didn’t have any idea what I was getting into when I arrived as a JET, or if I would even be here longer than a couple of years. However, working for the future of these children, and trying to give them more opportunities in their future, has become my greatest personal accomplishment and given my life new meaning.” (Courtesy of Matthew Cook)
By Eden Law (Fukushima-ken, 2010-11) for JQ Magazine. Eden is a member of JETAA NSW, based in Sydney, Australia, which is part of the thriving JETAA Oceania community that covers Australia and New Zealand.
As a JET Programme success story, that of Matthew Cook (Osaka-fu, 2007-12)’s must surely rank as being one of the most extraordinary and inspiring. Hailing from Blacksburg, Virginia in the U.S., Matthew’s interest in Japanese martial arts led to his participation on JET. Beginning a five-year tenure as an in Osaka ALT, he also served as AJET national council chair, working with the Japanese government as well as JET alumni associations, international corporations, and news media about the value of the programme and internationalization. In 2012, after his JET tenure ended, he was hired by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education as their Native English Teacher (NET) Program Coordinator, and in the following year, became a senior staff member appointed to the revolutionary English Education Reform Project—and as far as anyone knows, a first for a foreign-born, former JET to be appointed to a senior government role in education.
Now almost a year after his historic appointment, Matthew generously took some time out of his packed schedule to talk with JQ about his role, and most interestingly of all, provide some frank opinions about the JET Programme and the state and future of English education in Japan.
First of all, let me just say, congratulations on your achievement. In a nutshell, how did you go from being an ALT to a senior staff position at the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education? Is that something you could have imagined doing when you first arrived as a JET in 2007?
Thank you very much. It’s been a whirlwind, these past few years, and the congratulations are appreciated. However, we believe the real work is just beginning now.
During my time as a JET, I had the unique opportunity to develop my own curriculum and methodology, teaching junior high and elementary school students. I taught phonics part of a methodology, with the goal of extensive reading. I also had the honor being the AJET national council chair my final year on JET. That experience opened a lot of doors, allowing me to meet some influential people that I may not have been able to meet otherwise.
One of those people was Toru Nakahara, who was named the superintendent of the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education on April 1 of last year. He holds the strong belief that English education has been a failure in Japan, and wants to reform the system altogether. He was one of the first people to take my opinions and experiences seriously, and believed that I could use them to play a key role in the reformation of English education in Osaka. Because of that, I got the chance to interview for a position on his special “English Reform Project Team,” fondly referred to as the “Seven Samurai.”
It’s something I never would have dreamed of in 2007. In fact, I didn’t have any idea what I was getting into when I arrived as a JET, or if I would even be here longer than a couple of years. However, working for the future of these children, and trying to give them more opportunities in their future, has become my greatest personal accomplishment and given my life new meaning.
“Seven Samurai” is a wonderfully evocative name. Who are the other members on the English Reform Project Team?
I was hired from outside the board of education along with Kiyoshi Takeda, who was a high school English teacher in Shiga prefecture. He took a couple years off, and a few years ago he graduated from Harvard with a master’s in educational leadership.
Colleagues who already worked for the board education were teamed with us, because they should have a good understanding of the internal processes of the board of education. Two members from the high school division, two members from the prefectural education center, and one member from the elementary and junior high school division.
I know it’s early days yet, but what kind of impact does the appointment of a non-Japanese (and a former JET!) to a government position have on English education and the perception of JETs in particular?
That’s a tough question for me to answer. It’s a huge leap forward, and very encouraging from my viewpoint. I hope that it opens the door for other government entities in Japan to see what’s possible and search out capable employees with broader experience and different perspectives to add to their workplace. If there’s anything that I’ve learned, it’s that diversity should be celebrated and encouraged.
Posted by Albert David Valderrama (Ibaraki-ken, 2010-present), JET Programme ALT/PA, co-founder and National Co-Representative of API AJET, and Chief Editor of @API.
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@API Issue #004 is out now! Read the full issue at goo.gl/NDIFEs or click the image below.
@API Issue #004
Inside this issue:
- A reflective essay by JET alumna, Melody Wong, API AJET co-founder and former National Co-Representative.
- A report on the “Ganbappe Philippines Charity Event” in Fukushima.
- A bilingual interview with Arturo Toyama Higuchi, CIR from Peru (courtesy of the CIR Network).
- And many more!
What is @API?
“@API” is a web-based magazine put together by contributors and members of the Asian Pacific Islander Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching (API AJET).
What is API AJET?
Asian Pacific Islander AJET (API AJET) was created during the summer of 2012 following many talks about the specific issues the API community faces.
This special interest group (SIG) aims to create a supportive environment for all APIs living in Japan. We also hope to increase awareness about API issues and incite dialogue among curious JETs and non-JETs. Furthermore, API AJET hopes to act as a tangible resource for anyone interested in understanding an API’s unique perspective (as a foreigner) in Japan.
The group is open to all. Join to share, discuss, and learn about the API experience. Membership is free!
For more information go to our website at api.ajet.net, email us at api[at]ajet.net, or find API AJET on Facebook and Google+.
AJET launches “JET Community Service Tracker 2013-14”
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I’d heard about this great idea from AJET Chair Kay Makishi a little while ago, and now it’s up and running! A really innovative way to show another form of Return On JET-vestment:
JET Community Service Tracker 2013-2014
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QzQif7qeluJBzfnCgQuseZ4FVJlnMETaN65mEBYh6cA/viewform
This year, National AJET has set some very ambitious goals for JET community involvement: 1,000,000 yen raised for charity, and 10,000 volunteer hours of community service. For any volunteer event, charity event, or fundraising campaign, large or small, please fill out this form. Whether you raised 100,000 yen, or 1,000, we’d love to hear about it. Whether 100 people volunteered for 10 hours, or two people volunteered for one hour, we want to hear about it!
JET Community Service Tracker:
AJET proudly introduces JET Community Service Tracker! This form is designed to collect data on volunteer hours served and charity money raised by JETs around Japan. You can enter figures for the entire JET-year: August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014. The information allows AJET to share the positive impact JETs make in their communities with the Japanese Ministries that support JET and with the Japanese public, and help other groups increase the success of their own volunteer and charity efforts.
Race to the Top Challenge:
AJET also proudly presents the Race to the Top Challenge. This challenge will run for six months, from November 1, 2013 through April 31, 2014. Fill out the JET Community Service Tracker and win up to 60,000 yen to support your next volunteer or charity event!
How to Win:
That’s easy! Just be the most caring, dedicated, AJET Chapter you can be! Then, log all of the awesome things you do in the JET Community Service Tracker from November through April. For any questions regarding how to record your community service (what counts/what doesn’t) please contact exec@ajet.net
The Prizes:
One prize of 30,000 yen will go to the prefecture with the largest number of community service hours. A second prize of 30,000 yen will go to the prefecture with the largest amount of charity money raised. The winners will be determined on a percentage basis in order to account for the differences in JET population from prefecture to prefecture.
Who is Eligible to Win?
Any official AJET Prefectural Chapter is eligible to win one or both of these categories for a total of up to 60,000 yen. The winning prefecture(s) will be announced in the May issue of Connect Magazine.
Disclaimer:
The AJET National Council reserves the right to revoke prize money in the case of misconduct including but not limited to inaccurate recording, intentional lying, and unethical actions as determined by the Council. This contest is sponsored by the AJET National Council, a volunteer organisation of current JET participants elected and appointed by current JET Programme participants to represent the JET community nation-wide.
Posted by Albert David Valderrama (Ibaraki-ken, 2010-present), JET Programme ALT/PA, co-founder and National Co-Representative of API AJET, and Editor of @API.
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Issue #003 of the Asian Pacific Islander AJET special interest group’s webzine, “@API“, is out now! Click the image below to read the full issue.
@API Issue #003
What is “@API“?
“@API” is a web-based magazine put together by contributors and members of the Asian Pacific Islander Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching (API AJET).
What is “API AJET“?
Asian Pacific Islander AJET (API AJET) was created during the summer of 2012 following many talks about the specific issues the API community faces.
This special interest group (SIG) aims to create a supportive environment for all APIs living in Japan. We also hope to increase awareness about API issues and incite dialogue among curious JETs and non-JETs. Furthermore, API AJET hopes to act as a tangible resource for anyone interested in understanding an API’s unique perspective (as a foreigner) in Japan.
The group is open to all. Join to share, discuss, and learn about the API experience. Membership is free!
For more information go to our website at api.ajet.net, email us at api[at]ajet.net, or find API AJET on Facebook and Google+.
Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
The Public Relations Office of the Government of Japan published an article on the JET Programme in their monthly publication that aims to 
promote a better understanding of Japan in the world. They interviewed Bryan Darr (Saitama-ken, Tokorozawa-shi, 2008-13), current JET participant in Tokorozawa Shogyo High School in Saitama Prefecture. Bryan’s contributions to the JET community include being the Education and Professional Development Coordinator for National AJET in 2011-12, a regular speaker at Saitama Skill Development Conferences and an active member of Peer Support Group (PSG), a listening and referral service administered by AJET.
Click here to see the article “Young Pioneers of the JET Age.”
AJET Connect Magazine: May 2013
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Here’s the May 2013 issue of AJET Connect Magazine:
(Download PDF) http://ajetnet.s3.amazonaws.com/connect/2013_May_Connect.pdf
FYI, Editor Jim Kemp and his team at AJET Connect Magazine have been putting together some really good content along with appealing layout. In this issue, I particularly recommend Amelia Hagen’s “29 Things I’ve Learned While Travelling On JET.” But there are also articles on surfing in Japan, the evolution of the kyushoku, and the Tokyo Yamathon among other strong writing about “local” Japan.
AJET Connect Magazine: April 2013
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Here’s the April 2013 issue of AJET Connect Magazine: (Download PDF) http://ajetnet.s3.amazonaws.com/connect/2013_April_Connect.pdf
