Oct 30

JET-Sister City List Project

Local Government, Return on JET-vestment, Uncategorized Add Comment (10)

Update 11/10/10: Had a nice email exchange with Carlo Capua (Niigata-ken, 2000-02) who is on the Board of Directors for Sister Cities International, a global network of 2000+ cities who do exchanges with each other at different levels – teacher, humanitarian, governmental, elected official, etc.  According to Carlo, SCI is in almost 200 countries around the world.

Update 11/7/10: It turns out there’s a list on the CLAIR website of all of the cities/towns and sister cities: http://www.clair.or.jp/cgi-bin/simai/e/05.cgi?n=U.S.A. (Though it doesn’t indicate whether there are JETs in the locale.)  Thanks to JETAA USA Country Rep Jessyca Wilcox for letting us know about this.)

Update 11/5/10: Thanks for all the responses so far.  Keep’em coming!

Welcome to the JET-Sister City List Project!

The Goal: To create a list of Japanese cities (and prefectures) where JETs lived that have a sister city relationship with another country.

How can you help? Email jetwit@jetwit.com with your name, prefecture, city/town and years on JET as well as any sister city relationships that your town had.  If you already see your city listed, email your name anyway so we can include you as well.

The Result: JetWit will add to the below list as responses are received.

The Purpose: To lay some groundwork that may help Japanese cities/prefectures that hosted JETs increase their “return on investment” from their initial investment.

(Note #1: There actually is a Japanese government publication that lists every Japanese sister city relationship.  However, it does not list any correlation with JETs.)

With all of the above in mind, please email your responses to jetwit@jetwit.com.  Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

1.  Hokkaidō

Hokkaidō

• Chitose-shi + Anchorage, Alaska – Sara (Salzer) Niwa (Hokkaido, Chitose-shi, 1999-2002)
• Iwamizama City + Pocatello, Idaho; Canby, Oregon; Acheng, China – Caroline Cronshaw (Hokkaido, 2006-09)  (Caroline adds that Iwamizawa sends several students to Pocatello each year, and Pocatello returns the favor by sending several of its students to Iwamizawa. There is a tower-shaped monument in front of Iwamizawa City Hall that symbolizes the friendship between Pocatello and Iwamizawa.)
• Sapporo-shi + Portland, Oregon – Liz Sheffield (Hokkaido-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95) (Liz adds, “I originally went to Sapporo for two weeks when I was in high school as part of a Sister City exchange delegation from Portland. Then six years later, I was placed in Sapporo as an AET. Thanks to my return to Sapporo , I was able to build an even stronger relationship with the Shibuyas, my host family from my original visit to Sapporo . Now, fifteen years after the JET Program, I am still in regular contact with the Shibuyas.”

2.  Tōhoku

Aomori Prefecture + Maine – Zack Bass (CIR Aomori-ken, Aomori-shi, 2006-Present) (Zack adds, “I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to be highly involved with promoting and coordinating our prefecture’s continuing relationship with our sister state of Maine in the USA. We have many exchange programs between schools and municipalities within Aomori Prefecture and local towns and schools in Maine that continue to this day. We are very proud of our strong exchange with Maine, and many of our JETs throughout the prefecture have invested much time and hard work in strengthening our ties. Recently, we have been working towards expanding the Maine & Aomori relationship even further by exploring fisheries, energy, and business exchange opportunities in addition to our long tradition of cultural and educational exchange.  I hope to get more of our JETs to contribute more about their local municipal based exchange programs in the next few weeks.Thank you for doing this!”)

• Hachinohe City +  Federal Way, Washington; Lanzhou, China
  • Beth Bryant (Aomori-ken, Hachinohe-shi 1993-94; Misawa-shi 1994-96)
  • Natalie Kruckenberg (Aomori-ken, Hachinohe-shi 2010- present) – Natalie adds:

Federal Way Exchange: When the Hachinohe International Exchanges and City Promotions Association (formed in September, 1990) met to discuss possible locations for a sister city, Tacoma of Pierce County was presented. Tacoma has a friendly relationship and had been exchanging with the Hachinohe Chamber of Commerce, the most recent exchange being in 1992. The Hachinohe Chamber of Commerce contacted the Mayor of Tacoma who introduced Hachinohe to a neighboring city, the City of Federal Way. After exchanges betwen the two cities, on August 1st, 1993, the Sister City agreement was signed. Since then the official visits and youth exchanges between Federal Way and Hachinohe have continued every year.

Lanzhou Exchange: The International exchanges with Lanzhou including Hachinohe Gas Cor. technical cooperations, yourth exchanges and inspectorates began back in 1983 when the 4th Hachinohe delegation traveled to Lanzhou. In April 1998, Hachinohe and Lanzhou signed a sister city agreement. Since then the official visits and youth exchanges between Federal Way and Hachinohe have continued every year.

• Misawa City + Wenatchee, Washington
  • Beth Bryant (Aomori-ken, Hachinohe-shi 1993-94; Misawa-shi 1994-96)
• Mutsu City + Port Angeles, Washington
  • Amy Miller (Aomori-ken, Mutsu-shi, 2006-11) Amy adds:  “Mutsu City and Port Angeles City have been sister cities for 15 years. Every year a group of select Junior High School students from Mutsu City visit Port Angeles City in January as Junior Ambassadors. They put on a “Japanese Culture Fair” at the middle school in Port Angeles to teach American students about Japanese culture. The high school students from Tanabu High School English class also visit Port Angeles every year. A mixed delegation of middle school, high school, and adults visits Mutsu once every two years.”
• Tsugaru-shi + Bath, Maine
  • Mike Moses (CIR Aomori-ken, 2010 – present) Mike adds:  “The friendship between Tsugaru and Bath, Maine has a long history. In 1889, the ‘Cheseborough,’ a ship built in Bath, Maine, tragically crashed off the coast of Shariki (now Tsugaru City). The people of Shariki nursed the surviving sailors back to health, and a friendship between the two cities has continued since. Since 1990, Bath and Tsugaru have coordinated a sister-city exchange program, in which delegations are sent every year to experience each other’s rich culture and history. Also, the Cheseborough Cup, an international swimming competition, is held in Tsugaru every year. The goal of the race is to eventually swim the 10,200 km distance between Bath and Shariki. We hope to continue and expand upon the current sister city relationship.”
• Tsuruta Town + Hood River, Oregon
  • Emma Sayers (CIR Aomori-ken, Tsuruta-cho, 2010-Current) – Emma adds:  “Tsuruta has had a sister city agreement with Hood River, Oregon, USA since 1977. The mayor of Tsuruta at that time (and at present), Mayor Nakano, had wished to bring internationalisation to Tsuruta by joining it with a similar city in the USA. Exchange visits between their respective residents, junior high school students and high school students take place every year. Tsuruta also employs a sister city English teacher from Hood River to visit local kindergartens and primary schools alongside the JET Programme CIR. It’s an extremely well-cultivated sister city relationship, and I’m honoured to be able to help out with the events and visits! Good luck with the JET-Sister City List Project, it’s a great idea and I hope this helps a little. I’ve not been in Tsuruta long but I love it, and I think the sister city agreement has a lot to do with that as everyone here has been so welcoming.

Iwate Prefecture

• Esashi City + Shepparton, Australia; Reutte/Breitenwang, Austria
  • Therese Stephens (Iwate-ken, Esashi-shi, 1996-99)
• Kitakami-shi + Concord, California; Shibata-shi, Miyagi-ken, Japan; Sanmenxia, Henan Province, China
  • Margie Wiggins (Iwate-ken, Kitakami-shi, 2010-Present)
  • Margie adds:  “I have worked a little with the Rotary Club in town and know they sometimes send representatives (typically businessmen) to Concord, California to visit and learn more about the city; however, I am not sure what relationship, if any, has been built and fostered with our other two sister cities. The Rotary is also active in sponsoring a Rotary Youth International Exchange of Short-Term, which consists of two groups of ten high school students (from both Iwate-ken and Miyagi-ken) visiting Texas and Oklahoma (I apologize I cannot remember the exact cities) in March every year.  American students from these cities then travel here in June and July respectively.”
    

Miyagi Prefecture + Delaware

• Shichigahama-machi + Plymouth, Massachusetts – Doug Durgee (CIR Miyagi-ken, 2006-07) (Doug adds that they alternate sending kids on a short one or two week trip every year and used to also send kids on a one-year exchange program, though the funding for the one-year exchange program may have dried up in the past couple years.)
• Sendai-shi + Riverside, CA; Rennes, France; Acapulco, Mexico; Minsk, Belarus; and Gwangju, S. Korea; Dallas, TX is also listed as a friendship city. – Nata Nam (Miyagi-ken, Sendai-shi, 2007-09) (Nata also shared a link to a nice article about collaboration on a symposium between Tohoku University and University of California-Riverside:  http://newsroom.ucr.edu/news_item.html?action=page&id=2481 Thanks also to Dough Durgee for additional sister city info.)
• Tome-shi + Southlake, Texas; Vernon, British Columbia – Jennifer Wang (Miyagi-ken, 2008-09) (Jennifer adds that Southlake, TX is her hometown, and she actually became interested in JET through the Sister Cities exchange program. Every year, Tome and Southlake send student ambassadors to the other’s city. They switch off each year for adults from the Tome International Friendship Association and Southlake Sister Cities. She said she doesn’t know as much about the program with Vernon, but when she was there, a large adult delegation from Vernon visited.)

Akita Prefecture

• Kisakata-machi + Anacortes, Washington – Brett Rawson (Akita-ken, Nikaho-shi, Kisakata-machi, 2007-09)
• Noshiro-shi + Wrangell, Alaska – Stephanie Boegeman (ALT Akita-ken Noshiro-shi 2006-2009); Andrew McCarthy (Akita-ken, Noshiro-shi, Futatsui-machi, 2005-08) (Andrew notes that the actual town he lived in, Futatsui-machi, merged with Noshiro in 2006, though it does not appear to have a separate sister city of its own.)

Yamagata Prefecture + Colorado

• Kahoku Town + Canyon City, Colorado – Alex Stevenson (Yamagata-ken, Kahoku-machi, 2000-03)
• Yamagata City +  Boulder, Colorado – Jessica (Oppenheim) Moy (CIR Yamagata-ken, Yamagata-shi, 2003-06)  (Jessica adds, “While in high school, I participated on two sister state/prefecture trips to Yamagata, Japan and loved it. After graduating from Colorado State University, I ended up returning to Yamagata City as a CIR on the JET program. My big project at the end of my stay was holding a Bolder-Boulder race in Yamagata. Boulder and Yamagata have many sister city exchanges not only with government, citizen, and student exchanges, but also with rotary.”)

Fukushima Prefecture

3.  Kantō

Ibaraki

• Tsukuba-shi + Irvine, California
  • Beth Yamamuro (Tochigi-ken, Ashikaga-shi, 1987-1989)  Beth adds:  “While living in Irvine, California I helped the local sister cities organization as well as the city officers in their exchanges with their sister city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki-ken. It was kind of funny how the visitors from Tsukuba would always try to hide the fact that they would also be visiting another California sister city, Milpitas. It was like they were having a secret affair.”

Tochigi

• Ashikaga-shi + Springfield, Illinois
  • Beth Yamamuro (Tochigi-ken, Ashikaga-shi, 1987-1989)  Beth adds:  “Ashikaga has a continuing sister city relationship with Springfield, Illinois, thanks largely to the efforts of my predecessor, Monbusho English Fellow Linda Benoit (the last MEF year before JET was initiated). I just re-visited my town after 23 years and was unable to meet one of my favorite Japanese teachers because she was chaperoning a delegation to Springfield.”

Gunma

Saitama + Ohio, USA (Thanks to Michelle Elliott for the info.)

• Koshigaya City + Campbelltown, NSW, Australia – Michelle Elliott (Saitama-ken, 1999-2002)

Chiba + Wisconsin

• Chiba City + Houston, Texas – Lisa Hannabach (Chiba-ken, Chiba-shi, 1990-91, Yachiyo-shi, 1992-95)
• Ichikawa-shi + Gardena California – Lisa Hannabach (Chiba-ken, Chiba-shi, 1990-91, Yachiyo-shi, 1992-95) (Lisa was a private ALT in Ichikawa from 1995-2000.)
• Ichihara City + Mobile, Alabama– Ryan Hart (Chiba-ken, Ichihara-shi)
  • “Ichihara shares a sister city relationship with Mobile, Alabama. There were a total of 8 teachers in Ichihara when I lived there. 7 of them where through the JET Program. 1 of them was hired directly through the sister city relationship with Mobile. So technically, we didn’t have a JET from Mobile, but we did have a teacher that was essentially a JET each year.”
• Narashino-shi + Tuscaloosa, Alabama – [JET? ___________]
• Narita City + Naestved (Denmark) since 2003; Xianyang-city (China) since 1988; San Bruno, California; Jeongeup-city (South Korea); Jung-Gu of Incheon-city (South Korea)since 1998
  • Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, Narita-shi, 2006-11)  (FYI, Celine is currently the Volunteer Self-Support Group Leader for the French-speaking community of JET.)

• Yachiyo-shi + Tyler, Texas – Lisa Hannabach (Chiba-ken, Chiba-shi, 1990-91, Yachiyo-shi, 1992-95)

Tokyo

Kanagawa

• Yokohama-shi + Vancouver, British Columbia; San Diego, California – Ilonka Osvald (Yokohama-shi, 1996-98) (Ilonka adds, “Vancouver and Yokohama have been sister cities for a long time, and there were quite a few JETS in my year who were placed due to the sister city connection (mainly Vancouver and San Diego).”

4.  Chūbu

Niigata

Toyama

Ishikawa

• Kanazawa City + Buffalo, New York; Jeonju, Korea; Nancy, France; Ghent, Belgium; Irkutsk, Russia; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Suzhou, China – Sophie Bocklandt (Belgian CIR Ishikawa-ken, Kanazawa-shi, 2006-11)

Fukui

• Fukui City + New Brunswick, NJ
  • Beata Wilk (Fukui-ken, Fukui-shi/Harue-cho, 2004-08)

Being from NJ I found out as soon as I arrived in Fukui about the sister city between my state and Fukui Prefecture. Fukui-ken usually recieved a number of NJ JETs every year– I believe at the request of the Fukui BOE but I can’t be sure of that. What I do know about the relationship for sure is that:

From the mid-1800s local governments in Fukui, Japan sent students to New Brunswick to learn English and study at Rutgers College. Fukui City sent their student in 18671. These historic ties and exchanges continued for over a century and led to formal agreements being signed with New Brunswick and Fukui in 1982.

As for the New Brunswick, NJ- Fukui-shi relationshsip, to the best of my knowledge this Rutgers University exchange still continues.

Fukui City also has a high school exchange. It is rather competitive and the exchange between NJ and Fukui only happens once every 2 or 3 years. (In the other years there is an exchange between Fukui and a sister city in China). High school students can apply for the program and if chosen, they get to go to a high school in NJ for about two months (if I remember correctly). The exchange is to New Providence High School (New Providence, NJ) and one more NJ high school (unfortunantly I do not remember the other school). They students stay with host families while in NJ and there is always an orientation for the high school students to prepare them for NJ. The Fukui BOE asks some NJ JETs to help in the orientation. We attended about 4 or 5 sessions, in the first few we made presentations about New Jersey geography, places of interest, food, etc. Then in groups we told the Japanese students about high school life in New Jersey and answered their questions. In later sessions, the Japanese students presented about Fukui Prefecture. We gave them an audience to practice on but also helped them expand, edit, and tweak their presentations so that they would be better addressed to NJ High School students.

Side note:

Since then New Brunswick has also established 3 other sister city ties, one more with Japan.

Fukui also has sister city ties with a few other cities, but I believe they are all in other countries. I know the Fukui International Activities Plaza (FIA) has all the information displayed- unfortunantly I do not remember much of it besides NJ relationships.

Yamanashi + Iowa:  The sister-state relationship is detailed in the book “Sweet Corn and Sushi,” the story of Iowan farmers who donated 35 hogs to livestock farmers in Yamanashi after a typhoon devastated the area, according to a Japan Times article:  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100408a3.html (Thanks to Renee Tress (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-09) for the info and link.)

• Kiyosato region + Kentucky – Apparently most JETs in the Kiyosato region are from Kentucky.  More info at http://www.city.hokuto.yamanashi.jp/hokuto_wdm/html/English/15558004369.html (Thanks to Renee Tress (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-09) for the info and link.)
• Nirasaki-shi + Fairfield, California – Renee Tress (Yamanashi-ken, 2006-09) (Renee also shared a link to a Facebook page for this long-running sister city relationship:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fairfield-Nirasaki-Sister-City-Program/218241943857?v=info)

Nagano

• Nagano-shi + Clearwater, FL – Ravi Kumar (CIR Nagano-ken, Nagano-shi, 1998-2001) (Ravi adds, “It was a fairly active relationship. We arranged for 3 english teachers every year from Clearwater to come to live and work in middle schools in Nagano City. We had Japanese teachers of English go to Clearwater during their summer months to improve and learn English. During the summer, we also had a student exchange where 12 students from Nagano would visit Clearwater and 12 students from clearwater would visit Nagano.)

Gifu

• Gifu City + Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Kathy Crutcher (Gifu-ken, Hozomi-cho (now Mizuho-shi), 2000-01)  Kathy adds that her hometown is Cincinnati, which is why she was placed near Gifu City.
• Ikeda-cho + Mililani, Hawaii – Dylan Gen Fujitani (Gifu-ken, Ikeda-cho, 2005-07)  (Dylan indicated that he’s not clear if the relationship is between towns or just between schools.  But still nice to know about.)
• Takayama City + Denver, Colorado – Anna Thompson (Gifu-ken, Takayama-shi, 2002-04)  (Editor’s note:  I visited Takayama several times.  It’s up in the mountains and beautiful.  I remember one of my principals explaining to me that back in the days before everyone honeymooned in Hawaii, Takayama was a popular honeymoon destination.)

Shizuoka

• Kakegawa-shi + Eugene, Oregon – Andrew Osanka (Shizuoka-ken, Kakegawa-shi and Mori-machi, 1991-94)

Aichi

• Kariya-shi + Missassauga, Ontario – Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94)
• Toyohashi-shi + Toledo, OH – Justin Moy (Aichi-ken, Toyohashi-shi, 2008-10) (Justin notes that as of 2010-11, there will be no more prefectural JETs in eastern Aichi)
• Toyokawa-shi + Cupertino, California – [JET? __________]
• Toyota City + Detroit, Michigan – [JET? _______] [Editor’s note:  Toyota is next to Kariya, and as I recall they hired ALTs directly and not through the JET Program or a private company such as Interac (which didn’t even exist back when I was there.)]

5.  Kansai

Mie

Shiga

• Nagahama-shi + Augsburg, Germany & Verona, Italy (Thanks to James Low (Shiga-ken, Nagahama-shi, 2009-11) for the info.)

Kyoto

• Kameoka-shi + Stillwater, Oklahoma [JET ______?] (Thanks to Stillwater, OK native Brad Rickelman (Saitama-ken, Hatogaya-shi, 1995-96) for the info.)
• Kyoto-shi + Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – (Thanks to Eric Hawkinson (Kyoto-fu, 2005-10) for the info.)
• Miyazu-shi + Del Ray Beach, Florida; Nelson, New Zealand – Eric Hawkinson (Kyoto-fu, 2005-10)  (Eric, fyi, is the creator of the ALT website resource TeamTeachers.com.)

Osaka

• Izumi City + Bloomington, Minnesota – Kate Maruyama (Osaka-fu, Izumi-shi, 2005-08) (FYI, Kate grew up and went to college in Minnesota.)
• Ibaraki City + Minneapolis, Minnesota – [Any JETs?_______] (Thanks to Kare Maruyama for sharing the info.)
• Osaka City + Chicago, Illinois – Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99)

Hyōgo Prefecture + Seattle, Washington – [JET? __________]

• Himeji City + Phoenix, Arizona – [JET? __________]
• Nishimiya City + Spokane,  Washington – Anna Amen (Hyogo-ken, Nishimiya-shi, 2007-08)
• Nishiwaki-shi + Renton, Washington – Mitchell Kimura (Hyogo-ken, Nishiwaki-shi, 1995-97) (Mitchell notes that Nishiwaki-shi is the “belly-button” of Japan. :-)

Kobe + Philadelphia (Thanks to James Low (Shiga-ken, Nagahama-shi, 2009-11) for the info.)

Nara

Wakayama

6.  Chūgoku

Tottori

• Nichinan-cho + Scotts Valley, California
  • Clara Solomon (Tottori-ken, Nichinan-cho, 1999-2001) (Clara said, however, that she thinks the sister city program may not still exist due to funding cuts.)
• Yurihama-cho (formerly Hawai-cho) + Hawaii County, Hawaii (Editor’s note:This is the first example of a county having a sister city relationship that I’ve come across.)
  • Mark Fujishige (Tottori-ken, Yurihama-cho, 2008-11)
  • Michelle Otake (Tottori-ken, Yurihama-cho, 1995-98)
  • Matt Ackerman (CIR Tottori-ken, Yurihama-cho, Current as of 2010)

Michelle adds:

“I was the first permanent JET ALT stationed in that town originally/formerly called Hawai-cho, Tottori-ken from 1995 to 1998. At that time Mayor Masanao Inoue, a big advocate of fostering international relationships and “opening” up the town to the world which included participating in the JET Program, asked me to help them build a sister city friendship with my home state Hawaii. To sum up a long story of mostly disappointing phone calls and letters, good fortune finally came to me when I contacted Mr. Rudy Legaspi, who was the Executive Assistant to the Mayor of the County of Hawaii. Mr. Legaspi expressed great enthusiasm and support in establishing sister city ties with Hawai-cho. In 1996 Ms. Yukiko (Kametani) Yamasaki, a local Hawai-cho Town Office employee and liaison for Mayor Inoue’s Office, and I flew over to the city of Hilo, Hawaii and formerly met up with the County of Hawaii officials, including Mr. Legaspi and Mayor Stephen K. Yamashiro, to set up the initial groundwork for the sister city friendship. On October 16, 1996, Mayor Inoue of Hawai-cho, Tottori-ken and Mayor Yamashiro of the County of Hawaii, Hawaii officially cemented a sister city friendship.”

“Due to mostly economic reasons, many towns and villages across Tottori prefecture and the rest of Japan from 2001 to 2005 were swallowed up, readministered, and renamed in municipal mergers. In 2005 Hawai-cho along with Togo-cho and Tomari-son became Yurihama-cho. And the sister city friendship between Yurihama-cho and Hawaii County is still very much alive and well.”

Matt adds:

“Prior to 2004, one of the towns that was merged into what is now Yurihama-cho was known as Hawai-cho. In order to take advantage of this name, the chamber of commerce started to promote the town as “The Hawai of Japan” in the 90’s. In 1995, the town got its first ALT from Hawaii(in America), Michele Otake. It’s my understanding that she did most of the legwork in searching for and getting in contact with a suitable sister city.”

“With the exception of Honolulu, local government in the state of Hawaii is all organized on the county level, so I assume that’s why we have this relationship with a county rather than a particular city. Also, my guess is they were probably going for the matching name as well.”

“Since establishing this relationship, our town has enjoyed regular visits of government and chamber of commerce officials both to and from Hawaii. We have also welcomed a group of musicians and dancers from Hawaii to perform in the hula festival we hold every year. In addition, we have been conducting a school exchange/home stay program for middle school students since 1998, The town has been utilizing a CIR to help coordinate all of these activities since about 2000 or 2001.”

Shimane

• Fujiyoshida-shi + Colorado Springs, CO (Thanks to Jessyca Livingston (Shimane-ken, Fujiyoshida-shi) for the info.)
  • According to Jessyca on 08.06.12:  “Colorado Springs, CO and Fujiyoshida-shi, Shimane-ken just celebrated their 50th anniversary this past weekend. A group of Rocky Mountain JET Alums were present to both participate and offer translation services for the 150 delegates that were here for the celebration. It was really wonderful to connect with so many alums- especially the ones from Colorado Springs that had been “posted” to Fujiyoshida on JET. It was a great feeling to be able to give back in that capacity!”

Okayama

• Kurashiki-shi + Kansas City, MO (Thanks to Kansas City native William Nealy (Oita-ken, Oita-shi, 1994-97) for the info.)

Hiroshima

• Fukuyama-shi + Maui, Hawaii; Hamilton, Ontario; Pohang City, Korea; Tacloban City, Philippines; Kazanlak, Bulgaria – Shaula Evans (CIR Hiroshima-ken, Fukuyama-shi, 1992-94)

Yamaguchi

7.  Shikoku

Tokushima

• Miyoshi-shi + The Dalles, Oregon & Tukwila, Washington – Smitha Pradhi (Tokushima-ken, 2005-07); Andrew Kim (Tokushima-ken, Miyoshi-shi, 2005-08) (Smitha explains that the towns of Ikeda-cho and Ikawa-cho had long-running sister-city relationships with these two U.S. towns respectively, and then merged with a few other towns to become Miyoshi-shi during a 2006 gappei).  (Andrew adds, “I was a 3-year JET and now head the committee in Tukwila, WA. The Miyoshi-Tukwila Sister City relationship currently focuses on a cultural exchange between Junior High School students but has expanded to High School students and Adults. At this time, Tukwila hosts Miyoshi citizens every other Autumn while Miyoshi hosts Tukwila every other Spring. We have established this exchange since November 19, 1979.”
• Tokushima-shi + Saginaw, Michigan; Leira, Portugal; Dangong City, China – Olivia Nillson (Tokushima-ken, Tokushima-shi, 2006-09) (Olivia adds, “Every year, students from Tokushima would travel to Saginaw, and vice versa. While I was there, we had a choral group from Saginaw visit and give concerts in the city.”)

Kagawa

• Takamatsu-shi + St. Petersburg, Florida – Lily Lam (Kagawa-ken, Takamatsu-shi, 2004-09); Dave Wilson (Kagawa-ken, Kotohira-cho, 2008-10) (Lily adds, “Every year, St. Pete sends over someone to teach as an ALT at one of the local Takamatsu high schools. Delegations of students from Takamatsu also get sent to visit St. Pete every once in a while, and vice versa (see press release). I was completely unaware of the sister city relationship between St. Pete and Takamatsu, until I arrived in Takamatsu and found a disproportionately large number of people who actually knew where St. Petersburg was.”

Ehime

• Matsuyama City + Sacramento, California; Freiberg, Germany – Stewart Andrew Curry (Ehime-ken, Matsuyama-shi, 1987-89 – when the acronym was “AET” rather than “ALT)

Kōchi

• Motoyama-cho + Urausu-cho, Hokkaido, Japan – Margie Banin (Kochi-ken, Motoyama-cho, 2005-07) (Margie, fyi, is an “Expat Coach” and is also in the process of setting up a company to lead tours to Shikoku!  Margie adds, “Yes, Motoyama’s sister city is Japanese! Apparently there is a link because Motoyama families emigrated up there at some point – not sure when, not sure how many, but enough to have a strong connection – and both cities want to keep the ties strong. The junior highs do field trips annually, one year MJH goes north, the next UJH comes south. Also, the yakuba have an employee exchange, where each year a Motoyama employee goes to Urausu and an Urausu employee comes to Motoyama in exchange. Urausu has a booth at Motoyama’s festival in the fall. And so on & so forth. Those are the main activities that I recall. The relationship is very much alive, strong & well.”)

8.  Kyūshū

Fukuoka

• Fukuoka-shi + Atlanta, Georgia + Oakland, California + Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Brian Hersey (Fukuoka-ken, Fukuoka-shi, 1994-96)
  • Sharon Tatro (Fukuoka-ken, Fukuoka-shi, 2002-07 – Sharon is a Co-President of JETAA Southern California)
  • Taea Takagi (Fukuoka-ken, Nogata-shi, 2006-08 – and a Hawaii native)
  • Kelsey Soma Turek (Fukuoka-ken, Fukuoka-shi, 2005-07 and current President of JETAA Hawaii) (Kelsey notes that the sister city relationship is why Fukuoka has a lot of Hawaii JETs.)
  • (Mark Frey (Kumamoto-ken, 2002-06) who is an active member of JETAA Northern California, reports that he’s currently involved in developing a partnership between the Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association (OFSCA) and JETAA Northern California.)
  • Mark Juloya (Fukoka-ken, Kaho-machi, 2004-07) (Mark is currently serving as the Treasurer for JETAA Southern California.)

Saga

Nagasaki

• Nagasaki City + St. Paul’s, Minnesota – [Any JETs?_____] – (Thanks to Kate Maruyama for sharing the information.)
• Sasebo City + Albequerque, New Mexico – Kate Meyer (Nagasaki-ken, 2006-10) (Kate notes that there is a large number of JETs in Nagasaki-ken who are from Minnesota.)

Kumamoto + Montana, USA (Thanks to Mark Frey (Kumamoto-ken, 2002-06) for the info.)  (Kathy Laubach adds, “To the best of my knowledge, Montana [state] and Kumamoto Prefecture share a “sister” relationship and perhaps this is worth mentioning so as not to have people assume the relationships are only between Kumamoto and Billings and Helena in Montana.”)

• Kumamoto City + San Antonio, Texas; Billings, Montana; Helena, Montana; Heidelberg, Germany; Guilin, China; Bristol, United Kingdom; Ulsan, South Korea – Mark Frey (Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, 2002-06), Angela Riu Gordon (Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, 2004-06); Kathy Laubach (CIR Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, 2003-06)

Ōita

Miyazaki

Kagoshima

• Amami City (formerly Naze City) + Nacogdoches, Texas – Barbara “Chieko” Rothengass (Kagoshima-ken, Naze-shi, 2003-06) (Barbara is the chapter president for JETAA Texoma and notes that McMichael Middle School does a student exchange with Amami-shi.)

Okinawa

• Ishigaki City + Kauai County, Hawaii; Suao City, Taiwan – Troy Nakamura (CIR Okinawa-ken, Ishigaki-shi, 2005-07)

Oct 28

JET ROI: Why JET Matters – Japanese language education, national security and the future of US-Japan relations

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In a recent discussion on the JETAA Education Professionals LinkedIn Group, JET alum and Japanese language consultant Beth Yamamuro shared some perspectives and thoughts on the decline in administrative support for Japanese language study.  Beth’s comments prompted Matt Gillam, a long-time CLAIR-NY staff member and a graduate of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, to offer some useful insights into the role of JETs and the JET Programme in the bigger picture of US-Japan relations.

With their permission, and with the aim of helping to make the JET and JET alum community more aware of its role in the bigger picture, JetWit is posting their comments below.  (For the record, Matt’s comments are his own personal views and are not on behalf of CLAIR-NY):

Here are Beth’s comments:

I did want to share with you what I’m learning in the Japanese Language Teaching class I posted about earlier. It seems there is sort of a crisis in the Japanese as a second language field these days. Despite a growing number of students in classes, there is a decreasing amount of financial and administrative support. Japanese is not a strategically important language to the US like Chinese and Korean are, so there are fewer (or no?) government grants to study it. The Chinese government is subsidizing many Mandarin education programs within the US, and as a result some institutions are giving up their Japanese programs in favor of Chinese. Having bilingual speakers of English and Japanese IS strategically important to Japan, and the JET program is a unique system already in place to support the development of large groups of such speakers.

Another issue in which the JET program could play a part is the lack of qualified teachers of Japanese. With the increasing emphasis on standards in all levels of foreign language education, teacher training for the specific education community involved is more important than ever. JET participants tend to be people who are in some way interested in education, and many go on to be teachers on returning to their home country, whether or not that was their original career plan.

Here are Matt’s comments:

This is a really interesting report on what’s going on with Japanese language education recently, and in my opinion it reflects an extremely short-sighted policy shift by the U.S. government just when it’s becoming clear (again) that we need Japan as an ally to deal with an increasingly belligerent China and an increasingly (who’d have thought it possible?) unstable Korean Peninsula.  I think Japan is slowly beginning to come out of its recent phase of thinking the US-Japan security alliance is merely burdensome and no longer particularly relevant, and China was their new best buddy.  However, the events of the past few weeks, especially, have the US and Japan both realizing that China is not growing into the steady, dependable partner we’d all been hoping for.  It is doubly unfortunate that Japan herself has not made any efforts to counter this growing neglect and promote Japanese language acquisition or actively cultivate those who have an interest in becoming teachers.  As far as I know, there is only the JET Program to fill this void.

Each country is important in its own way and each requires attention.  China, despite recent tensions, is a vital component of the world economy and a critical trading partner for the US and Japan, besides being an indispensable player in addressing security and environmental issues.  They also possess a rich and ancient culture and history.  It is likely that political and economic realities will eventually compel them to soften their ham-handed, nationalistic approach to dealing with other countries, but when that might happen is unclear.  South Korea has become the steadier partner in many ways, partly because they have made extensive efforts to strengthen ties with the US and to appeal to American feelings of goodwill toward an old ally and trading partner.  But South Korea is vulnerable in ways Japan is not, and with their smaller economy and more limited capabilities in economic and security terms they are no replacement for Japan.

We cannot maintain a significant presence in Northeast Asia and thereby maintain credibility with our security partners as a counterweight to China without our bases in Japan (read, primarily, “Okinawa”), and to keep those bases we need people who can work with the Japanese and understand their needs and concerns, and not blunder through crises like the Pentagon and the Administration did with the new Hatoyama administration and the Futenma fiasco.

Everyone got lulled into thinking the US-Japan relationship was rock-solid and boring and could cruise along on auto-pilot without anyone actively managing it.  That, along with being dazzled by the rise of China, South Korea’s great success in democratizing and building itself into an economic powerhouse (albeit on a smaller scale than Japan or China) in Northeast Asia, and the two wars in the Mid-east/South Asia, have led to a deeply unfortunate neglect of Japan and the pivotal role the country plays in keeping Asia and the world stable.  We had hoped China would take the path of integrating into the world economy and governance structure as a responsible player, but, at least for the moment, they have chosen to emphasize nationalism and uncompromising self-interest instead.  That is not good news for Japan or the US, obviously.

As student exchanges and other ties between Japan and the US wither, JET becomes one of the few initiatives to consistently maintain a flow of people between the two countries, and is, I think, thereby critical in supporting that larger security relationship.

Oct 27

JET ROI: NY’s Consulate-General of Japan, JET alumni make mighty combo

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Oct 18

JET ROI: “JET Programme, JET Alumni Vital to the Future of U.S.-Japan Relations”

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The below article appeared in the Summer 2010 Issue of the JLGC Newsletter.

“JET Program, JET Alumni Association Vital to the Future of U.S.-Japan Relations”

by Matthew Gillam, Senior Researcher and Chizuko Kawamura, Assistant Director, Japan Local Government Center (aka CLAIR-New York)

JETAA New York hosted the JETAA USA National Conference from August 12 to 15, with 42 representatives from 18 of the 19 US chapters (except Alaska) and the three US Country Representatives participating.

Since a review of CLAIR’s overseas offices and the JET Program was conducted by the Government Revitalization Unit in May, and support for JETAA was among the activities under administrative review by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in June and July, this year’s conference was focused much more than usual on explaining the role of the JET Program and JETAA in efforts to improve the English language ability of the Japanese and to promote international exchange in Japan.

The first main session on this topic took place on the morning of Friday, August 13. Mr. Yasuhisa Kawamura, the director of the Japan Information Center at the Consulate General of Japan in New York, explained the position of the Ministry after their recent review. During his talk he emphasized that the Ministry understands the importance of JETAA’s vital role in the US-Japan relationship and will continue supporting the alumni. However, this support will be strictly limited to activities and events which enable former JETs to be diplomatic assets for Japan, or which improve the quality of future JETs. He concluded his remarks with his “Three Cs” for future relations, “Confidence, Caution and Cooperation”, and asked for pragmatism rather than excessive optimism or pessimism in dealing with the current situation. As to CLAIR’s position, Mr. Matthew Gillam explained CLAIR’s current situation and future support for JETAA, saying that the continuing fiscal difficulties facing local governments make it difficult for CLAIR to promise to maintain current funding levels in the coming years. He concluded by saying it is very important that we gain the support of local governments for JETAA activities. These presentations were followed by a lengthy discussion by attendees on ways to address the issues raised in various criticisms of JET and JETAA in Japan.

The other main session was Read More

Oct 13

New: JETAA Education Professionals Group on LinkedIn

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Update 10/15/10:  It turns out a JETAA Education Professionals group had already been created by JET alum Joshua Flannery (who also serves as Secretary for JETAA Western Japan).  Despite some minor initial confusion, this is a really good thing since he’s been doing a great job with  an existing group and now we’ll have even more people.

I’ve just set up a “JET Alum Education Professionals Group“ on LinkedIn.

Here’s the updated link to join:  http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=2973279

The goal is to bring together as many JET alum teachers plus education policy/government/academic folks as possible, as well as any JET alums who are interested in getting into the field or just have an interest in the topic period.

A bigger purpose is that it would be nice if JETAA can start being a source of good ideas for improving the JET Programme.  JET alum teachers and other education professionals are a good resource for helping to make that happen.  And the first step is figuring out who is out there (since there are no official lists or databases of JET alumni and what they’re doing now).

Of course, another purpose of the group is networking and also a way for established JET alumni to help those getting started or figuring out their path.

So don’t be shy.  Step right up and start getting to know your fellow JET alum education professionals around the world.

Note:  “I” = Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94)

Oct 12

Future of JET: Reinventing English Education in Japan

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A Daily Yomiuri article (“Japan Teachers May Get English Training in U.S.“) reports that as part of an effort to reform the current English education structure in Japan, Japan and the U.S. are considering “a program that would send young Japanese teachers of English to the United States to improve their English ability.”

Here’s the link to the full article:  http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T101010001858.htm

The idea appears to still in be in the concept stage, and it is unclear whether exposing JTE’s to U.S. education will inherently assist in their ability to deliver English to the Japanese classroom. Also unclear is what form this “training” will take.

The project seems to allow for the inference that the JET Programme will be scaled back and perhaps retooled, with a possibility of outright elimination.

With the possibility of Japanese Teacher of English being brought into local American communities, it would be interesting to contemplate a supporting role for JETAA and JET alums generally to assist recruited teachers.

Oct 6

AJET Survey: Do you have suggestions for the JET Programme?

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This year’s JET Programme Survey of current JETs is more important than ever as the JET Programme and JET Alumni Association have been subject to increased political scrutiny despite the benefits that JETs continue to provide to Japan, both during their service as well as in the years after.  If you’re a current JET, please take a moment to provide responses.  You are in an excellent position to help improve the JET Programme, and the more we can help the better for everyone.

Here’s the post about the survey from the AJET website:

Do you have an opinion about JET Programme orientations, technology use in your workplace or how integrated you are into your workplace? If so, please take the National AJET surveys about these issues.

Since the JET Programme is over 4,000 members strong, National AJET surveys the concerns and comments of JET Programme participants twice a year and then presents the results to CLAIR and the ministries so that your voice is heard.

You can find the the surveys here:

JET Programme Orientations
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JETorientations

Technology in the Workplace
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AJETtech2010

Workplace Integration Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/integration2010

These surveys are vital to the longevity and improvement of the JET Programme.

Oct 5

Asahi newspaper column offers perspective on the value of JET Programme to Japan

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The following is a synopsis/loose translation of Bill Breer’s recent op-ed piece about the importance of the JET Programme to Japan which appeared in the My Viewpoint column of the Asahi newspaper from October 1, 2010.  Breer is the former Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

I thought it was worth sharing with the JET alum community as it provides some rather helpful perspective on the value to Japan of the JET Programme and the JET Alumni Association.

Bill Breer, Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic & International Studies

In this world of ongoing globalization, the JET Program is a daring, unique effort to open up the world to students in Japan. It is the Japanese government’s most successful program, and no other country has been able to create a citizens’ exchange initiative like it.

The many young people who have participated in the Program from the world’s leading English-speaking countries have come to like Japan, have learned the language, come to know the people and culture, and have gone on to become the “Third Wave” of Japanese scholarship.

The “First Wave” developed from the mid-19th century as art collectors worked with Japanese artists and merchants to build the great collections at the Boston Museum of Art, the Freer Galleries in Washington, DC, and others, entrancing Americans with Japan’s beauty and culture and producing the first research on Japan.

The “Second Wave” came out of the tragedy of the Second World War, as the US government trained thousands of soldiers in Japanese language for the war effort. These people came home with a deep interest in Japan and created the base of scholarship into Japan’s history, culture, economics and politics at the great universities. These men include Edwin Reischauer at Harvard, James Morley, Donald Keene, Edward Seidensticker and Herbert Passin at Columbia, and John Hall at Yale.

Now, the JET Program, begun in 1987, has given birth to a new generation.  These people have an entirely different perspective on Japan and the Japanese people. Many of them have a fondness for Japan and are instrumental in conveying that to people in their home countries. Furthermore, many have gone on to become educators conducting further research on Japan, and this piques their students’ interest in JET. Over 20 ex-JETs work at the US Embassy in Tokyo, and many more work in business in New York, London, and other major cities. They are all passionate “Japanese ambassadors”, conveying the message that Japan is an outstanding country with a rich history and culture.

America has the Fulbright Program and England the Rhodes Scholarships, but Japan should be proud of its JET Program as the most successful example of a government youth exchange program. JET is the advance guard of Japan’s “internationalization”, whose participants have changed the Japanese people’s perceptions of “gaijin” and then gone home to become lifelong friends of Japan.

Japan could still use “friends” like these, couldn’t it?

Here is the original column:

Oct 5

Rajio Taiso Project – JETAA Portland

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A little while back we posted about JETAA Portland’s effort to get every JETAA chapter to make a Rajio Taiso video in their city or town.  Well, JETAA Portland has started things off with the first video.

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Inspired?  For more information, or to submit your a video for your chapter, you can contact JETAA Portland’s webmaster Bob Schnyder at webmaster@jetaaportland.com or go to:  http://www.jetaaportland.com/community-events/rajio-taiso-portland-japanese-gardens/

Sep 26

JET ROI: JET alum creates “Smile Kids Japan” program for JETs to volunteer at orphanages in Japan

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Check out this article from The Japan Times on Fukui JET alum Mike Maher-King who started Smile Kids Japan (www.smilekidsjapan.org), a web-based network that enables JETs to volunteer at orphanages around Japan.  The idea came from Mike’s own experience volunteering at an orphanage in his area, which he then expanded to bring other JET alums to the orphanage as well.

Here’s the URL for the article:  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100925a1.html

(Also of note, the article is by a JET alum journalist, Jody Godoy.)

Examples like this do a wonderful job of demonstrating the Return on Investment that Japan continues to reap from the JET Programme and its alumni.  If you have other examples to share, please email them to jetwit@jetwit.com and we’ll post them for the JET alum community and others to read about.

Sep 21

JET Alum Author Profile: Malena Watrous

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Malena Watrous (Ishikawa-ken, 1998-2000), author of the novel "If You Follow Me"

Freelance writer, essayist and blogger Liz Sheffield (Hokkaio-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95) recently came across an article in Writer’s Digest about Malena Watrous, the author of If You Follow Me. The book’s description and the author’s biography made Liz think there was a JET connection. Indeed there was — here are Liz’s thoughts about the novel and her conversation with  the author:

Malena Watrous (Ishikawa-ken, 1998-2000) joined the ranks JET alum authors with the recent release of her debut novel, If You Follow Me, published by Harper Collins in March 2010.

Although Watrous admits she didn’t want her novel to become a “Japan weirdest hits” type of book, she does an exceptional job of capturing details and drawing upon common expatriate experiences in Japan. Part of the joy in reading If You Follow Me was having a trip down memory lane. For example: ever receive a handwritten note from your Japanese supervisor admonishing something you did? Check. What about the nasal voice booming over the portable PA system each night as an old man tries to sell his jagaimo? Check. One too many kanpais at the bonnenkai? Check.

Along with these key details, Watrous also weaves together a story that is unique and which is about much more than a gaijin living in Japan. If You Follow Me is the tale of Marina, a young American who moves to Japan with her girlfriend in order to teach English and escape the painful reality of her father’s recent suicide. The cast of characters in the town of Shika includes a quirky co-teacher of English who sings a mean Elvis on karaoke, a silent neighbor boy who is just breaking out of hibernation and the British expat who is attempting to become the next great foreign talent after his stint teaching English in Shika. As is true for many who live abroad, Marina is changed by her experience in ways she never could have anticipated.

“I’d say that the experience made me have a deeper understanding of what it feels like to be different,” Watrous says of the impact the JET Program had on her own life. “It gave me a lasting sense of the value of creating relationships between people of different ages and backgrounds, and made me less afraid of ‘strangers’ of different kinds. It also gave me a greater sense of possibility.”

She notes that she witnessed similar realizations in her students as a result of her presence in their classroom.

“I loved seeing my students become less afraid of the big bad foreigner, which actually happened so quickly and naturally, especially with the elementary school kids, who were just magic to me. I loved those first grade boys with their fuzzy heads, who talked to me like I was another one of them.”

It’s no surprise that the book has received awards and recognition in the United States as well as generous support in Japan. Watrous’ heartfelt and often humorous novel allows readers from any country to experience a journey of sadness and grief that leads to an eventual greater sense of possibility.

So, what can readers expect next from this talented author?

“I’m working on a novel set at least partly in occupied Japan. I hadn’t thought that I’d write another book in Japan, at least not right away, but a character presented herself to me and I’m having a lot of fun with it. Plus–now I’ve got the perfect excuse to make another research trip.”

Go to Motherlogue to hear more about about Malena’s experience writing If You Follow Me.

Sep 8

JET ROI: Japan Times column says “Don’t blame JET for Japan’s poor English”

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A recent column from The Japan Times by Debito Arudou (not a JET or JET alum) that does a nice job of addressing the oft-heard (and rather misleading) charge that JET has not led to improvement in English scores in Japan:  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100907ad.html

It has a bit of snark and falls into some generalizations, but the underlying point as well as the thoughtful analysis are spot on and greatly appreciated here on JetWit.

Sep 8

JET ROI: Japan Times readers respond to recent article on JET

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From The Japan Times, definitely worth a read:

• “Readers offer their thoughts on jettisoning JET” – http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100907hs.html

Here are links to related JetWit posts with:

• The original Japan Times article by Eric Johnston:  http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2010/07/27/jet-roi-japan-times-article-on-debate-over-jet-program/
• A Japan Times article based on JETAA’s press release following the JETAA USA National Conference in August:  http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2010/08/17/jet-roi-japan-times-article-jets-press-to-keep-program-intact/
• Christiana Aretta’s “100 English Dreams”:  http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2010/07/31/jet-roi-100-english-dreams-a-jet-project-by-christiana-aretta/

Sep 6

JET ROI: JETAA Rajio Taiso

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JETAA Portland is getting ready to make a video of a group of its members doing NHK Rajio Taiso (radio exercises) in Portland’s Japanese Gardens on September 8.  And it’s hoping to inspire other JET Alumni chapters to do the same in front of their respective landmarks.  The goal is to aggregate all of the videos into one big video that shows JET alumni doing Rajio Taiso all over the U.S. and, preferably, the world.

While the idea takes a lighthearted approach, it will also help symbolically demonstrate to Japan’s population how JET alumni everywhere are and have been promoting and spreading Japanese culture around the world.

For more information, or to submit your own video, you can contact JETAA Portland’s webmaster Bob Schnyder at webmaster@jetaaportland.com or go to:  http://www.jetaaportland.com/community-events/rajio-taiso-portland-japanese-gardens/

And if you have no idea what Rajio Taiso is (or you just need a little dose of natsukashii) here’s a video:

Aug 28

Notable JET alums: Rob Cornilles – U.S. Congressional candidate

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JET alum Rob Cornilles

JET alum Robert Cornilles won the Republican primary for Congress in Oregon’s 1st District and will be running against incumbent Democrat David Wu this November 2010.

Rob is also the founder and CEO of Game Face, a successful sports marketing company with a client list that includes the Chicago Bulls, Miami Dolphins, Boston Celtics, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.

For more information about Rob and his campaign, you can visit his website at www.cornillesforcongress.com.