PNW JETAA’s meeting with Hyogo Governor Ido and Ryan Hart’s speech
Cultural Outreach, Earthquake Tsunami, Events, Fundraising, Japan Local, JETAA Chapters, Local Government, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Volunteer, Writers 
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On Friday August 26, we had the great honor of giving a presentation about the Pacific Northwest JET Alumni Association at the Hyogo Seminar, which was hosted by Hyogo Prefecture (coordinated by theHyogo Business and Cultural Center) and the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). The Governor of Hyogo Prefecture, Toshizo Ido, gave a comprehensive presentation on the many great qualities of Hyogo. Consul General Kiyokazu Ota, Masaaki Akagi, the Executive Director of The Japan Local Government Center (CLAIR New York), and Ginn Kitaoka, the Executive Director of the Hyogo Business and Cultural Center all gave warm opening remarks.
During our presentation, we highlighted the great things our chapter does. Ryan Hart (Chiba-ken, Ichihara-shi, 1998-99) (former PNW JETAA President, JETAA USA Country Representative and JETAA International Vice-Chair) shared what JETAA and current JETs are doing on the national and international level, Karin Zaugg-Black shared how her JET experiences shaped her career and her personal involvement with Japan, and Erin Erickson explained how we have supported Japan Relief efforts. Leela Bilow, Jana Yamada, and Casey Mochel shared their memories of Japan and how they continue to be involved with the Japanese community after JET.
Ryan Hart very generously allowed us to share his speech with you. Below is a brief excerpt, and his full speech is below the cut.
From its inception, the JET Alumni Association has helped former participants of the JET Program “Bring Japan Back Home.” What does this mean? We help former participants network, make new friends and transition their careers. We help the JET Program by recruiting, interviewing and training new teachers for their journey. We also help our communities we live in to support Japanese culture and raise awareness of the strong ties between our countries.
On March 11, 2011, like so many other things in our lives, this changed. Instead of “Bringing Japan Back Home”, our chapters and membership have rallied not only to raise money for immediate earthquake and tsunami relief, but also to strengthen the value of our relationship with local communities and organizations in Japan.
The JET Program, since 1987, has grown into the largest and most successful work exchange program in the world. Each year, the program brings thousands of teachers to Japan to promote language education and to strengthen Japan’s relationship with a number of countries. Since 1989, our Alumni Association of former program participants, has mirrored that growth and has steadily grown as a true grassroots organization, built from our individual members up. JETAA is now 53 chapters in 18 countries. As a former chapter president here in Seattle, a former Country Representative for JETAA USA’s 19 chapters and as former Vice Chair for JETAA International, I have been truly blessed to have had the chance to work and be a part of this growth.
From its inception, the JET Alumni Association has helped former participants of the JET Program “Bring Japan Back Home.” What does this mean? We help former participants network, make new friends and transition their careers. We help the JET Program by recruiting, interviewing and training new teachers for their journey. We also help our communities we live in to support Japanese culture and raise awareness of the strong ties between our countries.
On March 11, 2011, like so many other things in our lives, this changed. Instead of “Bringing Japan Back Home”, our chapters and membership have rallied not only to raise money for immediate earthquake and tsunami relief, but also to strengthen the value of our relationship with local communities and organizations in Japan.
- Immediately following the earthquake and tsunami, JETAA USA started raised money as a national organization and chapters voted to allocate this money directly to the affected local communities. We have formed a national advisory committee for the relief fund, of which I am proudly serving as a member. To date, the JET alumni have raised over $60k in funds and we are exploring continued fundraising efforts to make an even bigger impact.
- AJET, as an organization of current JETs living and teaching in Japan, has been partnering with organizations such as Peace Boat, Second Harvest, Foreign Buyers Club and 5toSurvive to raise money and awareness of recovery efforts. The Osaka AJET Chapter has worked on food drives with Kozmoz International of Kyoto, and have driven food and supplies themselves to Tohoku from Osaka.
- Mike Maher-King, a Fukui JET, formed Smile Kids Japan, a program of visiting orphanages throughout Japan. After March 11, he partnered with an organization in Tokyo called Living Dreams to start the Smile & Dreams project for Tohoku children to make sure the needs of the orphanages and the needs of the children who rely on them are met. He recently presented at TED Talks in Tokyo.
- Paul Yoo, an Akita JET, founded the Fruit Tree Project (delivering $23,571 worth and 38,612 items of fresh fruit to Tohoku) and VolunteerAkita, which was the backbone of the BIG CLEAN project that was directly involved in the cleanup of Kessenuma. He is now working as the Home Communication Manager for two orphanages in Sendai to ensure their needs are communicated with organizations involved with relief efforts.
- Hotdogs and Hugs was an aid organization of JETs from Saga-ken, who traveled from Saga Prefecture in western Kyushu, all the way to Tohoku, raising awareness and funds for relief efforts along the way.
- Save Miyagi was founded by Canon Purdy, a JET Alumni who was in Miyagi-ken.
- Billy McMicheal, a CIR in Fukushima, has formed Hearts for Haragama, which is raising funds for the Haragama Youchien Kindergarten in Soma, Fukushima.
- Kat Geeraert, an alumnus who also lived in Soma, has started Friends of Soma to raise money for relief efforts.
These are just a few examples of the direct impact JETs and JET alumni have had. Given the number of teachers who have taught in Japan since 1985, there probably are many more individual efforts out there that we don’t know about.
What we do know is that, in light of what happened on March 11, JET alumni around the world are not only focused on “Bringing Japan Home”, but also “Bringing Home to Japan.” Collectively, we have a renewed focus not only on strengthening US/Japan relations, but also the ties with the communities we once lived, worked, and taught in. We know that our contracts we were given to us by local governments and boards of education throughout Japan, weren’t just annual contracts, they were invitations to a legacy. It should be very clear to the many communities across Japan who have invested in the JET Program since 1987 that there is a long-term value in the relationships that have been formed with the many JET Program participants that have come and gone. Whether it be through media campaigns, tourism promotion, school exchange programs, or relief and fundraising efforts, JETAA is now looking to continue our legacy in “Bringing Home Back to Japan.”
Thank you.
Ryan Hart, Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, 1998-99
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Thanks to Matt Gillam, Senior Researcher at CLAIR-NY (aka Japan Local Government Center), who attended the recent Sister Cities International Conference in Riverside, CA, for writing up a little something about the conference and noting how JETs were present in several ways.
A little context: Back in July, several JET alum reps including Mike Shu, Jessyca Wilcox and myself along with Matt met up with Sister Cities International when we were in D.C. for the JETAA USA National Conference to talk about potential collaboration. The topic was subsequently discussed with JETAA chapter reps in a session at the JETAA USA National Conference.
“I just got back from the Sister Cities Pan-Pacific conference in Riverside, where we had a chance to gauge interest in the idea of making alumni available to cities to help out with their sister city relationships. The reaction I got was that there is definitely interest, and not just limited to sister cities matters. There seems to be quite a need for help with other visitors from Japan as well, where cities lack people with knowledge of not just language, but also cultural and social norms.
Mark Juloya and Russell Iriye, from JETAA Southern California, came for the conference and Russell participated in a session on “Best Practices in Youth Programming”, where he talked about JET & JETAA. In the Q&A after his presentation, I had a chance to mention the alumni as an available resource for cities and a couple of people were quite interested. Overall, as I said, the response was positive, and Mark and Russell were also great exemplars of the kind of talent JETAA has to offer.
On Sunday, Sendai City put on a display at the most popular spot in town (the Mission Inn) to talk about how the city is recovering and to thank Riverside for all its support ($584,000 in donations, plus the area dispatched USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) teams etc. to the region immediately following the disasters). Audrey Shiomi, a former CIR in Sendai City, also came out to help for the day. Audrey is one of those former JETs who have taken advantage of the program to revisit their former communities in Tohoku, and another great example of how valuable alumni can be to their former employers.
And one more person to mention is Renay Loper, who’s with the Japan Foundation’s Center for Global Partnership now. She was there with a Japanese colleague to attend the conference, since CGP was helping to fund it.
JETs are everywhere.”
Matt Gillam
JLGC, New York
New New Jersey JETAA Subchapter
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Via JETAA NY:
JETAA NY is excited to kickstart a new subchapter on the other side of the river – in New Jersey!
Those interested can join the Facebook group and read about our NJ Subchapter Representative, Rachelle de Leon, at http://jetaany.org/about/contacts/ (scroll to the bottom).
Rachelle can be contacted via the Facebook group and/or email at njrep [at] jetaany.org.
Return on JET-vestment: JETAA NY joins Kyushu Battenkai for Fall Gathering
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Via JETAA New York. A great example of JETAA providing Return on JET-vestment at the local government level:
Terrific Turnout for Kyushu Battenkai’s Fall Gathering
“With over 60 people in attendance from both JETAANY and the Kyushu BattenKai, we enjoyed another successful joint event with the Kyushu expat organization (see the picture from the end of the evening above). We look forward to working with them again.”
JETAA Music City to host it’s first Nihongo Dake Dinner!
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Thanks to JETAA Music City President (and Arkansas Cherry Blossom Princess) Terry Vo (Kumamoto-ken, 2007-09) for the heads up:
Join us for a Japanese-Style Potluck on October 4, 2011. Come mingle, eat, drink, and be merry! This event is open to our Friends of JET Alum as well so please feel free to invite your family and friends! Please bring either your favorite Dish, Dessert or Beverage!
RSVP DEADLINE: September 30 to Leah atvp@jetaamc.org
Location: 1812 Cahal Avenue, Nashville TN 37206″
Job searching advice from JETAA Tokyo
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Via JETAA Tokyo’s Career Digest:
- “A Recruiter’s Guide to Finding Work in Tokyo” – by JETAA Tokyo President and former recruiter Byron Nagy
- “Getting That Perfect Job” – by JET alum and former CLAIR staffer Christian Tsuji
Newly-wed JETs Give to JETAA USA Earthquake Fund
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Originally posted on the JETAA USA website by Jessyca Wilcox:
Rachel and Josh, JET alums from the DC area were married this past summer. They met while on JET in Kumamoto-ken, falling in love with Japan and each other during their years in Japan. As they celebrated their marriage this summer, Rachel and Josh approached JETAA USA, expressing a desire to have their wedding guests give to the JETAA USA Earthquake Relief Fund in lieu of getting toaster ovens, china, towel sets and mixing bowls. We were deeply touched by their thoughtfulness, belief in the JET alum community and their continual and sincere dedication to Japan.
The generous contributions Rachel and Josh’s wedding guests made in their name will help the Japanese communities that most need it. ども ありがとう ございました！
About the bride
Rachel is from Alexandria, Minnesota. An English major at Gustavus Adolphus College, she flew on a JET plane to Japan to test out her teaching skills and try something new! Little did she know, a Texan would capture her heart!
About the groom
Josh is from Dallas, Texas. He did Computer Science at the University of Texas (Dallas) and went on to get his MBA before JET. Unsure about joining the corporate world and eager to experience Japan, Josh flew out of Texas. Little did he know, a blond Minnesotan was waiting for him!
How they met
Rachel and Josh met in Japan while on JET. Rachel was just starting her second year as an ALT in Kumamoto-ken, when Josh landed on the foreign soil. Taking care of the ‘newbies’ as a social chair, Rachel helped plan Orientation for the new JETs. They met the weekend before Orientation, at a lantern festival with friends. Josh asked Rachel if she thought they’d be friends had they met under normal circumstances in the United States. Rachel looked at the charming Texan and said, ‘Yes, we’d be friends.’ He agreed and the rest is history.
JQ Magazine: Photos from the 2011 JETAANY Softball Tournament
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Team JETAANY, ready for some softball. (Photos courtesy of Monica Yuki)
By Monica Yuki (Saitama-ken, 2002-04) and Pam Kavalam (Shiga-ken, 2007-09), the JET Alumni Association of New York (JETAANY)’s President and Secretary, for JQ magazine.
On Saturday, Sept. 10, The JET Alumni Association of New York (JETAANY) hosted its Annual Softball Tournament in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Joining the JETs for some friendly competition were Amnet, Docomo, Kintetsu, Mitsubishi, TV Japan, Quick USA, and Yusen. Despite some ominous looking clouds, the 175+ players and spectators enjoyed beautiful, rain-free weather. The daylong tournament was filled with many spectacular plays and great hits, and the event finished with an award ceremony and BBQ at a local bar to celebrate this year’s champion, Yusen. A big thank you to all the teams for coming out and for the tournament’s organizer (and JETAANY President) Monica Yuki!
View the tournament’s Picasa album here.
Video: JETAA Ottawa Prez promotes “JETAA dogs” and Japan Festival on morning tv show
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JETAA Ottawa President Lisa Mallin (Chiba-ken, 2006-08) does a great job on Ottawa’s Channel A morning show of promoting “JETAA dogs” (Japan-inspired hotdogs) along with the entire Ottawa Japanese Summer Festival. Make sure to watch to the end where Lisa also helpfully informs the host that Sendai-based band Monkey Majik was started by JET alum Maynard Plant (Aomori-ken, 1997-2000) and his brother.
Follow-up: JETAA USA National Conference info and docs
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Via Jessyca Wilcox, one of JETAA USA’s three Country Representatives, sent to JETAA USA chapter delegates:
Hello Everyone!
I wanted to let you all know that between JETAA DC President Maurice “Mac” Maloney (mostly Mac!) and myself, we’ve managed to collect and post all the presentations and handouts that are available from the conference on the jetaausa.com website. If we could get our hands on it, it’s posted up there!
We’ve basically posted the schedule/ agenda from the conference and then linked uploaded files to each agenda topic appropriately. We hope this will aid delegates’ abilities to share the content of the US Conference with their members and will also help chapter officers that were not able to attend see what was discussed, covered and presented on. You’ll find it under 2011 National Conference > Presentations & Handouts
I also encourage you all to subscribe to the JETAA USA website. You can do this by subscribing with your email address (meaning you will get updates in your email inbox) or via RSS feed if you use an RSS reader of some sort. This will keep you apprised of all national efforts AND it will keep you all up to date on progress and deadlines in regards to the 2012 Regional Conference in CO.
Once again- a HUGE thank you and otsukaresama to the JETAA DC crew for putting on an excellent conference!
(Read the rest of this post for the conference agenda with links to relevant info and docs.)
Another Canadian JET to visit Tohoku via the MOFA program
Article/Journalism, Blogs, Earthquake Tsunami, Japan Local, JETAA Chapters, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Travel/Tourism, Volunteer, Writers Comments Off on Another Canadian JET to visit Tohoku via the MOFA program
Turns out the Ottowa Citizen article was not entirely correct about Brent Stirling (Fukushima-ken, Fukushima-shi, 2006-10) being the only Canadian among the 20 ex-JETs selected for the MOFA program to go back to their town/city in Tohoku, help with volunteering and write about and share their experience.
But the post on JETwit about the article did help generate a response from Toronto-based JET alum Tanya Gardecky (Miyagi-ken, Shiogama-shi) who will also be participating and whose travel blog you can follow here: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/ShiogamaJET/
JETAA Tokyo supports Tokyo de Volunteer event
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Via JET alum Emily Duncan’s Japan Earthquake Disaster Relief Idea Exchange Facebook group:
JETAA Tokyo is pleased to support Tokyo de Volunteer in their “Beauty de Volunteer” volunteer activities. As these trips have received corporate sponsorship, free bus transportation will be provided. Please contact tokyo.de.volunteer@gmail.com.
For more info from Tokyo de Volunteer’s website go to: http://tkdv.blogspot.com/
FYI, Tokyo de Volunteer is an offshoot of New York de Volunteer, the New York based non-profit founded by wonderwoman Noriko Hino. Tokyo de Volunteer was started by former New York members who had returned to Tokyo and wanted to continue their volunteer spirit.
All of which is to say, collaboration seems to be a natural fit between JETAA Tokyo and Tokyo de Volunteer as well as between JETAA New York which has engaged in many activities with New York de Volunteer.
JET Programme 25th Anniversary Symposium to be held by Japanese government
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FYI, this is a big deal and something to pay attention to, especially in terms of the future of JET. One of the speakers, notably, will be Jim Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94), Executive Director of the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA). I believe AJET President Matthew Cook (Osaka, 2007-12) may also be in attendance.
Here’s the official info via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) website:
Holding of the Symposium and a Reception Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the JET Programme
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2011/8/0816_01.html
August 16, 2011
Japanese
- On Thursday, September 8, the Symposium Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the JET Programme (Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme) will be held at U Thant International Conference Hall, United Nations University. The symposium will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR).
- The JET Programme aims to enhance foreign language education and promote international exchange at the local level. The symposium will be held to reflect on the results of the Programme’s efforts during the past 25 years, and contribute to the Programme’s further development, as well as to widely publicize the Programme to all walks of life.
- On the occasion of the holding of the Symposium Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the JET Programme, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to hold a reception at the Iikura Guesthouse in the evening of the same day, with a view to deepening the understanding of the relevant parties in Japan and abroad on the significance and results of the Programme, among others, and seeking further coordination with parties related to the Programme including those from local governments and in the education field, and the diplomatic corps in Tokyo.
Additional information
Symposium Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the JET Programme (Overview)
1. Time and date:
12:30 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. on Thursday, September 8, 2011
2. Venue:
U Thant International Conference Hall, United Nations University
(5-53-70, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)
3. Co-organizers:
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology,
Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR)
4. Supporters:
National Governors’ Association,
Japan Association of City Mayors,
National Association of Towns and Villages
5. Scheduled programs and participants:
(a) Greetings by co-organizers:
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications,
Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
(b) Greetings by guests:
Ambassador of the United States to Japan (to be confirmed),
Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Japan (to be confirmed),
Ambassador of the ROK to Japan
(c) Commemorative lecture:
Mr. James Gannon,
Executive Director, Japan Center for International Exchange
(d) Activity reports:
Dr. Angus Lockyer,
Chair, Japan Research Centre, University of London
Mr. Kim Jin Ah,
Director of International Cooperation Department,
Governors Association of Korea
(e) Panel discussion:
Panelists:
Dr. Akira Nakamura, Professor, Meiji University
Dr. Angus Lockyer,
Chair, Japan Research Centre, University of London
Mr. Kim Jin Ah,
Director of International Cooperation Department,
Governors Association of Korea
Mr. Keiji Yamada, Governor, Kyoto Prefecture
Mr. Masao Niisato, Professor, Tokyo International University
Ms. Yoko Kimura, Chairperson, Board of Directors, CLAIR
— Participants: Approximately 350 people including those from local governments and in the education field, and the diplomatic corps in Tokyo.
— Simultaneous interpretation will be provided.
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- (*This is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)
JETAA Chicago is now www.jetaachicago.com
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FYI, JETAA Chicago has just changed its website address to: www.jetaachicago.com
JETAA USA e-mail subscription now available
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FYI, you can now get JETAA USA website updates via e-mail just like many of you already do for JETwit. (I just worked with Country Rep Jessyca Wilcox to get it set up on the JETAA USA site.)
Just go to www.jetaausa.com and enter your email into the subscription field in the right sidebar.
(If you’re not already getting JETwit posts sent to your inbox, just go to the subscription field in the right sidebar on JETwit.)
