*************
Here’s an April 7 Japan Times article about Marti McElreath (CIR Miyagi-ken, Shichigahama-shi).
JET post best, not ‘pityfest’
American helps, refuses to leave beloved, battered beach locale
Thursday, April 7, 2011
SHICHIGAHAMA, Miyagi Pref. — There is a picture folder in Marti McElreath’s Facebook account that chronicles her time in Shichigahama, a town located on a small peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture less than an hour’s drive from Sendai and where she has been working since last summer under the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.
Her comment on the folder reads: “I have the best JET placement in Japan,” a view McElreath hasn’t changed despite the massive earthquake and tsunami that brutally transformed the once peaceful beach community she has come to love.
“I mean, it’s heartbreaking and hard to see what happened, but people are laughing and kids are playing and life is going on. Even after all that’s happened, I still believe it, I believe that I have the best JET placement in Japan,” she said.
While radiation fears from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have led many foreigners in the region to flee, McElreath, who said the town lies on the cusp of the 80-km evacuation zone recommended by the U.S. government, has remained firm in her conviction to stay and do what she can to help the community.
“I’ve only been here for seven or eight months, but I really do love Shichigahama. The people here have been really amazing to me, and they’ve done so much to help me — I couldn’t imagine just leaving,” said McElreath, 23, from Westborough, Mass.
The earthquake and tsunami that hit the small town of 20,000 claimed 56 lives, and 18 people remain missing. Nearly 1,000 people were still living in the town’s six evacuation centers as of Tuesday, and many houses in the coastal area were swept away or damaged.
The facility McElreath works for, Kokusaimura, or International Village, is being used as a temporary shelter, providing food and a place to sleep for around 300 people, and McElreath spends her days helping out evacuees as the only foreigner among the staff.
According to the International Affairs Division of the Miyagi Prefectural Government, out of the 70 JETs in Miyagi — excluding those in Sendai — 36 have either returned to their homeland or evacuated from the prefecture following the earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster.
A municipal representative from Sendai said out of the 70 JET assistant-language teachers working in the city, 50 remained, and the rest planned to return before schools reopen Monday.
When the magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, McElreath was at her office at Kokusaimura, going about her usual business.
As a coordinator for international relations, McElreath, fluent in Japanese after studying as an exchange student in Kobe during high school and then at Tohoku University during her senior year in college, was responsible for organizing various community events the facility hosted, as well as giving English-language and culture classes to local residents.
Without warning, the earthquake cut off the lifelines at the facility, and while sirens blared out tsunami warnings, people began evacuating to Kokusaimura, which sits on a hill.
McElreath said no one at the facility at that point was aware of the scale of the tsunami that was about to crash into the peninsula. By the time emergency electric generators were able to re-connect television sets, evacuees were confronted with horrific images of the disaster.
“I think it was around that point that we realized that we were going to be here for a while,” she recalled.
Then at around 6 or 7 p.m. a huge explosion shook the facility and its residents as the JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp.’s Sendai oil refinery, located a few kilometers from Shichigahama, went up in flames.
“The entire sky went red, and everyone gathered around the windows and looked outside and it was, like, an inferno,” McElreath said, adding the smoke from the refinery lasted two or three days.
While McElreath was able to notify a prefectural adviser of the JET program of her safety immediately after the earthquake, cell phone reception quickly died.
It was not until the third day after the earthquake that she rode her bicycle 6 or 7 km toward Sendai and her cell phone finally re-connected, allowing her to contact family and friends to let them know she was safe.
McElreath said that as the Fukushima nuclear disaster unfolded, many foreigners she knew in the region, including non-JETs and those from other nations, were contacted by their respective embassies and advised to evacuate.
“There are noticeably less foreigners, there is almost no one left that you can tell by just walking around,” McElreath said, adding she did not feel threatened by the radioactivity leaking in Fukushima.
“I decided that I would rather stay here as long as possible and keep on monitoring the situation,” she said, adding that while her parents are concerned for her safety, they understand her desire to remain and help the community.
While electricity returned about a week after the earthquake, and propane could be used, water remained undrinkable and was only restored Tuesday in some areas of town. McElreath said that while Kokusaimura was well stocked with food and drinking water, evacuees missed taking baths.
Meanwhile, McElreath said Plymouth, Mass., Shichigahama’s sister city, has been making fundraising efforts, already gathering $80,000 to be used in the town’s rebuilding. Teams from as far afield as Turkey have arrived on search and rescue missions, and various volunteers, including many celebrities, make the rounds to Kokusaimura to drop off goods and cheer up the evacuees.
McElreath has recontracted with JET until July 2012, and she is determined to stay and work — if the situation allows her to — for the entire duration.
“I’d like to let everyone know that the people here are positive and we don’t want this to become a pityfest.
“We are doing our best.”
Fukushima City JET Brent Stirling recently put out word to JETAA chapters about Quakebook, “a book of stories, art and photographs that reflected first person accounts of the disaster” which will soon be available on Amazon.com with all proceeds going to benefit the Japan Red Cross. Brent contributed his own story and has also offered to help with marketing and spreading the word. Below Brent provides some insight into the unique process that led to the creation of of the project as well as his own involvement.
I lived in Fukushima City from August 2006 to August 2010 and worked as an ALT there. The recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Tohoku has had me glued to my computer since it began, as has probably been the case with all JET Alumni. Keeping in contact with my friends in Fukushima-ken through Facebook and Twitter, I felt helpless as far as how to help and what to do.
With limited access to news in the first days after the quake, I compiled information from friend’s Facebook status updates, Twitter and a variety of news sources. I sent these updates via Facebook to my friends who didn’t have the time to comb through the news in order to get an accurate picture of what was going on. Updates included news about transportation, gas, areas with running water, wind directions, reactor conditions and radiation levels. Facebook became a source of news for everyone in the prefecture. The current and former Fukushima JET community along with Japanese people worked together in order to get a clear picture of what was going on in Fukushima.
A week after the earthquake, I was sent a link to a blog asking for contributions about the earthquake. The blogger, OurManInAbiko, hoped to create a book of stories, art and photographs that reflected first person accounts of the disaster. He vowed to edit all the submissions and donate all of the proceeds to the Japanese Red Cross. Looking to help anyway I could, I put in a submission about my experience in Canada throughout the ordeal and how proud the JETs and Japanese community had made me throughout the crisis. My submission discusses sensationalism in the media and how the JET community worked together using social media to overcome adversity and share accurate news on the situation as it unfolded. I didn’t know that within 15 hours, OurManInAbiko had received 74 eyewitness submissions from all over Japan, as well as reactions from elsewhere in Asia, Europe and North America.
Through Twitter, the idea of #Quakebook grew. Just as the Fukushima-ken JETs had used social networks in order to keep in contact, #Quakebook was using the networks in order to promote and create a book. People joined in to spread the word and help with the logistics of publishing a book of this magnitude in such a short span of time. Soon after, writer, William Gibson wrote a piece for the book, then Jake Adelstein contributed, Yoko Ono has recently come on board, offering her own piece in Japanese and English Through the work of so many on Twitter from all over the world, #Quakebook began to take off. Articles appeared on the BBC website, the Wall Street Journal and CNN Go to name a few. Amazon has agreed to publish the book, waiving all of their fees with 100% of the money going to the Japanese Red Cross. The all-volunteer team of #Quakebook is now working at getting translations of the book into different languages so that it can be a truly worldwide phenomenon.
The group that comprises the Quakebook team is continually growing. Every person involved is using their skills and their own contacts in order to get the word out to every corner of the globe. The team, while working closely is completely anonymous as everyone is referred to by their Twitter names. My role has been very small throughout the Quakebook marketing process, but I believe in the book and I think it has the potential to bring people who are otherwise removed from the situation in Japan closer to it. In buying the book, not only are people making a donation to the Japanese Red Cross, but they’re also getting the stories of the people involved, the people that this disaster has affected.
I know that all JET Alumni are tied to Japan the same way that I am. Everyone’s time in Japan had a profound affect on where they are now and what they’ve done with their lives. I’m hoping that this connection to Japan will get JET Alumni Associations worldwide to support and promote this book as best they can. By putting a link to the Quakebook website on your blog, printing Quakebook posters for around your neighbourhood or your local library or getting it into the media wherever you are, everyone can make a difference in this project and help with the relief efforts in Japan.
- Pre-order the book at www.quakebook.org
- Excerpts from Quakebook
- Brent’s re-work of his submission
Roland Kelts helps launch debut issue of “MONKEY BUSINESS: New Voices from Japan” with April/May events in NYC
Books, Celebrity, Cultural Outreach, Events, Fundraising, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Roland Kelts, Translating/Interpreting, Writers 
Comments Off on Roland Kelts helps launch debut issue of “MONKEY BUSINESS: New Voices from Japan” with April/May events in NYC
******************
Via Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica and the contributing editor for MONKEY BUSINESS: New Voices from Japan:
A Letter from A Public Space (Brooklyn-based literary publication):
A Public Space Literary Projects announces the debut issue of MONKEY BUSINESS: New Voices from Japan, with April/May launch events in New York City.
New York City, New York, April 4, 2011—A Public Space (APS) announces publication of the first annual English language edition of Monkey Business: New Voices from Japan (MB), supported by a generous grant from the Nippon Foundation. Three launch programs in New York City in late April and early May will bring together authors, translators and editors from Japan and the US for this first-of-its-kind trans-cultural literary event. Twenty-five percent of all MB sales will go toward the Nippon Foundation/CANPAN Northeastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.
Monkey Business is a Tokyo-based Japanese literary magazine founded in 2008 by award-winning translator, scholar, editor and author Motoyuki Shibata. One of Japan’s best known and most highly regarded translators of American fiction, Shibata has won numerous accolades, most recently the 2010 Japan Translation Cultural Prize for his translation of Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon, and has introduced to Japanese readers works by Paul Auster, Steven Millhauser, Rebecca Brown, Stuart Dybek and Steve Erickson, among others.
Shibata, who was interviewed in the first issue of APS, modeled MB in part on the Brooklyn literary journal. Founded in 2006 by editor Brigid Hughes, A Public Space is devoted to cutting-edge literature—not just from American contributors, but by writers and artists spanning the globe. Each issue presents a portfolio that explores an international literary scene. The debut issue of APS featured a portfolio from Japan, curated and edited by author Roland Kelts (Japanamerica) and MB founder Shibata, and featuring contributions from Haruki Murakami, Yoko Ogawa, Kazushige Abe and others. Issue 1 was praised by readers in the US and Japan and has long been sold out.”
Read More
MTV’s Act Blog: ‘Smile Kids Japan’ Turns Spotlight On Orphans Affected By Disaster
Earthquake Tsunami, Fundraising, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment, Volunteer Comments Off on MTV’s Act Blog: ‘Smile Kids Japan’ Turns Spotlight On Orphans Affected By Disaster
Here’s a recent article on MTV’s Act Blog about collaboration amongst Smile Kids Japan (founded by Fukui JET Mike Maher-King), and Tokyo-based non-profit livingdreams.jp to form an effort called Smiles & Dreams: The Tohoku Kids Project aimed at providing “immediate and long-term support to orphanages in Tohoku and other areas that were affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami.”.
To learn more or to make a donation, go to their Global Giving page: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/help-orphans-in-japan-rebuild-lives-post-tsunami/
Deadline Extended: Survey of American Alumni of the JET Program
Academic, Graduate School, Notable JET Alums, Return on JET-vestment Comments Off on Deadline Extended: Survey of American Alumni of the JET Program
Just received word from JET alum Emily Metzgar, Assistant Professor at Indiana University’s School of Journalism that given everything going on with the earthquake/tsunami in Japan, the deadline for the Survey of American Alumni of the JET Program has been extended to April 8 up until midnight. (Here’s the original post for the full explanation.) If you haven’t completed it yet, it would be greatly appreciated if you could as this info will have an impact on the future of the JET Program.
AMERICAN JET ALUMNI SURVEY
(URL: http://iujournalism.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5hFAK01YxHtzqfO)
Event: JET alum author Roland Kelts to speak in London April 14
Books, Celebrity, Cultural Outreach, Events, Japan Trends, JETAA Chapters, Notable JET Alums, Roland Kelts, Writers Comments Off on Event: JET alum author Roland Kelts to speak in London April 14
*******
Attention JETAA UK! Join Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, at The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation in London on Thursday, April 14 for a talk on “Pop culture from a Multipolar Japan.” Talk is 4-5 pm followed by drinks reception to 6pm.
Note: If you plan on attending, please register for the event at http://www.dajf.org.uk/events/booking-form
The April 2011 issue of the Sake World e-newsletter by JET alum and the leading non-Japanese sake expert in the world, John Gauntner (a.k.a. “The Sake Guy”), is now available online.
In this issue:
- Greetings
- Good rice? Bad rice?
- The Current Situation in Japan
- Announcements and Events: Sake Professional Course in NYC
- Did you Know?
- Sake Basics
- Sake Education Central
Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) Update: 03.30-03.31.11
Earthquake Tsunami, Fundraising, Japan Trends, Notable JET Alums Comments Off on Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) Update: 03.30-03.31.11
The Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) has been an excellent source of updates via the earthquake section of its website as well as its Facebook page. The kind of info you’re likely not getting from CNN or network news. Notably, JET alum James Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94) is the Director of JCIE/USA’s New York office. Here’s the latest update:
March 30 – 31 Fund Update: http://www.jcie.org/earthquakeupdate.html
- Increasing signs of mental health issues from stress to ‘survivors guilt’.
- Also, Peace Winds through its partner organization – Mercy Corps – reports on the attention and care being provided to children.
Anthony Bianchi back in Brooklyn for “Xaverian High School Japan Benefit Concert” tonight
Celebrity, Earthquake Tsunami, Events, Fundraising, Music, Notable JET Alums Comments Off on Anthony Bianchi back in Brooklyn for “Xaverian High School Japan Benefit Concert” tonight
Just heard from JET alum, Brooklyn native and current Inuyama City Councilman Anthony Bianchi (Aichi-ken, Inuyama-shi) that he’s back in New York for a very short stay in order to attend his alma mater Xaverian High School‘s “Japan Benefit Concert” tonight (Thursday, March 31).
Anthony notes that any JET alums around are welcome to come. [Ed. Note: Sorry for the short notice. I wasn’t able to post this until 4:21 pm and it starts at 7:00 pm.]
Start time: 7:00 pm
Location: Xaverian High School, 71st St & Shore Road in Brooklyn
Cost: $10
Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) Update: 03.28.11
Earthquake Tsunami, Fundraising, Notable JET Alums, Volunteer Comments Off on Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) Update: 03.28.11
The Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) has been an excellent source of updates via the earthquake section of its website as well as its Facebook page. The kind of info you’re likely not getting from CNN or network news. Notably, JET alum James Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94) is the Director of JCIE/USA’s New York office. Here’s the latest update:
Weekend News – http://www.jcie.org/earthquakeupdate.html
- JEN and others report that more relief supplies are reaching those in need, while a recent AMDA survey shows a rise in suspected Influenza cases.
- AAR Japan searched for a senior daycare center by foot in Yamamoto-cho (Miyagi Pref). Only a sign was left and word finally reache…d them that they had lost 3 of their staff members.
Also: JCIE has updated its Timeline through March 25 (http://www.jcie.org/earthquakeupdate.html). Relief supplies, especially medical, are still in high demand two weeks after the ‘Quake & Tsunami. However, NGO’s are also able to reach more and more people in need.
Click here for some images from Recovery & Relief efforts.
Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) Update: 03.23.11
Earthquake Tsunami, Notable JET Alums Comments Off on Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) Update: 03.23.11
The Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) has been an excellent source of updates via the earthquake section of its website as well as its Facebook page. The kind of info you’re likely not getting from CNN or network news. Notably, JET alum James Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94) is the Director of JCIE/USA’s New York office. Here’s the latest update:
March 23 Excerpts (http://www.jcie.org/earthquakeupdate.html):
* AARJ responds to a Sendai welfare organization assisting the elderly, which had run out of resources.
* Peace Winds Japan distributed kerosene & stoves in Minamisanriku-cho for those without heat.
* All medical facilities in Rikuzentakada were destroyed in the earthquake; …NICCO’s team is providing mobile medical services in Otomo-cho.
Tokyo JET alum photojournalist seeks contact with displaced Tohoku JETs
Article/Journalism, Earthquake Tsunami, Notable JET Alums, Photography, Writers Comments Off on Tokyo JET alum photojournalist seeks contact with displaced Tohoku JETs
Thanks to Ed Snook of JETAA Tokyo for sharing this information:
JETAA Tokyo member Wes Cheek is planning on visiting the Tohoku region beginning Friday for a photojournalism assignment. He has expressed an interest in trying to get in touch with JETs who may have been displaced by the recent earthquake/tsunami. Additionally, Wes welcomes contact from any family or friends of JETs in Tohoku who would like him to try and get in touch with JETs.
- To contact Wes, you can e-mail Ed Snook at career [at] jetaa-tokyo.org.
- For updates on Wes and more information about his trip, go to Wes’ blog where you can find details and updates about his trip.
JETwit featured in CLAIR NY (aka Japan Local Government Center) Newsletter
Article/Journalism, Interview/Profile, JETs in the News, Local Government, Notable JET Alums, Writers Comments Off on JETwit featured in CLAIR NY (aka Japan Local Government Center) Newsletter
Here’s a link to the Spring 2011 Issue of the JLGC Newsletter, published bi-annually by CLAIR NY (aka Japan Local Government Center).
This issue includes a feature on JETwit.com (PDF) which I was asked to write a few months ago. It’s hopefully a helpful explanation of the background and purpose of JETwit. However, post-3/11 I have to admit it also feels dated and I feel somewhat conflicted about posting it now given what’s still going on in Japan.
Japan Times: U.S., U.K. teachers stay on to help care for evacuees
Earthquake Tsunami, JETs in the News, Notable JET Alums, Volunteer Comments Off on Japan Times: U.S., U.K. teachers stay on to help care for evacuees
This Japan Times article on 3 ALTs who have stayed on to help their towns post earthquake/tsunami appears to be about 3 JETs, though that’s not mentioned specifically in the article.
The English teachers listed are:
- Victor Kochaphum (Iwate, Tanohata)
- Kevin Blake (Iwate, Miyako)
- Paul Dixon (Iwate, Miyako)
Minasan arigatou. Ganbatte kudasai.
Please feel free to share additional stories and examples that you know of in the comments section of this post.
Japan Center for international Exchange (JCIE/USA) Facebook page and Relief Fund
Earthquake Tsunami, Fundraising, Notable JET Alums Comments Off on Japan Center for international Exchange (JCIE/USA) Facebook page and Relief Fund
Here’s a link to the Japan Center for International Exchange’s (JCIE/USA)
- Facebook page which may be a helpful resource for many
- Japan NGO Earthquake Relief & Recovery Fund (via Facebook)
Japan Center for International Exchange is an independent Japanese think tank focusing on US-Japan relations and issues. It’s worth noting that JET alum James Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94) is the Executive Director of the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) office in New York and has been playing a significant role in helping various Japan-related organizations to collaborate and coordinate fundraising efforts.
