Culture Spreaders is a new feature intended to shine a spotlight on JET alums involved in spreading and sharing Japanese culture in their home countries. If you know of a good JET alum for a future post, just e-mail jetwit [at] jetwit.com tell us why you think that alum is a Culture Spreader. (Self-nominations welcome too.)
Seattle-based Bruce Rutledge (MEF Program Chiba-ken, 1985-87) is the Editor-in-Chief of Ibuki, the “Japanese Inspired Food and Lifestyle Magazine” for the Seattle/Bellevue/Portland area. (www.ibukimagazine.com)
I was in Seattle this past weekend and (thanks to JETAA Pacific Northwest President Sandra Sakai) was able to pick up a copy of the “I Love Kawaii” issue, which featured “6%Dokidoki Brings Happy Anarchy,” “Your Slice of Japan on the Eastside,” a recipe for green tea sweets, a travel article titled “Kanpai in Tokyo” and a sake article titled “Food pairing hints.” The magazine also includes an extensive Japan-related business directory for the area, including restaurants, galleries, grocery stores, etc.
In addition to his work with Ibuki, Bruce is also the founder of Chin Music Press, which has put out a number of Japan-related books and takes pride in book design.
For all his work with Ibuki and Chin Music Press, Bruce is undoubtedly a major JET alum “Culture Spreader.”
Lars Martinson’s “Tonoharu: Part Two” reviewed by BoingBoing
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JET alum Lars Martinson recently released his follow-up graphic novel Tonoharu: Part 2. Here’s the review by Mark Frauenfelde of BoingBoing:
“Tonoharu Part Two: Excellent graphic novel about an English teacher in Japan”: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/11/10/tonoharu-part-two-ex.html
(Editor’s note: I have a copy of Tonoharu: Part 1, and every time I show it to a fellow JET alum and they start reading it, they end up reading the whole thing (which takes about 15 minutes). It’s really terrific and very unique.)
JET alum Foster Klug named AP News Editor in Seoul
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Thanks to Nagasaki-ken JET alum Christy Jones for passing along this item from the New York Times about fellow Nagasaki JET alum Foster Klug:
According to the article in the New York Times:
Foster Klug, a reporter who has covered U.S.-Asia relations for The Associated Press in Washington, has been named the AP’s news editor in Seoul, South Korea.
…….
Klug was the first U.S.-Asian affairs reporter on AP’s North America Desk, which is responsible for U.S. news coverage targeted for audiences outside the United States. He has written on an array of issues, including U.S. sanctions against North Korea, Washington’s currency dispute with China and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
…….
Previously, he lived for three years in rural Nagasaki, Japan, where he taught English and coached basketball at a junior high school. He is a graduate of Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
Here’s the link to the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/11/05/us/AP-US-AP-Appointments.html?hp
JET ROI: JET alum op-ed in Asahi Shimbun – The JET Program is a ‘triumph of soft power’
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Jim Gannon
The below op-ed titled “POINT OF VIEW: The JET Program is a ‘triumph of soft power’” appeared in the November 5, 2010 edition of the Asahi Shimbun. It was written by three JET alumni with expertise in Japan-U.S. policy and relations:
- James Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94) – Executive Director of the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) and author of the “Chopping Block” article.
- Michael Auslin – Director of Japan Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
- Paige Cottingham-Streater – Deputy Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation.
(Here’s the link for the original article on the Asahi Shimbun website: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201011040234.html)
POINT OF VIEW: The JET Program is a ‘triumph of soft power’
Michael Auslin
In its 23 years, the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program has brought more than 50,000 young foreigners to Japan, including over 25,000 Americans, to teach in the school system as well as to support international exchange activities.
Each of us grew to know Japan through our participation in the JET Program, and this experience has changed the direction of our careers and enriched our lives.
In fact, the JET Program has touched the lives of so many people who might otherwise not be exposed to Japanese society that it is regarded by many outside of Japan as the most successful public diplomacy initiative in the world over the last several decades.
Paige Cottingham-Streater
Therefore, we were especially dismayed to learn that it has been criticized in the last round of the budget screening process.
Since it was launched at the height of Japan-bashing in the late 1980s, the JET Program has produced an extraordinary legacy.
On the one hand, we would like to think that it has been beneficial for Japanese students and communities. We have heard many stories about how students’ personal interactions in the classroom with JET participants have made English into a “living language” for them and helped motivate them to use English for communication rather than just as an exam topic.
We get the sense that, in our globalizing world, even students who never mastered English have benefited from their interactions with JET participants from countries they may never have thought much about before.
The JET Program’s least recognized contribution, however, may be its most important. This is the remarkable success it has had as a public diplomacy program. By exposing thousands of young professionals to Japanese society, it has built up deep person-to-person ties between Japanese people and an entire generation of non-Japanese from around the world.
In our country, the United States, the impact of this program on U.S.-Japan relations is quite extraordinary. It is no exaggeration to say that it has become an important pillar of the bilateral relationship.
As they grow older, former JET participants have started to take important posts in government, business, and civil society, bringing their personal networks and a deep appreciation of the importance of strong U.S.-Japan relations to their everyday work.
In the U.S. government, for example, JET participants have worked on the frontlines of U.S.-Asia relations in the White House, the State Department and other agencies. Two JET alumni even ran for the U.S. Congress–Rob Cornilles, who ran on the Republican ticket in Oregon, and Dan Seals, a Democrat from Illinois.
Similarly, when one looks at the emerging generation of Japan experts in American academic circles and think tanks, it appears that the majority are graduates of the JET Program, many of whom may have otherwise taken a very different direction in their studies and careers.
This is true of the grassroots organizations that sustain U.S.-Japan relations, too. At least 4 of the 40 Japan-America Societies in the United States are headed by former JET participants.
In evaluating the contributions of the JET Program, it is important to keep in mind the role it is playing in strengthening the foundations of Japan’s engagement with the rest of the world and the world’s engagement with Japan. People who are immersed in Japanese communities tend to develop a lifelong connection to Japan, and we are just starting to reap the rewards of this far-sighted program.
In our rapidly changing world, where it is critical for countries to project an active global presence and where a robust U.S.-Japan partnership on a wide range of issues has become even more important, the connections built by the JET Program are an invaluable asset.
The JET Program has been a triumph of soft power. We are so grateful for the opportunity that has given us and believe that continuing the JET Program–and further strengthening it–is important for Japan and all of its friends around the world.
No JETs in Congress this term – Seals, Cornilles both lose in close races
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JET alumni Dan Seals (Democrat-Illinois) and Rob Cornilles (Republican-Oregon) both lost their bids for a Congressional seat. Had either of them won, they would have been the first JET alums in the U.S. Congress.
In Illinois’ 10th district, Robert Dold defeated Seals by a 51% to 49% margin, winning 103,274 votes to Seals’ 98,882 votes. And in Oregon’s 1st district, incumbent Democrat David Wu won a seventh term in Congress with 54% of the vote to Cornilles’ 42%.
Isshokenmei ganbarimashita. Minnasan o-tsukare sama deshita.
By Tuesday night, we should know whether the U.S. Congress will have its first JET alum member. Or possibly even members.
Dan Seals is running as a Democrat in Illinois’ 10th district for the seat vacated by Mark Kirk (who is running for the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama). And Seals led Republican nominee Robert Dold by as much as 12 points according to a poll in early October. Though now the race is considered very tight. This is Seals’ third time running for the seat, which he narrowly lost last year to Mark Kirk.
And Rob Cornilles is running on the Republican ticket in Oregon’s 1st district against Democratic incumbent David Wu. There the race is also tight, though Wu as the incumbent is apparently considered to have a slight advantage.
Ganbatte!
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JET alums at Japan Writers Conference in Tokyo
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The ４th annual Japan Writers Conference will be held Oct. 10-11 in Tokyo with 30 writers giving 50-minute presentations about the artistic and business sides of their respective fields, which inlcude fiction, poetry, journalism and even EFL textbook writing. At least four of the presenters are former JETs.
The venue is the Ekoda Campus of Nihon University College of Art. You can find full details by visiting http://www.japanwritersconference.org/or following the event on Twitter via http://twitter.com/JapanWritersCon
Here are some slightly shortened versions of the official descriptions of presentations to be made by JET alums:
DWAYNE LIVELY (Niigata-ken, 1996-99) “My Freeware Life.”
The lecture focuses on my experiments with various freeware writing programs, some of which promise to help improve the writing process. The first part of the lecture introduces a number of freeware writing programs that have been suggested by and/or designed by fellow writers. I will explain the results of my experiments with each program and will demonstrate how easy, or not, they are to use, how they changed my writing process and whether or not I intend to keep using them. Next, I will describe what happened when I attempted to follow a handful of “how to write a novel” plans offered free online. Finally, I will introduce the moral if the lecture, including what I learned and what I managed to accomplish during all the experiments.
Dwayne Lively’s fiction has appeared in Twister, Kansas Quarterly, and The MacGuffin. His non-fiction and reviews have appeared in Transitions Abroad, Literary Magazine Review and online at Notebookism.com. He has been a writer, teacher and editor for the better part of 20 years and worked and taught in Japan, the USA and Albania. In his dwindling free time he’s been finishing up a novel and, on occasion, writing the online journal The Crazy Japan Times ( http://www.crazyjapan.com).
SUZANNE KAMATA (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90): “Marketing for Beginners.”
Getting your book into print is the easy part. Publishing it – making your work known to the public – takes a bit more effort. These days, writers are often expected to submit a marketing plan along with manuscripts, and most publishers expect writers to take an active role in marketing. So how do you market a book if you’re living in rural Japan, far from your target audience? Suzanne Kamata, author of five books with meagre advertising budgets, will suggest some easy, cheap, and not so obvious ways for expats to spread the word about their books.
Suzanne Kamata again: “Kickstart Your Creativity”
Suzanne Kamata will lead participants in writing exercises meant to warm up the writer and/or kickstart creativity when the muse is absent. Bring a notebook and a writing implement.
Suzanne Kamata is the author of the novel Losing Kei (Leapfrog Press, 2008) and editor of three anthologies – Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs (Beacon Press, May 2008) The Broken Bridge: Fiction from Expatriates in Literary Japan (Stone Bridge Press, 1997), and Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2009). She also serves as fiction editor of the popular on-line journal literarymama.com from Tokushima, Japan, where she lives with her family.
TODD JAY LEONARD (1989-92): “So you want to publish an EFL textbook?–Four Points of View to Consider when Writing a Proposal–The Myths and Realities of EFL Publishing in Japan.”
Most likely, every language teacher in Japan has (at some point during his/her tenure) contemplated writing a textbook to fill a void in the market…in that constant search for the perfect, all encompassing textbook. What are publishers looking for in the current market? What appeals to editors who ultimately decide which titles go to production and which ones do not? What are the salespeople on the front lines hearing from their market base? What must an author do in order to get his/her book published? This presentation focuses on these very questions, offering inside insights from all the various points of view that must be considered when writing a proposal to publish a textbook–the publisher, the editor, the salesperson, and the author.
Todd Jay Leonard has been actively involved in book publishing for twenty years and has published twenty books. He lives, writes, and teaches on the southern island of Kyushu, where he is a university professor at Fukuoka University of Education. He has published extensively in academic journals, magazines and newspapers on cross-cultural, historical, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) themes.
TOM BAKER (Chiba-ken, 1989-91), “Interviewing Creative Subjects: Actors, Authors, Artists and Auteurs.”
Interviewing a creative subject requires thorough preparation to elicit original and interesting quotes. My talk will explain how to do the research, write the questions and conduct the interview. It will briefly touch on turning quotes into a story. A well-prepared interviewer will be familiar with the subject’s previous interviews, online self-expression and body of work. The interviewer will look for themes and connections in the work to ask probing questions about its meaning. The interviewer will prepare questions ranging from basic to technical to off-the-wall, but will use the list only as a guideline to the conversation. The interviewer will tolerate digressions (within reason) and allow thoughtful silences to bear fruit. The interviewer will look for local angles and connections to current events.
Tom Baker has been a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri since 2001, and has interviewed Sylvester Stallone, Liv Tyler, Marlon Wayans, John Woo, Nicholas Sparks, Barry Eisler, Brian K. Vaughan, Michael Sowa and many others. He is a coauthor of Tokyo Chic and The Sushi Lover’s Cookbook.
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.
Notable JET alums: Bruce Feiler comments on anti-Islam protests on CNN
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Bruce Feiler (Tochigi-ken, 1987-88), author of Learning to Bow as well as several very thoughtful books on the topic of religion including Walking the Bible, was recently a guest on CNN discussing current anti-Islam sentiment with Anderson Cooper. Click here to read more posts about Bruce Feiler on JetWit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-pVfz8UbZU
JET alum James Kennedy turns “Odd-Fish” novel into school curriculum
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In a rather brilliantly creative move, James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of the acclaimed young adult novel The Order of Odd-Fish, has developed a classroom guide for the novel which is intended to be used by school teachers in class with their students.
In James’ own words:
Some schools have put The Order of Odd-Fish on their reading lists. That’s great!
So I’ve put together a classroom guide for Odd-Fish. It’s 44 pages of discussion questions, lesson plans, and projects. It also features Odd-Fish fan art by enthusiastic readers—art that was featured in our Odd-Fish gallery show in Chicago in April 2010.
This curriculum does the strangeness of the book justice, I think. Aside from the chapter-by-chapter worksheets, there are also activities such as inventing your own Odd-Fish specialty, writing your own articles for the Eldritch Snitch, researching Japanese rituals that inspired the Odd-Fish festivals, baking avant-garde pies, creating urk-ack music, and inventing one’s own Eldritch City mythologies.
It’s also gateway to other fields of study. The knights of the Odd-Fish are, after all, scholars as well as warriors. This curriculum touches on topics as disparate as cockroach anatomy, Shinto and Hindu mythology, the KGB, Wikipedia, foppery, real-life historical eccentrics, and more.
Download the guide for free here. And of course, I always enjoy visiting schools, either in person or by Skype.
Go pester your teachers now! I’m doing this for you, people!
And in JetWit’s opinion, while the novel is in the young adult category, it’s also one of the funniest books you’ll ever read as an adult. To read more JetWit posts about James, click here. And watch the below video to see James doing an extremely dramatic reading from the book at last year’s JET Alumni Author Showcase in New York:
Books: Lars Martison’s “Tonoharu” gets favorable write-up on BoingBoing, makes Amazon’s Top Ten Bestselling Graphic Novels list
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There’s a nice review of JET alum Lars Martinson’s graphic novel Tonoharu: Part 1 on the BoingBoing site written by Mark Frauenfelder titled “Tonoharu: Excellent graphic novel about an English teacher in Japan.” And according to Lars’ blog,
“Thanks to Mark Frauenfelder’s writeup about Tonoharu: Part One on Boing Boing, the book has made it into Amazon.com’s Top Ten Bestselling Graphic Novels today!”
Here’s the link to the review: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/08/27/tonoharu-excellent-g.html
Here’s a quote from the review:
“Published in 2008, and a winner of the prestigious Xeric Award, Tonoharu is a story of isolation, frustration, and mystery, with just the right amount of black humor to keep it from being depressing.”
For fans awaiting the next installment, Tonoharu: Part 2 is due out in December.
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.
Notable JET alums: Tim Harms
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Tim Harms (1994-95) is film producer for the indie film The Vicious Kind among other films. Tim was also the line producer for The Harimya Bridge, a film written and directed by fellow JET alum Aaron Woolfolk.
Notable JET Alums: Maynard Plant and Monkey Majik
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Members of Monkey Majik with Deputy Minister Len Edwards
Maynard Plant (Aomori-ken, 1997-2000) is the founder of the well-known Japan-based band Monkey Majik (www.monkeymajik.com), which consists of two Canadian members (Maynard and his brother Blaise) and two Japanese members-tax and DICK.
For more information you can check out their:
- Website: www.monkeymajik.com
- Wikipedia entry (where you’ll learn about the origins of the band as well as how Maynard is fluent in Aomori-ben): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_Majik
- Embassy of Japan in Canada press release: “Goodwill Ambassadors, Monkey Majik, arrive in Ottawa to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Japan-Canada Diplomatic Relations”
Here is their song Change with the Yoshida Brothers (a video all JET alums will appreciate):
Do you know of any notable JET alums? Let us know at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
Notable JET Alums: Barefoot Ted
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Thanks to JET alum Sacha Battrick (currently working at CLAIR-Tokyo) for sharing this:
Barefoot Ted (aka Ted McDonald), a JET from 93-96, has established himself as one of the leading proponents of barefoot running. He’s also has a company that makes sandals based on models originally developed by indigenous peoples. He gave a Google talk about barefoot running back in March for the Authors@Google series.
More info about Ted at his blog: www.barefootted.com
Do you know of any notable JET alums? Let us know at jetwit [at] jetwit.com.
