JET Alumni Writers Group on LinkedIn
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There is now a “JET Alumni Writers Group“ on LinkedIn for anyone interested in linking up with fellow JET alum writers, authors, journalists, bloggers and anyone else with an interest in writing.
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3671175
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
WIT Life #135: Marathon mania
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
We are in the heart of marathon season, a favorite time of year for runners such as myself. I have to admit that I love the sport enough to attempt to do two marathons in a row, the Marine Corps Marathon in DC last weekend and the NYC Marathon this weekend. It will be a first but hopefully my body is up to the challenge!
The running culture has always been huge in Japan, and with the establishment of the Tokyo Marathon in 2007 the number of runners further swelled. Although I have gotten into the marathon every year since its start (and run all but one), most of my Japanese friends Read More
Hokkaido JET Annual Musical Production Tradition Continues
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Snow, Sea and Song
Hokkaido’s hills are alive with the sound of music, thanks to the efforts of its ALTs
By Caroline Cronshaw (Hokkaido, 2006-09) – Caroline is an amateur illustrator and instructor at the University New Brunswick in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. She has painted and designed posters for the HAJET Hokkaido Players’ productions for the past four years, and is currently working 2011’s poster as of this article. Her work can be seen at http://carrie-ko.deviantart.com.
Whether they choose to go to Hokkaido or not, several hundred new JET participants, some of whom have never seen a snowflake before in their lives, come to live on the northernmost island in the Japanese archipelago each year.
Hokkaido, with its vast tracts of wilderness and ghostly former coal mining towns, can cause even the most steadfast and Canadian of JETs to surrender to homesickness and cabin fever during its long and snowy winters. It’s those same cold and white expanses that probably inspired the Ainu peoples to come up with place names like Shiretoko – ‘the ends of the earth’. Indeed, it’s not easy being a homesick alien living in a half-buried BOE-owned hut in midwinter.
Thankfully, however, the ALTs of Hokkaido have come up with an unusual cure for the winter blues: musical theatre.
Since the mid-1990s, denizens of many Hokkaido communities have been witness to a mysterious caravan of vans and cars rumbling into town on a Friday night and parking in front of a local community centre or temple. These vehicles, laden with wooden planks and props, belong to none other than the members of the HAJET Hokkaido Players, an amateur theatre troupe comprised of JET participants from across the island. While some members do have experience in acting or stage production, there is no requirement except dedication and the desire to help bring international understanding to the people of Hokkaido. The troupe is partly administered by HAJET, the Hokkaido AJET chapter, and is entirely non-profit. If there is money left over or gained from performances, most of it is used to sponsor the Hokkaido English Challenge, an annual non-profit English-language summer camp program also organized by HAJET. The rest of the profit is saved for next year’s show.
Among the various Broadway staples the HAJET Hokkaido Players have performed are such familiar titles as West Side Story, Annie, Peter Pan, Oklahoma!, and Guys and Dolls. They also on occasion perform original works, such as 2009’s Alice in Japan, originally written by ALTs in Niigata. This year’s production will be an original play based on The Jungle Book (the Kipling novel, not the Disney adaptation). According to the Players’ current director, Melissa Golden, the production will incorporate elements of Bollywood cinema and traditional Indian costume, as well as make use of Lion King-style animal masks.
The Players start planning their productions early in the year, around the end of August when the newbies first arrive from overseas. Recruitment is usually done around early to mid September during the various welcome parties (with an island that big, you’d need to have several parties), and the first rehearsal is typically scheduled for later in the month or in early October. From that point onward, it’s full speed ahead, and anyone who can’t commit will be left in the dust. Despite the subject, it’s serious business.
Depending on the show and the wishes of the director, the English script is augmented with either lines in Japanese, framed scene-by-scene with Japanese narration, or both. This is to help audience members without English proficiency or previous knowledge of the play to understand what is going on. The Players also do their research in more pop culture-related subjects Read More
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.
JETAA Sydney Spring 2010 Newsletter “JET Journeys”
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This just in from JETAA Sydney:
“The Spring 2010 edition of JET Journeys is hot off the press! You can read all about what’s been going on with JETAA in Sydney and internationally, and what is coming up in the next few months. CLICK HERE to download the newsletter (PDF).” (http://sydneyjetaa.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=074f1003f7e0dbeb3de9861cc&id=847c5766bb&e=876d85e269)
JETwit Diary 11.02.10
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JETwit Diary is a new feature by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94), founder and publisher of JETwit.
It’s time to re-connect with JET alum readers.
Sure, I connect with JET alums all the time. At JETAANY events, meetings and conferences as well as in exchanges with numerous alums around the world via e-mail, Facebook, LinkedIn, the JETwit Jobs Google Group, etc.
But when I was the Editor for JETAANY Quarterly Newsletter (now “JQ“), I not only wrote a “Letter from the Editor” each issue. I also wrote the “JETAANY Society Page” (under the pen name “Yoku Shitteiru” for those who remember) which was extremely enjoyable and satisfying, albeit rather labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Additionally, when I first created the Writers Interpreters Translators (WIT) Group (which eventually evolved into the JetWit site), for several months I wrote a weekly email update in which I shared various accomplishments and activities of members and also wrote introductions about new members. I remember greatly enjoying the process of gathering and sharing thoughts, information and ideas as well as trends and patterns that I observed. And it was that process that led to the “JET Alumni Author Showcase.”
However, the need to manage the JetWit site (which is all done in my spare time) plus my recent induction into fatherhood have limited my ability to spend time actually writing. Today I still communicate with the JET and JET alum community via JetWit, but I recognize that there’s an indirect quality to it. I spend time recruiting others to write and provide structure and perspective for their contributions. So in that sense I communicate through their voices and through the decisions I make on what content to post.
As a result, a number of conversations, interactions, thoughts and other things that happen along the way don’t get mentioned, such as:
- The pleasant e-mail exchanges that occur as people respond to the JET-Sister City List Project I set up earlier this week. For example, it turns out that Hokkaido JETs put on a huge musical productions every year. And the person who told me about it asked if she could write something for JetWit about it. (Answer: Mochiron!) I love hearing about things like this. And I love even more being able to let the rest of the JET alum community know that things like this exist.
- That a news reporter is working on a story about JET alum Dan Seals, who is running for Mark Kirk’s vacated seat in Illinois and has a good chance to become the first JET alum to hold a seat in Congress. Notably, two other JET alums have run for Congress this year: Rob Cornilles who faces a tough incumbent in Oregon, and David Boling who lost in the primary in Arkansas.
- The good work being done by Byron Nagy with the JETAA Tokyo chapter, which is very focused on service and volunteer activities and is also doing a terrific job of bringing people together and assisting with networking and job hunting.
- Ideas I haven’t had time to put into action yet, including a JET alum storytelling event modeled on The Moth Storytelling Hour, an annual award recognizing JET alums who have given back to Japan and a JET essay compilation focusing on the themes of cooking and being alone.
- Efforts by several JET alums to generate more pro-JET press coverage in the media, particularly in the Japanese language media.
I realize that I’ve missed having the opportunity to write, synthesize some thoughts, share information and share perspectives that come to me in the course of my work with JetWit as well as in the course of my role with JETAANY.
As a result, going forward I’m going to attempt to write periodic JETwit Diary entries that capture some of what’s going on that doesn’t fit on the site in other forms. Just as I tell other JETwit writers, this is all one big experiment. So let’s try it out, see what we learn along the way and we’ll take it from there. Because in the end, it’s all about the journey.
Ganbarimasu and yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94)
Brooklyn, NY
Steven is available on a consulting basis to assist organizations with any writing, communications, community building, membership retention and creative marketing needs.
The below article is taken from the JETAA UK‘s excellent website. The author is Vanessa Villalobos who serves as JETAA UK’s Communications Officer and who is also the founder and publisher of JapaneseLondon.com, a lively and helpful website dedicated to all things Japanese within London.
When I returned to the UK after 3 years on the JET Programme I was, at first, concerned that JET had effectively ruined my career prospects. In Japan, it seemed, I had developed a rather different kind of approach to work than my non-travelling peers. Years later, I now see how brilliantly my experience in Japan prepared me to start out on my own…
In fact, I now firmly believe that the unique characteristics of the JET programme provide entrepreneurial types with a solid, practical advantage by honing their unique skills. Just to clarify, by ‘entrepreneurs’ I mean any freelancers, sole-traders, business owners, designers, artists, journalists, writers, bloggers, online workers, general creative types, consultants, and career 2.0 designers. JET sets you up to blast off! And here are my top 5 reasons why:
1) JETs are Risk-Takers
The JET Programme attracts people who don’t mind jetting off (do excuse the puns) on a year’s non-negotiable contract with very little idea what they are getting into, having had very little choice in where they were placed. It’s a plunge into the unknown; developing our innate trust that everything will somehow just be OK. Whether we are suddenly starring in a festival that starts in 5 minutes, or singing our unrehearsed rendition of the national anthem on stage in front of 500 people, JETs learn to rise to any occasion with a certain outlandish confidence. Crucial for business success is this same appetite for adventure: the ability to launch into something new and remain flexible as to how it develops.
2) The JET Programme Imparts a Sense of Responsibility
JETs are people who make things happen. From the word go, most JETs understand that their experience in Japan will be created by their own efforts. JETs have a special opportunity to [CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article on the JETAA UK site.]
WIT Life #134: Versatile veggies
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Last night I was happy to be able to attend an event at Japan Society called Field to Table: The Role of Vegetables in the Japanese Diet. The featured speakers were Japanese food culture expert Elizabeth Andoh and Masato Nishihara, executive chef at Kajitsu, the only restaurant in NYC to feature 精進料理 (shouijn ryouri), a vegetarian cuisine introduced to Japan from China in the 13th century by Zen monks who had returned from studying Buddhism there.
I had met both of the speakers before, Elizabeth when I lived in Tokyo where she resides, and Nishihara-san when I interpreted for him at a food event last year. They offered their expertise regarding Read More
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Many readers probably caught yesterday’s NYT cover story with the headline “Japan Goes from Dynamic to Disheartened.” This article (“Coping with Decline”) is the first in a series called The Great Deflation which will “examine the effects on Japanese society of two decades of economic stagnation and declining prices.” Throughout the article all those quoted mention a “lack of vigor/vitality” (I assume this was a translation of 元気がない (genki ga nai)). Read More
WIT Life #132: Kwaidan
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Last night kicked off Japan Society’s current “Zen and Its Opposite” Monthly Classic Film Series, which features films from the late ’50s to ’60s that showcase the paradoxical unity of zen and violence. It began with the 1965 film 怪談 (Kwaidan or Kaidan), said to be the most expensive production of its time. It clocks in at a whopping 161 minutes and although the pacing is slow at certain points, the suspense draws you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat for most of it. Kwaidan is comprised of four separate stories, each haunting in its own way. My favorite was Read More
WIT Life #131: Asian Collaboration
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Yesterday I attended the first ever Japan & Korea Block Fair, which was held on Broadway between 93rd and 94th streets. It was sandwiched between other festivals offering your standard street fare of zeppoles and gyros, but the Asian section seemed to be getting the most foot traffic. One side featured Japanese food such as okonomiyaki and yakitori, and the other had Korean food like bulgolgi and kimchi.
My friend and I shared many different samples, but my favorite was Read More
Sake World e-Newsletter by John Gauntner (October 2010)
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The October 2010 issue of the Sake World E-mail Newsletter by JET alum and leading sake expert John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy”) is now available online. In this issue:
1. Greetings: Happy Sake Day!
2. Toji Today: The State of the Artists
3. Did You Know? Start with the rougher stuff
4. Sake Basics: Sake Temperatures
5. Announcements and Events: Sake Professional Course in Portland and a new sake educational blog
6. Sake Education Central
Additional Links:
WIT Life #130: Nobel Prize honors
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Japanese professors 75-year old Eichi Negishi of Purdue University and 80-year old Akira Suzuki of Hokkaido University received news this week that they had won the $1.5 million 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on organic synthesis. This chemical method allows scientists to test cancer drugs and make thinner computer screens, and it is one of the most sophisticated tools available today. They share this honor with 79-year old American Richard Heck of the University of Delaware, but the three recipients worked entirely independently of each other, an unusual situation for joint winners.
Negishi shared that he started dreaming about winning the prize when Read More
Second Volume of JET-inspired Graphic Novel Now Available
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JET alum/cartoonist Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006) has this to share:
“I just got copies of my second graphic novel Tonoharu: Part Two back from the bindery. The book won’t be available in stores until next month, but I’m selling them on my website right now if anyone’s interested.”
A link to order the book, as well as information about Tonoharu: Part One and Two, can be found here:
Click here to see previous JetWit posts about Tonoharu: Part Two and Tonoharu: Part 1.
