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JETwit’s JET Alum Movers & Shakers is produced by Ryan Hata (Tottori-ken, 2014-2017), Margie Banin (Kochi-ken, 2005-2007), and Jim Walsh (Fukushima-ken, 2018-2020). Want to be featured next? Submit your information here.

Accomplishment:

Carrie has recently published a book called “Japan Unexpected” using the extensive journals she kept whilst on the JET Programme.

Carrie says, “I called the book ‘Japan Unexpected’ because even though I’d been studying Japanese for years before going on JET and had even lived in Japan previously, Japan never ceases to amaze me with the unexpected things it can show you and experiences it can give you.

“People seem to be enjoying reading my book because Japan stands on its own as a fascinating country, and because I got to have so many varied experiences there – everything from carrying an omikoshi to planting rice with grade five students; from carrying a burning orb in a fire festival parade to running around at the school sports day. I’ve really enjoyed going back through these memories myself whilst creating the book and posting snippets of it on social media.”

Public Information:

Website: https://linkin.bio/carriestravelbooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carriestravelbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CazTravelBooks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-riseley/?originalSubdomain=au
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carriestravelbooks/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/carriestravelbooks/

Posted by Tom Baker

JET alum and author Coffee Quills will speak about newly emerging forms of publishing in a presentation at the Japan Writers Conference.

Here’s the official description of their presentation:

Coffee Quills
Spinning Web Fiction for Fun & Profit
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction, Other Genre
Game Writing

Quick discussion of what authors and writers want, going into the pros that web fiction can offer and the pitfalls that are hidden among the opportunities, and showing writers and authors that – in addition to traditional publishing and indie publishing – web fiction can be a 3rd option in their writing career.

Wander deeper into the realms of internet writing and find places where writers can explore the opportunities web fiction offers through serializations (in which a story can be uploaded chapter by chapter even as it is being written) such as Kindle Vella and Radish, or interactive writing with Choice of Games and Tales, in addition to the benefits that free places such as Wattpad, HoneyFeed, and Royal Road offer.

Coffee Quills, of Tokyo, is an embodiment of their slogan Many QuillsMany Genres. They are a game developer with 4thewords, stream daily writing sprints on Twitch, and have indie published three books: Blasted Research, Digital Lights, Spells, Snow, & Sky. They exist on coffee and seafood.

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Director, Getting to Know Japan Webinar Series
Posted by: The Yokosuka Council
Location: Remote
Contract: Full-time

The Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS) is a non-profit organization that enables professional growth and fosters grassroots connections with world-class expertise. We are seeking a Program Director for the Getting to Know Japan Webinar Series.

The Getting to Know Japan webinar series program manager/director will lead this vibrant education initiative during its second year. We seek an innovative, hands-on leader ready to take initiative and reliably deliver world-class events. Responsibilities will include working independently and as part of a team to develop, promote, recruit participants, and fulfil reporting requirements for programs aligned with YCAPS’ mission. This position will require extensive coordination with YCAPS staff members (including volunteers located across the Indo-Pacific), program sponsors, and cohorts of program participants throughout Japan.

Read More

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Associate Director
Posted by:  Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation
Location: Washington, D.C., USA
Contract: Full-time

Thanks to JET alumna, Kelly Primrose (Nara-ken, 2015-2018) for passing along the following job opening at her organization:

The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes understanding and cooperation between Asia and the United States, seeks a full-time Associate Director of Programs in its Washington, D.C. office. The ideal candidate will be able to start work in October in a hybrid work capacity, with the expectation of working in the office one to two days a week this year.

Application Process: For more information and to apply, please click this link – https://mansfieldfdn.org/blog/now-hiring-associate-director/

Posted by Tom Baker

Sarah Coomber (Yamaguchi, 1994-1996) is the author of “Under the Same Moon,” a memoir in which she describes moving to Japan in search of a reset in life. One month from now, she will share some of her memoir writing tips in a presentation at the Japan Writers Conference.

Most of this year’s conference will be held in person at the Shonan Campus of Tokai University in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, but some sessions, including Sarah’s, will take place online via Zoom. (Join the conference mailing list to get the Zoom codes.) Her talk is set to begin at 10 a.m. on Oct. 16 (Japan time). Here’s the official description:

Sarah Coomber
Moment by Moment: Demystifying the Writing of a First Memoir
Craft Workshop online
Nonfiction, Other Genre
Memoir

Telling your story in memoir form can be daunting—you have a lifetime’s worth of experiences to draw from. Where to begin?

Moment by moment.

In this craft workshop, I will share several strategies to help you on your way.

Memoirs, like life, progress moment by moment. The most important thing is not whether your particular story is full of excitement, tragedy or coincidence. What matters is what you bring to the moments in your story—how you view, interpret, reflect on and react to them.

Infusing moments with meaning will help you uncover your larger story. This can occur with sensory explorations, analogies, linked memories, about-ness and more.

I will share what I wish I’d known before writing my first memoir and will coach you through several of my favorite moment-developing strategies.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a scene or observation to explore.

Sarah Coomber is the author of The Same Moon (Camphor Press, 2020), a memoir about two years she spent regrouping in rural Japan after wrecking her Minnesota life. She has worked in public relations and journalism, coaches writing, has degrees in creative writing and journalism, and achieved level four certification in the Seiha School of koto.

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Academic Coordinator, Social Media Coordinator, or Marketing Coordinator
Posted by: CET
Location: Washington, D.C., USA
Contract: Full-time

Thanks to JET alumna, Kate Maruyama (Osaka, 2005-2008) for passing along the following job openings with CET where she’s currently employed:

CET Academic Programs is hiring three positions in our Washington, DC office. Please share with your networks and students!

ACADEMIC COORDINATOR

A key member of the Academic Affairs and Programs Teams, the Academic Coordinator supports areas of academic administration, including enrollment management, transcripting, and evaluations. This position collaborates with colleagues across global and US-based teams to ensure timely and accurate student academic records, documentation, and evaluations.

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

The Social Media Coordinator is responsible for creating engaging and timely content across all CET channels (Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube). They work with the Marketing team to plan and develop content for highlighting CET’s programs and student experiences to future students, university partners, and other audiences. They are also responsible for the management of CET’s Student Correspondent program, Alumni Support Networks, and other student-driven content creation channels.

Read More

Posted by Tom Baker

Tokai University Professor and JET alum Charles Kowalski will be the host of this year’s Japan Writers Conference, at his university’s Shonan Campus in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Oct 15-16.

He is the author of the Japan-based middle-grade fantasy Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts, and the contemporary thrillers Mind Virus and The Devil’s Son. He has won the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Award, and has been a finalist for the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award, the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association Literary Award, and the Adventure Writers Grandmaster Award.

This year’s Japan Writers Conference will feature approximately 27 different sessions on various aspects of the writing life, one of which will be presented by Charles himself. Here’s the official description:

Charles Kowalski
The Magic of Humor
Craft Workshop
Fiction, Nonfiction

What wizardry lies in writing magical symbols that make anyone who looks at them fall into helpless laughter? Here, we explore ways to infuse writing with laugh-out-loud humor, such as combining divergent situations to make a comic premise, creating comic characters, and running dialogue and narration through “funny filters.”

Of all the ways to make people laugh, one of the hardest is through the written word. This workshop will present several techniques for infusing writing with laugh-out-loud humor, including:

How humor works by subverting expectations and creating new ones
How to combine disparate situations for comic effect
How to run ordinary dialogue and narration through “funny filters”
How to create comic characters using archetypes, quirks, and comical situations

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Program Coordinator
Posted by: The Asia Program at The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Location: Washington, D.C., USA
Contract: Full-time

The Asia Program at The German Marshall Fund of the United States is seeking a Program Coordinator to work in its Washington DC office. GMF’s Asia Program fosters coordinated US-European approaches to common challenges in the region while building closer US-European-Asian partnerships. The Asia Program’s fellows and staff manage an active set of policy programs, conduct in-depth research, publish regular newsletters and podcasts, and frequently contribute articles and commentary to a wide range of international publications and news outlets.

Read More

Posted by Tom Baker

Textbook author Todd Jay is one of the JET alumni writers who will be giving presentations at the 2022 Japan Writers Conference, held on Oct. 15-16 at the Shonan Campus of Tokai University in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. For details, see http://japanwritersconference.org. Here’s the official description of his presentation:

Todd Jay Leonard
Publishing in the EFL Market in Japan: Four Perspectives on How to Make Your Proposal Count
Short Lecture with Q&A
Instructional

This presentation will outline the current publishing market in Japan for EFL/ESL textbooks by reviewing the various points of view of the publishing industry. The presenter, Todd Jay Leonard, has published extensively within the ESL/EFL market in Japan and will offer helpful advice to budding authors who wish to pursue projects geared to Japan’s domestic market.

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.

In today’s competitive publishing world, getting the proverbial “foot in the door” can seem daunting and nearly impossible. 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. Professor Leonard explains the realities within the publishing industry and addresses some common myths associated with EFL publishing.

Todd Jay Leonard has been actively involved in book publishing for 30 years and has published 26 books. He has published books with a number of different Japanese publishing companies and this experience has given him a unique perspective in offering advice to potential authors on what the market is looking for currently and what the publishing industry is searching for in new titles.

He lives, writes, and teaches on the southern island of Kyushu, where he is a university professor at University of Teacher Education Fukuoka and is the department head for the English Department for the graduate faculty. He has published extensively in academic journals, magazines, and newspapers on cross-cultural, historical, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) themes.

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Reporter / Researcher
Posted by: Yomiuri Shimbun
Location: Washington, D.C., USA
Contract: Full-time

The Yomiuri Shimbun is Japan’s largest daily newspaper with a circulation of nearly 8 million copies. We are headquartered in Tokyo and have over 20 international bureaus, three of which are in the United States: Washington DC, New York and Los Angeles. 

Main duties include assisting our Washington-based Japanese correspondents by attending video-conference, telephonic and in-person briefings and press conferences; tracking relevant news stories; arranging and conducting interviews; composing clear and concise memos on issues of interest; and covering various events, including those held by area think tanks and Congress.

Additionally, because there are congressional midterm elections this year, coverage of various elections and campaign rallies and related events will also be an important part of the reporting duties. Rapid and precise transcription is also required. 

Application Process: For more information and to apply, please click here: https://www.journalismjobs.com/1645658-japans-largest-newspaper-seeks-hardworking-reporterresearcher-yomiuri-shimbun.

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Deputy Director
Posted by: The German Marshall Fund of the United States
Location: Washington, D.C., USA
Contract: Full-time

Thanks to JET alumna, Kristi Govella (Niigata-ken, 2005-2006) for passing the following job opening at her organization:

The Asia Program at The German Marshall Fund of the United States is looking for a new Deputy Director. Candidates must have expertise in Japan or Korea.

Application Process: For more information and to apply, see https://gmfus.hrmdirect.com/employment/job-opening.php?req=2192918&&cust_sort1=-1&&nohd#job

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Administrative Assistant to the Consul-General
Posted by: Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Contract: Full-time

Thanks to JET alumna, Jocelyn Russell (Gunma-ken, 2015-2019) for passing along the following job opening as they are searching for her replacement:

The Consulate-General of Japan is seeking a highly motivated, team-oriented individual  for the position of Administrative Assistant to the Consul-General. 

The Consulate offers group health insurance 80% coverage, paid vacation and sick leave. Working hours are 9:15 am – 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, with the occasional weeknight and/or weekend event (paid overtime).

Salary is commensurate with experience. The minimum monthly base salary for this position is between $ 3,600 and $3,800. Depending on your experiences, the salary may increase beyond this range. The Consulate does not withhold federal or other taxes from employee salaries.

Please note: Candidates must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. green card holder. Screening will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Only successful candidates will be contacted. Successful candidates will be requested to submit their background check information.

Start Date: October 3, 2022

Read More

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Accounts Payable Manager
Posted by: Columbia Business School
Location: New York, NY, USA
Contract: Full-time

Here’s a job working directly with Ryan Hata’s team at Columbia Business School:

Accounts Payable Manager in Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business/ Eugene Lang Center for Entrepreneurship | Careers at Columbia

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Program Assistants (two positions)
Posted by: The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation
Location: Washington, D.C., USA
Contract: Full-time

Thanks to JET alumna, Kelly Primrose (Nara-ken, 2015-2018) for passing along the following job openings at her organization:

The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, a non-profit that promotes understanding and cooperation between Asia and the United States, seeks two (2) full-time Program Assistants for its Washington, DC office.

The ideal candidates will be able to start work in October 2022 in a work-from-home capacity, with the expectation of resuming in-office operations in Washington, DC one to two days a week. The Program Assistants will have responsibilities in the following areas:

Read More

Posted by Sydney Sparrow. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.

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Position: Program Coordinator
Posted by: Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Location: New York, NY, USA
Contract: Full-time

Thanks to JET alumna, Elizabeth Peiffer (Shizuoka-ken, 2014-2015) for sharing the following job opening, which she will be transitioning out of soon. If you have any questions feel free to contact her at <peiffere19@gmail.com>.

Position Summary: Reporting to the Executive Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute (WEAI), and working in support of the Directors of the Master of Arts in Regional Studies-East Asia (MARSEA) program, the incumbent serves as the primary contact for all student-facing issues and policies.

Responsibilities: In this role s/he will:

• Manages administration of the MARSEA program including budgeting, advertising, application processing, admissions, student support, and alumni initiatives;
• Oversees student fellowship programs supporting research, language acquisition, unpaid internships, and dissertation write-up during the summer and academic year;
• Liaises with East Asia-related student groups on events and programming, supervising event planning and execution, program development, and budget management;

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