Posted by Tom Baker
JET alum Joy Jarman-Walsh will give a presentation on how to conduct an interview at the Japan Writers Conference, a free event that is happening online this year. The official description of her talk appears below.

Joy Jarman-Walsh
Live + Engaging Networking via Interviews with Japan Insiders
Short Lecture with Q&A

Moving beyond words on a page by live broadcasting interviews to a worldwide audience in real time – it seems daunting but is transparent and engaging, reaching new audiences tired of traditional media. If you are researching an article, you are actually prepared to livestream- let me explain how to do it, and why it’ll make your content better.
I’ve been on a crazy and unexpected journey researching and hosting daily interviews with various experts and insiders in Japan, or abroad who are focused on Japan, to dive into what it means to seek sustainability. A big part of seeking sustainability is transparency, which I think is also critical for good writing, which can be achieved by engaging with your audience as you create the content. I believe that one of the best ways to do this is by livestreaming content to engage with a wider audience. As of the end of May, I’ve done over 250 live interviews and the comments and questions of live viewers has been an important aspect of the finished product. I think this concept can inform and improve almost any type of writing project. There are key strategies to prepping for interviews as well as running live talkshows which engage with a live audience. There is also post-production work that needs to be done, including getting the interview onto a podcast platform. I will lay out not only the why’s but also the how-to’s of the process.
Joy Jarman-Walsh (jjwalsh) runs a daily livestream talkshow called #SeekingSustainabilityLive which had it’s 250th episode in May 2021. Joy co-founded GetHiroshima in 1999, worked as an Assistant Professor teaching Tourism and Business for more than 21 years, then started her own sustainability-focused travel consulting business, InboundAmbassador, in 2019. Joy has written for academic journals as well as travel copy and destination articles. Joy has an MA in Sustainable Tourism from ASU (USA).

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: Publication of a novel based upon the Shimabara Rebellion

More Information: After returning to the U.S. with a wife and child, Michael spent fourteen years teaching Japanese at a high school in northwest New Jersey. In 2009, he was awarded the Japanese Teacher of the Year award by Seton Hall University. His recently published novel, Masaru, is based on events during the Shimabara Rebellion. Michael was inspired by this period of history during his years as an ALT in Kumamoto, particularly during a visit to nearby Amakusa where the actual events took place in the 17th century.

Public Information:
Email: bondjapan@yahoo.com
Website: https://masaru87.wordpress.com/
Book info: http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Masaru.html
Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Masaru-Michael-T-Cibenko/dp/1935228234/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=masaru+cibenko&qid=1633376653&sr=8-3

This week on the Krewe of Japan Podcast…

TADAIMA! The Krewe is BACK! Season 2 kicks off October 1st at 12p CST, and Nigel, Jenn, & Doug are coming in hot with this super-sized special first episode! The Krewe goes down the rabbit hole that is Studio Ghibli, talking about some history behind the famous animation studio and their favorite films. Then, Steve Alpert, former Senior Vice President at Studio Ghibli and author of Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli, joins the Krewe for a deep dive into what it was like to work with Miyazaki & how he played a pivotal role in in bringing Ghibli favorites to international markets. You don’t want to miss this one!

The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!

************By Makoto Shirai, secretary, Japan-Insights Research Institute (Non-profit organization in Tokyo)

Dear Friends,

Let me introduce a new video “Opening Mt. Oyama” produced by Alice Gordenker.

Please also enjoy her pass along her essay “Mt. Oyama Pilgrimage” on Japan-Insights.

https://topics.japan-insights.jp/Public/pdf/japan-insights_jp/topics/JIN_OyamaPilgrimage.pdf

Please share this expert’s experience!

Japan-Insights is a nonprofit open database compiled by leading experts in Japanese studies. The posts present a broad range of historical and contemporary topics that encourage visitors to engage with the real Japan through immersive experiences. Follow the Facebook page and website to learn about and share these insights from around the country!”

#japan #japaneseculture #Oyama

Posted by Tom Baker

JET alum and Jeopardy champion Tom Baker will lead offer tips on how to write trivia questions at the Oct. 15-17 Japan Writers Conference, a free event that is happening online. The official description of his talk appears below.

Tom Baker
Trivia Tips: How to Write a Pub Quiz
Short Lecture with Q&A

“I once attended a pub quiz in Bristol where a dispute over an answer resulted in a wild west-style brawl and the police had to be called,” a woman told the BBC in 2005. “Arrests were made, including the quizmaster.”
Quizzes should be fun. If you wish to host one that doesn’t end in tears – or behind bars – well-written questions are essential.
Drawing on my experience as both a contestant and a quizmaster, I will offer tips on how to write questions that are clear, entertaining, and minimally disputable.
Using examples from quizzes seen on TV and at pubs around Tokyo, I will discuss a variety of question formats, writing with brevity and clarity, ways of organizing categories, anticipating hecklers and nit-pickers, making obscure questions guessable, and the importance of flattering your audience by writing easy questions that sound hard.
Tom Baker appeared on four regular-season episodes of the U.S. quiz show “Jeopardy!” in 2004, before returning for the season-ending Tournament of Champions. He first guest-hosted a round of a Tokyo pub quiz in 2019, and has written and presented more than 20 rounds since then. Topics have included “The FBI 10 Most Wanted List,” “Pigs and Rats,” “Literary Works,” “Officeholders,” “Prime Numbers,” “Traveling Around Japan,” “Body Parts” and “Motorcycle Gangs and Clubs.”

For details, visit http://japanwritersconference.org/

Posted by Tom Baker

JET poet Michael Frazier will lead a poetry workshop at the Oct. 15-17 Japan Writers Conference, a free event that is happening online. The official description of his talk appears below.

Michael Frazier
A Poem is a Thing that Moves: Contemporary Lyric Poems
Craft Workshop
Poetry
A lyric poem is a thing that moves, through time, one’s mind, and, in turn, moves the hearts of readers. We will read and analyze lyric poems that move towards unanswerable questions, via associative jumps, by Leila Chatti, Li-Young Lee, and Aracelis Girmay. We will write our own lyric poems!
Scan through most recently released poetry collections and you are bound to find poems marked not by chronological narratives, but by incongruent images, ideas, and questions seemingly held together by only a distinct first-person voice and the magic of poetry. In this workshop we want to dispel the illusion of the non-linear lyric poem. We will read a handful of lyric poems that rely on associative jumps by Leila Chatti, L-Young Lee, Terrance Hayes, and Aracelis Girmay. We will analyze how these writers navigate through a poem (motifs, music, etc.), and pursue a question to arrive at a new revelation (the turn). As a result, we will understand how their poems are maps for how their actual minds move and perceive the world. A poem is a thing that moves, through time, one’s mind, and, in turn, moves the hearts of readers. Under scaffolded prompting, we will write our own lyric poems that prioritize the patterns of our psyche.
Michael Frazier is a poet & HS Teacher living in Kanazawa, Japan. Pushcart Prize & Best New Poets nominated, his poems appear in Poetry Daily, The Offing, RHINO, Tinderbox, Tokyo Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. Currently, he’s facilitating a biweekly zoom poetry book club open to the public. Message @fraziermichael to join!

Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03) presents WIT Life, a periodic series about aspects of Japanese culture such as art, film, food and language. Stacy starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she offers some interesting tidbits and trends along with her own observations.

The Japanese LDP Presidential election will take place today (September 29th). The winner is expected to become the next prime minister following current PM Yoshihide Suga, leading the party in November’s general election. Here’s a run-down of the candidates, notable for being a lineup that is 50% women.

In other big news, Princess Mako of the royal family just welcomed home her fiancee, commoner Kei Komuro. When he was last in Japan over three years ago, he got engaged to Mako before coming to New York to attend Fordham Law School. They plan to marry and for Mako to return with him to New York, where he has been hired by a law firm. In renouncing her official title, she will be sacrificing almost $1.35 million in taxpayer money. Check out the Washington Post’s coverage of the palace intrigue captivating Japan (and the vitriol towards Komuro’s Covid ponytail)!

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: Published two novels set in Japan

More Information: Loren wrote her first book, a story about a teen’s introduction to the Harajuku street fashion scene, during her second JET year. Titled ‘Meet You By Hachiko,’ she found the research and writing process a great way to learn more about Japan as well as pass the time when her students were on holidays between terms. After returning home post-JET, she continued to blog and write about Japan on her off-time to stay connected with her experience abroad, and started on a second novel while working in the travel industry.

‘Meet You By Hachiko’ launched in February 2020, a month before travel ground to a halt. The pandemic presented Loren with an opportunity to return to creative writing and devote more time to publishing: she completed her long-shelved second book, ‘Edokko,’ the story of a Canadian exchange student’s year in rural Kyushu. Both titles are now available in paperback and eBook format worldwide, under the imprint HachiPress, where Loren hopes to reach young readers interested in Japan.

Even after being away from teaching for a decade, writing about student life has become a nostalgic touchstone, and the nods in her books to those “only-in-Japan” experiences can be appreciated by any former JET.

Public Information:
Website: http://www.lorengreene.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/authorlorengreene
HachiPress Bookshop: http://www.hachipress.ca
Amazon: http://zon.lorengreene.com

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: Assistant Correspondent – Economics Team
Posted by: Jiji Press
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Contract: Full-Time

Thanks to a former JET (Mie Prefecture, 2013-15) for passing along the following job opening:

The Washington DC Bureau of Japanese newswire Jiji Press is looking for an organized, resourceful individual to join our Economics team as an Assistant Correspondent. The ideal candidate will have experience working under tight deadlines with intermediate to advanced Japanese language ability. The Assistant Correspondent will be responsible for working with the Economics team to report on data in Japanese, taking notes and participating in high-profile press events with government officials in English, and booking and conducting interviews with academics and other public sources.

Prior experience covering economics is not required, but an understanding of DC policy-making and politics is highly encouraged. The individual will work with Japanese journalists, and will also provide assistance and context regarding American topics. Prior experience working with foreign nationals or in a foreign setting is a major plus.

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: ESOL Teacher
Posted by: Mercy Center
Location: Remote and/or Bronx, New York, USA
Contract: Full-Time

Thanks to JET alumna, Alexei Esikoff (Fukushima-ken, 2002-2003) for forwarding us this opportunity:

Here is the detailed info: We are currently looking for experienced educators who are available to work from September 2021 – June 2022 remotely and/or in-person. Please see the information you requested about the work we do and the ESOL instructor position below.  We are looking for instructors for our evening classes (5:00 pm – 9:00 pm). 

Profile

• Proficient English speakers with good working knowledge of English grammar and language use. 
• Experienced teachers with good interpersonal skills who enjoy working in diverse linguistic and cultural settings. 
• Passionate teachers looking to empower immigrant communities through English language education. 
• Applicants with ESL teaching experience required. TESOL/CELTA certification highly preferred. 

Read More

Posted by Tom Baker

JET alum Suzanne Kamata will lead a panel discussion on “Writing Identity” at the Oct. 15-17 Japan Writers Conference, a free event that is happening online. Suzanne is the author of multiple novels and nonfiction books, which you can read about at www.suzannekamata.com. The official descriptions of her talk appears below.

Suzanne Kamata
with Clara Kiyoko Kumagain, Kristin Osani, Clarissa Goenawan, Sara Fujimura
Writing Identity, From Inside and Outside
Panel Discussion
Fiction

Identity politics play a large part in determining which stories are published and how they are currently received in the English-speaking market. Generation Z readers — the audience for YA and New Adult titles — are especially aware of issues surrounding diversity, appropriation, and ownership. In this session, to be moderated by Suzanne Kamata, four authors of different backgrounds, writing about Japan from inside and out of their lanes, will discuss diversity, identity, inclusivity, and their own experiences and approaches to writing these in their own work.
In this era of #ownvoices and a heightened awareness of identity politics, what stories should be told, who should be allowed to write them, and how they should be presented are often contentious issues. In this moderated session, five authors of different backgrounds, writing inside and out of their lanes, will discuss diversity, identity, inclusivity, and their own experiences and approaches to writing these in their own work.
Award-winning author Suzanne Kamata was born and raised in the United States, but has lived in Japan for more than half of her life. She is the author or editor of 15 published books including, most recently, The Baseball Widow (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2021) and Pop Flies, Robo-pets and Other Disasters (One Elm Books, 2020).
Clara Kiyoko Kumagai is from Canada, Japan and Ireland. She writes fiction and non-fiction for children and adults, and has had work published in Banshee, Room, Event, and Cicada. She currently lives in Tokyo.
Kristin Osani @KristinOsani is a freelance Japanese to English translator, writer, and editor
Her previous projects include Left Alive, Oninaki, Code Shifter, Dragalia Lost, and many more. Her short fiction is forthcoming in Flash Point SF.
Clarissa Goenawan is an Indonesian-born Singaporean writer. Her award-winning short fiction has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies in Singapore, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, the UK, and the US. Rainbirds, her first novel, has been published in eleven different languages.
Sara Fujimura @SaraFujimura is an award-winning young adult author and creative writing teacher. She is the American half of her Japanese-American family, and has written about Japanese culture and raising bicultural children for such magazines as Appleseeds, Learning Through History, East West, and Mothering, as well as travel-related articles for To Japan With Love. Her young adult novels include Tanabata Wish, Breathe, Every Reason We Shouldn’t (Tor Teen, 2020) and Faking Reality (Tor Teen, 2021). She lives in Phoenix with her husband and children.

Posted by Tom Baker

Joe Palermo, who came to Japan on the pre-JET MEF program in the 1980s, has written a memoir about what life in Japan was like back then. Next month, he will give a presentation at the Japan Writers Conference (a free event that is happening online this year) on how he went about self-publishing it – a topic sure to be of interest to anyone who has written about their own Japan experiences. The official descriptions of his talk appears below.

Joe Palermo
No Pianos, Pets or Foreigners! Self Publishing a Memoir in eBook, Paperback and Audiobook Format at Minimal Cost
Short Lecture with Q&A
Nonfiction
A young Japanese woman was running through Tokyo station screaming “Save me! Save me!” There was a Japanese man chasing her and closing in. He grabbed her wrist and caught her about 10 feet in front of me. The woman was still yelling “Save me! Save Me!” but the Japanese people in the crowded station ignored her, not wanting to get involved.
This is the beginning of one of the stories from my experience living in Japan in the 1980’s, where I had moved right after graduating university. It was still rare to see an American who could speak Japanese fluently. This book guides the reader though my many adventures navigating through Japanese culture while living in the outskirts of Tokyo, as well as Tokyo proper.
I will detail my experience writing and publishing a book and audiobook about my life in Japan, using Amazon KDP and Amazon ACX. I will talk about what I learned through the process and what I would do differently.
Joe Palermo has retired after 30+ years as a corporate executive at the Nielsen Company and Information Resources, Inc. (IRI). He lived and worked in Japan for eight years and is the author of “No Pianos, Pets or Foreigners! My Life in Japan in the 80’s”.

REGISTER

During this lunch seminar, Dr. Mary J. Eberhardinger will briefly present her latest research on gift-giving practices in Japan from her new book followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion on attendees’ personal experiences with gift-giving in Japan. Depending on the number of registrants, this event may use breakout rooms. Dr. Eberhardinger’s book “A Rhetoric and Philosophy of Gifts” examines the relationship between gifts and rhetoric, with particular attention given to Japan where she lived as a JET Program assistant language teacher in Hyogo from 2008-2010. Her book includes a review of related literature, analysis, examples, and personal anecdotes of overseas experiences. Eberhardinger concludes the book by offering implications and opportunities for interpreting gifts, thereby addressing why the question concerning the relationship between gifts and rhetoric matters for the larger landscape of international relations, intercultural friendship, and peace-making. Registrants will receive a discount code for purchasing her book.

Partially supported by funding from the Japan Local Government Center CLAIR and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.

See: https://www.elginheinzaward.org/ for full details. 

Deadline: October 15, 2021

One of the 2020 winners was a JET alum!

Nominations for the Award are also welcome anytime via info@engageasia.org

Application Details are Below and Here: https://www.elginheinzaward.org/apply

Application Details

The Elgin Heinz Award recognizes exceptional teachers who further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese. The 2021 award will focus on humanities teachers and consist of an award grant of up to $1,000.

2021 applications are due on October 15, 2021.

The award is named in honor of Elgin Heinz for his commitment to educating students about Asia as well as for the inspiration he has provided to the field of pre-college education.

See the most recent Award Ceremony HERE.

Eligibility Requirements

The award is open to current full-time K-12 classroom teachers of any relevant subject in the United States. There are two award categories, one in the humanities and one in Japanese language. The 2021 award will be awarded only in the Humanities category and the 2022 award will focus on Japanese Language.

Previous award recipients often have over 10 years of teaching experience and have been engaged in teaching their students about Japan for a substantial period of time.  Candidates must demonstrate sustained commitment to improving mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese, and must have made a significant contribution to enhancing students’ knowledge of Japan.

Applicants for the Japanese language category must have excellent command of the Japanese language and may be contacted by members of the selection committee to verify this.

Nomination Procedures

Applicants for the Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award are accepted in two ways:

1. Educators who meet the requirements are encouraged to apply on their own. A nomination is not required.
2. Nominations are also accepted, and we encourage those in the field to nominate educators whom they believe are deserving of this award.

Letters of Nomination should briefly highlight the qualifications of the candidate and must include his/her name, contact information, and indicate the school at which the candidate currently teaches.

EngageAsia, which is administering the award, will accept Letters of Nomination at any time and will inform candidates that they have been nominated for the Award. Those nominated must submit a full application as indicated below.

Nominators should keep in mind the deadline for applications is in September. Therefore, it is recommended that nominations be submitted by mid-July in order to provide potential candidates the time needed to compile their applications.

Letters of Nomination should be e-mailed to EngageAsia at: info@engageasia.org

Application Procedures & Deadlines for 2021
(Humanities category)

Applicants must submit the following documents by October 15, 2021 to be considered (please note: all materials must be submitted in one PDF document via e-mail to EngageAsia, the award administrator, at: info@engageasia.org):

1. Cover Sheet that includes the following information:

• Full name and home address
• School name and address
• E-mail and telephone contact information
• The subjects and grades you currently teach
• A list of Japan-related programs in which you have participated
• Names and contact information for those submitting letters of support

2. A narrative (not to exceed three (3) pages typed, double spaced) describing your efforts to further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese through your classroom teaching. Please describe your classroom atmosphere and your approach to teaching about Japan and Japanese Language. Applicants should also highlight leadership positions held and detail how they have impacted other educators locally and/or nationally.

3. Three letters of support from individuals or organizations familiar with you and your teaching on Japan. A letter from a student explaining how your efforts affected his/her perceptions and understanding of Japan is permissible as a letter of support. One letter must come from the school’s principal or vice principal. Support letters can be sent under separate cover or included with all application materials.

4. A proposal not longer than three pages detailing how the candidate would utilize a grant of up to $1,000 (pending EngageAsia’s financial ability to offer a grant in 2021) to bolster Japanese language and/or Japan related endeavors in his or her classroom or at his or her school. The proposal must be specific and include a budget.

5. A professional resume
The application should be submitted in one PDF electronically to: info@engageasia.org

Deadline for 2021

Complete applications must be received by EngageAsia on or prior to October 15, 2021 to be considered for the 2021 award.

Review & Selection

A national selection committee administered by EngageAsia will review complete applications received by or on October 15, 2021. The selection committee consists of leaders in the field of education about Japan and Japanese language. The award winners will be announced in the winter of 2021.

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: New website and customized online Japanese courses

More Information: Aarti Barve is the founder of https://hajimemashite.com/, a platform for customized online Japanese courses. With an experience of 17yrs + including, teaching at the University of Mumbai, Aarti prepares students for JLPT exams. She has designed a special fee structure for the JET alumni. JET alumni can use the HAJIME 21 code to avail a discount of 20% in fees. You can reach out on either email ids to know the detailed fee structure.

Public Information:
Website: https://hajimemashite.com/
Email: aarti.barve@hajimemashite.com; info@hajimemashite.com