“Can’t find a full-time writing job? Join the swelling ranks of freelancers” – http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=130597
A good article from Medill Reports (a publication by students at the Medill School for Journalism at Northwestern University) that cites the somewhat involuntary trend of more and more writers going freelance (and also includes a quote from my brother Greg in his capacity as the Director of Membership Services at mediabistro).
The article’s perspective merges nicely with the JetWit theme of helping freelancers in the JET alum community and also conveying to everyone in the JET alum community that the era of full-time jobs (say nothing of lifetime employment) is changing–particularly in the writing field, but also increasingly in other fields–as more and more people essentially deconstruct their jobs and create new ones for themselves, whether out of necessity or foresight.
Event: Toronto Boat Cruise (Toronto, ON)
Events, JETAA Chapters 
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JetWit job poster Stephen Palanik (Fukushima Ken, 2004-08) learned of the following event through the JETAA Toronto May newsletter and thought it might be of interest to former JETs in the Toronto area. Stephen is a translator based in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Ken, and he periodically posts job listings and event information for JET alumni.
TORONTO BOAT CRUISE
Board the famed Stella Borealis, home of the annual Boat Cruise and get ready to party! You’ll be part of a 200-strong crowd, laughing with friends, dancing to the beats, and watching the sun set over the Toronto skyline.
This highly anticipated event is a summer highlight collaboration presented by a growing number of groups including JETAA Toronto, Canada Japan Society (CJS), Japanada, Japan Visitors Association (JAVA), Toronto Japanese Connection (TJC), and 663A Music Crew.
Tickets are limited and WILL SELL OUT QUICKLY!
Job: Canadian Immigration Business Assistant/Manager/Interpreter (Tokyo)
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JetWit job poster Stephen Palanik (Fukushima Ken, 2004-08) learned of the following employment opportunity being offered by Skytop Trading Co., Ltd. through the Gaijinpot website and thought it might be of interest to former JETs in the Tokyo area. Stephen is a translator based in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Ken, and he periodically posts job listings and event information for JET alumni.
Judging from the posting, this company may be looking for a Japanese national, but they might be willing to hire a former JET with a sufficiently high Japanese ability.
Job Description:
1. Prepare documents for our Japanese clients to apply for Canadian permanent residency card.
2. Organize seminars for Japanese clients and Canadian partner consultants.
3. J-E and E-J translation of business documents.
4. Coordinate with branch offices in Thailand, the Philippines, and Canada in English (telephone, e-mail, and online chat).
5. Other translation projects.
Read More
Job: Translator / Video Game Creator Assistant (Tokyo)
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JetWit job poster Stephen Palanik (Fukushima Ken, 2004-08) learned of the following Haken (dispatch) employment opportunity being offered by Tempstaff Co., Ltd. through the Gaijinpot website and thought it might be of interest to former JETs in the Tokyo area. Stephen is a translator based in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Ken, and he periodically posts job listings and event information for JET alumni.
Job Description:
* Japanese ⇒ English translation of in-game text, manuals and other documents related to video games
* English communication and negotiations with overseas clients
* Video game creator assistant duties (depending on skills and experience)
Contract Type: Haken (ASAP – Long Term)
Working Time: Mon – Fri, 10:00 – 19:00 (1hr lunch break)
Location: Ikebukuro, Tokyo
Salary: 2000 yen/hr
NYT: Tweeting your way to a job
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Not saying this is for everyone, but never hurts to get new perspectives on ways to think about your job search.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/fashion/21whiz.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&emc=eta1
You can apply the same logic to writing posts on JetWit. So get in touch if you’d like to write and also help yourself with your job search at the same time.
VAMPS is a star duo project of Oblivion Dust guitarist K.A.Z and L’Arc-en-Ciel vocalist Hyde.The fairly new side project that launched in February 2008 has been an interest for fans of the duo. This summer, VAMPS are scheduled to tour the United States to give a taste of their sound to those that normally wouldn’t have the chance to. For more info check: www.newyork-tokyo.com/wp/vamps/
TOUR SCHEDULE
July 11th, Saturday – New York NY @ The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza
July 12th, Sunday – Hartford CT @ Warped Tour / New England Dodge Music Center
July 14th, Tuesday – Columbia MD @ Warped Tour / Merrlweather Post Pavilion
July 16th, Thursday – Baltimore MD @ Sonar Baltimore
July 19th, Sunday – Seattle WA @ The Showbox
July 20th, Monday – Portland OR @ Hawthorne Theater
July 25th, Saturday – San Francisco CA @ Regency Grand Ballroom
July 29th, Wednesday – San Diego CA @ SOMA
August 1st, Saturday – Los Angeles CA @ The Wiltern
Via the Yomiuri Shinbun (thanks to a JET alum who works there):
(Update: The correct email address for responses has been changed to yomiuridcjob09[at]gmail[dot]com instead of yomiuridcdjob09[at]gmail[dot]com)
The Washington Bureau of The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest daily newspaper, seeks a reporter/research assistant. The paper covers national politics, international relations and any major breaking news.
Duties include: Attending daily press briefings, arranging interviews, conducting research, gathering news and transcribing interviews.
The ability to communicate clearly, write well and work cooperatively with other staff is essential. Some reporting experience (on college newspaper or elsewhere) is helpful. Japanese language is not necessary.
Applicant should already reside in greater Washington region.
Send via email: cover letter and resume to Mr. Michiro Okamoto, Washington Bureau Chief, The Yomiuri Shimbun at yomiuridcjob09[at]gmail[dot]com (No phone calls, please)
JapanDay in Central Park (NY) – May 31
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From the Consulate General of Japan in NY:
Japan Day @ Central Park is an event designed by the Japanese community of New York to promote a deeper understanding of the Japanese culture and to say “Thank you, New York!” Now marking its third year as a New York City tradition, Japan Day @ Central Park returns to fill the green oasis of East Meadow with tents offering a wide range of Japanese traditional and familyfriendly activities, free samplings of popular Japanese cuisine and powerful stage performances throughout the day, with top entertainers from New York and Tokyo. Last year, an estimated 40,000 New Yorkers participated in Japan Day in the East Meadow.
Japan Day @ Central Park 2009 begins at 8AM with the Japan Run, a 4-mile race, organized by New York Road Runners. The Japan Day Festival begins at 10AM with the opening of all the activity tents; the stage show begins at 10:15AM, and free samplings of Japanese cuisine begin at 11am. We hope that Japan Day will continue to be a highly anticipated event year after year! (Click here for more info.)
Job: Tri-lingual president of Mexican subsidiary
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Interesting job listing direct from Helen Godfrey, a JET alum in Houston who works for Interesse:
A large international company is seeking a President who can manage and oversee their Mexican subsidiary. Accounting background and excellent management skills are a must.
The ideal candidate is also fluent in English, Spanish, and Japanese.
If you are interested, please email your resume as a Word document attachment to helen[at]iiicareer[dot]com. Please reference “job#37618” in the subject.
Job: Development and Outreach Dept. Coordinator – Human Rights Watch (NYC)
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JETAANY webmaster Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken 2003-06) shared this job opening at Human Rights Watch where he used to work. (Please do not send your resume to Lee-Sean.)
Full-Time Position Available: COORDINATOR
Development and Outreach Department (New York Office)
Deadline for applications: June 20, 2009
Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) is seeking a Coordinator of Development Operations to provide global operational and technical support to its Development & Outreach department.
Event: JQ (JETAA NY Quarterly) Magazine Stuff ‘n Mail – May 28
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If you thought a JQ interview with Jero was cool last issue, wait until you see who JQ got this time.
JQ’S STUFF N’ MAIL FOR THE SPRING ISSUE
Thursday, May 28th
As the JQ home office edges closer to the the layout finishing line for our next issue, we’ve set a date for our quarterly stuffin’ and mailin’. RSVP to magazine[at]jetaany[dot]org to ensure how much pizza/drinks to order. Besides getting your own advance copy of the new “Utada Issue” before they’re mailed out to our members, we’ll also be having an informal nomikai afterwards (location TBD).
It all happens Thursday, May 28 from 6:00 p.m. at the Japan Local Government Center (JLGC), 3 Park Ave. (at 34th St.), 20th floor. Chotto latecomers and friends of JET are also welcome.
Not on our mailing list for your own print copy? E-mail your name, address and JET info to database[at]jetaany[dot]org by the end of Monday, May 25th to receive your copy of the new JQ.
See you there!
Writing Opportunities: CLAIR-NY and JETAA NY Tweeter
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WRITER NEEDED FOR JLGC NEWSLETTER The Japanese Local Goverment Center (JLGC, aka CLAIR-NY) is looking for someone to write a one page, 600 word article with pictures about JETAANY events. If you are knowledgable about JETAANY events and have a penchant for writing, this is the opportunity for you! Contact secretary [at] jetaany [dot] org for more details.
JETAANY Tweeter JETAANY is looking for an official “Tweeter” on Twitter. It’s a great way to get your name out there, especially on this newest marketing medium. If you are interested, contact Megan Miller at president[at]jetaany[dot]org.
There ‘n Back Again: **** Toner
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There ‘n Back Again shares the cultural re-adjustment reflections of Brendan Share (Niigata-shi 2006-07), the program director for Japan America Learning Centerhttp://www.japanamericacenter.com. in Scarsdale, NY. In addition to writing, Brendan also enjoys depicting idioms in cartoon format which can be seen at
So I’m at work this morning flipping through heaps of student lesson plans when a shrieking cat masquerading as my colleague’s voice leaps at me from the front office. After pulling out my trusty Japanese to English dictionary I was able to paste together an interesting semblance of terms, the majority of which were not that flowery in retrospect. It panned out as follows:
“Who forgot to order **** toner for the **** copy machine??!!”
しまった。。
Seriously, she’s sweet, but the cursing…
Anyway, toner tends to fall by the wayside when the task of getting 45 kids to pass the STEP Eiken test in June looms overhead. Even still I blinked and found myself cast back into the shadowy halls of Maki Nishi Junior High School. I started to get the feeling that I had not learned some valuable lesson…
Suzanne Kamata
**********************
Cristy Burne (Hyogo-ken, Kawanishi-shi, 1998-2000), author of the soon-to-be-released children’s book Takeshita Demons, has a really nice interview on her blog with Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90), who lives in Japan and is the editor of LiteraryMama as well as the author of books such as Losing Kei and Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering (which recently won several prizes in the 2009 Indie Book Awards including the Grand Prize for non-fiction overall).
(For all you translators out there lookng for an interesting project, you may notice Suzanne’s comment that none of her books have been translated into Japanese yet. Perhaps a future JET alum collaboration to come?)
Go here for the full interview: http://cristyburne.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/american-writer-in-japan-suzanne-kamata-
Cristy Burne
on-diversity-writing-and-winning-the-indie-book-awards/
- Also, another JET alum writer, Liz Sheffield (Hokkaio-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95), has an interview with Suzanne about the book on her blog motherlogue.wordpress.com.
- To learn more about Suzanne you can visit her website at http://www.suzannekamata.com or her blog at http://gaijinmama.wordpress.com (RSS feed here).
- Read an interview with Suzanne Kamata on children’s books and diversity by the blog Kabiliana.
- Go to the Authors/Books section of the JetWit Library to see a complete list of JET alum authors (at least to JetWit’s knowledge).
J-News Mini-Roundup: Policy Reactions to the Swine Flu in Japan
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
Background With the threat of the Swine Flu unabated in Japan, government agencies are going to great lengths to come up with forward-thinking policies to prevent an overall pandemic. Both on a local and national level Japan is rethinking its quarantine and treatment practices. Each newspaper reported a different policy being taken by taken by each level of government.
Asahi “The National Response: Split by Region” The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced its policy of a splitting the country by region if the flu is to spread further. According to the Ministry this policy would give them “room to maneuver” in their policy reactions per region. The regions suggested would be “Confirmed Region”, “Infected Region”, and “Unborn Region”. The unborn region is a region where no cases of the flu have yet been reported. The confirmed region is a region where cases of the flu have been reported, but only one by one, where the spread from person to person within that area has not yet occurred. The Infected Region is a region where it’s spreading from person to person. A statement from a ministry official said “we’re trying to revamp our policies this week as much as possible.”
Nikkei “New Policy for Small Hospitals” Within infected regions such as Kobe City, the Japanese government is looking into a policy …
(Click HERE to read the rest of the post)
