Update: Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99)
Article/Journalism, Blogs, Books, Japan Trends, Roland Kelts, Writers 
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After chaperoning Pete Townsend and The Who around Japan for a couple weeks, having a press conference with Hayao Miyazaki and interviewing both Murakamis (Haruki and Ryu), Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99) pauses to reflect on the interactions as well as some new perspectives on “pop culture” in his latest SOFT POWER, HARD TRUTHS column in the Daily Yomiuri.
Update: I just learned from Roland that the radio discussion listed below will actually not air this week.
You can also hear Roland on NPR’s “The World” this Thursday (i.e., tomorrow) for a program about the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in the US.
JETAA NY Karaoke tonight
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For anyone who can’t make the Quarterly Development Meeting tonight (or just likes karaoke with the JET crowd), there’s a karaoke gathering tonight starting around 9pm following the Development meeting.
Location: Sing Sing on St Marks St (between 2nd & 3rd Aves)
Cost: $19/person for 2 hrs
Time: After the Meeting ends around 9pm, for about 2 hours
Job: HR/Operations Coordinator/Manager for tech company (DC area)
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Saw this on the JETAA DC yahoogroup:
Jennie Gold, Kagawa ’01-’03 writes:
Hiring an HR/Operations Coordinator/Manager for our Chantilly office
My company (silasg.com) is seeking an energetic professional with 2-7 years of experience who is looking for a place where they can have a greater impact and be rewarded for top performance with accelerated career growth. This is a great opportunity to get your feet wet in a lot of different areas.
Job Description
This is a unique opportunity to assume a full range of responsibilities across key functional areas including, but not limited to: human resources, resource management, recruiting, corporate communications, and business operations, while learning the technology business from the ground up. As the business grows you will have the opportunity to assume a more specialized role and ownership over a key function within the business. Read More
Noriko Furuhata, the JET Coordinator at the Consulate General of Japan in New York, recently explained to me the term shiwasu, which literally means “teachers run around” and refers to December being an extremely busy month as everyone tries to finish up everything they need to do before year’s end.
Feel free to post comments if you have additional perspective on this term.
I’m just wondering how I made it through 3+ years in Japan and 7 years of JET alumni involvement without ever previously hearing about this. :-)
Writing Opportunity: Japan-US Business News
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Friend of JetWit Yvonne Burton is looking for JET alums and non-JET alums to write about their practical business experiences with Japan for Japan-US Business News.
www.Japanusbusinessnews.com is an online forum for news, discussion and advertising for the Japan-US business community. I am looking for people with practical experience working with Japanese people and/or companies to write their stories.
I usually write these types of stories as case studies. For example: client/company had this challenge/issue or this is what came up when I worked with a Japanese company. This is how I helped them resolve problem or this is how I handled what came up and finally lessons learned–this way the articles are educational as well.
In exchange for writing for www.Japanusbusinessnews.com, you will receive:
- Free publicity by having your article on the blog and then archived on the blog
- Your brief bio below your article
- Link to your website or blog
If you are interested, please email me at: yvonne /atto/ burtonconsulting /dotto/ biz.
Kinokuniya (NY) to host George Hirose – Night Light – Fri. Dec 5
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Kinokuniya Book Store (6th Ave between 40th & 41st Sts.) will be hosting the George Hirose: Night Light – Images from Japan, New York exhibit from December 5-30, with a special reception and book signing on Friday, December 5 from 5:30-8:00 p.m.
The reception will also feature a live performance of traditional Okinawan music by KOSSAN (who plays for the popular and exuberant chindon band HappyFunSmile for which George has done photography work and is a big fan.)
Jameri-pop?
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I was listening to NY-based band HappyFunSmile on my iShuffle on my subway commute home last night, and it hit me that bands like HappyFunSmile, Gaijin-a-Go-Go, Soh Daiko (of which Ariel Shearman (Ichikawa-ken, 1994-97) is a member) and perhaps others seem to be part of a trend that could be called “Jameri-pop,” i.e., a hybrid of US and Japanese culture, though perhaps with an ironic sense more typical in U.S. culture than Japanese. Sort of a twist on Roland Kelts‘ Japanamerica concept.
I’m guessing someone somewhere has already discussed and described this trend, though I Googled the word “jameripop” and nothing came up. Maybe it’s just a New York thing at this point in time, given the high concentration of young Japanese people in a city already known for setting trends. I don’t travel around to other parts of the U.S. enough to know.
Do you have other examples of “Jameri-pop?” Send an e-mail to jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com.
Here’s a sample of HappyFunSmile from a performance at the Knitting Factory in NYC:
Translators Mini-Challenge is a new arbitrarily recurring feature presented by professional translator, interpreter and writer Kia Cheleen (CIR, Aichi-ken 1996-98, ALT 1998-1999).
Update: The winner is Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken, 2003-06)
Welcome to the first-ever JetWit Translators Mini-Challenge! The first person to respond by email to jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com with the correct English translation of the below Japanese term will win a free Gaijin-a-Go-Go CD (Go-Go Bootcamp)!
*******
凸凹（でこぼこ）
*******
ANSWER: uneven, rough, rugged, bumpy
Stay tuned for the next Mini-Challenge!
Job: Position Opening at the Japan-America Society (D.C.)
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Position Opening at the Japan-America Society
Mon Dec 1, 2008 7:25 pm (PST)
Japan-America Society Seeks an Assistant for the 2009 Japan Bowl
The Japan-America Society is now taking applications for a temporary position opening from mid-January to mid-April 2009 to assist the Director of the National Japan Bowl to prepare and run the 2009 competition. Read More
Job: Part-time book buyer/seller for Kinokuniya (Seattle)
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Just saw this on the JETAA Pacific Northwest email group:
PART-TIME BOOK BUYER/SELLER for KINOKUNIYA (Seattle)
Minimum Qualifications:
*Good communication skills; fluent English both in speaking
and writing.
*Japanese proficiency is not necessary, but must be
interested in Asian culture and languages.
*Must be able to work flexible hours; 3-4 times a week
including weekends; no more than 30 hours a week
*Must be able to make at lease 6 month commitment to
the position.
*Legal to work in the U.S. (no internship/practica l visa.)
Please submit your resume to: seattle /atto/ kinokuniya /dotto/ com
Deadline: Dec 20, 2008
KINOKUNIYA BOOKSTORES, SEATTLE STORE, 525 S WELLER ST, SEATTLE, WA 98104
Monday-Saturday 10AM-9PM; Sunday 10AM-8PM P.S.T.
Is author David Mitchell a JET alum?
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Can anyone confirm whether award-winning author David Mitchell is an alumni of the JET Program? His Wikipedia entry and other info on the web make clear that he lived in Hiroshima for 8 years and taught English at a technical school. Just trying to confirm whether he’s a JET alum.
E-mail any info to jetwit /atto/ jetwit /dotto/ com.
FYI, he is the author of (among other things) Ghostwritten (1999), number9dream (2001), and CloudAtlas (2004).
INTERVIEWING IN N. AMERICA FOR ALT POSITIONS COMMENCING IN MARCH/APRIL 2009
Interac Co., Ltd., Japan’s leading private provider of Assistant Language Teachers to the Japanese public schooling system, is accepting applications from motivated and committed educators currently residing N. America to join our team of over 1,700 teaching professionals for positions commencing in March/April 2009.
If you love working with kids ranging in age from elementary to junior high school, have a passion for teaching, a willingness to adapt to a culture that is different from yours, and wish to expand your horizons and teaching skills by working in the public schooling system in Japan as an ALT, then you are the candidate we are looking for.
Based out of its head office in Tokyo and its eight branch offices located throughout Japan, Interac’s staff of approximately 1,700 ALTs are now working in locations throughout Japan. Read More
JETAA Chapter Beat – 12.01.08
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Freelance writer/editor Jonathan Trace (Fukuoka-ken, 2005-08) takes us on a walk around the JET community…
- Sunday, December 14 – Bonnenkai. 6:00 p.m. at Tono Sushi, $20 for JETs and $25 for everyone else.
- Tuesday, December 2nd – Konwakai business meeting on “How to address conflicts between American upper management and Japanese headquarters.” 6:10 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the Consuate General of Japan.
- Friday, December 5th – Happy Hour at Daisy Buchanan’s.
- Saturday, December 6th – An outing to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts(MFA) and dinner at Sake Japanese. Join the JASM (Japan America Society of Maine) at 2:00 p.m. for a look around the MFA. $15.00 entry fee for the museum.
- Tuesday, December 16th – JETAA Monthly Meeting
- Every Thursday Free Japanese Class
- Thursday, December 4th – PNWJETAA Executive Advisory Group meeting. 6:00 p.m. at Wann Izakaya.
- Saturday, December 6 – Bonnenkai. 6:30 p.m. at Bush Garden. $12 per person. Bring a gift to participate in the White Elephant Gift Exchange. RSVP as seating is limited.
- Sunday, December 21 – Sing for Christmas Service at the Christ United Presbyterian Church(CUPC) Choir. Practices on Dec. 5, 12, and 19th at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, December 13th – Bonnenkai. 7:00 p.m. at the Wakatay Restaurant. $10 for JET Alums, $15 for Friends of the JET Program. Bring a wrapped gift (value $10-15) to participate in the “White Elephant” gift exchange.
- Tuesday, December 2nd – Informal Pub Supper with Ambassador Ebihara. 7:00 p.m. at The Penderel’s Oak. £10 for members of the Japan Society and JETAA.
- Wednesday, December 3rd – Annual Chapter Meeting followed by food. 7:00-8:00 p.m. at the Japan Local Government Centre.
- Friday, December 12 – Bonnenkai. 7:30 p.m. $20 for JETAA Members and JALTs, $55 for all others. Drinks not included. RSVP as seats will be limited.
- Movember – Ewan Morris, one of the JETAA Canberra committee members is participating in Movember this year and has asked JETAA members to support him. Movember is an organization to raise money for awareness of men’s health issues – namely depression and prostate cancer – through the lovely art of moustache growing. Click to donate to a good cause.
- Tuesday, December 2nd – Free public workshop entitled Japan’s Gateway to the West: The Nagasaki Foreign Settlement 1859-1941 by Professor Brian Burke-Gaffney. 5:00 p.m. at the National Library of Australia(NLA), Ferguson Room, 1st Floor.
- Wednesday, January 28th – Kodo “One Earth Tour” Taiko concert at the Orpheum Theatre. 8:00 p.m. From now until December 31st there is a special 15% discount on tickets when you order online using the code ODAIKO
What happened at your chapter’s event? If you attend(ed) any of these exciting events, JetWit would love to hear about them. Just email Jonathan Trace with any info, stories or comments.
Job: Freelance writers needed (Tokyo)
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Interesting job listing from Craigslist Tokyo. Reminds me of the Tom Lehrer line about a certain doctor specializing in “diseases of the rich.”
Freelance writers needed (Tokyo)
Reply to: job-935865525@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-11-27, 4:27PM JT
New bi-monthly magazine looking for freelance writers. The magazine will target wealthy and successful foreigners in Japan and will include topics such as business, politics and culture or anything that might interest the readers. The language will be English.
Reply with a short description of your past experience and an sample of your previous work.
We will also consider Japanese writers even if the English ability is not entirely perfect. We will spell-check and rewrite together with you.
I just learned about another JET alum author named Rob Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), currently a resident of Toronto, thanks to JETAA DC newsletter chair Gina Anderson (Nara-ken, 2003-05).
Rob is the author of Zorgamazoo, a “rhyming, rhythmical tale of Katrina, a girl with a big heart and an even bigger imagination” published this year by Penguin Books and available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Powells.
If the website for the book (www.zorgamazoo.com) is any indication, then the book seems like an exceedingly fun read for adults as well as children. (Plus, I read the free excerpt and it turns out it is as fun as the website.)
You can also follow Rob’s blog at wayofthewest.wordpress.com
FYI, to see a list of all JET alum authors (of which JetWit is aware), go to jetwit.com/wordpress/library/authorsbooks. And if you know of any others, be a good JET alum and send an e-mail to jetwit /att/ jetwit /dotto/ com.
