NPR Talks to Roland Kelts About Haruki Murakami
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Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99) just got back to Tokyo and shared this NPR clip about Haruki Murakami which includes some comments from Roland. Have a listen.
WITLife – Episode #1
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WITLife is a periodic post by Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).
Since becoming a freelance translator/interpreter/writer, one of the new opportunities that I have enjoyed the most has been interpreting for the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP: http://exchanges.state.gov/ivlp/ivlp.html).
The IVLP is an exchange program designed to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other countries through carefully designed visits that reflect the participants’ professional interests and support U.S. foreign policy goals. For participants, it involves meeting and conferring with professional counterparts and gaining an appreciation of the ethnic, cultural, political and socio-economic diversity of the U.S.
Participants are established or potential foreign opinion makers in government, public policy, media, education, labor, the arts and other key fields, and they are selected by American embassies abroad. Since its inception in 1940, over 135,000 people have participated in the program, and in 2007 over 4000 IVs came over on 900 projects of various themes. 65 IVLP alumni are current Chiefs of State/Heads of Government, including Taiwan President Ma Ying-Jeou. However, while they are here all IVs are considered “honorary Americans.” This means that no matter how highly ranked they are back home, during this program in our egalitarian country everyone is of equal status. This certainly takes a bit of pressure off the lowly interpreter!
My first assignment was in September for two Japanese men studying the theme of Planning for Crises: Disasters and Pandemics. Read More
Job: State Dept, English Language Training Program
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From JETAA DC
Job: State Department, English Language Training Program
Mon Oct 27, 2008 3:18 pm (PDT)
Please contact Christine with any further questions.
We are about to launch a huge project with the State Department and they are interested in hiring a project manager for administering an English Language training program with us. Below are the details for the job:
Project Manager for ELLC
Duties and Responsibilities of the Position (Tasks) Read More
We’d like to introduce JetWit (nickname: A.J.) , the new mascot for JetWit.com, created by Zi Mei (Saitama-ken, 2002-05)!
Below the jump, Zi Mei explains the origin of the nickname “A.J.” and shares an early sketch: Read More
New Bankruptcy Comic Strip by JET Alum Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94)
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Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) (i.e., the guy who does this JetWit site) has launched a new comic strip about bankruptcy lawyers called Bankruptcy Bill. The first two strips are viewable at bankruptcybill.wordpress.com. Also, The Deal’s Bankruptcy Insider ran a nice item on the cartoon in this week’s issue (subscription required).
Daily Yomiuri Column by Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99)
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There’s a new Daily Yomiuri column out today by Japanamerica author Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99). In his periodic column (“Soft Power/Hard Truths”), he comments on American perceptions of Japan and of foreigners, touching on his recent on-stage interview with Haruki Murakami in San Francisco as well as the recent matchup of the Rays’ Akinori Iwamura against the Red Sox Hideki Okajima.
Job opening for School Program Coordinator/ Office Manager in DC at the Japanese Embassy\’s Japan Information and Culture Center, posted to the JETAA DC grouplist by Melissa Chasse (Gifu-ken, 2003-07), the Press Relations Officer at the Japan Information and Culture Center(JICC) , Embassy of Japan. Read More
Japan’s Newspapers
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Interesting article from the Washington Post by Blaine Harden (with contributions from Akiko Yamato) on the newspaper business in Japan, for anyone interested or working in journalism in Japan. The gist of it is that while the newspaper business has been undermined by the internet, it’s been supported by the large number of older folks who all prefer newspapers to the internet and therefore there aren’t that many young readers to lose.
Electric Chair Bear
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Click here to see a recent blog post from Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken, 2004-06) on the Electric Chair Bear project he’s working on with his classmates. Lee-Sean, who is the JETAA NY webmaster as well as the JetWit.com webmaster, is currently doing grad work in alternative media at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) which requires a great deal of blogging on topics that are simultaneously fascinating and completely esoteric.
This is a little off-topic, but I suppose I can justify it on the basis that celebrities doing commercials in Japan are cultural ambassadors just like JETs.
I had no idea that Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Ben Stiller and some of the others had ever done commercials in Japan. Click here to see the Top 21 from The Popcorn Trick. Thanks to Alexei Esikoff (Fukushima-ken, 2001-02) for making me aware of the existence of this vital site.
Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) snapped this photo of Iron Chef Morimoto holding the Summer 2008 “Sports” Issue of the JETAA NY Newsletter a few weeks ago at a signing event at the Anime Festival at the Javits Center in NYC. Major props to Justin for the foresight and planning to get this shot.
Interview with Roland Kelts in Consulate e-Newsletter
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I get the Consulate of Japan’s (NY) monthly e-newsletter, and in the October issue I noticed they have a nice interview with Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99) about Japanese pop culture and his book Japanamerica.
Published by the Consulate General of Japan in New York / Japan Information Center
Japanese Pop Culture
Japanese pop culture, such as manga (comic books) and anime (animation), is attracting more and more people outside of Japan. In the following interview, Mr. Roland Kelts, half-Japanese American writer and lecturer, tells us about his observation on this phenomenon as well as his teaching experience in Japan.
JIC (Japan Information Center) : Your position as a resident of Tokyo and New York is unique. What do you see happening now from your vantage?
Mr. Kelts : I think both countries are undergoing severe transitions. America is losing its central place in the world’s imagination. And Japan is finding its current position, as America’s ‘little brother,’ to borrow Takashi Murakami’s term, untenable. A lot of people are looking to Japan for guidance, and Asia is rising fast. Japan needs to understand and accept its own unique strengths.
JIC : But you also teach Japanese students about their own culture-as a half-Japanese American. What do they tell you?
Mr. Kelts : In Japan, a lot of my students are stunned to learn that foreigners care about their cultural products. They (my students), know they’re cool-but they don’t care that much, because they are sincerely worried about their futures. They think that Japan is over, finished, and they are amazed to find that young Americans think they are the hottest culture in the world. Read More
Welcome to JetWit.com (beta version)
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Welcome to JetWit.com. 
There may still be some tweaks and changes to come, especially if anyone has any comments or suggestions. But have a look around and see what you think.
Steven Horowitz
stevenwaseda /at/ jetwit /dot/ com
Essay Request: Alone in the Kitchen with a Rice Cooker
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I’m looking for people interested in writing essays on the theme: Alone in the Kitchen with a Rice Cooker
The idea is to write an essay (any length or “shortness” is ok) about cooking for yourself (or could be eating by yourself) when you lived in Japan. The focus, however, is intended to be on the theme of being alone in Japan viewed through the prism of cooking/eating. It’s just about whatever you liked to do (or found yourself doing) cooking-wise when you were alone and how that ties into the rest of your experience in Japan. Feel free to focus exclusively on the food, or feel free to use the food as a jumping-off point for other things. If you want to include a recipe for whatever food you describe, that would be a nice touch as well.
The idea is derived from book of published essays entitled Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant (a good read in itself). I think the essays on this topic will offer some very interesting and readable perspectives on the JET Program, on Japan, on cooking and on the theme of being alone.
Deadline is open. Just send an email to express your intent to write an essay.
Contact: Steven Horowitz at stevenwaseda ,at, jetwit , com
Job: Associate Director for Program Development
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Interested applicants should apply on-line at: www.columbia.edu/cu/jobs
More information about the position below. Read More
