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Following the success of the inaugural Japan Matsuri in 2009 London's Spitalfields Market will again be host to the culture, food, performance and a variety of activities relating to Japan. Taking place on 18 September 2010 the full festival program and directions to the event can be found here.

Members of JETAA UK will be running a stall promoting the JET programme (while no doubt trying to sneak away and gorge on some delicious food). If you would like to contribute a few hours to help out on the day please contact Vanessa at londoncomms@jetaa.org.uk

You can also follow Japan Matsuri on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/japanmatsuri

The Japan Society is currently looking for participants in the following:

• Love karaoke?  Join the fun of the 'Nodojiman' singing competition!
• JETAA members may also like to enter the game character design competition
• Cosplay costume languishing in the closet?  Now's the time to show it off with pride at the Japan Matsuri Cosplay event...

To get a flavour of the event here is a short highlight reel from the 2009 festival

As many of the world's leading economies grapple with their massive debts, the Japanese Government (under Hatoyama's leadership) began a review of its public spending in November 2009. The aim was to identify areas of bloated spending in government programmes to cut.

The JET Programme came under scrutiny from the jigyoshiwake budget review panel on 21st May. Particular focus was given to the role of ALTs and the effectiveness of the programme during the hour-long hearing, which ruled that a comprehensive evaluation of the programme should be undertaken.

JETAA UK understand that there is no immediate threat to the Programme. Reforms have been proposed which include a 15% slimmer budget for this fiscal year. However, news of the jigyoshiwake has triggered debate amongst local education boards in Japan, Japanese academics, the Japanese media and current and former JET teachers as to value of the programme. Eric Johnston and Kanako Nakamura considered the case for and against the JET Programme in a recent article for the Japan Times.

JETAA New York, with the support of other International JETAA chapters are embarking on an initiative to more effectively promote some of the non-educational benefits of the programme. In a recent Associated Press article by Tomoko Hosaka, published by Yahoo USA the Japan Times and several US newspapers, they emphasised the cultural benefits of the programme. It highlighted examples of former participants who have authored books on Japan or encouraged other forms of grassroots cultural exchange after their placements.

There are many similar examples from former UK Alumni, such as award winning English author David Chandler. If you have any examples of how former UK JETs have promoted continuing Anglo-Japanese cultural ties, please get in contact with your stories and accounts.

Myriad Leaves is the journal of JLGC London. It is a bi-monthly publication featuring articles on Japanese local government, as well as features on activities and projects by JLGC in the UK promoting internationalisation.

The full magazine can be downloaded from here:
http://www.jlgc.org.uk/en/pdfs/ML71_2010_July.pdf

Alternatively, the JETAA article is attached to this page.

Representatives from JETAA UK, CLAIR and the Embassy of Japan recently met in London to pick the winning entries for our JETAA @ 20 Photo competition. We had over 50 entries in total.Many thanks to all of you who submitted your photos. We received some great entries - some of which we intend to exhibit at the JETAA International Conference in Edinburgh in October.

The winners from each category will recieve a £50 shopping voucher for M&S. The winners are as follows;

SCENIC JAPAN

Winning Photo: Misaka Toge (御坂峠)
Taken By: Matt Young

Matt's photo is a view of Mt. Fuji taken from Misaka Toge (御坂峠), which is "behind" Mt. Fuji beyond Lake Kawaguchi. The photo combines the glorious weather with the red autumn leaves.

Click here to see the photo!

INTERNATIONALISATION ON THE JET PROGRAMME

Winning Photo: Kishiwada
Taken By: Clare Lunk

In Clare's photo Rebecca Hillis (CIR) is shaking hands with local Kishiwada Danjiri Participants in 2006.

Click here to see the photo!

JETAA @ 20!

The deadline for this category has been extended given the low volume of entries relative to the other categories. Details of a winner for this category will be announced soon.

Please find below the 2009/2010 edition of the CLAIR JET Alumni Association newsletter "JET Streams". CLAIR were unable to send the newsletter out directly to JET alumni this year, so have asked JETAA to forward it on to you.

From next year's edition, CLAIR hopes to return to the previous system of sending it directly to JET alumni by email.

To celebrate our twentieth anniversary, the UK JET Alumni Association we are running a photo competition open to all former participants of the programme. There are three categories. The winning photo from each category will win £50 of M&S vouchers!

The categories are:

* 20 Years of JETAA in the UK

Photos from JETAA events from the various chapters across the UK

* Internationalisation on the JET Programme

Photos relating to Internationalisation in Japan through participation in the JET Programme.

* Scenic Japan

Scenic photos depicting Japanese life, culture, building or landscape.

It is intended that the shortlisted photos will be exhibited later this year at events to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Alumni Association in the UK. We especially encourage entries for the 20 Years of JETAA in the UK entry for which we have had fewer entries than other categories so far.

Competition Rules
1. All entries must be recieved by 1st July 2010.
2. The competition is only open to former participants of the JET Programme who live in the UK.
3. Judges decision is final.
4. Only 2 entries allowed per entrant in each category.
5. Entrants agree to allow their photo sto be reproduced at a JETAA AT 20 photo exhibition. They may also be published on jetaa.org.uk.
6. All photos submitted must have been taken by the entrant.

How to Participate

Please send your entries via e-mail to: competitions@jetaa.org.uk.

Please include;

* The title of the category you are entering each photo for
* Your full name
* Whether you were an ALT/CIR/SEA
* What years you participated on the programme
* What prefecture you were based in
* A caption describing the photo (context, location, people depicted, etc)

Please note, we cannot accept entries which do not include all of the information requested above.

Good luck!

The JETAA Alumni Committee

The Canon Foundation in Europe grants up to 15 Research Fellowships annually to highly qualified European and Japanese researchers.

Candidates should hold a doctorate or at least a Master’s degree. They are eligible during the ten-year period following the successful completion of their Ph.D or MA degree. Extensions to the ten-year rule are possible in principle in case of exceptional circumstances which should be explained in the application and supporting documents are required. Non-nationals have to have a permanent citizenship in either Europe or Japan.

The European Fellowship holders pursue a period of research in Japan whereas the Japanese Fellows do their research at host institutions in Europe. The Fellowships are awarded for periods of a minimum three months and maximum of one year. Applications for Research Fellowships in all fields of research are welcome.

The aim of the Foundation is to contribute to international understanding, in particular between Europe and Japan.

The deadline for the year 2010 is 15 September 2010.

Please check our website for the most up-to-date conditions and for application forms and other information at www.canonfoundation.org

This event - generously hosted by the Embassy of Japan - will showcase the achievements of schools participating in the Japan Webpage Contest. You will be able to enjoy webpage demonstrations by representatives from prize-winning schools, and the event will conclude with a reception. We hope you will join us in celebrating these schools' achievements!

The event is open to all and free to attend but booking is essential as places are limited. To reserve your place, please call 020 7436 6698 or email kim.woodruff@jpf.org.uk, stating your name, email address, and contact telephone number. Students are welcome to attend, but must be accompanied by an adult.

Please note you will be asked to show photographic ID upon arrival at the embassy.

You can see the full results of the contest and visit all of the wonderful webpage entries here: http://www.japanwebpagecontest.org.uk/entries

Date: 14 June 2010 from 6.30pm
Venue: Embassy of Japan, 101-104 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7JT

See here for more information:
http://www.jpf.org.uk/whatson.php?department=language#234

2010 marks the twentieth anniversary of the UK JET Alumni Association (JETAA-UK.) Over the last two decades, JETAA has sought to provide assistance, advice and support to former participants of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. It has also endeavoured to maintain and develop grassroots cultural links with Japanese organisations and promote the JET Programme and similar educational exchanges between the United Kingdom and Japan.

In the two decades since its establishment, 95,000 people have participated on the JET Programme, including 17,500 from the United Kingdom. The majority of participants are placed in elementary, junior and senior schools as teaching assistants, with others fulfilling roles as Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs) in local governments and boards of education.

Over 5,000 former participants of the programme are members of the JETAA-UK and can take part in events organised nationally and locally by our six regional chapters in London, the Midlands, Wales, North West England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Our annual activities include hosting a Careers Information Day for returning JETs, promoting Japan at the annual Spitalfields Japanese festival in London, promoting the JET Programme at universities and organising local pre-departure events for future participants.

Further information about our history and plans to mark our twentieth anniversary can be found here.