Job Opening: Secretary to the Consul General, Consulate General of Japan in Detroit

Posted on March 9, 2014 by LM

job opening - 5Via the Great Lakes JETAA Facebook page.
Institution: Consulate General of Japan in Detroit
Location: Detroit, MI
Education: Associate’s degree or above
Deadline: March 12, 2014

Currently the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit has a job opening for “Secretary to the Consul General”. The main duty of the secretary would be handling the Consul General’s appointment scheduling and daily activities, but candidates will be required to perform other duties as assigned.

Job Information:

Position will be open and begin April 1, 2014
Working Hours: Mon-Fri 9:00am to 5:00pm
Candidates must meet the following requirements:

  • Native English Speaker
  • Japanese conversation skills are appreciated
  • Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and other computer applications
  • Graduate of Community College or above
  • Training and work experience as a secretary is appreciated
  • Resident of Michigan
  • Strong work ethic, flexibility, and multi-tasking skills desired

The deadline for application is March 12, 2014.

See full details on the Consulate General website.

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Book Announcement: Meiji Restoration Losers: Memory and Tokugawa Supporters in Modern Japan

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Paula

MeijiMeiji Restoration Losers: Memory and Tokugawa Supporters in Modern Japan, published through the Harvard Asia Center, is now available.

This book is about the “losers” of the Meiji Restoration and the supporters who promoted their legacy. Although the violence of the Meiji Restoration is typically downplayed, the trauma was real, and those who felt marginalized from the mainstream throughout modern Japan looked to these losers as models of action. Using a wide range of sources, from essays by former Tokugawa supporters like Fukuzawa Yukichi to postwar film and “lost decade” manga, Michael Wert traces the shifting portrayals of Restoration losers. By highlighting the overlooked sites of memory such as legends about buried gold, the awarding of posthumous court rank, or fighting over a disembodied head, Wert illustrates how the process of commemoration and rehabilitation allows individuals a voice in the formation of national history. He argues that the commingling of local memory activists with nationally known politicians, academics, writers, and treasure hunters formed interconnecting memory landscapes that promoted local figures as potential heroes in modern Japan.

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Fun Link Friday: Map Design by Yoshida Hatsusaburo

Posted on March 7, 2014 by LM

Spoon & Tamago has a feature on the cartographer Yoshida Hatsusaburo (1884-1955) and his gorgeous, detailed maps. I love the Taisho- and early Showa-era design work on these, and how much they look like real towns instead of a contemporary “flat” map.

Yoshida's map of Gifu, via Spoon & Tamago

Yoshida’s map of Gifu, via Spoon & Tamago

Yoshida’s birthday was March 4, and there was a Google doodle on google.co.jp in his honor.

Check out more on Yoshida and his maps on Spoon & Tamago. Check out more of his work at the Maps Communications Museum‘s (地図の資料館) website (Japanese).

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Job Opening: World (and Asian) History

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Paula

job opening - 5Institution:  Trent University, History
Location:   Ontario, Canada
Position:   Assistant Professor; World History – Nine-month limited term appointment – 2014-15

Asia, Africa, Middle East, Atlantic World, or World expansion/exploration (Oshawa campus):  The Department of History at Trent University invites applications for a nine month limited term position, subject to budgetary approval. The successful candidate will teach a first year introduction to world history, a second year survey course (for example, Asian History, African History, History of the Middle East, Atlantic world, or World expansion, depending on the specialty of the candidate), and a more specialized third year course. Area and theme of specialization are open. Trent in Oshawa is a rapidly growing satellite program that has recently moved to a new campus.

This position will be effective from 1 August 2014, subject to budgetary approval, and is at the assistant professor level for which a PhD in History is expected by the time of appointment. The Department of History combines strong research with an emphasis on high quality teaching.

We ask that all application materials be sent electronically.  Please send applications, including curriculum vitae and copies of teaching evaluations if available, to historyjobs@trentu.ca and arrange to have three letters of reference sent to the same email address. The application deadline is Wednesday, April 30, 2014.

Trent University is actively committed to creating a diverse and inclusive campus community and encourages applications from qualified candidates from the following groups: women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, and Aboriginal persons.

In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

Contact:
We ask that all application materials be sent electronically.  Please send applications, including curriculum vitae and copies of teaching evaluations if available, to historyjobs@trentu.ca and arrange to have three letters of reference sent to the same email address. The application deadline is Wednesday, April 30, 2014.

Website: http://www.trentu.ca/history/

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Job Opening: Reischauer Policy Research Fellow, Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at SAIS Johns Hopkins University

Posted on March 5, 2014 by LM

job opening - 5Institution: Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at SAIS Johns Hopkins University
Location: Washington, DC
Education: 4-year degree
Posted Feb. 28, 2014

Job Description:

Reischauer Policy Research Fellows assist the Director of the Reischauer Center personally on research projects of the Center, including, but not limited to: the functioning of Washington’s “idea industry”; US-Japan relations; the role of cities in global governance; comparative Eurasian political economy; East Asian regionalism; energy policy; and comparative public-health issues.

Fellows also assist in organizing a rigorous and substantive seminar series for the Reischauer Center, focusing on finding best-practice solutions through comparative public-policy analysis for emerging energy and health-care issues. They also assist in developing a web-based system for diffusing ideas generated by the Reischauer Center on a global basis, and perform other research and policy analysis as appropriate.

Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree or higher in International Relations, Political Science, East Asian Studies, Economics or related social science field required
  • Deep interest in East Asia Studies
  • Exceptional writing, editing and research skills
  • Exceptional computer skills, including fluency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and online academic databases
  • Attention to detail and organizational skills desirable
  • Ability to perform under pressure desirable
  • Ability to work independently and in a team setting desirable
  • Fluency in Korean or Japanese or both desirable

See full details on Idealist.org.

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Job Opening: Full Time Japan Travel Consultant, InsideJapan Tours

Posted on March 4, 2014 by LM

job opening - 5Company: InsideJapan Tours
Location: Boulder, CO
Education: not listed
Deadline: March 30, 2014

About Us

InsideJapan Asia Tours is a young and dynamic travel company with two brands; InsideJapan Tours and InsideVietnam Tours. Originating in the UK we also have an office in Japan, and in 2010 opened our first US branch in Boulder, Colorado. We organize small group tours and tailored packages for private clients and third-party travel agents. Our pioneering North American branch is small but our client base is strong and ever expanding. As an operator specializing in only two destinations coupled with our ground handling office in Japan, we are in a unique position in the market.

We are currently recruiting for a Japan travel consultant for the InsideJapan Tours brand.

InsideJapan Tours’ strengths are:

• The passion of our staff for all things Japanese
• An unrivalled expertise in travelling around Japan
• An understanding of what foreign visitors want out of a trip to Japan
• A flexible and innovative approach to putting together holiday packages

InsideAsia Tours is a member is AITO (The Association of Independent Tour Operators) and fully bonded with ABTOT. The company holds an ATOL licence for flight inclusive packages. In 2010 the company won the prestigious Guardian Travel Award in the Best Small Tour Operator category and in 2011 received a gold award at the British Travel Awards for best Independent Tour Operator to East and Central Asia.

Our offices are hard working and fast paced but friendly and welcoming – we are a genuine team and the work that everyone puts in to moving the company forward is valued and rewarded. Our work is challenging but rewarding and you will be making a genuine difference to our clients’ vacation experience.

The Position

This is a Japan sales-related position based in our US office in Boulder. You will be responsible for ensuring our customers have the best possible Japan holiday experience. There may be opportunities to travel to Japan for research.

Your principal duties will be:

• Designing, creating and selling tailored holidays and tours of Japan
• Responding to customer enquiries by e-mail and telephone
• Working to achieve specific sales targets, both individually and as a team
• Selling to both direct customers and travel agents
• Researching, developing and improving our huge range of products and services
• Preparing and sending out travel documents and tickets
• Promoting our products and services, both to direct customers and travel agents
• General office duties and other duties as may arise from time to time

You must be able to demonstrate:

• Experience of living and working in Japan (or significant time spent in Japan)
• A passion for Japan as a travel destination and the desire to help others discover the country
• Basic Japanese language skills
• Right to work in the US (visa sponsorship is NOT available)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Good time-management and organisational skills
• Core IT skills; proficiency in Microsoft Word & Excel

The following skills/experience will be advantageous:

• Experience of working within the travel industry
• Extensive travel experience in Japan
• Sales experience
• Intermediate/advanced Japanese language skills
• Intermediate/advanced IT skills
• Experience of travelling in Indochina

Full training is provided both in-house and externally.

Full details and application on InsideJapan Tours’ posting. Via LinkedIn.

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Conference: Asian Studies Conference Japan (ASCJ), June 21-22, 2014

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Paula

call for papers [150-2]Online Registration: Asian Studies Conference Japan (ASCJ), June 21-22

Early Bird online registration for ASCJ 2013 begins on February 20.
Please see registration details below.

All scholars of Asia are invited to attend the eighteenth annual meeting of the Asian Studies Conference Japan (ASCJ) which will be held on the campus of Sophia University, Tokyo on June 21-22, 2014.

The list of accepted panels and individual papers, registration materials and other information are posted on the ASCJ website: http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~ascj/  The conference will consist of approximately 45 sessions (panels, roundtable, and individual paper sessions) that address a broad range of themes relating to Asian Studies.

All sessions are conducted in English.

Those wishing to attend ASCJ are asked to complete the online registration form on the ASCJ website:
http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~ascj/

Early Bird online registration is available between February 20 and April 20. The Early Bird registration fee of 3000 yen (1000 yen for graduate students) may be paid by credit card or by domestic bank transfer. Between April 21 and June 21, online registration remains open, but at a higher rate: 4000 yen (graduate students 1000 yen).

Onsite Registration is possible, but pre-registration is highly recommended. This allows the ASCJ staff to prepare name tags and other conference materials. Those wishing to attend the reception on Saturday night (June 21) should also register and pay in advance. All participants whose names will appear on the conference program are requested to register during the Early Period registration period.

All persons interested in Asian Studies are welcome. Please address inquiries to the ASCJ Secretariat:
ascj20xx@gmail.com

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Book Announcement: “The Mysterious Underground Men”

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Paula

MysteriousAnnouncing the publication of the English-language edition of one of Tezuka Osamu’s earliest books, and one of manga history’s most important: “The Mysterious Underground Men” (Chiteikoku no kaijin, 1948), published by PictureBox in New York.

http://www.pictureboxinc.com/products/1196-the-mysterious-undergound-men

The edition is in color, akahon duotone. It was produced by scanning an original 1948 copy of the book on loan from Tezuka Productions in Tokyo. Nothing this close to an archival edition exists even in Japan. The volume also includes a translation of a a short article about the work by Tezuka from 1982, and an introductory essay.

Originally published in Osaka in 1948, The Mysterious Underground Men tells the story of Mimio the talking rabbit, as he struggles to prove his humanity while helping his friends save earth from an invasion of angry humanoid ants. While Tezuka’sNew Treasure Island (1946-47) was the first major hit for the “god of manga,” the artist himself regarded this later book the first of his signature “story manga. Inspired by Bernhard Kellermann’s Der Tunnel (1913) and drawing widely on European and American science fiction, as well as Milt Gross’ own pioneering “graphic novel,” He Done Her Wrong (1930), this full-color edition of The Mysterious Underground Men will not only introduce to English-language readers a founding monument in modern Japanese comics. It will also offer a rare glimpse at the wide-ranging Western cultural sources that made up young Tezuka’s world.

This is the second volume in the “Ten-Cent Manga” series, which focuses on the impact of American comics and popular culture upon Japanese manga. The first volume, Sugiura Shigeru’s “The Last of the Mohicans,” was released this past summer.

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Job Openings: Research Officer (2 Positions), United Nations University [Tokyo]

Posted on March 1, 2014 by LM

job opening - 5Institution: United Nations University (UNU) Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR)
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Deadline: March 31, 2014
Education: MA
Start date: July 2014 preferred

UNU mission
The United Nations University (UNU) is the academic arm of the United Nations system. Its mission is to contribute through collaborative research and postgraduate education, dissemination of knowledge and advisory services, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations, its Peoples and Member States. The University functions as a think tank for the United Nations system and for UN Member States providing knowledge-based policy advice.

UNU Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR)
The new UNU Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) will undertake policy research related to issues of peace, international security and global development, drawing on work elsewhere in the UNU system and more widely. The Centre will aim to serve the United Nations by making its work available for the organization’s most pressing and urgent debates on which knowledge, analytical and other gaps continue to exist.

The UNU-CPR work programme will aim to (i) strengthen public policy research relevant to the UN; (ii) advocate change in policy frameworks to improve decision-making; and (iii) identify strategies for creating value in the dissemination of research.

Responsibilities
The Research Officers will support one of CPR’s two research programmes, on International Peace and Security and on Global Development. The Research Officers will report through the Senior Policy Adviser of the respective research programme to the Director of UNU-CPR. Both programmes will cover a wide range of issue areas high on the agenda of the United Nations and related policy communities.

The Research Officer’s responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to, researching and collecting data on relevant issues; drafting policy briefs, research papers, meeting summaries, conference reports and correspondence; providing editing and drafting support; fact and citation checking; organizing, coordinating and attending seminars and conferences; and administrative support.

Qualifications

  • Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in public policy, political science, international relations, law, economics, international development, anthropology, or a related field;
  • At least three (3) years of work experience in international relations, political affairs, conflict resolution or economic development;
  • Excellent drafting and communication skills;
  • Knowledge of and experience in the think-tank world or in policy development or analysis is desirable;
  • Knowledge of the UN and of its functions and activities is desirable;
  • The ability to interact with colleagues and others of diverse cultural backgrounds;
  • Proven commitment to issues of human development and international security; and
  • Fluency in English; fluency in at least one other official language of the United Nations is desirable.
  • Some field experience would be an additional advantage. Applications from suitably qualified women candidates are particularly encouraged.

Duration of contract
The period of initial contract would be for a three-year term with the possibility of renewal on a rolling fixed-term appointment basis, subject to requirements and satisfactory work performance. The mandatory retirement age in the United Nations is 62.

Starting date
It is hoped that the appointee will take up the position in July 2014.

See post on Idealist.org and full details on UNU’s original post.

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Fun Link Friday: Tokyo’s Best Plum Blossom Spots

Posted on February 28, 2014 by LM

I’ll confess that I have a personal bias for plum blossoms over sakura. Sure, they aren’t as majestic as the shidare-zakura (枝垂桜), but I love how vividly pink they are and how they smell. I’m most familiar with Kanazawa’s plum groves (where they bloom in March), but whether you’re in Tokyo or just love photos of plum blossoms, check out Rurousha’s post on the best places in the city to see them:

Image copyright Rurousha.

Image copyright Rurousha.

Just be warned that plum blossoms are not remotely as spectacular as cherry blossoms. A single tree doesn’t have as many blossoms, the trees don’t bloom en masse at the same time, it’s usually freezing cold with a depressing grey sky in February. The blossoms do have a lovely fragrance, and if you focus on close-ups, you’ll see their beauty.

“Tokyo’s best plum blossom spots“

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