Date: Thursday, June 12
Location: TBD

This meeting will include free food and will focus on finalizing the details of the Pre-Departure Seminar. Details to follow…

Date: Thursday, May 22
Time: 6:00-8:00 PM
Location: Japan Local Goverment Center - 666 5th Ave, 2 Floor (entrance on 52nd St.) *includes free food!

Calling all JET Alums!  We need YOU to help send-off the latest JETs!  You are cordially invited to join our Pre-Departure Seminar Planning Session on THURSDAY MAY 22.  The Pre-Departure Seminar is SATURDAY JUNE 21. The seminar is a one-day event designed to help new JETs leaving for Japan this summer to prepare for their adventure. During the planning session we will decide what topics will be presented during the seminar, choose a keynote speaker and MC, and tackle other logistical challenges.  This is your chance to impart your unique wisdom and perpsective on these nervous and excited kohai!

Even if you are unavailable to be present on June 21 for the actual seminar, we would still love your help in the planning phases (we’ll even mention you in the closing credits).  We would especially like to get newly returned JET Alumni involved, as we veterans are getting a little rusty on our Nippon-411…

Please RSVP to Megan at president@jetaany.org so she can add your name to the building security list. Hope you can make it!

From the New York Times:

Powerful interests in Japan’s fugu industry are fighting to keep the ban on fugu livers even from poison-free fish. (read more)

Saturday, May 3
7:00 PM
CaChaCa Jazz Club - 35 W. 8th Street, New York, NY

Misha Tsiganov (P) Bob Bowen (B) Doug Richardson (Dr) Taeko Fukao (Vo).  There is a $10 music charge and $10 minimum.

Wednesday, May 7
6:00 - 8:00 PM
The Nippon Club, 145 West 57th St, New York, NY

Enjoy the opportunity to network and exchange buseness cards over cocktails while Dr. Napier, professor of Japanese Literature at Tufts University introduces themes from her recent book “From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West.” Susan Napier’s talk will explore the different “waves” of fascination with Japan over the last 150 years, from the paintings of Monet and Van Gogh to “The Matrix” and beyond, with a special focus on anime and manga fandom in contemporary America.  Admission to this event is $40 for non-members of JCCI/Nippon Club. For more information please click here.

Monday, May 5
6:30 PM
Japan Society - 333 East 47th Street, New York, NY

The currency of made-in-Japan cultural goods has skyrocketed in the global marketplace during the past decade.  Drawing on popular examples from Pokémon to Sailor Moon, Anne Allison speaks about the popularity of Japanese goods today and the relationship to the cultural and historical context in which they were both developed and consumed. Dr. Allison is Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University. Moderated by Thomas Looser, Associate Professor, Dept. of East Asian Studies, New York University. Tickets are $10 ($8 for Japan Society members, $5 seniors and students.) Order tickets online or call the box office at 212-715-1258.

Sunday, June 1

Part 1: Japan Run 4-Mile Race at 8 am (Kids’ Run at 9:30 am)
The race is sponsored by New York Road Runners and limited to the first 3,000 entrants.  To register, go to www.japandaynyc.org and click “Japan Run.”

Part 2: Japan Day Festival from 10 am to 6 pm
East Meadow in Central Park
Main Entrance at 99th Street and 5th Avenue

www.japandaynyc.org

Saturday, May 10
12 pm - 6 pm

at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 47th Street between 1st & 2nd Avenues

Enjoy live music and dance, martial arts, children’s activities, arts and crafts and over one hundred participating organizations. The Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival is the largest pan-asian outdoor event on the East Coast.

www.capaonline.org

A new kind of enka singer

More photos on Flickr
Thanks to Monica, JETAANY Social Chair, for the organizing the event and for taking photos!