JQ Magazine Seeks Writers for Spring 2013!

As we slide into spring, JETAA New York’s JQ magazine continues to provide content with an ever-expanding array of articles, interviews and features (see our recent stories here). We’re now looking for new writers, including recent returnees and JET vets, from all JETAA chapters worldwide for posting stories via our host at the global JET alumni resource site JETwit.com. (Scribes are also encouraged to join the JET Alumni Writers group on LinkedIn.)Below are story ideas grouped by JET participants and alumni (JET World) and those more on Japanese culture (Japan World). And if you’re a JET or JETWit contributor from anywhere in the world with a story idea of your own, let us know!See below for our spring 2013 ideas pitch package, and contact JQ editor Justin Tedaldi (magazine [at] jetaany [dot] org) to sign up for stories.

***JET WORLD***

JETAA USA EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND FEATUREWith the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami upon us, JETAA USA has procured more than $50,000 in grants so far for its ambitious Earthquake Relief Fund, with five grantees designated including Hope for Tomorrow (which assists area high school students with applying to university), Kodomo no Empowerment (which provides extracurricular tutoring and support to middle school students), and the Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund. Help spread the word about this special fund by speaking with the top JET alumni in charge of it.JETS IN SOCIAL MEDIAThe official JETAANY Facebook page has been firing on all cylinders, serving as an additional alumni news outlet and upcoming event bulletin board. Talk to the people in charge for a profile on the impact of JET chapters, social media style!JET ALUMNA LEADS THE DIGITAL MANGA GUILDJoanna Yuka Metoki (Wakayama-ken, 2008-09) is the PR & Localizer Community Liaison for Digital Manga Guild, a project of the company Digital Manga where manga fans collaborate in bringing thousands of titles to the American manga fandom. The mission of DMG is not only to bring the fans the products they desire but offer the localizers (translators, editors, and letterers) the opportunity to become part of the process of publishing these titles and gaining invaluable experience within the industry. Joanna is available for a Q&A or profile.PRE-JET PROGRAM ALUM PROFILED IN THE JAPAN TIMESBritish writer, historian and journalist Lesley Downer has been visiting Japan and writing about it for nearly 35 years — beginning in 1978, when she was part of the first-ever intake of the English Teaching Recruitment Program, which evolved into the famous JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program) scheme. This noted author and documentary filmmaker was recently interviewed for The Japan Times, and writers are invited to contact her for a story about her experiences on the ETR Program.BOOK REVIEW: PACIFIC COSMOPOLITANSDecades before Americans cheered on Ichiro Suzuki, Japanese baseball fans swooned over Babe Ruth. And a century prior to the craze for anime and manga, American art collectors hoarded Japanese woodblock prints. Few relationships can match the depth, or importance, of the cultural ties between America and Japan over the past two hundred years. In Pacific Cosmopolitans, JET alum/Director of Japan Studies at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Michael Auslin tells this absorbing history in full for the first time. http://goo.gl/yl4Ns‘THE RICE COOKER CHRONICLES’ SERIESWe are running a new series on JETwit about solo cooking experiences while on JET (read previous entries here). Did you discover a new favorite comfort food in Japan, learn to cook a mouthwatering meal that you still serve today or accidentally buy something really weird only to discover (and reluctantly) eat it in your mansion? We want to hear about it!‘SPRING IN JAPAN’ ANECDOTES WANTED!Our quarterly anecdote topic is spring in Japan from JET alumni around the world! If you have a strange, delightful (or both—we all do) short story to share about harus past in Japan, we’d love to publish it. Whether you won a hanami karaoke contest or just got hilariously drunk visiting a World Heritage Site, we want to know!JQ&A WITH AUTHOR DANIEL STURGEONDaniel has been working at the Consulate in Atlanta but is leaving soon to start working with the Foreign Service, has written a book about the controversial Yasukuni Shrine based on a thesis he wrote. Even though the book was published in 2006, it might be interesting to have someone do an interview with this JET alum who has interviewed a lot of people connected with the shrine and done extensive research on the issue.‘JET INSTANT NOODLE’ COMICSProfile of JET alum artist Shun Endo and his “JET Instant Noodle Comics.” Read samples here.ISSHONI LONDON – JET ALUM BLOGLondon JET alum Vanessa Villalobos writes about Japan-related events, news, review and interviews. This would be a good Q&A piece for any JETs wanting to learn more about how our alumni groups operate overseas. Learn more at:www.isshonilondon.co.ukwww.facebook.com/pages/Isshoni-London/119415767689www.twitter.com/IsshoniVanessaTEAMTEACHERS.COMAn innovative telecommunications site for Team Teaching, founded by a JET. www.teamteachers.comJETSET – CANADIAN JETS IN JAPANMelissa C. runs JETset, a site for Canadian JETs in Japan and a well-known resource center for JET participants. See more for a profile at www.jetsetjapan.com.

 ***JAPAN WORLD***

NYC EVENTSWe are accepting coverage of the following, and can provide free tickets! This includes perennial events like Sakura Matsuri at Brooklyn Botanic Garden in April, Japan Day @ Central Park in May, and the new Edo Pop: The Graphic Impact of Japanese Prints exhibit at Japan Society now through June 9.UPCOMING CONCERTSNow offering show reviews or Q&A opportunities for the following:Sunday, March 3 / Yoko Reikano Kimura (shamisen) @ Still Mind ZendoSunday, March 24 / Kodo Taiko @ New Jersey Performing Arts CenterSunday, March 7 / Keiko Matsui @ B.B. King Blues Club and GrillSunday, April 14 / Kyary Pamyu Pamyu @ Best Buy TheaterApril 16-21 / Hiromi: The Trio Project @ Blue Note Jazz ClubMOVIE/BOOK/RESTAURANT REVIEWSWrite a review on anything you’d like to spread the word about. Current review copies of books available include the The Soul of Anime by MIT professor Ian Condry and A Guru is Born by Takeshi Kitano. For films, how about From Up on Poppy Hill, the latest from Studio Ghibli?PROFILE AN ICE SCULPTOR IN LONG ISLAND CITYCheck out the story of Shintaro Okamoto of Okamoto Studio, an LIC/Astoria-based ice sculpting business. He was recently profiled by the Huffington Post. He grew up in Fukuoka, spent time in Alaska, and learned the art of ice sculpting while being a sushi chef. Now he is in LIC making beautiful art from ice, and has had his works shown throughout NYCPROFILE A BOSTON SAKE PROPRIETORTodd Bellomy is the founder and proprietor of Boston Sake, which he started out of frustration with the lack of Sake education and fun in the Boston market. So far he has driven roughly 1,000 people a month to his blog, and recently had his first event, which is one of the largest sake events ever in Boston. Todd is now expanding with his sake/beer hybrid, Banryu-Ichi, which is starting to introduce beer people to sake…something that no one else is doing!SHUUKAN NY SEIKATSU PROFILEThis New York-based Japanese-language free paper has big plans for its English-language “Cool Japan” page, which runs every Saturday. JET alum and associate editor Paul Benson has recruited some writers from JETAA New York to report on the newest Japan-related happenings, and JQ would like to help spread the message! Read more at www.nyseikatsu.com.SACHIYO ITO DANCE COMPANY ARTICLESachiyo Ito and Company is the only dance group in New York City to perform Japanese classical dance, Okinawan dance, and contemporary works based on these traditions. They had their 30th Anniversary Concert in New York’s Lincoln Center in October 2011, taking the audience from medieval Japan to present day through dance and live music. Takers are invited to write about Ito-sensei herself or review an upcoming concert. Learn more at www.dancejapan.com.WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR JAPAN FIX?In an effort to revive the “Japan Fix” posts, we’d like to share a recent discoveries to help readers find a little piece of Japan close to home.  How do you get your Japan fix wherever you live?ROBIN SAKAI OF GAIJIN POTGaijin Pot is a site that offers jobs, apartments and classifieds in Japan. Run by Robin Sakai, it strives to bring the Japanese and expat community together.REVIEW OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE STUDY OPTIONS IN THE NYC AREAWe would like to add a listing as well as a possible review of Japanese language study options in the New York area. One of these is Hills Learning, founded by Jon Hills, who works with JETs in New York to promote his learning center, which teaches four languages to children and adults and offers annual Japanese Language Proficiency Test courses! Jon also co-presents monthly Asian networking events. Jon is open to a profile. Learn more at www.hillslearning.com.CONSULATE GENERAL SCHOOL CARAVANThis is a decade-plus program run by New York’s Consulate General of Japan that sends consulate staff (American and Japanese) to New York high schools and junior high schools to introduce students to Japanese culture, and JET alums have even served as presenters! The purpose of this article will be to increase awareness of the program so more JETAA members can get involved.KEIO ACADEMY OF NEW YORKBased in Purchase, NY, Keio Academy is a school for bilingual and bicultural education established by its Tokyo namesake.  Besides the various activities the school offers, it also seeks to recruit JET alums for potential work opportunities.  We can put you in touch with their business officer, who is happy ro speak with more JETs about the subject.ASIA SOCIETY OF NEW YORKRecently, NYC’s Asia Society held its New York Japan CineFest short film program. We’ve never profiled Asia Society, so this would be a great time to find out more about how they select their Japanese attractions and exhibitions.JAPAN INFORMATION CENTER OF NEW YORKProfile. Take advantage of Japan Information Center to promote Japan! The Japan Information Center (JIC) is the cultural and public affairs section of the Consulate General of Japan in New York. The JIC distributes educational materials, posters and pamphlets on Japan, provides speakers on various aspects of Japan to the schools throughout this region, Provides information on the Japanese Government Scholarships & the JET Program, distributes the e-newsletter Japan Info, and loans videos/DVDs and cultural artifacts.Visit JQ magazine online at https://jetaany.org/magazine.