By W. DAVID MARX
Special to The Japan Times
With Internet blogs beginning to challenge traditional print media, it was only a matter of time before a new medium broke radio's traditional choke hold on free audio programming. Enter podcasts, the downloadable MP3 audio files that feature mixes of music and chatter created by amateurs worldwide. Although many of these podcasts so far have been little more than running commentaries on daily life or digital mix tapes from computer-savvy teenagers, the format should lend itself nicely to disseminating free educational content.
In Japan, many are taking advantage of this new medium and bringing a high-tech twist to age-old language learning. Almost a dozen active educational Japanese podcasts have appeared in the last few months, ranging from basic lessons on daily greetings to advanced vocabulary builders.
Users can download the files for free from the iTunes Music Store or other Internet sites and listen at their convenience, rather than be tied down by fixed radio or TV scheduling. As most lessons are around 15 minutes, listeners can pack a couple for the daily commute.
So, who is responsible for creating these educational audio files? While some seem to be related to commercial pursuits, a fair number emanate from a mixture of Japanese and foreign individuals helping to bridge the cultural gap.
Nippon Voice Blog (www.voiceblog.jp/nippon) is a podcast that introduces learners to new words and concepts through the explanation of seasonal events such as setsubun. The podcast offers listening comprehension with authentic Japanese narration, and the Web site's accompanying transcripts extend the exercise into reading practice.
Beginners may find it difficult to enter directly into this Japanese material, but the popular podcast www.JapanesePod101.com attempts to teach the language within a bilingual environment. Translation firm Eklaren, Inc. started offering the free 15-minute daily podcast last December, and now averages 8,000 downloads a day. Creator Peter Galante started to make the audio lessons after being impressed with Chinesepod, an audio tool for students of Mandarin. Galante hosts his podcast in English, explaining most of the lesson's key concepts, while authentic Japanese natives sound out the words with proper pronunciation. According to Galante, one of the most popular features of the podcast is the portion in which Japanese speakers slowly pronounce the words syllable by syllable for easier comprehension. "Japanese is spoken so fast and sometimes it is overwhelming," Galante explained. "So we introduce and breakdown words to make the language more bite-sized."
The advanced learner who needs little pampering can dive right into Japanese educational podcasts created by Japanese for Japanese. Kanda Podsayings (podsayings.po-di-um.net/en/kanda) for example, offers 45-second daily sessions that explain a particular business concept. A recent lesson looks at the changing nature of customer complaints. The creator Masanori Kanda primarily targets Japanese white-collar employees, but the difficult vocabulary and accompanying online transcriptions can be an educational vitamin boost for the longtime foreign student. On the other side of the spectrum, Japanese Classical Literature at Bedtime (eloise.cocolog-nifty.com/rodoku) gives a new vocal life to quintessential Japanese authors such as Basho.
Seeing that most Japanese language podcasts are free services, the downside is that students get what they pay for. The dialogues are mostly recorded in less-than-ideal conditions, and the musical interludes consist of cliched shakuhachi flute and cheesy background music. Although the podcasts do make good auxiliary material for those wanting to hear the spoken language in real-life settings, currently none of the services offer complete language programs with a valid pedagogical framework. Few of the creators appear to have experience in formally teaching Japanese.
The inevitable competition and commercialization of podcasts, however, may raise the bar. Many have come into life as part of a larger business scheme. For example, the Learn Japan podcast (talksushi.libsyn.com) includes short advertisements for creator Nick Kemp's Talk Sushi subscription-based Internet language learning service.
For those living far away from native speakers, podcasts bring real-time exposure to the language and culture of contemporary Japan. Those struggling to pick up the language here can certainly take advantage of this free podcast boom too, but perhaps, the best thing may still be to remove the earphones and just listen in on the outside world.
The Japan Times: Feb. 28, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20060228a1.html
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Nick US explores American kids living in Japan
MUMBAI: Currently millions of Americans call a foreign country 'home' and many of these Americans are kids. On 19 March, Nickeloden US has announced that it explores the challenges and rewards of being an American kid living abroad in the latest installment of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Strangers in a Strange Land.
Ellerbee says, "These kids share with us what it's like to be a stranger in a strange land, in this case one where even the alphabet is different. We see how they have managed to thrive, and what they've discovered about themselves in their new world."
The show offers a glimpse into the lives of three American kids who currently live in Japan.
Through their eyes, viewers see the modern Western influences juxtaposed against the more traditional Japanese past. Viewers will experience the futuristic city of Tokyo, as well as the Imperial Palace, Buddhist Temples, and Shinto Shrines, which speak to Japan's ancient customs.
Viewers will learn that one is never too young to be an explorer; that you can travel without going too far from home; and that to venture on a quest is nothing more than to become an asker of questions.
Indian Television
http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k6/feb/feb328.htm
Ellerbee says, "These kids share with us what it's like to be a stranger in a strange land, in this case one where even the alphabet is different. We see how they have managed to thrive, and what they've discovered about themselves in their new world."
The show offers a glimpse into the lives of three American kids who currently live in Japan.
Through their eyes, viewers see the modern Western influences juxtaposed against the more traditional Japanese past. Viewers will experience the futuristic city of Tokyo, as well as the Imperial Palace, Buddhist Temples, and Shinto Shrines, which speak to Japan's ancient customs.
Viewers will learn that one is never too young to be an explorer; that you can travel without going too far from home; and that to venture on a quest is nothing more than to become an asker of questions.
Indian Television
http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k6/feb/feb328.htm
Monday, February 27, 2006
College students scraping by on less
02/27/2006The Asahi Shimbun
Living the student lifestyle apparently now means existing on the tightest budget since fiscal 1990.
According to a survey by a national association of university cooperatives, hard times are forcing college students living away from home to get by on less.
Average living expenses, other than tuition, for students living away from home are estimated to be 1.85 million yen for the current school year, which ends in March.
That's the lowest figure since 1990, representing a decline of about 300,000 yen from the peak year of 1996.
About one-third of all college students living away from home receive scholarships, usually in the form of loans.
The survey by the National Federation of University Cooperative Associations was conducted last October. A total of 9,934 students at 39 universities around Japan responded.
The study found that 34.3 percent of respondents living away from home were getting some form of scholarship or loan, an increase of 1.2 percentage points over 2004 and the highest figure ever in such surveys.
The average proportion of scholarships among all income for students living away from home, including those not receiving scholarships, was 16.8 percent, also the highest figure ever.
The rise in scholarship loans reflects students' getting less money from home.
Also, since 1999, more loans have been issued by the Japan Scholarship Foundation, now part of the Japan Student Services Organization.
Students without any scholarships received a monthly average of 101,230 yen from their parents, more than double the 48,750 yen monthly that scholarship students received from their parents. The difference was made up with scholarship loans, which averaged 59,660 yen a month.
College students living at home expect to spend an average 1.07 million yen this school year, the second-lowest figure after 2004.
The National Federation of University Co-operative Associations says more college students are trying to help their families make ends meet by trimming their own living expenses.
(IHT/Asahi: February 27,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602270111.html
Living the student lifestyle apparently now means existing on the tightest budget since fiscal 1990.
According to a survey by a national association of university cooperatives, hard times are forcing college students living away from home to get by on less.
Average living expenses, other than tuition, for students living away from home are estimated to be 1.85 million yen for the current school year, which ends in March.
That's the lowest figure since 1990, representing a decline of about 300,000 yen from the peak year of 1996.
About one-third of all college students living away from home receive scholarships, usually in the form of loans.
The survey by the National Federation of University Cooperative Associations was conducted last October. A total of 9,934 students at 39 universities around Japan responded.
The study found that 34.3 percent of respondents living away from home were getting some form of scholarship or loan, an increase of 1.2 percentage points over 2004 and the highest figure ever in such surveys.
The average proportion of scholarships among all income for students living away from home, including those not receiving scholarships, was 16.8 percent, also the highest figure ever.
The rise in scholarship loans reflects students' getting less money from home.
Also, since 1999, more loans have been issued by the Japan Scholarship Foundation, now part of the Japan Student Services Organization.
Students without any scholarships received a monthly average of 101,230 yen from their parents, more than double the 48,750 yen monthly that scholarship students received from their parents. The difference was made up with scholarship loans, which averaged 59,660 yen a month.
College students living at home expect to spend an average 1.07 million yen this school year, the second-lowest figure after 2004.
The National Federation of University Co-operative Associations says more college students are trying to help their families make ends meet by trimming their own living expenses.
(IHT/Asahi: February 27,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602270111.html
42nd Confucius institute to be set up in Japanese university
BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- A prestigious Beijing-based university will jointly set up a Confucius Institute in a Japanese University, which will mark the third in Japan and the 42nd in the world.
Beijing Language and Culture University signed an agreement with the Japanese Hokuriku University here Friday.
Under the agreement, the two universities will found a Confucius Institute in the Japanese one to launch the Chinese language courses, Chinese speeches and seminars. They will also give the HSK tests, a Chinese language testing system, said Wang Lujiang, director with the school affairs committee of the Beijing Language and Culture University.
The Chinese university has been in close academic contact with its Japanese peer, Wang said. They forged "sister-school" ties in 2001, and in 2003 inked a deal of co-training undergraduate program.
The new institute will open in the coming April, with an investment of from Hokuriku University.
The Confucius Institute came into being with the increasing popularity of the Chinese language in the world.
Despite the strained relations between China and Japan, three Japanese universities applied to set up Confucius Institute in 2005, namely Ritsumeikan University, Obirin University and Aichi University.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/25/content_4226489.htm
Beijing Language and Culture University signed an agreement with the Japanese Hokuriku University here Friday.
Under the agreement, the two universities will found a Confucius Institute in the Japanese one to launch the Chinese language courses, Chinese speeches and seminars. They will also give the HSK tests, a Chinese language testing system, said Wang Lujiang, director with the school affairs committee of the Beijing Language and Culture University.
The Chinese university has been in close academic contact with its Japanese peer, Wang said. They forged "sister-school" ties in 2001, and in 2003 inked a deal of co-training undergraduate program.
The new institute will open in the coming April, with an investment of from Hokuriku University.
The Confucius Institute came into being with the increasing popularity of the Chinese language in the world.
Despite the strained relations between China and Japan, three Japanese universities applied to set up Confucius Institute in 2005, namely Ritsumeikan University, Obirin University and Aichi University.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/25/content_4226489.htm
Weekend Beat: Students avoiding revamped English test
By NORIKO AKIYAMA,AERA
The venerable TOEIC is undergoing a face-lift.
Long a measure of English ability whose test scores could make or break the career aspirations of Japan's corporate warriors, the Test of English for International Communication as of May will be structured differently, decisively oriented toward practical rather than merely theoretical command of the language.
And many prospective test-takers are worried. What impact will the new format have on their test scores and their hopes for promotion?
"Toshio," 24, is an engineer with a leading appliance maker. His mornings begin with the CNN news broadcast. He listens for half an hour while getting ready to leave for work. If a new word catches his attention, he looks it up in a dictionary. He repeats idiomatic phrases to himself over and over.
At his office, the TOEIC test of business English has become the standard yardstick by which eligibility for promotion is gauged. Anybody who wants to get anywhere in the company must take the test twice a year--and do well in it.
Before long, ambitious young corporate employees like Toshio may have to broaden their preparations to include broadcasts from Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Until now, the listening section of TOEIC tests has almost exclusively featured American accents.
That will change in May, when examinees will confront accents from everywhere in the English-speaking world.
That's not all. Questions dealing with the listening part of the test will be asked orally, not in writing, and the reading sections will emphasize comprehension rather than correction by the student of intentional errors in the questions.
Further changes, assessing speaking and writing ability, are under consideration for the fall.
The revisions are in response to a frequent criticism leveled at TOEIC: that even examinees who achieve very high scores cannot necessarily speak English.
The new format is designed to measure how well an examinee would likely do in actual situations demanding use of the language.
The implications go far beyond test scores.
Since TOEIC first became available in Japan in 1979, no fewer than 13 million people have taken the test, which has been adopted by roughly 2,500 businesses and schools.
Many companies, like Toshio's employer, rely on TOEIC results in deciding whether an employee is ready for promotion, or worthy of being posted overseas.
It's not too much to say that for some, a high TOEIC score is a matter of corporate life and death.
At IBM Japan, every director or manager has a TOEIC score of at least 730, indicating an ability “to handle everyday life overseas and conduct business within a limited range” in English.
The minimum requirement for an overseas assignment lasting up to 60 days is a score of 600. Longer foreign postings require a minimum 730 points.
Nissan Motor Co. has arranged for work groups to be tested together in specially designed collective exams. Among 13,000 employees, as many as 5,000 are tested annually. All new employees, including those hired from other companies, must take a TOEIC test. TOEIC has been introduced at Renault, Nissan's French affiliate, as well.
Five hundred points is the necessary minimum score for an overseas posting. Promotion is not strictly conditional on any fixed TOEIC score.
“There is the feeling here that English, like computer skills, is basically a tool,” says Nissan personnel development group manager Hisayoshi Ishikawa. For some positions, though, an ability to communicate in English is indispensable, he adds.
“You often see people on trains, people in their late 40s, sweating over Harry Potter in English,” says one company official. “You just know they're getting ready for their first overseas assignment.”
At company orientation sessions for prospective employees, he adds, anxious questions about TOEIC inevitably crop up: “What TOEIC score would I have to have to be hired?” and so on.
“For us,” Ishikawa says, “the new TOEIC is good because it stresses practical communication ability.”
IBM Japan's public relations spokesman agrees. “The tests up to now have mostly concentrated on written material," he says. "Now, more of the test is about conversation, and should give us a better idea of how much English the examinee can actually use.”
Prospective examinees, however, seem less enthusiastic than their bosses about the new format.
“All that studying, and now the whole method's changed," laments one. “It's too bad. There's no way of knowing what the new test will be like until you actually take it.”
Fearing the worst, many are rushing to take the old test before the new version debuts in May.
The upcoming changes have also affected English schools.
The Essence English School in Tokyo's Minami-Ikebukuro specializes in preparing students for TOEIC tests. Ninety percent of its students are company employees, many of them seeking promotions or hoping to give their careers a boost.
“They're all very, very eager,” says administrative chief Kenichi Matsumura. “Their whole futures are at stake.”
Inquiries have been coming in thick and fast since last summer, when reports of the pending revision first surfaced.
Classes began in January for the final old-style TOEIC exam set for March. At one class, full to capacity with about 50 students, the eagerness of those in attendance was palpable. These were people aiming at a score of 900 points. Between 60 and 70 percent of them were women who looked to be in their 20s and 30s. Also present were a significant number of men apparently over 50.
“We've had more applicants than usual lately--people who have studied under the old system, taken the old test any number of times and want to get the highest score they can before the system changes,” says Matsumura.
Yumi was one of them. She's 28 and works for a foreign firm. With her marriage coming up, she's considering changing jobs.
Not having taken a TOEIC test since her student days, she had lately been thinking it was time she did take one, when a friend happened to mention TOEIC was about to adopt a new format--one that would feature non-American English voices.
“That will be difficult,” she thought to herself--and made up her mind to take it before the change went into effect.
Besides attending the school on weekends, Yumi spent her time on the train--an hour to and from work--reading English newspapers. At home, she studied half an hour every other day, practicing speed reading with a stopwatch in one hand. At work, she went out of her way to talk to foreign staffers.
“At the school, there were lots of men in their 30s and 40s recording the lessons with digital recorders," she says. "Everybody was really into it, which I found stimulating.”
The effort paid off. After over a month of studying, Yumi nailed the test, clearing 900 points.
Eri, 29, was another Essence English School student. A software marketer, Eri, too, was taking the test in preparation for a job change. Like Yumi, she was in a hurry, having heard from the school about the revised TOEIC format.
“Who knows what the new test will be like?” she says. “Rather than plunge into the unknown, I decided it would be easier to take the test I'm used to.”
Two months of intensive study brought her score up more than 200 points, beyond her initial target of 600. She's still studying and plans to take the test again in March.
(IHT/Asahi: February 25,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602250180.html
The venerable TOEIC is undergoing a face-lift.
Long a measure of English ability whose test scores could make or break the career aspirations of Japan's corporate warriors, the Test of English for International Communication as of May will be structured differently, decisively oriented toward practical rather than merely theoretical command of the language.
And many prospective test-takers are worried. What impact will the new format have on their test scores and their hopes for promotion?
"Toshio," 24, is an engineer with a leading appliance maker. His mornings begin with the CNN news broadcast. He listens for half an hour while getting ready to leave for work. If a new word catches his attention, he looks it up in a dictionary. He repeats idiomatic phrases to himself over and over.
At his office, the TOEIC test of business English has become the standard yardstick by which eligibility for promotion is gauged. Anybody who wants to get anywhere in the company must take the test twice a year--and do well in it.
Before long, ambitious young corporate employees like Toshio may have to broaden their preparations to include broadcasts from Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Until now, the listening section of TOEIC tests has almost exclusively featured American accents.
That will change in May, when examinees will confront accents from everywhere in the English-speaking world.
That's not all. Questions dealing with the listening part of the test will be asked orally, not in writing, and the reading sections will emphasize comprehension rather than correction by the student of intentional errors in the questions.
Further changes, assessing speaking and writing ability, are under consideration for the fall.
The revisions are in response to a frequent criticism leveled at TOEIC: that even examinees who achieve very high scores cannot necessarily speak English.
The new format is designed to measure how well an examinee would likely do in actual situations demanding use of the language.
The implications go far beyond test scores.
Since TOEIC first became available in Japan in 1979, no fewer than 13 million people have taken the test, which has been adopted by roughly 2,500 businesses and schools.
Many companies, like Toshio's employer, rely on TOEIC results in deciding whether an employee is ready for promotion, or worthy of being posted overseas.
It's not too much to say that for some, a high TOEIC score is a matter of corporate life and death.
At IBM Japan, every director or manager has a TOEIC score of at least 730, indicating an ability “to handle everyday life overseas and conduct business within a limited range” in English.
The minimum requirement for an overseas assignment lasting up to 60 days is a score of 600. Longer foreign postings require a minimum 730 points.
Nissan Motor Co. has arranged for work groups to be tested together in specially designed collective exams. Among 13,000 employees, as many as 5,000 are tested annually. All new employees, including those hired from other companies, must take a TOEIC test. TOEIC has been introduced at Renault, Nissan's French affiliate, as well.
Five hundred points is the necessary minimum score for an overseas posting. Promotion is not strictly conditional on any fixed TOEIC score.
“There is the feeling here that English, like computer skills, is basically a tool,” says Nissan personnel development group manager Hisayoshi Ishikawa. For some positions, though, an ability to communicate in English is indispensable, he adds.
“You often see people on trains, people in their late 40s, sweating over Harry Potter in English,” says one company official. “You just know they're getting ready for their first overseas assignment.”
At company orientation sessions for prospective employees, he adds, anxious questions about TOEIC inevitably crop up: “What TOEIC score would I have to have to be hired?” and so on.
“For us,” Ishikawa says, “the new TOEIC is good because it stresses practical communication ability.”
IBM Japan's public relations spokesman agrees. “The tests up to now have mostly concentrated on written material," he says. "Now, more of the test is about conversation, and should give us a better idea of how much English the examinee can actually use.”
Prospective examinees, however, seem less enthusiastic than their bosses about the new format.
“All that studying, and now the whole method's changed," laments one. “It's too bad. There's no way of knowing what the new test will be like until you actually take it.”
Fearing the worst, many are rushing to take the old test before the new version debuts in May.
The upcoming changes have also affected English schools.
The Essence English School in Tokyo's Minami-Ikebukuro specializes in preparing students for TOEIC tests. Ninety percent of its students are company employees, many of them seeking promotions or hoping to give their careers a boost.
“They're all very, very eager,” says administrative chief Kenichi Matsumura. “Their whole futures are at stake.”
Inquiries have been coming in thick and fast since last summer, when reports of the pending revision first surfaced.
Classes began in January for the final old-style TOEIC exam set for March. At one class, full to capacity with about 50 students, the eagerness of those in attendance was palpable. These were people aiming at a score of 900 points. Between 60 and 70 percent of them were women who looked to be in their 20s and 30s. Also present were a significant number of men apparently over 50.
“We've had more applicants than usual lately--people who have studied under the old system, taken the old test any number of times and want to get the highest score they can before the system changes,” says Matsumura.
Yumi was one of them. She's 28 and works for a foreign firm. With her marriage coming up, she's considering changing jobs.
Not having taken a TOEIC test since her student days, she had lately been thinking it was time she did take one, when a friend happened to mention TOEIC was about to adopt a new format--one that would feature non-American English voices.
“That will be difficult,” she thought to herself--and made up her mind to take it before the change went into effect.
Besides attending the school on weekends, Yumi spent her time on the train--an hour to and from work--reading English newspapers. At home, she studied half an hour every other day, practicing speed reading with a stopwatch in one hand. At work, she went out of her way to talk to foreign staffers.
“At the school, there were lots of men in their 30s and 40s recording the lessons with digital recorders," she says. "Everybody was really into it, which I found stimulating.”
The effort paid off. After over a month of studying, Yumi nailed the test, clearing 900 points.
Eri, 29, was another Essence English School student. A software marketer, Eri, too, was taking the test in preparation for a job change. Like Yumi, she was in a hurry, having heard from the school about the revised TOEIC format.
“Who knows what the new test will be like?” she says. “Rather than plunge into the unknown, I decided it would be easier to take the test I'm used to.”
Two months of intensive study brought her score up more than 200 points, beyond her initial target of 600. She's still studying and plans to take the test again in March.
(IHT/Asahi: February 25,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602250180.html
Homo Sapiens: Getting an education in a rural community
By YOICHI TANAKA,The Asahi Shimbun
NASU-SHIOBARA, Tochigi Prefecture--The sleepy hamlet of Nasushiobara in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture seems like an unlikely place for a German youth to call home.
But for 19-year-old Joschka Waas, his experiences here have been some of the most eye-opening of his life. It has allowed him to rub shoulders with a broad range of people, from political dissidents to Catholic priests, all from some of the world's poorest countries.
Waas, from the historical city of Weimar, is a volunteer worker for the nongovernmental organization Asian Rural Institute, which trains grassroots rural leaders from developing countries under the motto, "that we may live together."
Waas does not fit the normal profile as he does not come from a poor country, nor does he have previous farming experience. But he is here because, like many young Germans, he wanted an alternative to compulsory military service.
When German males turn 18, they must either serve nine months in the military or volunteer to work for one year in a program doing social work or helping the environment.
"All my classmates, except for one boy, refused to go into military service," Waas says. "Actually I am not sure why we still need to keep conscription now that the Cold War is over."
Most people find a program in Germany in which to enroll, but Waas came across the Asian Rural Institute through an organization that dispatches German youths overseas who are conscientious objectors.
"I was surprised to find a place in Japan, where you could encounter people from developing countries," Waas says.
When Waas arrived six months ago, there were 31 people from 13 countries learning to become agricultural trainers and community leaders. They all returned home in December after completing a nine-month program, and a new batch of trainees will arrive in April.
Working side by side with other trainees from around the globe has been an invigorating experience for Waas. Once, he recalled, he was out in the fields, skinning onions with a Catholic priest from Benin in West Africa. Waas took issue with the church's edict forbidding the use of condoms--in the face of the AIDS epidemic. The priest did not agree with Waas, but they became close friends anyway.
Waas also spent time with a trainee from Myanmar (Burma), and learned about the stifling hardships that many people endure under the military regime in Yangon (Rangoon).
Waas was indignant. "I couldn't believe you could get arrested just for speaking about democracy inside a church," he says.
Last spring, when he was still in high school, Waas attended a memorial to mark 60 years since the liberation of the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp in his hometown. That experience will stay with him, he says.
As to his future: "I want to become a teacher, and tell the younger generation how I felt (at the memorial). I also want to speak about my many encounters that took place at the Asian Rural Institute."(IHT/Asahi: February 25,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602250208.html
NASU-SHIOBARA, Tochigi Prefecture--The sleepy hamlet of Nasushiobara in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture seems like an unlikely place for a German youth to call home.
But for 19-year-old Joschka Waas, his experiences here have been some of the most eye-opening of his life. It has allowed him to rub shoulders with a broad range of people, from political dissidents to Catholic priests, all from some of the world's poorest countries.
Waas, from the historical city of Weimar, is a volunteer worker for the nongovernmental organization Asian Rural Institute, which trains grassroots rural leaders from developing countries under the motto, "that we may live together."
Waas does not fit the normal profile as he does not come from a poor country, nor does he have previous farming experience. But he is here because, like many young Germans, he wanted an alternative to compulsory military service.
When German males turn 18, they must either serve nine months in the military or volunteer to work for one year in a program doing social work or helping the environment.
"All my classmates, except for one boy, refused to go into military service," Waas says. "Actually I am not sure why we still need to keep conscription now that the Cold War is over."
Most people find a program in Germany in which to enroll, but Waas came across the Asian Rural Institute through an organization that dispatches German youths overseas who are conscientious objectors.
"I was surprised to find a place in Japan, where you could encounter people from developing countries," Waas says.
When Waas arrived six months ago, there were 31 people from 13 countries learning to become agricultural trainers and community leaders. They all returned home in December after completing a nine-month program, and a new batch of trainees will arrive in April.
Working side by side with other trainees from around the globe has been an invigorating experience for Waas. Once, he recalled, he was out in the fields, skinning onions with a Catholic priest from Benin in West Africa. Waas took issue with the church's edict forbidding the use of condoms--in the face of the AIDS epidemic. The priest did not agree with Waas, but they became close friends anyway.
Waas also spent time with a trainee from Myanmar (Burma), and learned about the stifling hardships that many people endure under the military regime in Yangon (Rangoon).
Waas was indignant. "I couldn't believe you could get arrested just for speaking about democracy inside a church," he says.
Last spring, when he was still in high school, Waas attended a memorial to mark 60 years since the liberation of the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp in his hometown. That experience will stay with him, he says.
As to his future: "I want to become a teacher, and tell the younger generation how I felt (at the memorial). I also want to speak about my many encounters that took place at the Asian Rural Institute."(IHT/Asahi: February 25,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602250208.html
Jim Forsyth - The Study Abroad Coordinator/School Owner
Q. First of all, can you give us a brief description of your main area of employment and how you got into this field?
I am the owner of OPM - Overseas Program Management, involved in sending students for study-abroad, internships, working holiday programs, and homestay holidays. OPM also runs a school, JAOL - Japan Academy Of Language. I taught at YMCA, 2 private high schools, and privately in Hiroshima from 1991 to 1994, returned to Australia for a year off in 1995 (passed through Kobe the day before the Hanshin earthquake), then taught again in 1996 at Red Cross Nursing Senmon Gakkou, and a high school.
Seeing that many students were going on study tours and to formal courses abroad, I started my own business in April 1997.
What are your personal and business values? Influences?
Sachiko and I have 8 children, a daughter, then 7 sons. To let them become bilingual plus bicultural, we are trying to shuffle them between schools here and in Australia. Short stints from around 10 or 11, a half-year during junior high school, then all of high school, in Australia. The eldest, our 16- year-old daughter, is home now for Christmas break, then returns in late January for her last 2 years.
I saw language education as a business chance, and see business as a chance to give my large family an education. Perhaps I'll have to groom some of them to carry on the company after we eventually retire to the pristine sands of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
My interest in Japan started early, as my father had 2 years in Iwakuni and Kure, with the Occupation Forces, in 1946-47. He kept albums of Box Brownie photos, and had 33 rpm gramophone records of music that no other kids at my school had. Cool, before the days of "cool, man".
What would you say are the main requirements to succeed in this field?
With the study-abroad side, being a foreigner is an asset, because I rarely can't get to see a high school Principal, even without an appointment. They are just too polite to turn me away from the school's reception office. As for counselling individuals, it helps greatly to have been to the school we are recommending, met the staff there, and be (or sound) familiar with that city, or area.
Describe a typical working day.
With our high schooler abroad, we only have 7 boys at home! The junior high schoolers are soccer crazy, and leave home by 7.00 usually, for early training. They will have to suffer this over-training until their turn comes to escape to the home country. Our local primary school is 100 metres away, so the next 2 are on their way by 7.50. We take the youngest 3 to child-care by 9.00, and get to our downtown office and school by 10.00. The OPM office and JAOL school are located opposite Hiroshima's Peace Park, on Peace Boulevard. My wife tries to be home by 6pm, and I return between 8 and 11 pm, depending on classes.
On the 1st, 3rd and 5th Saturdays of every month, we have a Toastmasters Club meeting. I started the corporate Toastmasters Club in July 2005, OPM Toastmasters club, No. 730290. It is the first official club in a school in Japan! Though it's primarily for staff and upper-level students, it's also open to the community. The un-official motto of the club would be, "Become more Able with your English Ability". We started with 23 members and are already up to 35, so it's been something of a success.
Toastmasters, for most Japanese members, is a matter of 'putting your English to use', or a cheaper brush-up than taking translation lessons... Even for the native-speakers, most of us don't need to give speeches in our usual routines. The 2 minute impromptu sessions are the most challenging, as nearly everyone can benefit from practice in 'thinking on their feet'.
Teachers though, 'speak' to an audience every class, so have less trouble with stage-fright. It's surprising still, to hear the number of pauses, or 'fillers', that are uttered by even the seemingly un-tongue-tied.
On Sundays I most often do two, but sometimes up to six, weddings as a Minister at a hotel's 'chapel'.
Do you see yourself staying in this field or perhaps making a move in the future?
As our youngest is still only a year and nine months, we'll most likely be working for eons yet. If the elder children become interested in taking over the business, that may allow us to convert to beachside hunters-and-gatherers (fishing and vegie patch retirees).
http://www.eltnews.com/features/aday/
I am the owner of OPM - Overseas Program Management, involved in sending students for study-abroad, internships, working holiday programs, and homestay holidays. OPM also runs a school, JAOL - Japan Academy Of Language. I taught at YMCA, 2 private high schools, and privately in Hiroshima from 1991 to 1994, returned to Australia for a year off in 1995 (passed through Kobe the day before the Hanshin earthquake), then taught again in 1996 at Red Cross Nursing Senmon Gakkou, and a high school.
Seeing that many students were going on study tours and to formal courses abroad, I started my own business in April 1997.
What are your personal and business values? Influences?
Sachiko and I have 8 children, a daughter, then 7 sons. To let them become bilingual plus bicultural, we are trying to shuffle them between schools here and in Australia. Short stints from around 10 or 11, a half-year during junior high school, then all of high school, in Australia. The eldest, our 16- year-old daughter, is home now for Christmas break, then returns in late January for her last 2 years.
I saw language education as a business chance, and see business as a chance to give my large family an education. Perhaps I'll have to groom some of them to carry on the company after we eventually retire to the pristine sands of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
My interest in Japan started early, as my father had 2 years in Iwakuni and Kure, with the Occupation Forces, in 1946-47. He kept albums of Box Brownie photos, and had 33 rpm gramophone records of music that no other kids at my school had. Cool, before the days of "cool, man".
What would you say are the main requirements to succeed in this field?
With the study-abroad side, being a foreigner is an asset, because I rarely can't get to see a high school Principal, even without an appointment. They are just too polite to turn me away from the school's reception office. As for counselling individuals, it helps greatly to have been to the school we are recommending, met the staff there, and be (or sound) familiar with that city, or area.
Describe a typical working day.
With our high schooler abroad, we only have 7 boys at home! The junior high schoolers are soccer crazy, and leave home by 7.00 usually, for early training. They will have to suffer this over-training until their turn comes to escape to the home country. Our local primary school is 100 metres away, so the next 2 are on their way by 7.50. We take the youngest 3 to child-care by 9.00, and get to our downtown office and school by 10.00. The OPM office and JAOL school are located opposite Hiroshima's Peace Park, on Peace Boulevard. My wife tries to be home by 6pm, and I return between 8 and 11 pm, depending on classes.
On the 1st, 3rd and 5th Saturdays of every month, we have a Toastmasters Club meeting. I started the corporate Toastmasters Club in July 2005, OPM Toastmasters club, No. 730290. It is the first official club in a school in Japan! Though it's primarily for staff and upper-level students, it's also open to the community. The un-official motto of the club would be, "Become more Able with your English Ability". We started with 23 members and are already up to 35, so it's been something of a success.
Toastmasters, for most Japanese members, is a matter of 'putting your English to use', or a cheaper brush-up than taking translation lessons... Even for the native-speakers, most of us don't need to give speeches in our usual routines. The 2 minute impromptu sessions are the most challenging, as nearly everyone can benefit from practice in 'thinking on their feet'.
Teachers though, 'speak' to an audience every class, so have less trouble with stage-fright. It's surprising still, to hear the number of pauses, or 'fillers', that are uttered by even the seemingly un-tongue-tied.
On Sundays I most often do two, but sometimes up to six, weddings as a Minister at a hotel's 'chapel'.
Do you see yourself staying in this field or perhaps making a move in the future?
As our youngest is still only a year and nine months, we'll most likely be working for eons yet. If the elder children become interested in taking over the business, that may allow us to convert to beachside hunters-and-gatherers (fishing and vegie patch retirees).
http://www.eltnews.com/features/aday/
Friday, February 24, 2006
Cultivating Supporters for Students of Asian Nations in Japanese Schools
Due to circumstances related to the career and/or marital/familial situations of their guardians, the number of students from Asian nations entering Japanese schools has increased in recent years. These students not only face difficulties with language barriers, but also uneasiness with adjusting to a new school environment and life within a culture different to their own. Presently, many Japanese primary and secondary schools provide interpreters to help students in the area of academic/school-related issues, but it cannot necessarily be said that supporters knowledgeable of the foreign student's culture are available.
There is a clear necessity for the development of supporters/volunteers who are not only proficient in a foreign language, but who are also capable of helping to sustain a child's identity and help maintain good, healthy relations within the student's family.Consequently, in 2006 the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education will be conducting seminars that cover the clinical psychology aspects of educational counseling, school systems, and also those geared towards furthering understanding and multicultural-friendly education.
The aforementioned seminars will be geared towards volunteer foreigner supporters, particularly those who requested assignments in the field of education, have prior volunteer experience with international exchange organizations and/or interpreting. The goal of these seminars will be to cultivate supporters capable of conducting educational counseling that acknowledges the cultures of other Asian nations. Also, seminars geared towards improving teacher's methods of teaching Japanese to immigrants are in the works.
Further details covering the seminars will be posted on the Board Of Education's Student Support Division webpage near the end of May.
http://www.clair-osaka.jp/backnume.cgi?id=82
There is a clear necessity for the development of supporters/volunteers who are not only proficient in a foreign language, but who are also capable of helping to sustain a child's identity and help maintain good, healthy relations within the student's family.Consequently, in 2006 the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education will be conducting seminars that cover the clinical psychology aspects of educational counseling, school systems, and also those geared towards furthering understanding and multicultural-friendly education.
The aforementioned seminars will be geared towards volunteer foreigner supporters, particularly those who requested assignments in the field of education, have prior volunteer experience with international exchange organizations and/or interpreting. The goal of these seminars will be to cultivate supporters capable of conducting educational counseling that acknowledges the cultures of other Asian nations. Also, seminars geared towards improving teacher's methods of teaching Japanese to immigrants are in the works.
Further details covering the seminars will be posted on the Board Of Education's Student Support Division webpage near the end of May.
http://www.clair-osaka.jp/backnume.cgi?id=82
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Distance Learning in Japan
Distance Learning in Japan
"It is estimated that the number of broadband users in Japan will multiply to 30 million in the next three years. Thus, it is possible that Japan will become the most wired nation on earth with affordable broadband by the year 2008". This article, published in the Tokyo Weekender, looks into why distance education/distributed learning has been slowly adopted in Japan. The author also provides links to educational institutes that are delivering courses to Japanese students and/or have partnerships with educational institutions in Japan. Important issues to consider when selecting a distance education institution are also discussed.
http://www.weekender.co.jp/new/021018/distance-learning-021018.html
"It is estimated that the number of broadband users in Japan will multiply to 30 million in the next three years. Thus, it is possible that Japan will become the most wired nation on earth with affordable broadband by the year 2008". This article, published in the Tokyo Weekender, looks into why distance education/distributed learning has been slowly adopted in Japan. The author also provides links to educational institutes that are delivering courses to Japanese students and/or have partnerships with educational institutions in Japan. Important issues to consider when selecting a distance education institution are also discussed.
http://www.weekender.co.jp/new/021018/distance-learning-021018.html
Schools revisit Saturday classes amid college worries
By CARL FREIRE
The Associated Press
Just four years ago, the high-pressure public school system moved to lighten the burden on young students by eliminating Saturday classes and going to a five-day schedule.
Now, some schools are saying five days are not enough.
Under pressure to better prepare students for university, two Tokyo-area high schools this week announced they would go back to a six-day week when the new school year starts in April.
The move reflects growing concern among parents and students that public school standards might be damaged by recent reforms aimed at easing pressure on students and fostering creativity.
"We want to be certain to improve the academic abilities of our students," said Yukio Otani, principal of Omiya High School in Saitama Prefecture. "We also want those students to be able to follow the career path they desire."
The public school week was cut to five days in 2002. Other steps in recent years include shortening textbooks, reducing workloads and giving students school credit for private tutoring lessons.
Officials in Saitama and media reports say that other public schools around the country are moving back to six-day weeks, although the education ministry says it doesn't track such data.
Many students at the two Saitama schools are on a college track, prefectural education official Junichi Asaumi said. Some students, along with their parents, asked for the Saturday classes as a supplement to better their performance, he said.
Asaumi, however, said the return to a six-day week would be partial. The Saturday sessions will be held every other week and be open to parents and guardians to see what their children are learning, rather than full-blown study periods, he said.
"We need to keep the needs and wishes of the students and their parents in mind," Asaumi said.
Some parents also fear children in less rigorous public schools will fall behind those at private schools, which have retained the six-day formula, said Yoshio Kato of the Saitama Parent-Teacher Association.
"Public school fees may be less expensive, but parents don't want to see a big gap in the education that children receive," he said.
The national school system has been credited with producing the generations of well-educated, capable workers who powered the country's spectacular economic growth in the decades after World War II.
But concerns have grown over the past 20 years that the system imposes too much pressure on children, contributing to student burnout, bullying and rising numbers of children who refuse to go to school.
While some of the changes implemented in recent years -- the five-day week was instituted in 2002 -- have eased students' workload, a child's academic standing is still largely determined by performance on difficult standardized tests.
With parental and student anxieties over university entrance exams showing no signs of abating, more and more public schools may be forced to consider bending the policy, officials say.
"We have to take into account the characteristics of each school and its student body," Asaumi said. "College-bound students want to be prepared to pursue their chosen path."
The Japan Times: Feb. 23, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060223f1.html
The Associated Press
Just four years ago, the high-pressure public school system moved to lighten the burden on young students by eliminating Saturday classes and going to a five-day schedule.
Now, some schools are saying five days are not enough.
Under pressure to better prepare students for university, two Tokyo-area high schools this week announced they would go back to a six-day week when the new school year starts in April.
The move reflects growing concern among parents and students that public school standards might be damaged by recent reforms aimed at easing pressure on students and fostering creativity.
"We want to be certain to improve the academic abilities of our students," said Yukio Otani, principal of Omiya High School in Saitama Prefecture. "We also want those students to be able to follow the career path they desire."
The public school week was cut to five days in 2002. Other steps in recent years include shortening textbooks, reducing workloads and giving students school credit for private tutoring lessons.
Officials in Saitama and media reports say that other public schools around the country are moving back to six-day weeks, although the education ministry says it doesn't track such data.
Many students at the two Saitama schools are on a college track, prefectural education official Junichi Asaumi said. Some students, along with their parents, asked for the Saturday classes as a supplement to better their performance, he said.
Asaumi, however, said the return to a six-day week would be partial. The Saturday sessions will be held every other week and be open to parents and guardians to see what their children are learning, rather than full-blown study periods, he said.
"We need to keep the needs and wishes of the students and their parents in mind," Asaumi said.
Some parents also fear children in less rigorous public schools will fall behind those at private schools, which have retained the six-day formula, said Yoshio Kato of the Saitama Parent-Teacher Association.
"Public school fees may be less expensive, but parents don't want to see a big gap in the education that children receive," he said.
The national school system has been credited with producing the generations of well-educated, capable workers who powered the country's spectacular economic growth in the decades after World War II.
But concerns have grown over the past 20 years that the system imposes too much pressure on children, contributing to student burnout, bullying and rising numbers of children who refuse to go to school.
While some of the changes implemented in recent years -- the five-day week was instituted in 2002 -- have eased students' workload, a child's academic standing is still largely determined by performance on difficult standardized tests.
With parental and student anxieties over university entrance exams showing no signs of abating, more and more public schools may be forced to consider bending the policy, officials say.
"We have to take into account the characteristics of each school and its student body," Asaumi said. "College-bound students want to be prepared to pursue their chosen path."
The Japan Times: Feb. 23, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060223f1.html
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Taking the biz plunge
There's never been a better time to strike out on your own here
By LAURA FITCH
Japan has long been a point of interest for economists worldwide, picking itself up after World War II to create a gargantuan economy that, despite the post-Bubble crash, is still one of the largest in the world. But these stats do little to shed any light on what it's like doing business on the ground level.
Michelle Coverly, who came to Japan originally to teach English to fund her training, now works here as a circus performer
So how is working as an entrepreneur or freelancer in Japan?
According to one interviewee, working in Japan can be akin to "sticking a pencil in your eye." But recent changes to laws designed to stimulate the economy make starting and owning your own business here easier than ever.
A growing number of foreigners here are choosing to strike out on their own, either freelancing their artistic or creative talents, or creating their own businesses to fill niches that they observe in the market around them.
"I came here first to make money for my circus performance course," says Michelle Coverley ( www.freewebs.com/circusperformer/ ) now a circus performer who came to Japan originally to teach English to fund her training.
"But I came back because I realized there's a market for me here."
Coverley now performs at various venues, including trade shows, festivals and parties, either alone or with a troupe of two other acrobats. She makes a good living, easily enough to support herself, and picks up some English classes on the side for extra cash.
After coming to Japan to teach English with one of the major "eikaiwa," Anthony Brathwaite felt that something at his job was lacking.
The company he worked for was mainly concerned with profit, and as a result he felt the teaching was below standard. The school was overstaffed and the relationship between management and staff was strained. He decided he could do it better.
He created a system where his company is accountable for student satisfaction. If they are not happy with their teachers, they can choose another one that is more suitable to their needs. He runs his business with a small core of permanent staff and is in contact with about 1,000 teachers, and holds monthly events for students and teachers.
Treating both customers and staff well, he says, is a crucial point in his business. "Treat your staff well and they will work well for you." His teacher introduction service, Prism Networks ( www.prismeikaiwa.com ), opened its doors 4 years ago and boasts high-level officials, executives and entertainers among its clients.
"Tokyo is a gold mine for risk-takers," he explains, noting the Japanese aversion to risk. "Just find a need and fill it."
Jaime Reban-Jones and Nik Jones own party promotion company, the Reban-Jones Project, based in Tokyo. In addition to running various music events around the city, such as their monthly music event Phresh ( www.phresh.jp ) at downtown club Milk, the pair are looking to incorporate different elements into their promotions, such as art and food catering.
This kind of creative conglomeration can find a comfortable home in Japan's metropolis where the sheer volume of people provides a market for just about anything.
In the beginning, the entrepreneur has two basic options; the "yugengaisha" (literally limited company) or the "kakuningaisha" (confirmed company). The yugengaisha requires proof of a minimum of 3 million yen in assets to incorporate plus the additional filing fees, which including translations can run around 250,000 yen. If that price is too rich for the entrepreneur's blood, the kakuningaisha offers the chance to incorporate without the 3 million yen up front.
Instead, the upstart has 5 years in which to earn that 3 million yen, either in cash or in assets. If unable to do so by the deadline, the company will be dissolved.
For those interested in checking out up-to-date information on Japanese business laws and investments in English, the Japan External Trade Organization ( www.jetro.go.jp ) offers a wealth of information on everything from government procurement to investment advice.
Many find that the rules for running a business independently in Japan to be more than user-friendly.
According to Beezer, CEO of Beezer Photos ( www.beezerphotos.com ) who has been working as a freelance photographer in Tokyo for 13 years, in addition to running a photography school and contributing to numerous projects in the Tokyo area, "Japanese laws are very pleasant compared to other countries in regard to taxes and visas. The bureaucracy is easier to deal with. Less in your face." He also notes that most of the necessary information is available in English.
But financial and legal savvy is only one aspect of running a successful independent career. Another important spice in the mix, especially in Japan, is a network of contacts with local people. The high value placed on "wa," or social harmony, makes the cultivation of personal relationships and balance extremely important, in social interactions as well as in business.
Brathwaite advises to "always remember you're a guest in this country" and act accordingly. What may be seen as a go get 'em attitude desirable in a business partner in other countries may be interpreted as overly aggressive here and lead to rejection. This means learning to network and do business in different ways.
Some people "think they can waltz in bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," says Simon Jackson, president of Northpointnetwork,( www.northpointnetwork.com ) a company that acts as the middle man between Japanese and Russian oil development companies, and project director for Ridgerunner Architectural Design ( www.rad-development.com ), a company that has built and is now marketing modern, upmarket ski homes for foreigners in Hokkaido. "But the door's not open."
Jackson notes that he has made many more contacts through his volunteer activities than through regular networking channels. He cites an example of being prepped to meet a chairman with the advice of "don't talk business." So he talked volunteerism instead, and landed a useful contact.
Brathwaite says that he has never had to go to a company for Web design or other such business expenses. He has found more than enough people willing to advise him on business matters by trying to integrate into the community.
"I always met someone who would help me," he says. What would he say to those wanting to strike out on their own? "Stop wasting your time in Roppongi. Get down to the local bar."
Getting to know people also means listening. For foreigners who are used to directness in business dealings, learning the subtleties of Japanese communication can be frustrating, and language skills are definitely a benefit.
"Muzukashii" literally translates into "difficult," but the actual meaning is more like "not really" or "I don't want to," observes Jackson. "It takes time and effort to find what works."
One of the things that can work as an advantage is simply being a foreigner, which can help when it comes to being remembered for available jobs, says Coverley.
Jackson agrees: "As a foreigner, doors will open for you more than others."
Or they will most of the time. Although playing the foreigner card may be beneficial in some cases, in others it may work against you, Beezer says. It means that you're competing with the locals, and in terms of working a trade like photography or design, it is worth it "to maintain a strong base of contacts from home" in order to export your work, he says.
At the end of the day, it comes down to hard work, resilience and as Jackson says, "tenacity and the ability to keep smiling."
The Japan Times: Feb. 21, 2006
By LAURA FITCH
Japan has long been a point of interest for economists worldwide, picking itself up after World War II to create a gargantuan economy that, despite the post-Bubble crash, is still one of the largest in the world. But these stats do little to shed any light on what it's like doing business on the ground level.
Michelle Coverly, who came to Japan originally to teach English to fund her training, now works here as a circus performer
So how is working as an entrepreneur or freelancer in Japan?
According to one interviewee, working in Japan can be akin to "sticking a pencil in your eye." But recent changes to laws designed to stimulate the economy make starting and owning your own business here easier than ever.
A growing number of foreigners here are choosing to strike out on their own, either freelancing their artistic or creative talents, or creating their own businesses to fill niches that they observe in the market around them.
"I came here first to make money for my circus performance course," says Michelle Coverley ( www.freewebs.com/circusperformer/ ) now a circus performer who came to Japan originally to teach English to fund her training.
"But I came back because I realized there's a market for me here."
Coverley now performs at various venues, including trade shows, festivals and parties, either alone or with a troupe of two other acrobats. She makes a good living, easily enough to support herself, and picks up some English classes on the side for extra cash.
After coming to Japan to teach English with one of the major "eikaiwa," Anthony Brathwaite felt that something at his job was lacking.
The company he worked for was mainly concerned with profit, and as a result he felt the teaching was below standard. The school was overstaffed and the relationship between management and staff was strained. He decided he could do it better.
He created a system where his company is accountable for student satisfaction. If they are not happy with their teachers, they can choose another one that is more suitable to their needs. He runs his business with a small core of permanent staff and is in contact with about 1,000 teachers, and holds monthly events for students and teachers.
Treating both customers and staff well, he says, is a crucial point in his business. "Treat your staff well and they will work well for you." His teacher introduction service, Prism Networks ( www.prismeikaiwa.com ), opened its doors 4 years ago and boasts high-level officials, executives and entertainers among its clients.
"Tokyo is a gold mine for risk-takers," he explains, noting the Japanese aversion to risk. "Just find a need and fill it."
Jaime Reban-Jones and Nik Jones own party promotion company, the Reban-Jones Project, based in Tokyo. In addition to running various music events around the city, such as their monthly music event Phresh ( www.phresh.jp ) at downtown club Milk, the pair are looking to incorporate different elements into their promotions, such as art and food catering.
This kind of creative conglomeration can find a comfortable home in Japan's metropolis where the sheer volume of people provides a market for just about anything.
In the beginning, the entrepreneur has two basic options; the "yugengaisha" (literally limited company) or the "kakuningaisha" (confirmed company). The yugengaisha requires proof of a minimum of 3 million yen in assets to incorporate plus the additional filing fees, which including translations can run around 250,000 yen. If that price is too rich for the entrepreneur's blood, the kakuningaisha offers the chance to incorporate without the 3 million yen up front.
Instead, the upstart has 5 years in which to earn that 3 million yen, either in cash or in assets. If unable to do so by the deadline, the company will be dissolved.
For those interested in checking out up-to-date information on Japanese business laws and investments in English, the Japan External Trade Organization ( www.jetro.go.jp ) offers a wealth of information on everything from government procurement to investment advice.
Many find that the rules for running a business independently in Japan to be more than user-friendly.
According to Beezer, CEO of Beezer Photos ( www.beezerphotos.com ) who has been working as a freelance photographer in Tokyo for 13 years, in addition to running a photography school and contributing to numerous projects in the Tokyo area, "Japanese laws are very pleasant compared to other countries in regard to taxes and visas. The bureaucracy is easier to deal with. Less in your face." He also notes that most of the necessary information is available in English.
But financial and legal savvy is only one aspect of running a successful independent career. Another important spice in the mix, especially in Japan, is a network of contacts with local people. The high value placed on "wa," or social harmony, makes the cultivation of personal relationships and balance extremely important, in social interactions as well as in business.
Brathwaite advises to "always remember you're a guest in this country" and act accordingly. What may be seen as a go get 'em attitude desirable in a business partner in other countries may be interpreted as overly aggressive here and lead to rejection. This means learning to network and do business in different ways.
Some people "think they can waltz in bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," says Simon Jackson, president of Northpointnetwork,( www.northpointnetwork.com ) a company that acts as the middle man between Japanese and Russian oil development companies, and project director for Ridgerunner Architectural Design ( www.rad-development.com ), a company that has built and is now marketing modern, upmarket ski homes for foreigners in Hokkaido. "But the door's not open."
Jackson notes that he has made many more contacts through his volunteer activities than through regular networking channels. He cites an example of being prepped to meet a chairman with the advice of "don't talk business." So he talked volunteerism instead, and landed a useful contact.
Brathwaite says that he has never had to go to a company for Web design or other such business expenses. He has found more than enough people willing to advise him on business matters by trying to integrate into the community.
"I always met someone who would help me," he says. What would he say to those wanting to strike out on their own? "Stop wasting your time in Roppongi. Get down to the local bar."
Getting to know people also means listening. For foreigners who are used to directness in business dealings, learning the subtleties of Japanese communication can be frustrating, and language skills are definitely a benefit.
"Muzukashii" literally translates into "difficult," but the actual meaning is more like "not really" or "I don't want to," observes Jackson. "It takes time and effort to find what works."
One of the things that can work as an advantage is simply being a foreigner, which can help when it comes to being remembered for available jobs, says Coverley.
Jackson agrees: "As a foreigner, doors will open for you more than others."
Or they will most of the time. Although playing the foreigner card may be beneficial in some cases, in others it may work against you, Beezer says. It means that you're competing with the locals, and in terms of working a trade like photography or design, it is worth it "to maintain a strong base of contacts from home" in order to export your work, he says.
At the end of the day, it comes down to hard work, resilience and as Jackson says, "tenacity and the ability to keep smiling."
The Japan Times: Feb. 21, 2006
Feb 22 - Young Japanese traveling again before college graduation
Wednesday February 22, 9:09 AM
FEATURE: Young Japanese traveling again before college graduation(Kyodo) _ The trend for young Japanese to travel overseas before they finish college, which has been sluggish in recent years due to the recession and bad job market, is making a comeback with cheap packages offered by travel agencies, such as a seven days in London for 70,000 yen and three days in Beijing for 32,000 yen.
These trips were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Japan's economy was booming. But with the collapse of the bubble economy many young people could not even think of heading overseas for a holiday when they were having difficulty securing jobs after graduation.
But things have been improving recently. JTB Corp. saw a 2.5-fold increase in its student tours from the previous year.
There are some changes in tour styles. Cheap and long tours, such as a 30-day, around Europe tour and a North America transcontinental trip, used to be popular, but recent trips are shorter and concentrated on famous sightseeing spots.
Mari Shimamura, the author of the book "Hello Work of Overseas Trips" said the days of long trips on a shoestring budget are over. "The purpose of spending money has become clear, such as trips to the Disneyland or Italy to watch soccer games."
The number of young people traveling abroad has been decreasing year after year. Justice Ministry figures from 2004 show those in their 20s accounted for 18.5 percent of the total, down 5 points from four years before.
The drop was blamed on the decreasing birthrate and active overseas trips by the elderly.
Shigeru Shimazaki, an official at the eastern Japan sales headquarters of JTB World Vacations Inc., said, "The present overseas travel is supported by women in their late 30s and early 40s who experienced pre-graduation trips during the bubble period. We would also like current students to support traveling abroad 10 to 20 years later."
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060222/kyodo/d8ftrjl03.html
FEATURE: Young Japanese traveling again before college graduation(Kyodo) _ The trend for young Japanese to travel overseas before they finish college, which has been sluggish in recent years due to the recession and bad job market, is making a comeback with cheap packages offered by travel agencies, such as a seven days in London for 70,000 yen and three days in Beijing for 32,000 yen.
These trips were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Japan's economy was booming. But with the collapse of the bubble economy many young people could not even think of heading overseas for a holiday when they were having difficulty securing jobs after graduation.
But things have been improving recently. JTB Corp. saw a 2.5-fold increase in its student tours from the previous year.
There are some changes in tour styles. Cheap and long tours, such as a 30-day, around Europe tour and a North America transcontinental trip, used to be popular, but recent trips are shorter and concentrated on famous sightseeing spots.
Mari Shimamura, the author of the book "Hello Work of Overseas Trips" said the days of long trips on a shoestring budget are over. "The purpose of spending money has become clear, such as trips to the Disneyland or Italy to watch soccer games."
The number of young people traveling abroad has been decreasing year after year. Justice Ministry figures from 2004 show those in their 20s accounted for 18.5 percent of the total, down 5 points from four years before.
The drop was blamed on the decreasing birthrate and active overseas trips by the elderly.
Shigeru Shimazaki, an official at the eastern Japan sales headquarters of JTB World Vacations Inc., said, "The present overseas travel is supported by women in their late 30s and early 40s who experienced pre-graduation trips during the bubble period. We would also like current students to support traveling abroad 10 to 20 years later."
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060222/kyodo/d8ftrjl03.html
Monday, February 20, 2006
Universities see growth in postgraduate job seekers
The Yomiuri Shimbun
More universities have begun helping alumni find new employment, often through subsidiaries or tie-ups with recruitment agencies.
The trend comes as more graduates leave their first postgraduate jobs after just a few years. But the trend also is an indicator of the increasing competitiveness between universities to recruit students by touting a caring nature as the nation sees a decline in the student population.
===
New career, old school
Last spring, Daisuke Yamashita, a 28-year-old graduate of Waseda University's Education Department, quit his job of more than four years at a software development company and started working for a secondhand car magazine publisher called Proto Corp. At the publisher, Yamashita's dream to have an Internet-related job came true and he was entrusted to operate a Web site about secondhand car information.
"Many people use the Web site, so I find it [the job] rewarding," Yamashita said.
In getting the new job, Yamashita received help from The Campus Corp., a subsidiary the university started in 1990 originally to help soon-to-be graduates find jobs.
Over recent years the university's job placement office has been contacted by a growing number of graduates hoping to find new jobs. The university saw the need for a new support system, separate from the one that helps current students, and started a system to help graduates in October 2004.
Under the new system, a graduate registers with Campus, which then has a consultant meet the graduate to discuss job preferences. The consultant introduces the graduate to companies listed on the company's Web site.
Even after the graduate has unofficially found new employment using the system, the consultant negotiates with the company that is hiring the graduate regarding salary and other issues. The service is free for alumni with Campus being paid a fee from the company that has employed the graduate.
Campus makes sure to support job-seeking alumni with priority on the graduate's preferences. The university believes that helping graduates find jobs that the applicant is suited for is better than quick results.
"If I think a new job doesn't suit our customer, I sometimes advise him or her not to get the job," said Hideyo Takeda, one of Campus' consultants.
Such sincerity makes the company a user favorite. At the moment, more than 300 alumni are registered with Campus.
===
Good for university business
Japan Job Posting Service, Inc. (JJPS) in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, provides Campus with an operating system for its business. JJPS plans to provide several universities with a similar system and has received inquiries for the system from other universities.
"If you think of the university like a manufacturer, alumni are its products. If many alumni become so-called freeters [part-time workers who often switch jobs], that can damage the university's reputation," JJPS President Hiroyuki Yoneyama said.
Some universities support job-seeking alumni while they use employment agencies. In November, Kansai University tied up with Kansai Employment Creation Organization, Inc., an Osaka-based affiliate of the employment agency Pasona Group, to support alumni free of charge. The university had been busy helping graduates seeking new jobs as more than 50 alumni have registered with the university's job placement office for two consecutive years.
Besides Pasona, more than 30 companies hoping to find employees have used Kansai Employment, so the company always has a supply of fresh job vacancy information. The organization also provides a variety of training programs, including interview training. Because of Kansai Employment's reputation, the university decided to team up with the company to help its alumni.
In the first three months since the tie-up was made, about 600 graduates visited the university's job placement office and more than half of them hope to be registered with the organization.
The average alumnus visiting the office for consultation is in their late 20s who have an averages of about five years of postgraduate work experience. Eighty percent of applicants are men. Most women registered with the organization are contract employees looking for permanent jobs.
The university is highly motivated and through the support system aims to become a power in producing students who land jobs, it said.
===
Sign of the times
According to a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry survey, the rate of university graduates who leave their first job after three years is between 30 percent and 40 percent.
Most job vacancy information sent to universities is tailored for graduates wanting to change jobs after the first year and up to the first three years of employment. This trend has sparked an increase in the number of graduates visiting university job placement offices.
Atomi University's job placement office also receives many worried alumni who come for consultation about their jobs and say they want to find a better employment.
But Miki Toyoshima of the university's job placement office said: "There's also a trend that graduates are not serious enough and just want to work for another company. I hope they won't change their jobs with such indifference."
(Feb. 8, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/20060208TDY04004.htm
More universities have begun helping alumni find new employment, often through subsidiaries or tie-ups with recruitment agencies.
The trend comes as more graduates leave their first postgraduate jobs after just a few years. But the trend also is an indicator of the increasing competitiveness between universities to recruit students by touting a caring nature as the nation sees a decline in the student population.
===
New career, old school
Last spring, Daisuke Yamashita, a 28-year-old graduate of Waseda University's Education Department, quit his job of more than four years at a software development company and started working for a secondhand car magazine publisher called Proto Corp. At the publisher, Yamashita's dream to have an Internet-related job came true and he was entrusted to operate a Web site about secondhand car information.
"Many people use the Web site, so I find it [the job] rewarding," Yamashita said.
In getting the new job, Yamashita received help from The Campus Corp., a subsidiary the university started in 1990 originally to help soon-to-be graduates find jobs.
Over recent years the university's job placement office has been contacted by a growing number of graduates hoping to find new jobs. The university saw the need for a new support system, separate from the one that helps current students, and started a system to help graduates in October 2004.
Under the new system, a graduate registers with Campus, which then has a consultant meet the graduate to discuss job preferences. The consultant introduces the graduate to companies listed on the company's Web site.
Even after the graduate has unofficially found new employment using the system, the consultant negotiates with the company that is hiring the graduate regarding salary and other issues. The service is free for alumni with Campus being paid a fee from the company that has employed the graduate.
Campus makes sure to support job-seeking alumni with priority on the graduate's preferences. The university believes that helping graduates find jobs that the applicant is suited for is better than quick results.
"If I think a new job doesn't suit our customer, I sometimes advise him or her not to get the job," said Hideyo Takeda, one of Campus' consultants.
Such sincerity makes the company a user favorite. At the moment, more than 300 alumni are registered with Campus.
===
Good for university business
Japan Job Posting Service, Inc. (JJPS) in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, provides Campus with an operating system for its business. JJPS plans to provide several universities with a similar system and has received inquiries for the system from other universities.
"If you think of the university like a manufacturer, alumni are its products. If many alumni become so-called freeters [part-time workers who often switch jobs], that can damage the university's reputation," JJPS President Hiroyuki Yoneyama said.
Some universities support job-seeking alumni while they use employment agencies. In November, Kansai University tied up with Kansai Employment Creation Organization, Inc., an Osaka-based affiliate of the employment agency Pasona Group, to support alumni free of charge. The university had been busy helping graduates seeking new jobs as more than 50 alumni have registered with the university's job placement office for two consecutive years.
Besides Pasona, more than 30 companies hoping to find employees have used Kansai Employment, so the company always has a supply of fresh job vacancy information. The organization also provides a variety of training programs, including interview training. Because of Kansai Employment's reputation, the university decided to team up with the company to help its alumni.
In the first three months since the tie-up was made, about 600 graduates visited the university's job placement office and more than half of them hope to be registered with the organization.
The average alumnus visiting the office for consultation is in their late 20s who have an averages of about five years of postgraduate work experience. Eighty percent of applicants are men. Most women registered with the organization are contract employees looking for permanent jobs.
The university is highly motivated and through the support system aims to become a power in producing students who land jobs, it said.
===
Sign of the times
According to a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry survey, the rate of university graduates who leave their first job after three years is between 30 percent and 40 percent.
Most job vacancy information sent to universities is tailored for graduates wanting to change jobs after the first year and up to the first three years of employment. This trend has sparked an increase in the number of graduates visiting university job placement offices.
Atomi University's job placement office also receives many worried alumni who come for consultation about their jobs and say they want to find a better employment.
But Miki Toyoshima of the university's job placement office said: "There's also a trend that graduates are not serious enough and just want to work for another company. I hope they won't change their jobs with such indifference."
(Feb. 8, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/20060208TDY04004.htm
University of Tokyo undergrads use unique status to pen best-selling books
Being a student at the prestigious University of Tokyo, popularly known as Todai, seems to be all it takes to become a successful author these days.
It's not just advice on how to study for entrance exams, which might seem reasonable for a young college student still wet behind the ears. But Todai students are also presenting themselves as experts on subjects such as the stock market and bureaucratic jargon. And readers are lapping it up.
Not surprisingly, more college students are jumping on the bandwagon and pitching book ideas to publishers. As for why, there seems to be something more appealing about seeing their words in print rather than on an Internet blog.
The pioneer of the recent spate of books by Todai students was 2004's "Todaisei ga Kaita Yasashii Kabu no Kyokasho" (Simple textbook on stocks, written by Todai students), an investment guide in the form of a conversation between a student and a college teacher. The book's publisher, Index Communications, says the book has sold about 132,000 copies.
"Kabu no Kyokasho" was written by seven Todai students, most of them enrolled in the department of law and members of the school's investors' club.
Editor Hidemi Kawabe, 38, who was instrumental in getting the book published, thinks he knows the reason for its success: "It's because Todai is a national brand.
"We put out a guide on stock investments written by Keio University students that sold only 13,000 copies. Keio doesn't have the same cachet as Todai."
With the flood of business books on the market, the identity of the authors is a key selling point, Kawabe says. But experts on economics tend to have fixed views, and they don't like to change their accustomed way of expressing themselves. Todai students, on the other hand, accept direction from an editor without making a fuss, and they don't balk at doing research. They write from an open perspective, and since they're young, they don't mind burning the midnight oil. They're ideal for someone like Kawabe to work with.
In January, "Todaisei ga Kaita, Atama ga Yokunaru Sansu no Kyokasho" (Textbook to improve your brain for arithmetic, written by Todai students) hit the shelves. There are plans for two more books in the series, on physics and math.
The books are designed for young business people who want to know more about the thoughts and principles underlying the study techniques that helped the authors win their place at the nation's top university.
"Today's readers identify with the thinking of their own generation," Kawabe says. "There's little jealousy or reluctance to take lessons from Todai students."
"Dragon-zakura," a popular comic that became a TV drama series last year, features a group of third-rate high school students studying hard for the Todai entrance exam. Tricks to studying introduced in the comic have been compiled as "Todai Gokakuho" (How to pass the Todai entrance exam), published by Data House. Featuring actual Todai students who review recommended study techniques, the book is in its fifth printing.
Riding the boom, Data House also released "Todai Gokaku e no Sugaku" (Math for success at Todai) in January. The book is a practical manual of advice from Todai students majoring in medicine who outline approaches to solving math problems on past Todai entrance exams.
"We wanted them to come up with ideas freely and enjoy math as if it were a game," says Data House President Yoshitsugu Uno. "Some people say college students' academic standards are declining, but we wanted to show that isn't so."
Meanwhile, other students are taking the initiative.
In January, Picaso, a group of students from Todai, Keio, Waseda and other leading universities, released "Todaisei ga Kaita Oyakunin Kotoba no Nazo" (The mysteries of bureaucrats' language, written by Todai students), with the help of publishing house Sanseido. The book covers the language used by government officials and politicians, delving into the cultural background that gave rise to the peculiar way of speaking.
The authors came up with the idea after noticing that older college friends who took jobs with government ministries or departments suddenly started speaking in a strange way.
Eight Todai students who are members of Picaso spent half a year compiling the book. They came up with the basic ideas, then divided the tasks to meet deadlines more easily. The process gave them a chance to experience the pleasure of thinking logically and creating something real, the group's spokesman, Todai sophomore Yuta Suda, 21, explains.
Last October, Picaso members took the lead in setting up Shuppan Koshien to promote students' book ideas to publishers. After invitations for proposals were posted on college bulletin boards, a committee selected 18 ideas from 107 submissions and invited editors from 14 publishers to assess their potential. Each editor was asked to rate three ideas on a points system.
Picaso's enterprise has led to a five-volume series.
"We're happy if students' ideas can bring new life to publishing," says Shuppan Koshien's executive committee chair Masaya Kato, 21, a junior at Todai.(IHT/Asahi: February 18,2006)
Asahi Shinbun http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602180174.html
It's not just advice on how to study for entrance exams, which might seem reasonable for a young college student still wet behind the ears. But Todai students are also presenting themselves as experts on subjects such as the stock market and bureaucratic jargon. And readers are lapping it up.
Not surprisingly, more college students are jumping on the bandwagon and pitching book ideas to publishers. As for why, there seems to be something more appealing about seeing their words in print rather than on an Internet blog.
The pioneer of the recent spate of books by Todai students was 2004's "Todaisei ga Kaita Yasashii Kabu no Kyokasho" (Simple textbook on stocks, written by Todai students), an investment guide in the form of a conversation between a student and a college teacher. The book's publisher, Index Communications, says the book has sold about 132,000 copies.
"Kabu no Kyokasho" was written by seven Todai students, most of them enrolled in the department of law and members of the school's investors' club.
Editor Hidemi Kawabe, 38, who was instrumental in getting the book published, thinks he knows the reason for its success: "It's because Todai is a national brand.
"We put out a guide on stock investments written by Keio University students that sold only 13,000 copies. Keio doesn't have the same cachet as Todai."
With the flood of business books on the market, the identity of the authors is a key selling point, Kawabe says. But experts on economics tend to have fixed views, and they don't like to change their accustomed way of expressing themselves. Todai students, on the other hand, accept direction from an editor without making a fuss, and they don't balk at doing research. They write from an open perspective, and since they're young, they don't mind burning the midnight oil. They're ideal for someone like Kawabe to work with.
In January, "Todaisei ga Kaita, Atama ga Yokunaru Sansu no Kyokasho" (Textbook to improve your brain for arithmetic, written by Todai students) hit the shelves. There are plans for two more books in the series, on physics and math.
The books are designed for young business people who want to know more about the thoughts and principles underlying the study techniques that helped the authors win their place at the nation's top university.
"Today's readers identify with the thinking of their own generation," Kawabe says. "There's little jealousy or reluctance to take lessons from Todai students."
"Dragon-zakura," a popular comic that became a TV drama series last year, features a group of third-rate high school students studying hard for the Todai entrance exam. Tricks to studying introduced in the comic have been compiled as "Todai Gokakuho" (How to pass the Todai entrance exam), published by Data House. Featuring actual Todai students who review recommended study techniques, the book is in its fifth printing.
Riding the boom, Data House also released "Todai Gokaku e no Sugaku" (Math for success at Todai) in January. The book is a practical manual of advice from Todai students majoring in medicine who outline approaches to solving math problems on past Todai entrance exams.
"We wanted them to come up with ideas freely and enjoy math as if it were a game," says Data House President Yoshitsugu Uno. "Some people say college students' academic standards are declining, but we wanted to show that isn't so."
Meanwhile, other students are taking the initiative.
In January, Picaso, a group of students from Todai, Keio, Waseda and other leading universities, released "Todaisei ga Kaita Oyakunin Kotoba no Nazo" (The mysteries of bureaucrats' language, written by Todai students), with the help of publishing house Sanseido. The book covers the language used by government officials and politicians, delving into the cultural background that gave rise to the peculiar way of speaking.
The authors came up with the idea after noticing that older college friends who took jobs with government ministries or departments suddenly started speaking in a strange way.
Eight Todai students who are members of Picaso spent half a year compiling the book. They came up with the basic ideas, then divided the tasks to meet deadlines more easily. The process gave them a chance to experience the pleasure of thinking logically and creating something real, the group's spokesman, Todai sophomore Yuta Suda, 21, explains.
Last October, Picaso members took the lead in setting up Shuppan Koshien to promote students' book ideas to publishers. After invitations for proposals were posted on college bulletin boards, a committee selected 18 ideas from 107 submissions and invited editors from 14 publishers to assess their potential. Each editor was asked to rate three ideas on a points system.
Picaso's enterprise has led to a five-volume series.
"We're happy if students' ideas can bring new life to publishing," says Shuppan Koshien's executive committee chair Masaya Kato, 21, a junior at Todai.(IHT/Asahi: February 18,2006)
Asahi Shinbun http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602180174.html
Korea - Double Standards in the War on Private Schools
The government has managed to avert an unprecedented boycott of new enrolment by private schools over its controversial Private School Law revision, and perhaps emboldened by that success it is now going for the kill. Although the private schools yielded to government pressure, the government and ruling party on Monday confirmed they are launching a mass audit of private school foundations anyway. There was plenty of tough talk bandied about at the meeting, of "firm countering," "firm and strict measures" and "punishing one to warn a hundred others."
When the private schools pulled out an unexpectedly strong card with their threat to stop admitting students the government allocates them, the situation looked so brittle that no one could predict what would happen next. But the ensuing battle simply proved that no amount of foresight in such a situation can compete with the seasoned tacticians of the "struggles" at the core of this administration. And yet, some feel that the ruling Uri Party has gone too far by asking for religious school foundations to be exempt from the audit.
There can be only two reasons for the step. One is to separate the ranks of those struggling against the private school reform into ordinary private schools and religious ones. That is what the protestant churches feel, having become the unwilling object of the government’s consideration. They say the request betrays an ulterior motive to split the opposition movement. Still, the schemers in the administration may judge that a divide-and-conquer strategy will work in the long run.
The other possible reason is a political calculation based on the weight religious organizations carry among the electorate, in short, a fear for votes. The ruling party expects no serious damage to its support from making some private schools involved in corruption an enemy by pouncing on their irregularities: part of the public will welcome it. But religious groups, with their strong coherence, could do serious damage if it made an enemy of them. Whatever the truth of the matter, both reasons are equally contemptible.
Of course corruption exists in private schools. All citizens are indignant whenever egregious misdeeds are reported. But such irregularities must be routinely ferreted out and punished by our institutions and the law. They cannot be a matter for those in power to punish or condone at whim depending on whether some schools fall out of favor or others are seen to be useful. If they are, what is the difference between this administration with its constant harping on justice and the previous governments it never misses an opportunity to condemn?
http://english.chosun.com/ The Chosun Ilbo
When the private schools pulled out an unexpectedly strong card with their threat to stop admitting students the government allocates them, the situation looked so brittle that no one could predict what would happen next. But the ensuing battle simply proved that no amount of foresight in such a situation can compete with the seasoned tacticians of the "struggles" at the core of this administration. And yet, some feel that the ruling Uri Party has gone too far by asking for religious school foundations to be exempt from the audit.
There can be only two reasons for the step. One is to separate the ranks of those struggling against the private school reform into ordinary private schools and religious ones. That is what the protestant churches feel, having become the unwilling object of the government’s consideration. They say the request betrays an ulterior motive to split the opposition movement. Still, the schemers in the administration may judge that a divide-and-conquer strategy will work in the long run.
The other possible reason is a political calculation based on the weight religious organizations carry among the electorate, in short, a fear for votes. The ruling party expects no serious damage to its support from making some private schools involved in corruption an enemy by pouncing on their irregularities: part of the public will welcome it. But religious groups, with their strong coherence, could do serious damage if it made an enemy of them. Whatever the truth of the matter, both reasons are equally contemptible.
Of course corruption exists in private schools. All citizens are indignant whenever egregious misdeeds are reported. But such irregularities must be routinely ferreted out and punished by our institutions and the law. They cannot be a matter for those in power to punish or condone at whim depending on whether some schools fall out of favor or others are seen to be useful. If they are, what is the difference between this administration with its constant harping on justice and the previous governments it never misses an opportunity to condemn?
http://english.chosun.com/ The Chosun Ilbo
Feasibility Study is a must when expanding business overseas!
An interview in the International Business Organization of Osaka, Business update publication
http://www.ibo.or.jp/e/2005_4/01_1/1_1.html
http://www.ibo.or.jp/e/2005_4/01_1/1_1.html
Australia-Japan StudyLink Cup!
With all the excitement of the World Cup 2006 intoxicating the minds of youth world wide, students in Japan and Australia now have another reason to be excited - with August 2006 comes the Japan-Australia StudyLink Cup!
A selection of 23 soccer players from the Kansai regions 60 plus universities will undertake a tour of Australia's Melbourne-based universities in a tournament arranged by StudyLink with the cooperation of the Kansai University Soccer Federation, Football Federation Victoria and City of Melbourne.
A selection of 23 soccer players from the Kansai regions 60 plus universities will undertake a tour of Australia's Melbourne-based universities in a tournament arranged by StudyLink with the cooperation of the Kansai University Soccer Federation, Football Federation Victoria and City of Melbourne.
30 Osaka universities to exchange credits - Kippo News
The Consortium of Universities in Osaka, comprising 48 national, public and private universities in Osaka Prefecture, is set to launch a "credit transfer project," starting in April this year. The scheme, which will allow students to earn credits from other universities, will start among 30 universities initially. At the same time, the consortium will create an "Osaka Studies" subject to study industry and history of Osaka. It will be open to the public as well.One of the courses of the Osaka Studies will be "Theory of Osaka Industry," which will be a business-academia joint project financed by donations from Kansai Keizai Doyukai (the Kansai Association of Business Executives). Lecturers will include Yoshihisa Akiyama, chairman, the Kansai Economic Federation; Akio Nomura, chairman, the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Masayuki Matsushita, co-chairperson, Kansai Keizai Doyukai.The consortium was created in 2003 to contribute to regional communities and industry by taking advantage of intellectual resources of the participating universities. It aims to promote student internship programs as well as academic exchanges with overseas educational institutions.For inquiries, please contact the Consortium of Universities in Osaka (Tel: 06-6311-9131) URL: http://www.consortium-osaka.gr.jp/html/access.html
http://www.kippo.or.jp/KansaiWindowHtml/News/2006-e/20060208_NEWS.HTML
http://www.kippo.or.jp/KansaiWindowHtml/News/2006-e/20060208_NEWS.HTML
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