family obligations and finding time for preparations of these projects. I am grateful to you for bringing up your strength, determination and expertise to continue sharing your experiences in Japan with Jamaicans. Since the JET Programme was introduced in Jamaica in 2000, over 200 Jamaicans have participated. Many of you have immersed your-selves in the Japanese culture and were able to find similar-ities while coping with the differences as well. You have also expanded your network among international friends, visited a variety of places which broadened your un-derstanding of cultural diver-sity and grew professionally. I was excited to hear that with such experiences, many of you are more confident, tolerant and open-minded. Unfortunately, this is the last message since this is the end of my tour of duty in Jamaica. However, I’ll continue work-ing on promoting our friend-ship with Jamaican JETs in Japan. My heartfelt appreciation and best wishes for continued success to you all.

On behalf of the Government and the people of Japan, it is a great pleasure to commend the Jamaica JET Alumni Asso-ciation (JJETAA) for your re-markable achievements in 2014. Last year was a very special time in the history of Japan-Jamaica relationship, having celebrated the 50th Anniver-sary of Diplomatic Relations and Friendship as well as Japan-CARICOM Friendship Year 2014. The Embassy of Japan in Jamaica continues to strengthen Japan-Jamaica relationship through activi-ties including the commemo-rative events such as Japan Festival, in which more than 5,000 persons participated and enjoyed. I applaud you for the instrumental role you have played in making this very special year a huge suc-cess. In 2014, JJETAA and its mem-bers undertook several initia-tives to promote Japan to the Jamaican people. You have become exemplary goodwill ambassadors by presenting the Japanese culture. You assisted in the selection and orientation of new Japanese Exchange Teachers (JETs) for Japan, relieving their numer-

ous worries. You also pro-moted Japanese culture of “Hanami” by a “Picnic at the Poui”. From the environmen-tal education perspective, you conducted the beach

clean-up activity, and “Garbage Disposal and Recy-cling Project,” promoting environmental protection through a bottle drive at the Kensington Primary School. Through these initiatives, I have seen the growth in the increased awareness of Japan in primary and tertiary insti-tutions in Jamaica. I hope that this will continue as your membership grows. I am certain that there were challenges such as conflict of your busy work schedule or

MESSAGE FROM THE AMBASSADOR

OF JAPAN TO JAMAICA

March 2014– February 2015 Volume 8

JJETAA NEWS

Inside this issue:

Message from the

Ambassador

1

The President’s

Message

2-3

Picnic by the Poui 3-4

A Reflection of my time

in Japan

5-7

Introducing Kenji

Tobita

7

Sort it Out! 8

Extraordinary

Experiences

9

Ikebana in Jamaica 9

The Year in Review

in Pictures

10 Ambassador Yasuo Takase

Calendar of Events

2015-16

Beach Clean-up Activity

(September)

Activity to mark the

15th Anniversary of

the JET Programme

(October/November)

Japan Awareness Work-

shop (February)

Annual General

Meeting (March)

This newsletter is made possible through the kind support of the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR)

The President’s Message

were representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Embassy of Japan (EOJ), the Na-tional Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the Japan Inter-national Corporation

Agency (JICA), as well as members of the Associa-tion. Following on the heels of the successful start of the project, the Association continued its

theme of caring for the environment and in-creasing environmental awareness through a beach clean-up effort at Forum Beach the fol-lowing day. The clean-up effort was part of a larger initiative - the

International Coastal Cleanup Day activities. A mixed group of volunteers par-ticipated in the activity includ-ing persons from the EOJ, Ken-sington Primary, UWI and UTech Japanese clubs

and JJETAA members. Our ‘Picnic by the Pouii’ has become a staple among our annual

Primary School on 19th September. The objec-tive of the project was to promote recycling prac-tices through the sorting of plastic bottles and pa-per in the classroom. This was based on a sim-

ilar practice carried out in lunchrooms in schools across Japan. The day’s program was enthusias-tically received by grade four students, teachers and the Principal, Mrs. Carlene McCalla-Francis. The school was gifted

with recycling bins for the grade four class-rooms and super stacks for storing PET bottles. On hand to participate in this noteworthy event

Last year was truly a tre-mendous year for the Jamaica JET Alumni As-sociation! The year marked the 50th year of diplomatic relations be-tween Jamaica and Ja-pan, and on many occa-sions the Asso-ciation part-nered with the Embassy of Japan as they staged a pleth-ora of activities to mark this milestone. The Associa-tion’s major projects to mark the occasion was the Garbage Sorting and Recycling Project “Sort it Out!”, which was imple-mented at Kensington Primary School, and a beach clean-up activity at Forum Beach, both of which are located in Portmore, St. Catherine. Through these activities, the Association con-tinued to fulfil its mandate of fostering cultur-al awareness and exchanges at the grass-roots level.

The Garbage Sorting and Recycling Project was launched with an Envi-ronmental Awareness Session at Kensington

Page 2

JJETAA NEWS

Sheril Morgan President, Jamaica JET Alumni

Association (JJETAA)

Roxanne Seaton-Chambers

Vice President

Sauna Maragh Treasurer

(Understudy)

Nadya Forbes Public Relations

Officer (PRO)

Dana-Leigh Anderson

PRO (Understudy)

Maria Mutidjo Secretary

Sheena Jarrett Secretary

(Understudy)

cont’d on page 3

Marsha Dennie Treasurer

events and this time around it proved to be fun-filled and entertain-ing as was anticipated. Members, Affiliates and friends gathered at one of the poui trees planted by the Association at the Hope Gardens to social-ize, play games and dine- reminiscent of the ‘Ohanami’ parties held during spring in Japan. The game of charades proved to be most excit-ing as team “Samurai Warriors” emerged vic-tors over team “Kamikaze” in a well-fought match. The Association part-nered with the EOJ on a number of initiatives including the Japan Festi-val or ‘Nihon Matsuri’, which was the Embassy’s main event for the year. Members were on hand

to man booths, assist be-hind the scenes and par-ticipate as Masters of

Ceremony for the live show. It was a historic event as persons came out in droves to witness Jamaican and Japanese cultures at their best. Other EOJ events in which JJETAA participat-ed included the Japanese Calendar Exhibition, the

2015 JET screening and in-terviews, the Japanese Speech Contest, among oth-

ers. Although we are a small chapter, we are un-doubtedly a vibrant one and our achievements could only be realized though the voluntary efforts of dedicated members who continue to model volunteerism at its best. We are in-deed a bridge that con-nects both cultures and we hope that through our continued efforts, the bonds of friendship between both countries

will continue to grow. It is with great enthusiasm that we look towards next year’s initiatives and continued co-operation with our stake-holders. I look forward to another great year and wish you all the best in your endeavours.

included Jamaican JET Alumni members, repre-sentatives of the Embas-sy of Japan and Japanese associations in Jamaica, members of the UWI and UTech Japanese Clubs and other friends of the JJETAA. Following a wel-come by the President of the Association, Sheril Morgan, greetings were

Buoyed by the successful staging of a Jamaican-styled hanami experience in 2013, the Alumni As-sociation held its 2nd An-nual Picnic by the Poui at Hope Gardens on Satur-day, 1st November 2014. Some 24 persons turned out for the event. The happy band of picnic-ers

brought from the Embassy of Japan by Mr. Hiromoto Oyama, First Secretary, who was delighted to be visiting Hope Gardens for the first time. Noting the young, but clearly thriving poui tree planted by the JJETAA some three years ago, Mr. Oyama suggested that the tree was symbolic of the relationship between

Page 3

Volume 8

虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず。 (Koketsu

ni irazunba koji wo

ezu)

Literally: If you do not

enter the tiger's cave,

you will not catch its

cub. Meaning: Nothing ventured, nothing

gained - Japanese Proverb

Sheril Morgan in one of the VIP lounges at Nihon Matsuri

Hiromoto Oyama providing entertainment at the Picnic by the

Poui

Picnic by the Poui

The President’s Message (cont’d)

cont’d on page 4

cont’d from page 3

Japan and Jamaica which continued to grow more and more with each pass-ing day. He reminded the group that just as the poui tree needed to be watered and nurtured, so too should we continue to nur-ture the bonds of friend-ship which have been forged between our two countries. In this vein, he thanked the JJETAA for its role in strengthening Ja-maica-Japan relations through its various activi-ties. Rieko Nagase of the Jamai-ca Japan Society also shared some thoughts with the group, focusing on the meaning and sym-bolism of hanami in Japan. No festivity being com-plete without a bit of mu-sic, Hiromoto Oyama and

Kenji Tobita and other Japanese participants enhanced the festivities with soothing rendi-tions of Japanese songs, with the accompani-ment of a guitar and koto. Appetites sated thanks to an ample gastro-nomic spread, the group was energized and ready to take on a rous-ing and riotous game of Charades. Opposing teams, "Kamikaze" and "Samurai Warriors" en-gaged in a spirited face-off, each side eager to demonstrate its skill at guessing the non-verbal depictions by their teammates of a range of items and themes. The imaginative and crea-tive gestures and con-tortions of enthusiastic

team members who raced against the clock to transform themselves into various shapes and even animals, had every-one in stitches! The Sam-urai Warriors emerged victorious from a well-fought challenge, cele-brating their triumph with a victory dance and hilarious re-enactments of the best performances, many meritorious of an Oscar Award! The laughter and cama-raderie were suitably topped off with delicious desserts, and as dusk fell, the merriment was brought to a close with a poignant and timely ren-dition of Bob Marley's "One Love". Indeed, there was a spirit of "one love" in the air as two cultures co-mingled and as two peoples laughed, played, celebrated and sang to-gether with "one heart". And on that most fitting note of unity, we bid our "likkle-but-tallawah" poui tree sayonara, promising to return again next year when no doubt both our well-nurtured tree and our Jamaica-Japan bonds of friendship will have grown even bigger and stronger.

Picnic by the Poui (cont’d)

Page 4

JJETAA NEWS

Making friends by the poui

cont’d from page 4

Contributed by Janet Crick

JJETAA Member

Kenji Tobita providing entertainment at

the Picnic by the Poui

My curiosity was only heightened when I was able to make friends with a few Japanese who came to the land of reggae. They were always courte-ous and despite our language differ-ence I was able to discern a love for work, and a deep respect of oneself in my interaction with them. As time went by, they eventually went back to their land of the rising sun, life went on and unfortunately we were not able to maintain contact.

Nevertheless, there was always a de-sire to go and see the cul-ture and the people. I wanted an-swers to the questions that I had. Thankfully I shared this desire with close friends as only a few

months later, one such friend told me of the JET Programme. According to my friend, the JET Programme al-lowed university graduates from Eng-lish speaking countries to teach Eng-lish in Japan. This description evoked mixed feelings throughout my body, because even though I had already attained my first degree from the Uni-versity of the West Indies, I knew nothing about teaching. I never saw myself as patient, tolerant and re-sourceful. And I didn’t know how to speak Japanese. However, I was very excited because here, right before me, was a chance to have my questions answered. I could go, meet and

A Reflection of my Time in Japan

It all began years ago in my parents’ living room. My brothers and I were into Super Sentai, Dragon Ball Z and the other voiced-over popular anime movies. I did not know at that time that those countless hours watching ninjas performing mind-blowing somersaults with the ever present cherry blossom in the background had sowed the seeds of my interest in Japan. Growing up in Kingston it was difficult to tell the difference between Japanese and Chi-nese eth-nic groups but as I became more in-terested in history and an-cient civili-zations the hunger to travel be-gan to gnaw at my being. I started to watch countless documen-taries on Japan. These documentaries led me to respect their resourcefulness. The Japanese are well known for their world leading companies that excel in technology and industry. But the Toyo-tas, Sonys and Mitsubishis are only a tip of the iceberg of the marvels of Ja-pan. With a history of thousands of years, Japan, an archipelago, has al-ways been able to be affected by the outside world while maintaining its soul. I remember wondering how is it that such a small country was able to recover so quickly after the devastation that was the Second World War.

Page 5

Volume 8

Matthew Palmer

JJETAA Member

cont’d on page 6

“With a history of thou-sands of years, Japan, an archipelago, has always

been able to be affected by the outside world while maintaining its soul.”

The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, is

aimed at promoting grass-roots international exchange

between Japan and other nations.

The Council of Local

Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) administers

the JET Programme in cooperation with the Ministry

of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

(MOFA), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,

Science and Technology (MEXT), and local government

organisations.

interact with the Japanese way of life. Eventually I went for the interview at the Japanese Embassy and I remem-ber being told that it was very com-petitive to gain a placement as many applicants were already qualified teachers. Armed with my strong de-sire to go to Japan, I was able to rise to the challenge and convince the in-terviewees – all six of them—that I should be selected to go to Japan, even though I was not a qualified teacher. My time in Japan has proven the need for such a programme. I found that the many Japanese people with whom I interacted knew very little about Jamaica. Most people thought it was in Africa and most still were sur-prised that our official language is English and not Spanish. However, almost all knew of Bob Marley – if not his philosophy, they all seemed to have heard the name before. In that regard, I believe my time in Japan was a success. I taught about reggae mu-sic, our thriving tourist industry, and our warm people. Working in Japan taught me that the secret to Japan’s success is its busi-ness people and the group mentality of its citizens. The Japanese work force is very hardworking, punctual

and truly professional. In Japan, the customer is seen as a “god” and always treated as being right. Too often customers in Jamaica are not shown the value and respect that they deserve. The Japanese often work for more than 8 hours a day as they seek to improve efficiency and maintain good relations with their customers. This however, is not always ideal as it may cause societal problems - namely a work force that is overworked and stressed and a reduction in time for family life. Nevertheless, if time is allo-cated for building and maintaining a great relationship with our customers, one can clearly see the benefits that can be gained. I believe we should take a page from the book of our fellow is-landers and strive to be more professional. This would mean that we would be punctual for our meetings whether for work and or play, and our customers would know that they were highly appreciated. As any teacher can attest, to teach is to learn. I have learnt so much about Ja-maica, Japan and most importantly, my-self, while in Japan. To be sure, I know now that I too can be patient and toler-ant. I too can be hardworking and punc-tual. I too can look out for what is best for my family, friends and country.

Page 6

JJETAA NEWS

“The Japanese are very hardworking, punctual and

truly professional”

A Reflection of my Time in Japan (cont’d)

Matthew Palmer on the job in Japan

cont’d from page 5

“If time is allotted for building and maintaining a great

relationship with our customers, one can clearly see

the benefits that can be gained ”

Matthew Palmer was an ALT in

Hiroshima from 2007 to 2010.

The JJETAA Annual General Meeting was held on 29 March at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites in Kingston. It was a productive meeting with 23 participants including our Affiliate Members. A special presentation was made to Shawn Aarons, Past President of JJETAA, for his outstanding contribution of the development of the Association.

Annual General Meeting 2014

Page 7

Volume 8

Introducing Kenji Tobita

Q: What do you like most about living in Jamaica? A: I like tropical fruits such as mangos, pineapples and oranges. I love Blue Mountain coffee, too. Q: What are your favourite Jamai-can food? A: Jerk Chicken Q: What is your favourite Jamai-can place? Why? A: Negril. Because it is beautiful, calm and peaceful.

Q: Have you had any challenges adjust-ing to life in Jamaica? If yes, what chal-lenges have you experienced? A: I can’t walk and jog around in King-ston due to security reasons. I feel a sense of tightness. Q: What is your favourite day of the week? Why? A: Saturday, because there still is one more off day (Sunday) left. Q: How do spend your free time? A: Playing tennis, shopping and driv-

ing. Studying English and playing Okinawan Sansin (Musical Instru-ment) Hajimemashite! Dozo Yoroshiku Onegai shimasu!

Kenji Tobita is the Resident Representative for the Jamaica Office of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). He is from Tokyo, capital of Japan. He has been living in Kingston with his wife since October 2014. We will allow him to tell you more about himself.

Extraordinary Experiences If I met him now, I could immediately recognize him as a JET participant. This is because I am currently as-sessing future JET partici-pants through my work at the Japanese Embassy. However, at that time I did not know what the JET Program was. My JET teacher in high school came from Austral-ia. My hometown Nagoya is sister city to Sydney so my municipality specifically desired Australian JETs (Jamaica had not yet joined the JET Program). He did not teach my class but I was very interested in in-teracting with him, so I would seek him out and speak to him. If he were far away, I shouted a greeting

loudly, sometimes hanging out a balcony. I still remem-ber my excitement and en-thusiasm. One of the great things the JET Program provides to students is the “extraordinary experience” of being able to speak in English with a JET teacher. Apart from big cities like Tokyo and settled areas for Nikkeijin (Japanese ances-tral communities), most Japanese families rarely interact with non-Japanese. The Japanese government currently mandates English education for fifth and sixth grade students, yet in most public schools there aren’t any native English teachers in residence. Native English speakers often only exist to students through English

educational media. There-fore, Japanese students greatly benefit from JET Program participants by allowing them to com-municate with native Eng-lish speakers and expos-ing them to different cul-tures. I would like to thank JJETAA for the ex-citement you provided Japanese students and myself, which represents “extraordinary experienc-es” in our lives.

Meiko Araki Researcher/Advisor Embassy of Japan

“One of the great things the JET Program provides to students is the “extraordinary ex-perience” of being able to speak in English with

a JET teacher.”

Contributed by Mieko Araki. Mieko has been living in Jamaica since October 2013. She is from Nagoya in Aichi

Prefecture

2014 marked the 50th Year of diplomatic rela-tions between Jamaica and Japan, prompting our Alumni Association to give serious considera-tion to a commemorative activity that would give due honour to such a sig-nificant landmark in our relations. Recognizing Japan’s significant contri-bution both at the nation-al and international levels to promoting a clean and sustainable environment, it was unanimously agreed that a project that was environmental in scope would be the most appropriate activity. Thus was born “Sort It Out” – a garbage sorting and re-cyling project, which was launched at the Kensing-ton Primary School in Greater Portmore, St. Catherine on September 19, 2014 with the support of the Embassy of Japan, the National Environment Protection Agency, the Japan International Coop-eration Agency, the Japa-nese Overseas Coopera-tion Volunteers and the Ministry of Education. In an engaging and inter-active session, the JJETAA oriented students and teachers on Japan’s model recycling system, which has been incorporated in the home, the classroom and in the workplace, making recycling a way of life throughout the Japa-

nese society. The JJETAA introduced the teachers and students to an in-grained Japanese tradi-tion of sorting disposable containers used at lunch time in schools, and in that context, presented the school’s Grade Four sanitation monitors with ten bins to facilitate the separation of plastic bev-erage bottles and paper in the classroom. Ar-rangements were also made for the sorted gar-bage to be collected by Jamaica Recycles. The school was also present-ed with super sacks and two wheeled plastic dumpsters to facilitate the collection of papers by the recycling compa-ny. The initiative of sort-ing inside the classroom complemented the school’s existing system of PET bottle recycling. The Association and Ken-sington Primary School have enjoyed a long-

standing and collabora-tive relationship, and it was therefore fitting that this institution - whose grounds and plant are already a beautiful repre-sentation of environmen-tal awareness – was cho-sen as the benefactor for this inaugural activity. The sorting project is the first in what is expected to be replicated by the Association, which is committed to making its contribution to the pro-tection of the environ-ment.

Beach

Clean-up

The following day found JJETAA members, affili-ate members, represent-atives of the Embassy of Japan, friends of the As-sociation, and teachers and students of Kensing-ton Primary School at the Forum Beach in St. Cath-erine as

Sort it Out!

Page 8

JJETAA NEWS

cont’d on page 9

“Sorting it Out” at Kensington Primary

Picking up garbage at Forum Beach

Forum shoreline. It was a time well-spent and the Association looks forward to continuing to play its part in sorting out and cleaning up our environment.

they played their part in a series of island-wide activities marking Inter-national Coastal Clean-up Day. The collective efforts culminated in the collec-tion of some 23 bags of garbage which had lit-tered the once beautiful

Page 9

Volume 8

Contributed by Sauna

Maragh and Janet Crick

Beach Clean-up (cont’d) cont’d from page 8

Pictorial Highlights

1. Guardian Group/UHWI 5K Night Run, June 2014

2. JET Orientation Session, June 2014

3. Visit of Japanese Naval Vessels, July 2014

4. Bonenkai, December 2014

1 2

3 4

About the Jamaica JET Alumni Association (JJETAA)

Like us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/JamaicaJETAlumniAssociation

Ikebana in Jamaica

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. Ikebana is more than simply putting flowers in a container. It is a disciplined art form in which the ar-rangement is a living thing in which na-ture and humanity are brought togeth-er. It is steeped in the philosophy of developing closeness with nature. Jamaica has been recognized since 1973 as having a local chapter of Ikebana In-ternational - St Andrew Chapter. There are three schools of Ikebana in Jamaica: Ohara, Sogetsu and Ichiyo.

You are invited to learn this beautiful Japa-nese art form. Meeting Date & Time: Third Saturday of each month (except in August ) at 4pm Meeting Venue: Hotel Four Seasons, Ruth-ven Road, Kingston

Contact Information: Ohara: LC Monteith - 927-4553 Sogetsu: Joy Jones - 944-2929 Ichiyo: Paulette Latibeaudiere - 999-0194

The Jamaica Japan Exchange and

Teaching Programme Alumni Associ-

ation (JJETAA) was established in

2002. Individuals who have complet-

ed at least one year in the JET Pro-

gramme are automatically recog-

nized as Full Members of JJETAA.

Individuals who have worked in the educa-

tion sector in Japan, have studied in Japan,

or any person, club or society who/which

has an affiliation with Japan and/or with

Japanese culture and who/which expresses

a genuine interest to share in the Associa-

tion’s activities are eligible to join the As-

sociation as Associate (or Affiliate)

Members.

Objectives of JJETAA