CLAIR News Aug 2022
We should all continue to thoroughly observe basic infection prevention measures such as avoiding the “Mittsu no mitsu” or “three Cs” (Closed spaces, with poor ventilation; Crowded places, with many people nearby; and Close-contact settings, such as close-range conversations), as well as maintaining social distancing, the wearing of masks, and good hand hygiene.
In order to prevent the resurgence of infection, we should observe these measures during any travel which crosses prefectural borders, and act to avoid the same situations in the workplace.
For further information, please refer to the national and local governments’ official websites.
Cabinet Secretariat website:
https://corona.go.jp/en/
The latest information about guidelines for use of masks is available online from the Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare (URL below):
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/covid-19/mask.html
As the Japanese Government is recommending vaccination against COVID-19, CLAIR would also like to encourage all JET Programme participants eligible for vaccination who have not yet done so to get vaccinated as soon as possible. If you are eligible for a booster shot, we would like to encourage you to take the opportunity to do so.
Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (English)
https://v-sys.mhlw.go.jp/en/application/3rd-inoculation.html
Vaccine booster shots (a third shot) for COVID-19 will be carried out between 1 December 2021 and 30 September 2022. For people who either have certain prior medical conditions or are over 60 years old, and for whom more than five months have passed since their third shot, fourth shots are also planned to be carried out between May 25 2022 and September 30 2022. For more information, please see follow link:
Please note that if you have received your first two shots overseas before moving to Japan, or if you have moved to a different municipality within Japan since receiving your first two shots, you may need to apply to your municipality to receive your paperwork for the booster shot. Please contact your local municipality for more information.
For details, please visit the following webpages from the Japanese government and local municipalities:
Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/covid-19/vaccine.html
CLAIR requests each JET Programme participant to register for the Safety Confirmation System (Emergency Call) and Contact Information Survey. These are two separate systems. Please register to both using the links below.
Safety Confirmation System:
https://asp2.emc-call.jp/clair/index_en.html or
https://asp2.emc-call2nd.jp/clair/index_en.html Your login ID and password are both the final nine numbers of your JET Number, omitting the first two digits (20).
Contact Information Survey: https://goo.gl/u1gVT2
Login ID: JET Number (11 digits beginning with 20)
Password: Date of birth (YYYYMMDD)
*For JET Programme participants who were originally scheduled to arrive in Japan in 2021 please use your pre-arrival JET number that starts with 2021.
Emergency Pocket Guide for JETs
To ensure your safety in Japan, please take the opportunity to ensure that you are prepared in case a disaster occurs.
CLAIR has compiled an Emergency Pocket Guide for reference in the event of a disaster. Please keep it with you at all times. Please ensure that you fill out the important parts and keep it with you in case of a disaster.
*CLAIR distributes the Emergency Pocket Guide during orientation for new arrivals.
https://jetprogramme.org/en/emergency-support/
In the event of a disaster CLAIR will confirm the safety of JET Programme participants using the Safety Confirmation System (Emergency Call). It only takes a few moments to confirm your safety via the email you receive. Please make sure you respond regarding your safety situation when a safety confirmation email arrives, as it otherwise takes time for Host Prefectures/Designated Cities to confirm the safety of each individual JET Programme participant in the affected area(s).
In any given year in Japan, there will be somewhere which has had an emergency warning issued. The country is also prone to large earthquakes. At the moment Japan is entering a period of increased chance for emergency warnings to be issued as a result of heavy rain and typhoons. Because of this, we are asking JET Programme participants and supervisors at each contracting organisation to confirm information registered with the Safety Confirmation System and to check how to respond to a safety confirmation request should an email arrive.
Once again, if you receive a safety confirmation request email, please respond to it right away. Safety Confirmation requests are sent out based on Host Prefecture/Designated City, so participants may receive safety confirmation requests even when they are not physically near the site of a disaster. In this case, a response is still required from each individual to whom the request is sent.
With the aim of enhancing mental health support for JET Programme participants, CLAIR offers the JET Programme Mental Health Counselling Assistance Programme. This programme provides a partial subsidy (50%, up to 30,000 yen per year) for counselling costs incurred through consultation with mental health professionals not covered by health insurance.
The coverage period for this year is from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. The application form must arrive at CLAIR by 7 April 2023 (Fri).
Please submit your paperwork as soon as possible if you are finishing JET and leaving Japan in July or August.
JET Programme participants can also receive free counselling offered by CLAIR via Web Mail and Skype. If you wish to use these services, please access them using the URLs below, input the ID/password, and follow the instructions for registration. Up to 7 Skype sessions are available between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023. We recommend starting with web mail, which has no limits on usage.
Web Mail and Skype Counselling
Website:https://jetcounseling.com/
Login Information:
Username: jet
(Please see the CLAIR News email for the password)
Japanese Language Course Exchange Event
CLAIR will be holding an online exchange event for participants in the Japanese Language Courses on August 31st (Wednesday) as detailed below. Please feel free to come along and take advantage of this chance to meet other Japanese Language Course participants, ask questions of each other and practise your Japanese.
Zoom Exchange Event
August 31st (Wednesday)
18:30 – 19:30
You can apply to take part in the exchange event using the survey link below:
https://jp.surveymonkey.com/r/KSXYPV6
The CIR Mid-Year Conference is a two to three-day conference held each autumn/winter for CIRs. Participation in the conference is mandatory* for first, second, and third-year CIRs and is optional for fourth-year CIRs and above.
The CIR Mid-Year Conference is aimed at providing practical work-related skills and information that will help CIRs in their everyday jobs. This information is provided through a combination of workshops and seminars by both professionals and veteran CIRs.
This year the Conference will be held on the following dates at the following locations**:
26 – 29 October: PACIFICO Yokohama
7 – 9 December: Japan Intercultural Academy of Municipalities (JIAM)
A notice regarding attendance of the CIR Mid-Year Conference was sent out in mid-July. If you are a CIR and are interested in attending the Conference, please consult with your contracting organisation supervisor.
*Dependent on work related obligations, please consult with your supervisor regarding attendance.
**Please note that which venue you will attend is dependent on your nationality.
CLAIR is conducting a survey to gauge the opinions of JET Programme participants concerning the Japanese Language Courses provided by CLAIR and support for Japanese language learning in general. We would like to ask for your assistance in helping CLAIR to improve support for Japanese language learning;
https://jp.surveymonkey.com/r/JVXZCYJ
It is possible to apply for online Japanese Language Courses. Please check the Japanese Language Course Guide on the official JET Programme Website, and apply through the Contact Information Survey page.
Please note that from April 2022, the application deadline and course start dates for the Japanese language courses will be changing. Please consult the Japanese Language Course Guide available at the above link to get the most up-to-date information.
Participants who apply before the 10th of any odd-numbered month (e.g. March, May, July) will be able to start their course on the 1st of the following even-numbered month (e.g. April, June, August). Once your course has started, please remember to plan your study schedule ahead of time.
https://jetprogramme.org/en/languagecourses/
All JET Programme participants are strongly advised to register with their home country’s embassy or local consulate, and/or through your embassy run travel registration scheme while living in Japan, as your embassy may be able to help you and your relatives obtain necessary information and check on each other’s safety in times of emergency. Please check the website of your home country’s embassy or local consulate for more details:
https://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/protocol/index.html
JET Programme participants finishing their appointments and returning to their home countries may be eligible to receive a pension refund (lump-sum withdrawal payment). For more information, please refer to page 169～175 of the 2022 edition of the General Information Handbook (GIH).
https://jetprogramme.org/en/gih/
Information is also available in English and Japanese on the following website: https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/english/index.html (English) https://www.nenkin.go.jp/index.html (Japanese)
Is your house or apartment covered by property insurance (kasai hoken)? If you do not know, please check with your contracting organisation supervisor.
There have been several cases where JET participants were forced to pay for the damages to not only their own, but also their neighbours’housing when there were water leaks or other problems (if a water leak occurs, damage to the property of neighbours is covered by the JET Accident Insurance Policy Liability Endorsement, but damage to your own property as well as damage to the structure or building can only be covered by property insurance). Whether or not to purchase property insurance is the choice of the JET participant. However, if you are liable for damages, the costs can be very high. Therefore CLAIR recommends that JET participants enroll in property insurance.
