With the aim of enhancing mental health support for JET participants, CLAIR offers the JET Programme Mental Health Counseling Assistance Programme. This programme provides a partial subsidy (50%, up to 20,000 yen per year) for counseling costs incurred through consultation with mental health professionals in Japan that do not qualify for health insurance. The coverage period for this year is from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. The application form must be sent to CLAIR by Friday, 12 April 2019.
CLAIR also offers a free, online service to provide JET participants with mental health assistance from professional counsellors using web Mail and Skype. Please ask your contracting organisation or Host Prefecture/Designated City for further information.
jetprogramme.org/en/mental-health-support/
A useful checklist for newly arrived JET participants can be found on p.81 of the General Information Handbook. Please refer to the checklist for tips about how to become accustomed to your new residence and workplace, including reviewing insurance policies and registering with your embassy. Information about the insurance policies can be found on p. 53 of the General Information Handbook.
In Japan, September 1st is Disaster Prevention Day, and is a good opportunity to make yourself aware of and engage in disaster preparedness. CLAIR has compiled an Emergency Pocket Guide for reference in the event of a disaster. Please keep it with you at all times.
jetprogramme.org/en/emergency-support/
All JET participants are strongly advised to register with their home country’s embassy or local consulate 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 ask your home country’s embassy or local consulate for details:
www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/protocol/
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 reparations, the costs can be very high and therefore CLAIR recommends that JET participants enrol in property insurance.
Furthermore, JET participants are encouraged to consider purchasing earthquake insurance, too. Most JET participants live in rental housing. However, it is possible to enrol in earthquake insurance for damage to household items. JET participants may wish to consider the cost of replacing appliances such as computers, TVs and stereos with the cost of earthquake insurance. *You can enrol in fire and earthquake insurance together as a set.
Selected videos from the Tokyo Post-Arrival Orientation have been uploaded to the official JET Programme website for those who were unable to attend all the workshops, would like to view other workshops, or simply want to review the workshop contents. If you are interested in viewing these videos, please ask your contracting organisation supervisor for the password.
With regard to actions one might take in the event of certain emergencies such as a military striked on Japan, the Cabinet Secretariat has posted information on its Civil Protection Portal Site.
CLAIR also encourages JET participants to register with their home country’s embassy in Japan. In the event of a large-scale disaster, these embassies may provide information or advice on what actions citizens of those countries should take.
www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/en/pc-index_e.html
CLAIR and The Yomiuri Shimbun have launched a periodical column in The Japan News, a globally-circulated English language newspaper. ‘JET Programme Voices’ is a collection of articles submitted by current and former JET participants which give a worldwide audience insight into unique experiences and achievements of participants during their time on the Programme. Instructions regarding the submission of documents are accessible from the link below.
As part of continued efforts to promote disaster preparedness and internationalisation at the grassroots level, CLAIR has developed an online tool to easily develop signage in multiple languages. The main purpose of this tool is to easily create signage leading to evacuation areas, but it has many other useful templates as well. CIRs who are responsible for planning international events or translating signage as part of their work duties may find this tool helpful.
The training seminar for the Translation & Interpretation Course (Chinese and Korean) will be held from Monday, 3 September, 2018 to Friday, 7 September, 2018. The seminar will take place at the Japan Intercultural Academy of Municipalities (JIAM) in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. Please bear in mind that participation in the training seminar is a requirement for receiving a Certificate of Completion for the course.
jetprogramme.org/en/languagecourses/#elm-1
For those currently enroled in one of CLAIR’s Japanese language classes, please remember to plan your study schedule ahead of time. If you would like to change your course level, you can do so by accessing the contact information survey site, selecting your desired course, and then clicking the ‘OK’ button at the very bottom of the page. If you register to change your course level by Monday, 10 September, your new course will begin on Monday, 1 October.
Study site:deli3.study.jp/?multi
Course Guide:jetprogramme.org/en/languagecourses/
Have you registered or updated your contact information? All JET participants must access the link below and register their contact information. If you need to modify your information, you can do so via the same website. Please ask your contracting organisation supervisor to obtain your ID and password.
For JET Programme participants who have passed the N3, N2, or N1 level of the JLPT conducted on Sunday, 1 July, 2018, you may be eligible to receive a grant for the test fee. The test results are available online and will be sent via mail on 5 September. To check your eligibility, please read over the Grant Overview and Eligibility Flowchart, accessible from the link below. If you meet the conditions, please submit your grant application directly to CLAIR. It must arrive by Wednesday, 31 October, 2018.
