It is necessary to continue to observe basic safety measures against infection, such as avoiding the “three Cs”: Confined spaces (with poor ventilation), Crowded places (with many people nearby), and Close contact (with people), as well as wearing a mask.
For further details please visit the websites of the government or local governments, etc.
CLAIR has compiled information about the new Coronavirus in multiple languages. Please visit the following link for information.
https://www.clair.or.jp/tabunka/portal/info/contents/114517.php
NHK WORLD also provides information about the new Coronavirus.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/tags/82/
CLAIR requests each JET 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)
CLAIR provides the Safety Confirmation System (Emergency Call) for use in times of emergency that necessitate direct action, such as an earthquake with seismic intensity of level 5-upper is reported or an emergency warning has been issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency.
In times of emergency, the system will send a message to JET Programme participants by the method of contact they have registered in the system. These messages require a response.
If your registered method of contact is mobile or landline telephone, the telephone guidance will be in Japanese. If you feel you may have trouble responding to such guidance, please change your registered contact method from telephone to e-mail or another written form.
Actual safety confirmation procedures are as follows:
In the case of emergency warnings resulting from, for example, heavy rains or river flooding, registered participants will receive a message from the e-mail address clair@asp2.emc-call.jp with a title like “【Heavy Rain/River Flooding】 Safety Confirmation”. The body of these messages will include a URL that will allow participants to confirm their own safety.
Confirmation groups are divided by 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 in Japan not covered by health insurance.
The coverage period for this year is from 1 April, 2020 to 31 March, 2021. The application form must be sent to CLAIR by 9 April, 2021 (Fri).
CLAIR also offers a free online service to provide JET Programme participants with mental health assistance from professional counsellors using Web Mail and Skype.
If you would like to use this service, please access the following website. After entering the password, you will be instructed to register. You can receive up to seven Skype Counselling sessions from 1 April, 2020 to 31 March, 2021. CLAIR recommends trying the Web Mail Counselling system first. There is no limit to the number of threads you can start in the Web Mail Counselling system.
In addition to the Web Mail and Skype counselling listed above, we have established a free-dial telephone counselling service. This service is available once per month and does not require any advance reservation. Dates of operation are listed below. Please make the most of these services if you are experiencing anxiety or other burdens on your mental health.
(Operating Hours: Third Wednesday of every month, from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm.)
※Schedule for the fiscal year of April 2020 to March 2021,15 April, 20 May, 17 June, 15 July,
19 August, 16 September, 21 October, 18 November, 16 December, 20 January, 17 February, 17 March
Web Mail Counselling
Login Password: Please ask your contracting organization or refer to the e-mail version of CLAIR News.
English: https://www.kokoro-soudan.net/en/
Japanese: https://www.kokoro-soudan.net/
Skype Counselling
Login Password: Please ask your contracting organization or refer to the e-mail version of CLAIR News.
English: https://www.fismec.co.jp/hiroba/en/secure
Japanese: https://www.service-fismec.net/inquiry-ftof/login/（※）
※Maintenance on the Japanese website is now complete. For those wishing to use the Japanese website, please visit the above URL. Please ask your contracting organization or refer to the e-mail version of CLAIR News for the password to the Japanese website.
Counselling via Telephone
Phone number: 0120-810-803
(No advance reservation required. Calls are free of charge.)
※ Limited to one call per person per day (no annual limit)
※ CLAIR has prepared three telephone lines for this service; however, there may be times when the lines become congested. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
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:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/protocol/index.html
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 enrol in property insurance.
For those currently enrolled in one of CLAIR’s Japanese language courses, 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.
Participants who apply before the 10th of any given month will be able to start their course on the 1st of the following month. Once your course has started, please remember to plan your study schedule ahead of time.
http://deli3.study.jp/?multi
https://jetprogramme.org/en/languagecourses/
The translation and interpretation course offered by CLAIR would normally be opening for registration at this time of year, however, due to the postponement of the arrival of JET participants in April of this year, the registration schedule is in the process of being revised. Information about the schedule when finalised will be posted on the CLAIR official website at the following link:
jetprogramme.org/en/languagecourses/
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.
https://jetprogramme.org/en/jetvoices
In Japan, 1 September 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.
https://jetprogramme.org/en/emergency-support/
JET Programme participants finishing their appointments in July/August/September may be eligible to receive a pension refund (lump-sum withdrawal payment). For more information, please refer to page 169 of the 2020 edition of the General Information Handbook (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)
Until recently, JET participants – who arrived in Japan and registered their address on a Residence Record jūminhyō with their local municipal government – would be sent a “Notification Card” tsūchi kādo (a paper card) by post. They could also apply for an “Individual Number Card” kojin bangō kādo, also called “My Number Card” (a plastic card containing an IC chip and photograph). Due to revisions to the My Number System, as of 25 May 2020, Notification Cards will no longer be used. Instead, new residents will be posted a paper notice called kojin bangō tsūchisho*, notifying them of their assigned “My Number” and how to apply for the Individual Number Card.
For current JETs who possess a Notification Card, names and addresses can no longer be updated, and the card can no longer be reissued. However, as long as the name and address on the Notification Card continue to match those stated on one’s Residence Record, you are able to continue using it as certification for your My Number. Other documents used to certify your My Number include the Individual Number Card, and you can continue to apply for this.
*This document is used in order to notify you of your My Number, and cannot be used as a certification of your My Number or as a form of identification.
https://www.soumu.go.jp/kojinbango_card/02.html#shinsei
https://www.kojinbango-card.go.jp/tsuchicard/
