CLAIR News February 2023
We ask that everybody continues 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
Fourth shots of legacy vaccines are being carried out between May 25 2022 and March 31 2023 for those people who have had three shots (or equivalent) and three months have passed since their last shot.
Moreover, autumn 2022 start vaccines (adapted for the omicron strain) are being carried out from September 20 2022 to March 31 2023. Those for whom a certain period has passed since their first initial two shots (or equivalent) are eligible, regardless of whether or not they have received a third or fourth booster shot.
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(s). Please contact your local municipality for more information.
Those who receive a shot of the new autumn 2022 start vaccines are ineligible to have the third or fourth booster shot.
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 that each JET Programme participant 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).
* If your contracting organisation has changed, please register your new address.
Contact Information Survey: https://goo.gl/u1gVT2
Login ID: JET Number (11 digits beginning with 20)
Password: Date of birth (YYYYMMDD)
* If your contracting organisation has changed, please register your new address.
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)
The Career Vision Web Seminar was held online on 28 January 2023 as a part of the career assistance that we offer to JET participants who are in their final year of employment on the JET Programme. Hosted by a professional career advisor with support from former JETs, the seminar included advice on creating CVs and preparing for interview. The documents presented in this seminar, as well as a recording of the seminar itself, are now available for you to view. JETs who did not participate in the seminar are also able to view these materials. Please utilise this information in planning your post-JET career. In particular, the concrete advice on formatting your CV and interview preparation will be of particular use to those attending the upcoming JET Career Fair.
Link to view the Career Vision Web Seminar Guidebook (please scroll):
English / Japanese: https://jetprogramme.org/en/careersupport/careervision-webseminar/
Link to view the video recording of the Career Vision Web Seminar (available for a limited time only):
This recording of the seminar allows those who could not attend to be able to view the seminar. This link will be available until 31 March, 2023.
English language seminar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhb6PO7xoAM
Japanese language seminar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxJKSHFBLOM
The National JET Japanese Pedagogical Training Seminar will be offered at the Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute in Urawa for JET Programme participants wishing to become Instructors of Japanese in the future.
[Schedule (Planned)]
First Intake: 15 May (Monday) – 23 May (Tuesday) 2023
Second Intake: 29 May (Monday) – 6 June (Tuesday) 2023
＊Both courses have the same content. You can only take part in one of them.
More details will be available in the March issue of CLAIR News, and information will also be available on the Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute’s homepage and their official Facebook page (links below).
https://www.jpf.go.jp/j/urawa/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064369314941
【Enquiries】
The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa
Teachers Training Section (Contact: Ouchi)
Email: nc_jet@jpf.go.jp / TEL: 048-834-1181
For JET participants who arrived in April, it is almost time to extend your period of stay, so please check the dates written on your Residence Card (especially JET participants in their third year who will be reappointed for another term).
For information on extending your Period of Stay or changing your Status of Residence, please refer to page 69 of the 2022 edition of the General Information Handbook (GIH).
https://jetprogramme.org/en/gih/
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.
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.
CLAIR currently offers a grant for JET Programme participants who pass N1, N2, or N3 of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test.
The second Japanese Language Proficiency Test for 2022 was held on Sunday, 4 December. Results for the test were announced early February.
The grant application form for those who pass the N1, N2, or N3 levels is available at the link below. Applications must be RECEIVED by CLAIR by Friday, 24 February. Please read the JLPT Grant Overview carefully before applying.
https://jetprogramme.org/en/jlpt/
CLAIR provides partial grants, approved once per year, to selected current JET Programme participants who wish to improve their English teaching skills by obtaining online certification for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) / Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).
The deadline to submit a Course Completion Report for those approved for the 2022-2023 grant (notified in June 2022) is Friday, 24 February 2023 (received-by date). As it may take some time to receive a certificate of course completion from your approved course provider, please allow for time to receive all necessary documents prior to the submission deadline. If you need to check your approved course or have lost your Course Completion Report, please email CLAIR at gyomu@clair.or.jp. The grant overview and guidelines are available at the link below.
Those interested in applying for the 2023-2024 grant should check CLAIR News and the following page for more information in April. All courses must be started after receiving approval for the given fiscal year.
https://jetprogramme.org/en/tefl/
CLAIR is currently accepting applications for Programme Coordinators. JET Programme participants who meet all of the following conditions are eligible to apply: those who are in their second year or later, are not being recontracted past September 2023, and who possess exceptionally high levels of Japanese proficiency. (Other conditions also apply.)
The deadline for all application materials to arrive at CLAIR is Wednesday 22 February, 2023. Late applications will not be accepted.
The selection process is carried out entirely in Japanese, and applications can only be made through your contracting organisation, who must formally recommend you for the position. Please be advised that CLAIR cannot answer enquiries directly about the application process.
Please consult with your contracting organisation if you would like to apply for the position.
