mytest
Hi All. Hot on the heels of last Friday’s long-overdue update is the second and final catch-up Newsletter. Enjoy.
DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 6, 2008
Table of Contents:
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THE “GAIJIN” DEBATE
1) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Column 6: The case for “Gaijin” as a racist word
2) Japan Times readers respond to my “Once a ‘gaijin,’ always a ‘gaijin’?” JUST BE CAUSE Column
3) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Column 7: Sequel to “Gaijin” as a racist word
4) The Japan Times Community Page on the JBC “Gaijin Debate”, part two.
5) Results of our fourth Debito.org poll: Do you think the word “gaijin” should be avoided
(in favor of other words, like, say, gaikokujin)?
6) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Column 8 out Tuesday Oct 7, on how the concept of “gaijin”, or “outsider”, hurts Japan’s countryside
WIKIPEDIA WOES
7) My problems with Wikipedia: Its biased entry on “Arudou Debito”
8) Excellent essay on Wikipedia on the origin of “Criticism” sections
9) Citizendium, the more responsible replacement for Wikipedia, does better article on Arudou Debito
… but when Wikipedia is notified of editing concerns, “guardian editors” go on the offensive…
STRAY THOUGHTS
10) Some thoughts on former PM Koizumi as he resigns his Diet seat
11) Thoughts after seeing Li Ying’s movie “Yasukuni” at PGL
12) Tangent: Metropolis Mag (Tokyo) on the annual August Yasukuni “debates”
TANGENTS
13) Japan Times FYI on Japan’s Supreme Court
14) Very good report on Japanese criminal justice system from British Channel 4
15) Iwate NichiNichi on recent speech
16) Tanya Clark reviews HANDBOOK FOR NEWCOMERS very favorably.
17) Had a phenomenal experience at Nagoya University with multiculturalism
18) Results of our first Debito.org poll: In your opinion, is Japan an easy place to live?
19) Results of our second poll: In your opinion, is Japan an easy place to work?
20) Results of our third poll: Would you choose Japan as your permanent residence?
21) Bankruptcy of a monopoly: Good riddance to Yohan foreign book distributor
TALKS OF INTEREST
22) Linguapax Conference Symposium Univ of Tokyo Sun Oct 26
23) FCCJ Kansai Professor’s Workshop Sat Nov 15, Doshisha Univ for aspiring journalists
24) JALT PALE SIG Featured Speaker Sun Nov 2 Tokyo
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By Arudou Debito, Sapporo, Japan (https://www.debito.org, debito@debito.org)
Freely forwardable
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THE “GAIJIN” DEBATE
1) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Column 6: The case for “Gaijin” as a racist word
Posted by debito on August 6th, 2008
“Thus gaijin is a caste. No matter how hard you try to acculturalize yourself, become literate and lingual, even make yourself legally inseparable from the putative “naikokujin” (whoever they are), you’re still “not one of us”…
“This must be acknowledged. Even though trying to get people to stop using gaijin overnight would be like swatting flies, people should know of its potential abuses. At least people should stop arguing that it’s the same as gaikokujin.
“For gaijin is essentially “n*gg*r”, and should be likewise obsolesced…”
https://www.debito.org/?p=1858
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2) Japan Times readers respond to my “Once a ‘gaijin,’ always a ‘gaijin’?” JUST BE CAUSE Column
Posted by debito on August 20th, 2008
The Japan Times received a firestorm of letters regarding my last JUST BE CAUSE Column, and reprinted some of them in their most recent ZEIT GIST. On whether or not “Gaijin” is a racist word.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1875
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3) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Column 7: Sequel to “Gaijin” as a racist word
Posted by debito on September 2nd, 2008
Excerpt: Now for the more controversial claim: my linking “gaijin” with “n*gg*r”. Although I was not equating their histories, I was drawing attention to their common effect — stripping societies of diversity.
“N*gg*r”, for example, has deprived an entire continent of its diaspora. I love faces; I have gazed at many notable African-Americans and wondered about their origins. Is Michael Clarke Duncan a Nuban? Do Gary Coleman’s ancestors hail from the Ituri? How about the laser gaze of Samuel L. Jackson, the timeworn features of Morgan Freeman, the quizzical countenance of Whoopi Goldberg? Where did their ancestors come from? Chances are even they aren’t sure. That’s why Alex Haley had to go all the way to The Gambia to track down his Kunta Kinte roots.
The “non-n*gg*rs” are more fortunate. They got to keep closer ties to their past — even got hyphens: Italian-Americans, Cuban-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Japanese-Americans, etc. But Black people in the US just became “African-Americans” — a continent, not an ethnicity. Thanks to generations of being called “n*gg*r”.
“Gaijin” has the same effect, only more pronounced. Not only do we foreign-looking residents have no hope of hyphenation, we are relegated to a much bigger “continent” (i.e. anyone who doesn’t look Japanese — the vast majority of the world). Again, this kind of rhetoric, however unconscious or unintended, forever divides our public into “insider and outsider” with no twain.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1891
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4) The Japan Times Community Page on the JBC “Gaijin Debate”, part two.
Posted by debito on September 24th, 2008
The JUST BE CAUSE Columns I wrote these past two months on the word “Gaijin” have inspired a lot of debate. Again, good. Thanks everybody. Here’s another salvo from The Community Page yesterday. Love the accompanying illustration in the JT for this article…
https://www.debito.org/?p=1910
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5) Results of our fourth Debito.org poll: Do you think the word “gaijin” should be avoided
(in favor of other words, like, say, gaikokujin)?
Posted by debito on September 1st, 2008
- Yes. “Gaijin” has undesirable connotations. Period. (42%, 149 Votes)
- Maybe, but it depends on whether the listener finds it distasteful. (6%, 21 Votes)
- Maybe, but it depends on whether the speaker is being derisive. (26%, 92 Votes)
- No. The word “gaijin” is harmless. (25%, 90 Votes)
- Not sure/Can’t answer/Wot’s “gaijin”? (2%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 358
Brief Comment: The result was still that most people (but not an absolute majority) thought the word “gaijin” should be avoided, due to unwelcome connotations. Perhaps par for the course for Debito.org types of readers.
It was an interesting poll to follow in real time. For the first few days, the first choice, “Yes”, had an absolute majority of over 50%. But as more voted, the “maybe, if derisive” and “no” responses whittled that down. I was surprised at how few chose “maybe, depends on listener”. Also interesting was how almost everyone had a clear opinion — almost nobody was neutral or unknowledgeable about the subject.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1890
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6) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Column 8 out Tuesday Oct 7, on how the concept of “gaijin”, or “outsider”, hurts Japan’s countryside
As mentioned early today on this blog, please get a copy of the Japan Times tomorrow, Tues Oct 7 (Weds outside the main cities). My next article, Part Three of the “Gaijin” Debate, where I talk about how Japan’s strict “insider-outsider” system hurts Japan’s depopulating countryside, since Japanese also get “gaijinized” as newcomers out there.
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WIKIPEDIA WOES
7) My problems with Wikipedia: Its biased entry on “Arudou Debito”
Posted by debito on August 22nd, 2008
In one of my Japan Times columns (JUST BE CAUSE August 5, 2008), I intimated that I feel rather negatively about Wikipedia (I called it “that online wall for intellectual graffiti artists“). As much as I don’t think I should touch how historians render my history, Wikipedia’s entry on me has been a source of consternation. Years of slanted depictions and glaring omissions by anonymous net “historians” are doing a public disservice — exacerbated as Wikipedia increasingly gains credibility and continuously remains the top or near-top site appearing in a search engine.
The issues I have with the “Arudou Debito” Wikipedia entry are, in sum:
A “Criticism” section not found in the Wikipedia entries of other “controversial figures”, such as Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama — meaning there is overwhelming voice given to the critics and no voice given any supporters for balance.
An avoidance of quoting primary source material just because it is archived on my website, Debito.org — even though it is third-party material published by other authors.
Omissions of books I published months and years ago.
Other historical inaccuracies and misleading summaries of issues and cases.
Privacy issues, such as mentioning my children by name, who are still minors and not public figures.
“Criticism” sources overwhelmingly favoring one defunct website, which seems to be connected to the “editors” standing guard over this entry.
Other information included that is irrelevant to developing this Wikipedia entry of me as a “teacher, author, and activist”, such as my divorce.
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Instead, where are the (positive) quotes from the people and published authors who actually have something verifiably meaningful to say about Japan and social issues, such as Donald Richie (here and here), Ivan Hall, Chalmers Johnson, John Lie, Jeff Kingston, Robert Whiting, Mark Schreiber, Eric Johnston, Terrie Lloyd, Bern Mulvey, Lee Soo Im, and Kamata Satoshi? More citations from academic sources here. Omitting the comments and sentiments of these people make the Wikipedia entry sorely lacking in balance, accurate research, and respect for the facts of the case or the works of the person biographied. Again, this page comes off less as a record of my activities as a “teacher, author, and activist”, more as an archive of criticisms.
For these reasons, I will put a “neutrality disputed” tag on the “Arudou Debito” Wiki entry and hope Wikipedia has the mechanisms to fix itself.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1878
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8) Excellent essay on Wikipedia on the origin of “Criticism” sections
Posted by debito on August 24th, 2008
Update on my previous blog entry. I thought I had been proven wrong by the editors on Wikipedia — they showed themselves to be conscientious and serious about the editing they do. One even took the trouble to write an essay about how Wikipedia articles on controversial subjects develop. It answered a lot of questions, so I’ll put it up here on Debito.org for a wider audience.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1879
Until…
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9) Citizendium, the more responsible replacement for Wikipedia, does better article on Arudou Debito
…but when Wikipedia notified of editing concerns, “guardian editors” go on offensive
Posted by debito on October 1st, 2008
Last August I began taking on Wikipedia’s heavily-biased (even by its own standards) entry on Arudou Debito, pointing out some systemic flaws in the media. It was a good discussion and some positive changes were made, but now that it’s died down, the Wikipedia entry is just steadily reverting to the same old biased and “website-sourced” laundered references, losing any pretense of impartiality all over again. (And I’m not even bothering with the Japanese version of the entry — there’s no saving it.) So forget it. Wikipedia as a media is probably unredeemable in its present form.
Meanwhile, arising is an alternative — Citizendium, where contributors must have verified identities. and articles cannot be so easily defaced at whim. I like how the article on Arudou Debito has come out so far there. Reproduced at the link below. I suggest readers start switching to Citizendium particularly when it comes to information on contentious topics and people.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1924
UPDATE: After this blog entry appeared Oct 1, I appealed to Wikipedia “authorities” to do something about what I considered issues of unfairness and inability to abide by its own rules. The editors on the Wiki Talk page then went on the offensive, hurling accusations at me of altering my own article (untrue) and of trying to make their article on me in to an “advertisement” and a “micro-managed resume” (not the intention). Then they refused to police one of their own editors regarding issues of identity and a potential conflict of interest re a source (I suspect one of the “guardian editors” is in fact not only policing the entry but also adding their own (unpublished and biased) source against the rules).
The motives eventually came out: To quote one “editor”, who demanded that a positive book review in a national newspaper (The Japan Times) be removed: “…we can’t have just praise. Either a reliably sourced criticism needs to be added, or the praise needs to be removed.” Come again? We can’t have PRAISE in a biography? Unless there’s criticism? Even though there’s been almost nothing but criticism Wikied there for years now?
Thus several weeks after first raising this issue, Wikipedia still refuses to clean up its own act — instead treats the subject of their own biography of a living person with derision and contempt. How nice. And biased. Hence Citizendium.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1924
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STRAY THOUGHTS
10) Some thoughts on former PM Koizumi as he resigns his Diet seat
Posted by debito on September 26th, 2008
Don’t know if you heard the news, but former PM Koizumi Junichiro announced last night that he won’t seek reelection for his Diet seat in the upcoming election. Here are some assessments first thing on a Friday morning about Koizumi as a PM, the future of the LDP, and Aso’s tough fight ahead.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1916
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11) Thoughts after seeing Li Ying’s movie “YASUKUNI” at PGL
Posted by debito on September 29th, 2008
My take-home lesson from this movie:
Even though there will be violence on both Right and Left (although there were no scenes of leftist-instigated violence in the movie), the non-violent peace protestors (imagine the hypocrisy hay that would be made if somebody filmed the peaceniks assaulting the Rightists!) put themselves at a disadvantage. In the sense that violence is not an option for the non-violent segment of the Left. It remains an option, as witnessed in this movie, for the Right.
There’s the fundamental difference. And unless you get enough people witnessing just how unfair a fight this is (one of the most fundamental elements for non-violent protest to work, as per King and Gandhi, is for everyone to SEE just how brutal one side is and become sympathetic towards the other), it’s just going to continue. I feel very lucky to have seen a movie which made me realize that, and recorded for all to see (what serendipitous camerawork!) just how mean and irrational the side that resorts to violence actually is.
In sum, go see YASUKUNI. It’s a job well done.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1920
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12) Tangent: Metropolis Mag (Tokyo) on the annual August Yasukuni “debates”
Posted by debito on September 30th, 2008
As a follow-up to yesterday’s thoughts on the movie YASUKUNI, here’s an article that came out in August’s Metropolis Magazine (Tokyo) regarding the “debate” between Right and Left at the shrine. Bit of a tangent to Debito.org, but worth a read:
(excerpt) “The above scene unfolded just prior to last year’s pacifist demonstration in Kudanshita on August 15, the anniversary of the end of World War II. The protest, which will be repeated next week and preceded by various other marches near the shrine, highlights the one day of the year where downtown Tokyo could nearly be confused for Pakistan or Tibet during times of political unrest — the city literally turns into a riot zone as right- and left-wing groups stand off against one another.
“Perhaps Japan’s most notorious rallying point for nationalist sentiment, Yasukuni confounds its left-leaning detractors and inspires patriots due to its honoring of roughly 2.5 million military men, many of whom were encouraged by the belief that their spirit would be enshrined should they die in battle fighting heroically for the emperor. For South Korea and China, two countries that suffered most heavily at the hands of Japan’s military over a half-century ago, a crucial point of criticism is the enshrinement of 14 Class-A war criminals, including wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. A heated debate on an average day, Yasukuni and its surrounding area is like a spark landing in a tinderbox on the anniversary…”
https://www.debito.org/?p=1922
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TANGENTS
13) Japan Times FYI on Japan’s Supreme Court
Posted by debito on September 22nd, 2008
I’m not a big fan of the Japan Supreme Court (JSC), as my experience with it was when they summarily ruled that the Otaru Onsens Case (which involved racial discrimination, Japan Constitution Article 14) was “unrelated to constitutional issues”. This after only a couple of months of deliberation (it usually takes many years for rulings to come down).
It also refused to hear the case for Gwen Gallagher vs. Asahikawa University case, where she was fired for not being “fresh” (their words) enough to teach. And also, given Japan’s lower court rulings, because she’s a woman.
Yes, the JSC does sometimes issue miraculous rulings, such as this recent one regarding international children and J citizenship laws (causing some speculation that the JSC is in fact becoming more liberal; a bit premature IMO). But given the odd conservatism seen otherwise (such as the Chong-san case a few years back, ruling that denying a Zainichi the right to sit Tokyo medical administrative exams, merely because she’s a foreigner, is constitutional), that’s why they’re miraculous.
Anyway, read on. My favorite bit is at the end on how we can vote on Supreme Court justices. (I’ve done so when I voted.) It’s not much of an indicator — abstaining from voting for someone is counted as a “yes” vote (yes, I asked), meaning it’s not a majority of “yes” vs “no” votes, it’s “yes and no vote” vs “no” votes, meaning it’s highly unlikely the public could ever turf out a Robert Bork type. In other words, it’s a sham. And it’s never denied a JSC appointment, as the article indicates.
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14) Very good report on Japanese criminal justice system from British Channel 4
Posted by debito on August 16th, 2008
Here’s a very good report on the Japanese criminal justice system from Britain’s Channel Four.
http://www.channel4.com/player/v2/player.jsp?showId=10644
More information on the issue from
https://www.debito.org/whattodoif.html#arrested
Some testimonial from somebody who went through the interrogation process here and beat the rap:
https://www.debito.org/?p=1437
More information on the interrogation process here:
https://www.debito.org/?s=interrogation
Do not get arrested in Japan.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1872
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15) Iwate NichiNichi Shinbun on recent speech
Posted by debito on October 2nd, 2008
Iwate NichiNichi Shinbun, a regional newspaper, has front-page article on one of my recent speeches down south, complete with my new beard.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1913
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16) Tanya Clark reviews HANDBOOK FOR NEWCOMERS very favorably.
Posted by debito on September 25th, 2008
Tanya Clark HANDBOOK review excerpts:
“So, it was with my [mental] fingers tightly crossed that I first opened Arudou and Higuchi’s book. I have interacted with Arudou off and on over the years as his editor and as someone who paid passing attention to his activities as a Japan-based activist for foreigners’ rights. Arudou had taken the challenging path of adopting Japanese nationality (he was an American citizen) and creating a life for himself in Hokkaido, itself a frontier-esque northern island in Japan. Knowing Arudou knew his subject had raised my hopes. But, he and his writing partner pulled it off?
“Indeed they had. The two of them (Higuchi is a Hokkaido-based lawyer) had summarised the nuts and bolts of life for people whose Japan stay is extended. Whether it is maintaining a funeral plot in Japan, buying a car, joining a union or tips on divorcing a troublesome partner — life’s essential tips and tricks are covered…
“Yes, living in Japan is just like living in most other places (pretty much) — but there is a twist. This Handbook is an excellent guide to set you on the way to learning all those twists (and a few turns).
“In brief, Arudou and Higuchi have put together an essential handbook covering the key topics and questions anyone living in Japan (or intending to) needs to address.”
Whole review at https://www.debito.org/?p=1912
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17) Had a phenomenal experience at Nagoya University with multiculturalism
Posted by debito on September 8th, 2008
I had a remarkable experience teaching a class on media professionality and responsibility at the beginning of September, in a class where two-thirds of the students are not native speakers. And of course, we did everything in Japanese, from newspaper articles to reading sections of UN treaties and government statements out loud. We communicated at an extremely high level in a second language that many of us (well, me, actually, back in the haughty Bubble years when I first arrived here) were once told that foreigners could never learn to speak, read, or write in any useful facility. Boy, were the naysayers wrong. Makes me hopeful for Japan’s future as a multicultural, multiethnic, quite possibly even multilingual society.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1898
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18) Results of our first Debito.org poll: In your opinion, is Japan an easy place to live?
Posted by debito on August 1st, 2008
In your opinion, is Japan an easy place to live?
- Japan is a very easy place to live. (13%, 19 Votes)
- On balance, Japan is an easy place to live. (48%, 71 Votes)
- I’m indifferent either way. (10%, 14 Votes)
- On balance, Japan is a difficult place to live. (16%, 23 Votes)
- Japan is a very difficult place to live. 10%, 15 Votes)
- I don’t live in Japan (3%, 5 Votes)
Total Voters 147
Brief commentary at
https://www.debito.org/?p=1855
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19) Results of our second poll: In your opinion, is Japan an easy place to work?
Posted by debito on August 11th, 2008
In your opinion, is Japan an easy place to work?
- Yes, Japan is a very easy place to work. (11%, 24 Votes)
- On balance, Japan is an easy place to work. (20%, 46 Votes)
- I can’t say either way. (12%, 27 Votes)
- On balance, Japan is a difficult place to work. (25%, 56 Votes)
- No, Japan is a very difficult place to work (24%, 55 Votes)
- I’ve never worked in Japan. (8%, 19 Votes)
Total Voters 227
Brief commentary at
https://www.debito.org/?p=1865
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20) Results of our third poll: Would you choose Japan as your permanent residence?
Posted by debito on August 20th, 2008
Would you choose Japan as your permanent residence?
- Absolutely. I would choose no other society. (14%, 37 Votes)
- Probably. I like it here in general. (31%, 79 Votes)
- Indifferent. There are plenty of other countries out there. (13%, 34 Votes)
- Probably not. For me, this place has more downs than ups. (20%, 52 Votes)
- Absolutely not. This is not the place for me. (12%, 31 Votes)
- Can’t say yet. I haven’t been here long enough. (5%, 14 Votes)
- Huh? I haven’t even been outside my home country yet! (4%, 9 Votes)
Total Voters: 256
Brief commentary at
https://www.debito.org/?p=1876
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21) Bankruptcy of a monopoly: Good riddance to Yohan foreign book distributor
Posted by debito on August 1st, 2008
Yohan (Nihon Yousho Hanbai), the monopolist distributors of foreign-language books, just went bankrupt. To quote Nelson Muntz: “Haa haa”.
Yohan is essentially the Darth Vader of Japanese book distributors. I know from personal experience (trying to sell my books published by Akashi Shoten Inc. (https://www.debito.org/publications.html), which refused to pay Yohan’s extortionate subscription rates or meet its restrictive conditions) that if you want to sell even Japanese books written in English, you either go through Yohan, or your books don’t get shelf space.
Here we have a cartel masquerading as a company, with exclusive rights to sell cash cows like Harry Potter in English, overcharging us for books, controlling stores’ contents and shelf space, and keeping out rivals. And they STILL couldn’t stay in business! Good riddance to bad rubbish.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1856
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TALKS OF INTEREST
22) Linguapax Conference Symposium Univ of Tokyo Sun Oct 26
Posted by debito on September 29th, 2008
Just to let you know that there’s a free conference at the University of Tokyo Komaba Campus at the end of October. Called Linguapax Asia, they’re an annual event affiliated with UNESCO on media, language, semantics, and their effects on society; well worth your time.
And yes, I’ll be speaking there, about propaganda in Japan’s media as concerns NJ in Japan. (I’ll be my second speech for them — Download the paper I did for them in Word format here, and the Powerpoint presentation here.) Do consider attending if you have time that Sunday. Just register in advance via the link below.
https://www.debito.org/?p=1921
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23) FCCJ Kansai Professor’s Workshop Sat Nov 15, Doshisha Univ for aspiring journalists
FCCJ KANSAI PROFESSORS’ WORKSHOP
WHEN: Saturday, November 15th, 3-5 p.m.,
WHERE : Imadegawa Campus, Doshisha University (map will be provided later)
COST: 3,000 yen/person (includes tea and coffee)
DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: Nov. 5th.
PROGRAM (tentative)
I. Welcome and Introduction by Eric Johnston, The Japan Times, Osaka bureau, and member of the Scholarship Committee
II. Explanation of FCCJ by Martyn Williams (Tokyo bureau chief, IDG, and 2007-08 President of FCCJ)
III. Explanation of the role of the FCCJ Scholarship Committee, including the Scholarship Fund that is available to interested students and the Student Internship Program
IV. Workshop Exercise, including mock press conference
V. General Discussion — Ethical and Practical Issues facing foreign correspondents today
VI. Wrap Up
More at https://www.debito.org/?p=1923
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24) JALT PALE SIG Featured Speaker Sun Nov 2 Tokyo
JALT National conference will soon be with us – 31 October to 3rd November (a month earlier than last year – so it should not be so cold in the main hall!).
National Olympics Memorial Youth Center, Yoyogi, Tokyo
This year will be even bigger than last year because it combines the annual JALT conference with PAC7 (Seventh Conference of the Pan Asian Consortium of Language Teaching Societies). For more details see:
http://www.jalt.org/conference
PALE (https://www.debito.org/PALE) events are as follows:
Arudou Debito’s presentation is “PALE in perspective: What’s up and What’s Next?”
Sunday, November 2nd, 9:15 AM – 10:55 AM (100 minutes) Room: 511
PALE SIG annual general meeting
Saturday, November 1st, 5:25 PM – 6:25 PM (60 minutes) Room: 511
After the AGM there will be a visit to pub or Izakaya. Make a note in your diaries!
Robert Aspinall, PALE Coordinator
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All for now. Thanks for reading!
Arudou Debito, Sapporo, Japan
https://www.debito.org, debito@debito.org
DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 6, 2008 ENDS