News

On Saturday March 13, the JETAA-UK Annual General Meeting was held to discuss chapter activities, UK committee business and carry out the annual executive elections. It was the first time it was held online, with more than 30 people attending and lively discussions taking place over the three hours.

Recipe  from Rob Gorton   Buta-no-kakuni (requires a pressure cooker ideally...)   This is a bit of a long recipe so I tend to make it at celebrations in winter - new years particularly! It's great served with white rice, a little english mustard and maybe sprinkled with chopped green onions  

Work culture in the UK has never been more changeable. Many people are working from home, Furloughed or unemployed and none of us know what the next week will bring. With an unstable job market, many are making their own opportunities and starting businesses rather than waiting for companies to start hiring again. With this in mind, we interview...

“Soon morning will break on the far side of night”                                                                        Lyrics from Hana wa Saku (Flowers will Bloom)   This month marks 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the tsunami that struck...

JETAA Scotland are hosting a MEXT Scholars JETAA UK Academic Special Interest Group (SIG) Event all about how JET has been beneficial in changing attitudes towards Japan through grassroots diplomacy.   It is supported by the Embassy of Japan, The University of Sheffield, School of East Asian Studies And Japan Local Government Ce...

Come and join JETAA: London at a specially discounted gyoza making class, with the talented Tokyo cook Kei! For an exclusive, subsidized price of £5 (the class is usually £11 pp), you’ll learn to make gyoza from scratch, as well as meet & chat with other JET alumni from all over! Kei-san is an experienced host-mother who taug...

Korokke or Japanese Croquettes are a wonderfully moreish food, especially in these colder months. The fried potato patties may have started as a French food, but Japan has definitely put its own spin on the potato croquette, as many of you will now. Korokke ...

London . .   On Saturday 20th March, JETAA London will be going international, with an online gyoza-making class taught by Tokyo cook Kei, all the way from Japan. This comes at heavily subsidised price of only £5, but is only limited to 30 attendees, so make sure to book quick if that sounds up your street. Pl...

Please, tell us about your career. I am a Lecturer of Applied Linguistics At Newcastle University. So, I do a lot of teaching, research and supervision.    Teaching:  I lead modules on learning and teaching second languages on an 

London . .   Last month JETAA London held a Netflix party where we watched Makoto Shinkai's acclaimed anime, 'Your Name'.  And had a Second Lockdown Social where JETs hung out and, played online games (Jack in the Box, Among Us, cards) More events like this are coming up soon, contact 

Hello everyone and welcome to the winter edition of jetlag. This year has been unlike any other, and we have all had to adapt to a new way of life as we adjust to a post-pandemic world. As 2020 draws to a close, I would like to focus on the positives that JETAA has achie...

Mochi is Japan’s favourite sweet. You can eat it all year round, but it is primarily linked to New Year’s Day. Whilst it is a typical food in Japan, it can be challenging to find in the UK, and the options are very limited. It’s surprisingly easy to make your own mochi at home in the microwave, all you need is:  

If you have lived in Japan, then you know about the bizarre interpretation of Christmas they have over there. For the perfect 25th of December, you need some fried chicken, hot sake and a strawberry cake. When I used to teach in Japan, my students would always tell me that the Christmas cake was the most important part of Christmas. I’...

How did you end up on the JET programme and where did you go?

Do you have a flair for creativity and want to help U.K. people learn more about Japan? Then why not contribute to the new website for The Fuji Festival?  The Fuji Festival is a volunteer-led educational initiative that aims to expand the horizo...

JETAA Scotland are still running online sessions welcome to all, on the first Friday of every month. In Novemeber we had Mio Shudo, a famous, Scottish based, Japanese storyteller, run an event. She dazzled attendees with dramatic, live storytelling in English and Japanese. On the 4th of December there was a great session about ...

JETAA is expanding with a chapter for the North East. The chapter has been relaunched by Jess Williams, a 2016 JET who lives in Whitley Bay. They had their first meeting on the 27th of the month, with a very successful origami session and online hang out. The plan is to...

Jet Alumni Chris Broad's YouTube channel has rocketed to success over the last eight years, with almost 2 million subscribers.  His latest popular web series, Journey Across Japan: Escape to Fu...

  Studio Ghibli announced a released date for their next feature film. Earwig and the Witch, known as アーヤと魔女 (Aya and the Witch) in Japanese, will be shown on NHK at 7...

Do you love Japanese food? Do you know a great recipe or a fantastic Japanese restaurant near you? We want to hear from the JETAA community and how they have kept in touch with the culinary delights of Japan since returning to the UK. If you would like to write a food based article to be featured on the site please conta...

A classic Japanese dish that is sure to make great comfort food this autumn. This dish is not as fast as the Katsu, but it's not difficult either and could be an impressive recipe to add to your

Chicken Katsu   This is a great way to get a taste of Japan with easily available British ingredients. Katsu just means cutlet, an...

1. How and why did you end up on the JET Programme and where did you go?   I had just finished my master’s degree in English literature, and w...

For lovers of Japan, cats, Street Fighter and okonomiyaki (and the debate about where the best one comes from), this book is difficult to put down once started.  The Cat in the City, the debut novel by JET alumni Nick Bradley...

To all JETAA UK members Around 2000 Martin Sel...

  London Green Chain Walk

This year's JET Returnees Careers Fair will take place on the 23rd of October 2020 from 11:00 to 16:00. The event will be held online, using the event platform Whova, and will be accessible both on the web app and on t...

A wish for peace and good health During lockdown JETAA North West decided to fold paper cranes to combine commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the A-bomb in Hiroshima with a wish for good health and peace for all across the world during the pandemic.  The number of cranes started small.

JETAA Photo Competition Winners Announced  It's the moment all our entrants have been waiting for. After an extremely difficult process of choosing from 25 excellent entries, our judges have made their decisi...

Written by Mikako Yokoyama; translated by Jeremy Gordon.  Since October 2019, I have been working as a foreign correspondent in Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun’s general European bureau. As the name suggests, while the office is in London, we cover news across the whole continent. Personally, I am primarily respo...

Featuring chapter news and upcoming JETAA UK events right across the country, coordinated by active Chapters in London, the Midlands, the North West and Scotland. North West Chair's Message Hi everyone, I hope this message finds you well in these unusual times. JETAA NW has been quiet in terms of socia...

An exciting development for JETAA UK this year is our partnership with the UK branch of Ashinaga – a Japanese charity which has been supporting orphaned and single-parents students for over 50 years, and continues to expand its reach.  On 26 April, we launched our first event with Ashinaga UK as part of the 2.6 Challenge, a nationwide...

Ever adaptable and keen to meet members’ appetite to answer trivia questions on a competitive basis during lockdown, the JETAA London chapter hosted its first ever ‘online pub quiz’ on 30 April.  Over 30 people, and more including multi-person teams, joined from their homes with cups of tea and G&Ts in place of the pints of bi...

JETAA UK is going to partner with Japan Local Government Centre  (CLAIR in London) for the next ‘Welcome Back Careers Event and Exhibition Space’, which will be held on Friday 23 October 2020. This event provides the opportunity for former JETs to receive key advice and insight on the post-JET experience and job opportunities aroun...

Zoë Vincent was an ALT in Unzen city in Nagasaki prefecture from 2015-2016. After JET, she moved to work for the Fukushima Prefecture Tourism & Local Products Association. For that work promoting the region, hit by disaster in 2011, she has been featured both on NHK TV show Japanology Pl...

The Fuji Festival 2019 got off to a great start in September with a visit from Martin from Tsuchigumo Daiko to Kilmaron School in Cupar. Pupils of all ages were joined by a group from Castlehill Additional Support Class as they had the opportunity to learn Taiko drumming skills, a Japanese style of drumming. It was a fun packed, high energy afte...

Alison Beale was an ALT in Taketa, Oita prefecture. She is Director of the Japan Office for Oxford University, also her alma mater, with responsibility for forging and fostering links between Oxford and Japanese universities.  She talked to JETAA UK about her pride in being a JET and how the experience has shaped her life and career.�...

This section is a guide to the range of upcoming JETAA UK events right across the country, coordinated by active Chapters in London, the Midlands, the North West and Scotland. Some individual chapter updates and news are also included. Please look out for the dates of upcoming AGMs for JETAA Scotland, Midlands and North West. Where contact d...

Tak Tokumine is probably the most famous Japanese entrepreneur in Britain. As the man behind Japan Centre, the food hall and retailer just off Leicester Square, he’s helped to popularise authentic Japanese ingredients among a wider audience at the same time as Japanese restaurants – including some of his own – have boomed in popularity. ...

On Sunday 1st December, JETAA North West members spent a very pleasant afternoon in Altrincham, a charming Cheshire town just outside Manchester. We met at the train station and wandered over to the market. In the market hall, there were a number of independent food traders to choose from and we all selected a different cuisine, in...

On November 9th and 10th 2019, alumni represented JETAA NW at the annual DokiDoki festival held at Sugden Sports Centre in Manchester.  It was a great opportunity to connect with other people who share a passion for all things related to Japan.  There were wonderful performances, including Taiko, singing, and dancing as well as many craft and...

(Note: picture is the Kiso Mix of seasonal mushrooms, lotus root and cheese) The pitch: Europe’s 'original' specialist okonomiyaki restaurant Review: While 'Japanese pizza' may be a misnomer it captures something about the nature of okonomiyaki's appeal. Outwardly it's relatively unsophistic...

We come to the end of social activities for 2019 with the JETAA London Chapter – お疲れ様です！   On Friday 22 November alumni gathered at the Glasshouse Stores in central Soho for some socialising and to sufficiently wet whistles for the following two hours of glorious Japanese-style karaoke (complete with all of the del...

Picture: VIP speakers opening a sake barrel from Dojima Brewery (Left to right: Elizabeth Fothergill CBE, Trustee, Derby Museums; Lord Burlington, High Sheriff of Derbyshire; Marvin Cooke, MD, Toyota UK; Ambassador Tsuruoka; Tony Butler, Executive Director, Derby Museum)   Ambassador Tsuruoka, the High Sheriff of Derbyshire, Lo...

by James Gamgee, JETAA Scotland Chair Our first educational events have taken place this year. A special thank you to JETAA members Jess Williams and Luca Fois for their help in completing application forms. They raised £500 each. Together with £2,000 funding from the Japanese government via JETAA, this means we raised £3,000 this yea...

The pitch: Tonkotsu ramen from its Fukuoka heartland Review: Tonkotsu (a stock made from pork bones) continues to be, by a distance, the most popular style of ramen in the UK. Yamagoya is another chain, like Ippudo, Kanada-ya and others, with roots in Fukuoka. Reportedly, back in 1969 founder Masatoshi...

Photo: Luke (left) representing Ashinaga USA at a fundraising event for the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in Atlanta. Luke Happle was a CIR and Prefectural Advisor in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. He worked at the Miyagi Prefectural Office and the Miyagi International Association. After the JET Programme, Luke became a Programme Coordinator a...

This section of the newsletter is designed to be a guide to the range of upcoming JETAA UK events right across the country, coordinated by active Chapters in London, the Midlands, the North West and Scotland. Some individual chapter updates and news are also included. Enjoy! Find all contact details on the About section of the website. ...

When Fukuoka native Rie Yoshitake came to London 33 years ago, it was with a hazy sense of a strong purpose.  "I don't know why exactly, but ever since I was young I was very interested in the overseas connection between Japan and other countries. Somehow, with age, I thought I would love to be a bridge between the UK and Japan. Of cour...

On 27 September, in collaboration with the Japan Local Government Centre (JLGC) and the Embassy of Japan, JETAA UK held its annual programme of ‘welcome back’ events for JETs freshly back from Japan – with something on offer for JETAA UK members who’ve been back for a little longer too. Once again, the event was held at Asia House in Lon...