In
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, a , or CIR, is a participant on the
JET Programme
The , shortly as , is a teaching program sponsored by the Japanese government that brings university graduates to Japan as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs), Sports Education Advisors (SEAs) or as Coordinators for International Relations (CI ...
residing and working in the country. Although responsibilities for a CIR vary according to their contracting organization, the majority of a CIR's time is spent organizing and assisting various projects related to adjusting Japanese society to an increasingly multilingual, multicultural, and international world. Many of these projects include but are not limited to: international exchange programmes, primary and secondary school visits, language classes, cooking classes, cultural lectures, as well as translating and interpreting. CIRs are employed throughout Japan at international exchange associations, prefectural offices, city halls, town halls, village halls, and boards of education.
JET is administered by
Council of Local Authorities for International Relations
The Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) is a Japanese government-affiliated general incorporated foundation established in 1988 to support the international activities of local governments to strengthen international co ...
(CLAIR) and funded by
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan.
History
The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...
(MEXT).
Statistics
As of July 1, 2014, there were 364 CIRs, accounting for approximately 8.2% of the 4,465 JET Programme participants.
References
Contracting Organisation ALT・CIR Placement Numbers(July 1, 2014) Pages 6–8
Further reading
* David L. McConnell, ''Importing Diversity: Inside Japan's JET Program'' (2000)
*
Bruce Feiler
Bruce Feiler (born October 25, 1964) is an American writer and television personality. He is the author of 15 books, including '' The Council of Dads'', a book that describes how he responded to a diagnosis of a rare cancer by asking a group of ...
, ''Learning to Bow: An American Teacher in a Japanese School'' (1991), later published as ''Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan'' (2004)
External links
CIR Homepage– the official website for CIRs all over Japan (defunct as of April 1, 2015)
National AJET– the Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coordinator For International Relations
Foreign relations of Japan
International relations