129 Australians and 90 New Zealanders taking part in this year’s Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme have left for their destinations at the end of July and early August respectively. They are now working as Assistant Language Teachers (ALT) or Coordinators for International Relations (CIR) in Japanese prefectures, cities, towns and villages.
Farewell receptions were held at the end of July, and we attended some of them to encourage the participants. We were very impressed with their enthusiasm and commitment, marked by their individual speech: “I would like to introduce Aussie English, Rugby and Cricket to Japanese people and interact through that.” “I would like to introduce various aspects of Australia in Japan. After coming back here, I would like to introduce ones of Japan in Australia. I will go to Japan as a representative of Australia.”
We wish them best of luck and hope that they further develop ties between Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and have a wonderful time in Japan.
For more information regarding the JET programme, visit http://www.jetprogramme.org/