Hello! I am Laura Kumataka, the present Coordinator of International Relations
(CIR) for Shiogama City. I am from the United States of America, and have resided in California almost all of my life. When I was in elementary school, I spent two years living in Japan (in a small city called Fussa, located in the outskirts of Tokyo), where I learned some basic Japanese. This past August (2005), I returned to Japan in order to work and live as Shiogama City's CIR.
CIRs are participants through Japan Exchange and Teach (JET), a programme administered in cooperation with theJapanese government. The JET programme accepts particpants worldwide and distributes the participants to different prefectures in Japan (from junior and senior high schools to local government offices). There are three positions available through the JET Programme: Alternate Language Teacher (ALT), Coordinator for Interational Relations (CIR), and Sports Exchange Advisor (SEA). Aside from one CIR, Shiogama City also employs three ALTs.
A CIR's main duties usually encompass a wide range of tasks, including:
English/foreign language instruction, translating/interpreting, giving
speeches upon request, visiting local elementary and middle schools, and
planning international exchange events. Basically, a CIRs duties are oriented
around increasing international understanding at a grass roots level. Since
1995, Shiogama City has employed a CIR as a member of its Lifelong Learning
Division. There have been 6 CIRs thus far, from the United Kingdom, Canada,
the United States, and Australia.
