March 2013

The global recession has severely affected not only the business community, but also local governments in the U.S. from the latter half of 2008. Despite the fact that a large number of local governments faced serious financial difficulties, some of them could avert or overcome financial crisis. St. Lucie County, Florida, is one successful example, due to their rapid response to the unfolding crisis. Award ceremony for County “Leader of the Year” at the 2011 National Association of Counties Annual Conference St. Lucie County Commissioners, Ms. Outlaw, Chairman of the Citizens Budget Committee, and Naomi Maki Because of the global recession, St. Lucie County, Florida, encountered a serious financial crisis,… Read More »A new CLAIR Report, “Learning from successful financial reform in St. Lucie County, Florida”, has been released!

The Japanese premier of LIVE YOUR DREAM was held on March 4th at the International House in Tokyo. The film tells the story of Taylor Anderson, a JET Program participant from Virginia who worked in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, and perished in the Great East Japan Earthquake. The film is 85 minutes long and has been subtitled in Japanese. It consists of interviews with Taylor’s family, former teachers, classmates, JET colleagues from Ishinomaki and Miyagi Prefecture, and many of the Japanese people that she came to know, along with photographs and news footage. It relates how she fulfilled the dream arising out of her passion for Japan and how much she… Read More »“LIVE YOUR DREAM: The Taylor Anderson Story” Premiers in Japan

On February 22nd, around 15 JET alumni were invited to the reception held by Japan’s Prime Minister Abe in Washington, D.C. Among them were Mr. Michael Green (Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic & International Studies), Mr. James Gannon (Executive Director, Japan Center for International Exchange/USA), Mr. David Boling (Deputy Executive Director, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation), Ms. Paige Cottingham-Streater (Executive Director, Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission), and Ms. Leigh Ann Mastrini (President, JETAA DC). The families of Taylor Anderson and Monty Dickson were also invited. They talked with Prime Minister Abe about various topics, including how the JET Programme has influenced their lives, and the… Read More »JET Alumni Meet Prime Minister Abe in D.C.