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From the Chicago Sun Times...

Culture swap takes youths East
EDUCATION | Local twentysomethings part of Midwest contingent spending year in Japan as ambassadors

July 27, 2007
BY NEIL VERSEL

Flights to Tokyo will leave as normal from O'Hare International Airport on Saturday, but aboard one trans-Pacific plane will be nearly 200 young adults who will stay in Japan for at least a year.

The group is the Midwestern contingent in a Japanese government program developed to promote cultural exchange at the local level. Called the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, or JET, the plan brings people from all over the world to the Far East to teach English or work at prefectorial governments and other local authorities.

"Basically this is not a job opportunity. It is a cultural exchange program," explained Yoshi Kono, JET program coordinator at the Japanese Consulate in Chicago, which serves 10 Midwest and Plains states. "The JET ambassadors do not replace Japanese English teachers. They supplement Japanese English teachers. They are helping to enhance the internationalization in Japan by teaching English."

Indeed, Japanese authorities have been working hard to open up their nation to the world, and the 21-year-old JET program is one means. Last year, JET brought 5,508 foreigners to Japan from 44 countries.

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