SAKAI Japanese Knives: The Sharpest in the World!
KEIZO ISHIBASHI / ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, JLGC (REPRESENTATIVE, SAKAI CITY)A

s Japan’s largest port during theMedieval Period, Sakai had
been at the center of Japan’scommercial activity, and as such wasrecognized as the birthplace of much ofJapanese culture. In fact, quite a bit ofhistory concerning the root of Japaneseculture is still visible there.
The quality and nutritional
value of Japanese cuisine is well known
throughout the world, however, did
you know that SAKAI Japanese knives
are used by the majority of professional
chefs in Japan to prepare such cuisine?
The secret of SAKAI Japaneseknives is in the selection of high quality
steel and a special heat treatment
followed by a rapid cooling process
called quenching. The quenchingprocess begins after the steel has beenheated anywhere from 1382 to 1562
degrees Fahrenheit which improves thehardness of the steel. Determining theright heating temperature depends onthe materials used by the individual
craftsman a process which is kept
strictly confidential. Then the knives
will be heated once again to a range
between 356 - 392 degrees Fahrenheit
and cooled a second time naturally.
The result produces a tough, strong andstable steel knife!
SAKAI Japanese knives arehandmade and not mass produced.
Therefore the cutlery is difficult tomarket abroad. Now, however, Sakai
has begun to campaign actively topromote distributing its brand productconveying its exclusive quality andtradition.
JLGC NewsLetter No. 69 • © 2011 Japan Local Government Center

The City of Sakai
held several events topromote
theirJapanese knives thispast November at theCulinary Institute ofAmerica in California
and the Japan Society
in New York City.
Chef/PartnerandUSHG (Union Square HospitalityGroup)
ChiefofCulinary
Development,
MichelRomano,
displayed thirty Japanese knives fromhis personal collection at these eventsand spoke extensively about his
affection for the knives. Also, certified
artisans living in Sakai attended theseevents and demonstrated the art ofhandling and maintaining the Japanese
knives.

Sakai’s ability to market andpromote their knives has been an
ongoing challenge. The New YorkInternational Gift Fair was held fromJanuary 30 to February 3, 2011 at theJacob Javits Convention Center in New
York City. The City of Sakai sponsoredan exhibit booth where SAKAI knives
were artistically showcased. Sakai City’sKaneshige Cutlery Co., displayed
traditional Japanese kitchen knives aswell as beautiful paper knives. The
masters of cutlery from the company
showed the correct manner to sharpen
Japanese knives and engraved them byhand with Kanji characters.
As the love for Japanese cuisine
spreads worldwide, SAKAI Japanese
knives exemplifying the highest
standards and quality craftsmanshipwill become the popular brand for chefs
worldwide.
For further
information, please visit thewebsite of the Sakai City
Industrial Promotion Center.
Upcoming events will be
displayed at the top of thepage, or you can contact me at(ishibashi@jlgc.org).
Sakai City IndustrialPromotion Center:
http://www.sakai-ipc.jp/en/

PAGE 5

Multiculturalism in Canada / Diversity Versus Assimilation: an Especially Tricky Debate in Quebec
MATTHEW GILLAM / SENIOR RESEARCHER, JLGC

mmigrants are the lifeblood ofCanada, and have been throughout
its history. In 2006, almost 20
percent of the population of roughly
32.5 million was born outside of thecountry. This is the highest percentage
since 1931, when 22.2 percent of
Canadians were foreign-born. Thesenumbers, however, do not tell thewhole story. In the years before 1961,
roughly 90 percent of all immigrants,
on average, came from Europe, whereas
since 2001 that number has dropped toaround 16 percent, with over 58
percent of immigrants now comingfrom Asia, and roughly another 22
percent coming from Africa, theCaribbean, Central and South America,and Oceania.
It seems to be inescapable,
though, that with immigration comes
controversy. This has become apparent
to me in the course of my research on
immigration issues in Canada, where
the tension between older, establishedgroups and newcomers is laid on top of
the centuries-old friction between theFrench-descended Quebecois and theEnglish-descended Canadians. While
all provinces of Canada have officiallyembracedmulticulturalism
asgovernment and social policy to agreater or lesser degree, Quebec isperhaps having a more difficult timedeveloping a consensus on what
“multiculturalism” and “diversity”
mean and how to reconcile these with alongstanding policy of assimilation as
its declining francophone population
struggles to maintain its political andcultural vitality.
The federal government's
multicultural policy was announced in1971 and was enshrined in the nation'sCharter of Rights and Freedoms in
1982. In 1988 Canada passed theMulticulturalism Act, the first of its
kind in the world, to preserve andpromote the plethora of cultural
heritages in Canada and ensure thatfederal law and government policies
respect the right of all Canadians toenjoy the rights of citizenship without
regard to their cultural background.

IJLGC NewsLetter No. 69 • © 2011 Japan Local Government CenterEvery province and territory hassome kind of support for multiculturalgroups and activities, usually within thecontext of helping to promoteimmigration to their regions. The
nature of these efforts and how they arecarried out differ in each province andterritory, and are conducted inconjunction with similar programs at
the municipal level in many places.
Within this context, however,Quebec has in many ways had the mostcontentious relationship with its
immigrants. They were widely blamedby the Quebecois for the failure of the1995 referendum on independence,and the news is periodically dominatedby stories such as the community thatpassed a bylaw in 2007 prohibiting thecovering of faces and the stoning of
women - clearly aimed at Muslims - orthe latest debate surrounding therefusal of security guards at the Quebec
National Assembly to allow Sikhs into
the chamber who had been invited to
speak but were wearing kirpans(ceremonial knives with religious
significance to them). Both of thesecases have occurred in the context ofthe ongoing debate over “reasonableaccommodation” of minorities and justexactly what this phrase means. Itseems that in Quebec, with its
francophone population already deeply
anxious about their plight within theoverwhelmingly anglophone continentof North America, the government'semphasis remains on having minorities
and newcomers adopt the Frenchlanguage and local customs in order tostrengthen the otherwise declining
economic and demographic position ofthefrancophone
Quebecois.
Accommodations to newcomers that
may be difficult enough for the moreestablished,
generally
Northern
European-derived population in therest of Canada become even moredifficult for these long-embattled
residents of Quebec.
On top of this, especially in the
kirpan debate, is the fact of greatly
heightened concerns over security, wellknown to anyone who has tried toboard an airplane in recent years, and ageneral unease about where the loyalty
and sympathies lie of people with ties
to other countries, especially countries
with radical ethnic or religious
movements.
For Quebec, however, as for the
rest of Canada, the future ultimately
depends on attracting immigrants tobring new life and new activity into anarea with declining birthrates and anaging population. The question is how
to accommodate and support bothgroups to everyone's mutual long-term
advantage.
Japan Local Government Centerhas been actively working to provide
insight into programs and policies
across the United States and Canada
that attempt to support recent
immigrants and facilitate theiradaptation to a new life here in North
America, so that local governments inJapan will be able to learn from efforts
here as they also search for ways toreach out to and support their own
foreign residents. Over the last fewyears we have been involved in researchinto medical interpreter services for
non-English-speaking hospital patients,
programs to provide information toresidents on municipal government andservices, and language training
programs for newcomers, among othertopics. Just last year, members of ourstaff conducted research across Canada
on the Language Instruction for
Newcomers to Canada (LINC)
program, as well as provincial andnonprofit efforts associated with this toassist their immigrant communities inlearning English and French andadapting to life in their new home.
Japan has a deep interest in how
best to serve and support its own
growing population of foreign
residents, and looks to Canada as aleader in this effort for ideas andinspiration, as well as for a greater
understanding of the issues that arise as
people move between countries andcultures seeking a better life.

PAGE 6JETAADC- Reaching Out to DC Socially, Professionally, and Culturally
MAURICE MALONEY / PRESIDENT, JET ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON D.C.

advice articles, andinformation
onJapanese businesses
and activities in theDC area.
JETAADC’s reaches
out to the greatercommunity by offering
monthly
volunteeropportunities for itsmembers. 2010-11 was
JETAADC Career Development Eventa great year for
JETAADC volunteer work, having
ince 1990, the Japan Exchange
raised almost $3000 for localand Teaching Program Alumniorganizations. Events included theAssociation, Washington, D.C.
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the(JETAADC) has been helping
Fannie Mae Walk for the Homeless,returning JETs connect to the Japanese
DC Community Improvement Day,
Community and other professional
and active participation in Karmaorganizations
inthegreater
Kitchen, an experimental restaurant
Washington, DC area.
Throughexperience where there are no prices onoutreach and active members,
the food.
JETAADC has grown to become aJETAADC has also worked withvibrant addition to the Washington,
the Embassy of Japan to develop aDC community.
school visit program, the “JETAs a social organization,
Ambassadors Program.” In addition toJETAADC organizes a number ofbringing Japanese culture to area
events incorporating a wide variety ofschools, the program serves as a way ofinterests to engage and reach out to theengaging JETs after they have returned
most members possible. 2010 eventsfrom Japan. Test visits suggest this is a
included monthly Networking Events,
program that Washington area schoolsa Bonenkai, a trip to the National Zoo,
are ready to embrace.
a Washington Nationals game, and a
Part of JETAADC’s mission is
JET idol style karaoke event presented
cultural outreach as well. During theat the New Year’s Festival of the Japan
Cherry Blossom Festival in April, many
Commerce Association of Washington.
JETAADC members staffed theIn addition to social events,
Children’s Tent, teaching hundreds ofJETAADC engages its memberschildren katakana andprofessionally.
In November,Japanese games.
InJETAADC hosted a two-day career
Decemberof2010,
development event, which included a
JETAADC partnered withresume writing session and a
theSmithsoniannetworking event. The networking
Institution to screen twoevent attracted over 70 professionals,
Japan-related films, Linda
both JETs and non-Jets, from fields as
Linda Linda and The
diverse as law, finance, non-profit
Harimaya Bridge, themanagement, and public relations. As
latter of which was writtenpart of this initiative, JETAADC
and directed by former
redesigned and updated its Returner’s
JET Aaron Woolfolk.
Handbook, a 50-page document which
Workingwith
theincludes a number of helpful careerSJLGC NewsLetter No. 69 • © 2011 Japan Local Government Center

Smithsonian, JETAADC invited Mr.
Woolfolk to Washington to participate
in a Q&A about his experiences inJapan both during JET and his timemaking the film. The event attracted
about 350 audience members and local
media and generated much discussion
around the JET Program.
With so much happening overthe course of 2010, keeping track ofeverything is a difficult task, however,JETAADC increased its online visibility
in 2010 by launching a new website
and utilizing web 2.0 tools, including
Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Visit
us at http://www.dc.jetalumni.org/.
From a small group of JET
Program returners in 1990, JETAADC
has made great strides to grow andintegrate itself into the greater
Washington, DC community. In doingso, JETAADC has strengthened thebonds between Japan and America at a
grassroots level. 2010-2011 has been avery busy time
for JETAADC,and the boardand members
are eager tocarrythatmomentum
intothefollowingyear.

JETAADC Film Event Poster 2010

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

PAGE 7

Let's meet JETWit!
STEVEN HOROWITZ / CREATOR OF JETWIT.COM, BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR JETAA NY

y name is Steven Horowitz(Aichi-ken,Kariya-shi,1992-94) and I’m thecreator of JETWit.com, the leading
source of news, information and job
listings for JETs and JET alumni.
I created the site--which is anacronym for “JET Writers Interpreters& Translators”--in an effort to draw on
the strength of the JET alumni
community in order to provide agreater “return on investment” forJapan, particularly at the local
government level.

M(Note: The valuable role of JETWit was recently
recognized in a “Letter of Support” written by theConsulate General of Japan in NY, which can beviewed at
http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2011/02/10/letterof-support-for-jetwit-from-the-consulategeneral-of-japan-in-new-york/)

I previously served for 6 years as
the Newsletter Editor for the New York
chapter of the JET Alumni Association,and I’ve always been very focused on
promoting the accomplishments ofJETs and JET alumni and also finding
creative ways to enable alumni toconnect with the JET alumni
community of over 50,000 worldwide
and over 25,000 in the U.S. I’ve also
always been interested in finding ways
to foster cross-chapter collaboration
and reach JET alumni everywhere,
regardless of their location.
JETWit.com has enabled me(with the helpof numerous
JET alumni) tocreate a central
information
source and thequickest andeasiest way todisseminate
information
Ambassador Fujisaki,
and job listings
my daughter Helen and I

to the JETAA chapters andJET alumni community. As aresult, when we learned therewas discussion in the Japanese
government about possible
budget cuts to JET andJETAA, I was able to postarticles and information on
the JETWit.com site to keep
everyone informed, generate
feedback and discussion andrally alums and others toshow their support for JET
and JETAA.
I’ve also used the JETWit.com
website as a platform for demonstrating
the value of the JET Program, forhelping numerous JETs find work
opportunities and to generate responses
from the JET alumni community forthe “JET-Sister City List Project” andthe “JET-Tourist Tally Project.” Inparticular, I make significant use ofsocial media tools such as Facebook andLinkedIn to increase the ability for JET
alumni to connect and participate instrengthening the alumni community
as well as with cultural outreach.
Getting JETs and JET alumni tocontribute to JETWit.com in various
ways is also been a wonderfulexperience. In addition to making thesite more interesting to readers, I’ve
made JETWit a place where jobhunting JET alums can “work” andgain experience and exposure which inturn is helpful for their careers. The“WITLife” posts by freelanceinterpreter, translator and writer Stacy
Smith (CIR Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03)
are a great example.
The JETWit.com website grewout of an email list I created while I was
the JETAANY Newsletter Editor inorder to recruit talented writers andgather translators together in order toshare work opportunities.
The JETWit mascot--named
A.J.--was created by another JET
alumnus, Zi Mei (Saitama-ken, 200507) who is a professional web andgraphic designer. And to set up theJETWit.com website, I received a lot ofhelp from JETAANY Webmaster andWeb Guru Lee-Sean Huang (Oita-ken,Nakatsu-shi, 2003-06).

In addition to my work on
JETWit.com, I also serve as a memberof the Board of Directors for JETAANY as well as the chapter’s Professional
Outreach & Development Chair.
Professionally, I’m a former bankruptcy
attorney who now works as a creative
communications consultant andpublishes an original cartoon series
about bankruptcy called “Bankruptcy
Bill” (http://bankruptcybill.us).
For more information about
JETWit, go to http://jetwit.com

Published by JAPAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CENTER
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
3 Park Avenue, 20th floor, New York, NY 10016 • Tel: 212-246-5542 • Fax: 212-246-5617 • E-mail: jlgc@jlgc.org • http://www.jlgc.org

JLGC NewsLetter No. 69 • © 2011 Japan Local Government Center

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