JAPAN TODAY

Changes to the International
Driving Permit Regulations in Japan
Changes have been made to theInternational Driving Permit (IDP) regulations, as of June 1st, 2002. Thesechanges affect those American residents
who live abroad in Japan for more than
one year consecutively.
The period in which one can use an
IDP in Japan is one year from the dateof entry into Japan or until the IDP
expires, whichever comes first.
However, after revision, the date ofentry into Japan excludes any re-entry
date for those (with Alien Registration)
who leave Japan and re-enter Japan
within three months.
Prior to June 1st, if an individualleft and re-entered Japan within threemonths, the date of re-entry was considered to be the date of entry, thus
driving on a renewed IDP was possible.

However, this is no longer applicable.
In effect, participants entering theirsecond or third year will not be able
to drive legally with an IDP unless they
have left Japan for three months or longer
before re-entering. In these cases, participants may want to obtain a Japanese
driver’s license.
To obtain a Japanese driver’s license,
the individual must possess a valid driver’s
license issued by an overseas authority,contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing
Centre (Menkyo Shaken Senta) of thePrefectural Police and pass the necessary
examinations, which may involve a written
test and/or practical road test. Please notethat you may need proof that you haveresided in the country where your overseas
license was issued for at least three months(e.g. documents such as a passport indicating period of stay). For more details con-INFORMATION REGARDING
THE INTERNATIONALDRIVING PERMIT (IDP)
If you have a driving license from any of the following 20 countries,
submission of documents and an eye examination only are needed toobtain the equivalent Japanese license:• France• Italy• Luxemburg• Ireland• Portugal• Iceland• New Zealand

JLGC Newsletter• Germany• Belgium• United Kingdom• Greece• Sweden• Finland• Austria• Switzerland• Netherlands• Denmark• Spain• Norway• Australia

5cerning examination locations and times,
application procedures, necessary documents, fees and examination languages,
please contact your prefectural Driver andVehicle Licensing Centre.
Optional Automobile Insurance
In the event of a car accident resulting
in injury to another party due to negligenceon your part, amount of compensation tothe victim(s) can reach an astronomicalsum. The compulsory third-party automobile liability insurance (jibai seki hoken)
may not cover the total amount of compensation required. Therefore, in addition
to compulsory liability insurance, it isstrongly recommended that you take out
optional/voluntary insurance (ninni nojidosha hoken) to cover the costs thatcompulsory insurance does not. Pleasecheck to see which insurance policies youare covered by.
Rules of the Road
It is your responsibility to be aware of
the rules of the road. To obtain a copy of
the Rules of the Road manual, please contact:
Japan Automobile Federation (JAF)
Headquarters
3-5-8 Shiba-koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo 1050011 JAPAN
Tel: +81-3-3436-2811
http://www.jaf.or.jp/e/list.htm
The book is available in English,
Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese andPersian and costs 1,000 yen (tax included),plus postage.

Issue 45

Winter 2003

GUEST COLUMNSPOTLIGHT: Yokosuka Internship, Summer 2002
A Summer of Surprises
By Norman EatonLast summer, I had the opportunity
to participate in the Summer Internship
Program sponsored by the Japan Local
Government Center in New York. Although
the internship wasn’t quite what I expected,
it turned out to be a lot of fun and a great
learning experience.

policies, and emergency procedures.
As soon as I arrived at the airport, I
assisted in a conference hosted by Yokosuka
City on electronic government that showcased
how the Internet was being used to increase
efficiency, save money, and develop services

fascinated by the efficiency of the plantand amazed by the infectious enthusiasmof the director as he led us through thefacility. I had no idea that Yokosuka had
one of the most strict and comprehensive
waste-reduction and recycling programsin Japan.

The objective ofthe Program was forthe intern to learn
about local government
in Japan. I interpreted
this to mean that I
would spend timetalking with various
officials in City Hall
to learn about local
government structure
and practices. Also,
since I was studying
for a master of businessadministration (MBA), I
was particularly interested
in what types of policies
were being implemented
in Yokosuka to support thelocal economy.

Near the end of
my internship, I spenta day learning about
disaster prevention
systems and emergency
response procedures.
The firemen at the firestation seemed to enjoy
it when I turned pale as
they raised me up 20
stories on the rescue
ladder or when I
almost fell over tryingout the high-pressure
fire extinguisher. TheThe author, Mr. Norman Eaton (right), is unaware of the peril that awaits him as he tries
tour of the fire stationout a high-pressure fire extinguisher at the fire station in Yokosuka.
was definitely the mostfun and memorablepart of the internship.
in the city. The participants who had comeI was also impressed by the realistic andfrom all over Japan and the guest speaker
exciting disaster training facility thatfrom the United Kingdom were all extremely
My supervisors in Yokosuka had a
Yokosuka operates.
impressed by how Yokosuka was blazing thedifferent concept about what I should
trail to utilize the Internet to improve everylearn and how I should go about learning
Looking back, some of the things thatthing from the public works bidding process
it. They held the view that I should get aI wasn’t very interested in proved to be theto local elections.
well-rounded understanding of the entire
most educational parts of the internship.
administration before concentrating onThanks to my “unfocused” supervisors, I
Later, I took a tour of the local
any one part. While I was eager to focus
ended up learning much more last summer
recycling plant called “Aicle” (nicknamed
on economic policies and business issues,
than I had ever expected. I also discoveredby the citizens: meaning “love recycling”
they suggested that I also learn about usesthat too much structure and concentrationin Japanese), which is one of the mostof information technology, environmental
results in missed opportunities.
technically advanced in the world. I wasJLGC Newsletter

6Issue 45

Winter 2003

JETAA ACTIVITIESJETAA Chicago
Update of Recent Activities

JETAA Chicago Logo

by David Shumaker
JETAA Chicago President
On behalf of the Chicago Chapter ofJETAA, I would like to thank JLGC and
CLAIR for giving us this opportunity toupdate other chapters on our recent activities.
This past year has been an exciting
one here in Chicago. We were fortunate
enough to host the first ever JETAA US
National Conference in June with delegatesfrom 14 of the 18 US chapters in attendance.
With the support of CLAIR, the JLGC, andour local Consulate, we were able to build amore cohesive national organization andresolve some long-range goals that will help
guide us as a group down the road. InNovember, Chicago was pleased to send a
representative from our Wisconsin sub-chapter
to the International Conference in Vancouver,
Canada. Hopefully all these exchanges will
not only help to re-energize our local chapter,but also build a better foundation to take theorganization as a whole to the next level.

In September, we held our annual
welcome back barbeque for new returnees
in a new location. For the first time, wemoved to Hyde Park, combining a very
successful afternoon of brats and burgers
with a chance to volunteer at Jackson Park’s
Osaka Garden Festival. Some people helped
make origami with children, while others
worked behind the scenes either setting up
the performance stage or selling food anddrinks to the large crowds that came down
for the two-day festival of Japanese cultureand games.
Due to the success of our White Day
Yakiniku/Karaoke Party up in Koreatown,
we added a second date this year in Octobergiving those diehard singers another chance
to impress us with their talents. The group
has actually gotten so large that we can nolonger fit in the karaoke box’s largest roomand have to spread out.

Another on-going success is with ourmonthly Japanese Speaking Club. It’s aninformal gathering of former JETs, current
exchange students from local universities,
and all those interested in practicing their
Japanese in a different restaurant each month.
This January we managed to fill an entire
shabu-shabu restaurant with eager nihongo
speakers.
This fall we were pleased to welcome
junior and senior high school teachers on theMombukagakusho (the Ministry of Education,Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)
exchange program to our city once again.
Before heading off on their homestays
downstate, the teachers shared a picnic
with us at the zoo, and got better acquainted
with life in the US — while not having toworry about a new language. Later on in
the year, the teachers joined us for several
more activities, including a session of ourJapanese Speaking Club.
Additionally, Chicago continues tosupport the activities and goals of the Japan
Information Center (JIC) in organizing JET
Programme information sessions, acting as
program judges, and hosting pre-departureorientations for the new crop of JETs. We
are most grateful to the staff at the JIC for
allowing us to be active participants inpromoting the JET Programme.

JETAA Chicago and friends gather for the very popular Japanese Speaking Club nights at Shabuya
Restaurant.

JLGC Newsletter

7As we look forward to the comingyear, we are eager to continue fostering
mutual understanding and international relations between Japan, the US, and the many
JET alumni chapters throughout the world.

Issue 45

Winter 2003

CORE CITYMatsuyama CityMatsuyama
City Emblem

Matsuyama City, with an area of 289.35
km (111.7 mi2) and a population of more than
460,000, is located on the Matsuyama Plain inthe middle of Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku
Island. Matsuyama has the largest populationof any city in Shikoku. The trip from Tokyoto Matsuyama takes about 80 minutes byairplane.
2To the east of Matsuyama lies theShikoku Mountains including Mt. Ishizuchi,
the highest mountain in western Japan. Mt.
Ishizuchi faces the calm Seto Inland Sea andits many beautiful islands. The Shigenobu andIshite Rivers flow from east to west throughthe Matsuyama Plain.
Matsuyama has a mild climate, which
is characteristic of the Seto Inland Sea region.
It has an average temperature of 15.8 °C(60.5°F) and the average annual precipitationis 1,286 mm (50.6 in), with a lot of rain inJune and only a little in January. The city
receives little snow and few typhoons.
Matsuyama City is known for its historic
castle, literary heritage, and hot springs.
Matsuyama Castle is the city’s most recognized landmarks. The main castle buildingof Matsuyama Castle has been designatedas an important national cultural property. Itsits 132m (433 ft) high, on the flat-top of
Katsuyama Hill, in the center of the city. It
was constructed from 1602 to 1627 and is
known as being one of only three multi-wing
castles. The castle attracts many visitors and is
especially popular when the cherry blossoms
are in bloom.

springs in the countryand is even mentioned
in Japan’s oldest book,“Nihon Shoki.” Thesymbolic heart of thespring is “Dogo Onsen
Honkan”, which wasbuilt in the Meiji era(1894) and is recognized as an importantnational cultural asset.
The top of the mainbuilding is decorated
Dogo Onsen Honkan, built in the Meiji era, is an important cultural asset
with the legendary
in Matsuyama’s Dogo Hot Springs.
white heron and alarge drum is beaten at 6 every morning toannounce the opening of the bath. More thanof his most important works. “Botchan” is1,300,000 people enjoy a bath here every year.
still well-known today.
Matsuyama is also famous for being thebirthplace of Shiki Masaoka, the father of amodern Japanese haiku (17-syllable poetry).
Modern haiku was developed in Matsuyama
largely because of Shiki’s efforts. Haiku was a
fixed-verse form and a familiar genre to mostpeople. Plunging himself into an environment
where none of the elite scholars of his day
paid any attention to haiku, Shiki attempted togain the blessing of the literary community bysynthesizing the past achievements of haiku
with a modern scientific approach. In addition
to Shiki, Matsuyama also takes pride in having produced other leading haiku poets.

For more information and background,
see the Matsuyama City website:
http://www.city.matsuyama.ehime.jp/eng/frame.html.

Featuredin thisissue:TokyoMatsuyama also has the Dogo Hot
Springs area, which is one of the oldest hot

Novelist Souseki Natsume was one of
Shiki’s friends and today Soseki’s portrait isprinted on the one thousand yen bill. Souseki
wrote the novel “Botchan”, which was set inMatsuyama. This novel was written based on
his experience as an English teacher inMatsuyama, and the novel is viewed as one

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666 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK, NY 10103-0072

TEL: (212) 246-5542
FAX: (212) 246-5617

YokosukaCity

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City

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