El Viajero » people http://blog.jklmelton.net Life Travel Japan Mexico U.S. Fun Food Health Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:13:49 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Goodbye Hideyo Chan! http://blog.jklmelton.net/2008/08/20/goodbye-hideyo-chan/ http://blog.jklmelton.net/2008/08/20/goodbye-hideyo-chan/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:30:52 +0000 Jay http://blog.jklmelton.net/?p=143 Hideyo Chan

Los Viajeros are intensely sad to say goodbye to our wonderful friend Hideyo who passed away over the weekend, after a long, long battle with cancer. Hideyo was Mrs. Viajero’s best friend and fellow jokester. Hideyo was truly one of the nicest and funniest people I knew. I have fond memories from the first time I met her in the mid-eighties, and I will never forget the trip we all made to California a couple of years ago. One of the highlights of the trip was going to an inter-league match between the Padres and the Mariners. Hideyo was a huge fan of the Fukuoka Hawks, and lost one of its star players, Jojima Kenji, to the Mariners. Mrs. Viajero put together a sign to show to Mr. Jojima (Hideyo is holding the sign above).

Our hearts may never be the same, Hideyo, but we will hold our memories of you forever. See you again…

]]> http://blog.jklmelton.net/2008/08/20/goodbye-hideyo-chan/feed/ 0 Japan Needs Japanese Teachers http://blog.jklmelton.net/2007/05/23/japan-needs-japanese-teachers/ http://blog.jklmelton.net/2007/05/23/japan-needs-japanese-teachers/#comments Wed, 23 May 2007 01:36:13 +0000 Jay http://blog.jklmelton.net/?p=84 The figures in the previous post were embedded in an article from The Daily Yomiuri on the critical need for Japanese teachers here in Japan. The number of primary and secondary students whose native language is not Japanese went over 20,000 for the first time. It should be noted that the vast majority of these students do not speak English as their first language either. The jobs are clearly out there; the challenge will be to train teachers who can teach Japanese to speakers of any language in addition to preparing speakers of these languages to teach Japanese. The breakdown of students in need of Japanese skills by language is somewhat different from the numbers of foreigners living here:

Rank Language Number Percentage
One Portuguese 7,562 36.5
Two Chinese 4,460 21.6
Three Spanish 3,156 15.3
Four Filipino 2,176 10.1
Five Korean 859 4.2
Six Vietnamese 754 3.6
Seven English 487 2.4
Eight+ Others 1,238 6.0

So, any students out there who are still thinking about what they would like to do for a living may want to consider a career in teaching Japanese. Keep in mind that you might need to make a move to a location where there are higher concentrations of students in need. These seem to include the Kanto and Kansai areas.

]]> http://blog.jklmelton.net/2007/05/23/japan-needs-japanese-teachers/feed/ 0 Foreign Residents at a Record High in Japan http://blog.jklmelton.net/2007/05/23/foreign-residents-at-a-record-high-in-japan/ http://blog.jklmelton.net/2007/05/23/foreign-residents-at-a-record-high-in-japan/#comments Wed, 23 May 2007 01:07:09 +0000 Jay http://blog.jklmelton.net/?p=83 A couple of years ago I wrote a blog entry on the number of foreigners living in Japan. Yesterday, The Daily Yomiuri reported the latest numbers from Japan’s Justice Ministry and its Immigration Bureau. It seems that by the end of 2006, the number of foreigners had reached a record 2,084,919—an increase of 3.6%. Here is the breakdown of the ‘top’ numbers (the Korean numbers include those from both North and South):

Rank Nationality Number Percentage
One Korean 598,219 28.7
Two Chinese 560,741 26.9
Three Brazilian 312,979 15
Four Filipino no data 9.3
Five Peruvian no data no data
Six American no data no data
]]> http://blog.jklmelton.net/2007/05/23/foreign-residents-at-a-record-high-in-japan/feed/ 0 Foreign Population Hits Record for 36th Year (in Japan) http://blog.jklmelton.net/2005/06/19/foreign-population-hits-record-for-36th-year-in-japan/ http://blog.jklmelton.net/2005/06/19/foreign-population-hits-record-for-36th-year-in-japan/#comments Sun, 19 Jun 2005 13:41:26 +0000 Jay http://blog.jklmelton.net/?p=20 The Daily Yomiuri (via Kyodo News) reports an increase of 58,717 foreign residents in 2004]]> For those of you keeping score at home, it seems the foreign population in Japan increased 58,717 last year; according to The Daily Yomiuri, one of the English language newspapers in this county, this rise is the 36th consecutive yearly increase. At the end of 2004, the total number, a record number, by the way, of foreign residents in Japan stood at 1,973,747; 1,195,164 of the total were registered in training or education programs. The breakdown of the top five by nationality, number, and percentage is:

Rank Nationality Number Percentage
One Korean 607,413 30.8
Two Chinese 487,570 24.7
Three Brazilian 386,557 14.5
Four Filipino 199,394 10.1
Five Peruvian 55,750 2.8
]]> http://blog.jklmelton.net/2005/06/19/foreign-population-hits-record-for-36th-year-in-japan/feed/ 0 Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria 2 http://blog.jklmelton.net/2005/02/21/cirque-du-soleils-alegria-2/ http://blog.jklmelton.net/2005/02/21/cirque-du-soleils-alegria-2/#comments Mon, 21 Feb 2005 13:52:18 +0000 Jay http://blog.jklmelton.net/?p=8 The family went to see the latest incarnation of Circle du Soleil: Alegria 2. We went to Fukuoka this past Saturday for the early show. I have to say the troupe puts on one of the best shows I have ever seen. It’s very hard to describe if you have not experienced it. There are feats of incredible, physical power, followed by out and out hilarious antics by one to three clowns, followed by another kind of incredible performance by a number of perfectly timed movements, followed by, well, I hope you get the idea.

If you have not been to see any of the Circle du Soleil’s shows, I highly recommend it.

]]> http://blog.jklmelton.net/2005/02/21/cirque-du-soleils-alegria-2/feed/ 0