JET ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL
COUNTRY INFORMATION - GERMAN JETAA
Our special article series highlights the experience and contributions of JETs from smaller chapters.
Germany and France joined in 1989 with German and French being included as new target languages.
Today, JETs from Germany are mainly CIRs. The website of the Embassy of Japan in Germany has an overview of positions (in German).
ABOUT GERMAN JETAA
German JETs in CIR positions are often recruited to support municipalities or prefectures in their official relations with German sister cities and states and to foster intercultural exchange between Japan and Germany. As CIRs they do not only have very good command of the Japanese language, but it is natural for them to use English as well. Coming from Germany, a country located in the middle of Europe with the EU featuring 27 member states and 24 official languages, German JETs are most suitable to promote international exchange between Japan, Germany and the rest of the world on various levels and contribute to the ongoing success of the purposes of the JET Programme.
Compared to bigger chapters from English-speaking countries the German JETAA Chapter is relatively small with about 300 alumni on its list of members. The chapter includes German-speaking JET alumni in different countries, so its name is not referring to Germany as a country but rather to German as the shared language of the chapter.
There is a small group of 30 alumni in Berlin and most chapter activities consist of supporting or being included in events of e.g. the Embassy of Japan. With Germany being a Federal Republic with several bigger cities in every corner, alumni are scattered all over the country. Therefore about 10 local groups were introduced which gather on an informal level to share memories of their time back in Japan, exchange information concerning "life after JET" back in Germany and contribute to local events connected to Japan.
To learn more about the JET Programme in Germany, please visit the Embassy of Japan in Germany online (in German).