| Synopsis: |
'Your job is as much a cultural ambassador as an educator. ' With these words ringing in his ears, Richard starts his job as a JET (a participant in the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program) with high hopes of carrying out this dual role. Enthusiastically he embraces life in Japan, absorbs Japanese culture, learning the arts of the tea ceremony and the shamisen, makes Japanese friends - an ex-kamikaze pilot, a purple-haired tea master, mafia 'thugs', to name but a few - and immerses himself in Japanese philosophy. Young and idealistic, he sees a need for improvement in teaching of English, but when he tries to introduce changes he hits a brick wall. The teachers just aren't interested in new ideas. Reluctantly he realises that, to survive, he will have to stop rocking the boat and learn to accept the 'Japanese way' of doing things...This does not stop him asking questions though, and when it comes to the problem of bullying in schools, he refuses to let the matter rest. When his concerns are ignored - with tragic results - he blames himself. Should he have tackled it the 'American way' instead of the 'Japanese way'?Richard's experiences as a JET are fascinating, his evaluation of Japanese philosophy, culture and the education system sharp and incisive, and through the eyes of a 'young foreigner', an exciting picture of life in modern Japan emerges. |