CLAIR News January 2022
In order to prevent the resurgence of infection, we should all thoroughly implement basic infection prevention measures such as avoiding the “Mittsu no mitsu” or “three Cs” during any travel which crosses prefectural borders, and act to avoid the same situations in the workplace and strive to prevent infection.
For further information, please refer to the national and local governments’ official websites.
Cabinet Secretariat website:
https://corona.go.jp/emergency
Vaccine booster shots (a third shot) for COVID-19 are scheduled to be carried out between 1 December 2021 and 30 September 2022.
For details, please visit the following webpages from the Japanese government and local municipalities:
Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/covid-19/vaccine.html
CLAIR requests each JET Programme participant to register for the Safety Confirmation System (Emergency Call) and Contact Information Survey. These are two separate systems. Please register to both using the links below.
Safety Confirmation System: https://asp2.emc-call.jp/clair/index_en.html or
https://asp2.emc-call2nd.jp/clair/index_en.html Your login ID and password are both the final nine numbers of your JET Number, omitting the first two digits (20).
Contact Information Survey: https://goo.gl/u1gVT2
Login ID: JET Number (11 digits beginning with 20)
(Please refer to the email version of CLAIR News for the password)
*For JET Programme participants who were originally scheduled to arrive in Japan in 2020 please use your pre-arrival JET number that starts with 2020.
*A notice regarding the 2021 Safety Confirmation System (Emergency Call) was sent out in mid-May. Please ensure that you confirm the content of this notice once you receive it from your contracting organisation.
In the event of a disaster CLAIR will confirm the safety of JET Programme participants using the Safety Confirmation System (Emergency Call). It only takes a few moments to confirm your safety via the email you receive. Please make sure you respond regarding your safety situation when a safety confirmation email arrives as it otherwise takes time for Host Prefectures/Designated Cities to confirm the safety of each individual JET Programme participant in the affected area(s).
In any given year in Japan, there will be somewhere which has had an emergency warning issued. The country is also prone to large earthquakes. At the moment Japan is entering a period of increased chance for emergency warnings to be issued as a result of increased rain and typhoons. Because of this, we are asking JET Programme participants and supervisors at each contracting organisation to confirm information registered with the Safety Confirmation System and to check how to respond to a safety confirmation request should an email arrive. If you receive a safety confirmation request email, please respond to it right away.
Safety Confirmation requests are sent out based on Host Prefecture/Designated City, so participants may receive safety confirmation requests even when they are not physically near the site of a disaster. In this case, a response is still required from each individual to whom the request is sent.
With the aim of enhancing mental health support for JET Programme participants, CLAIR offers the JET Programme Mental Health Counselling Assistance Programme. This programme provides a partial subsidy (50%, up to 30,000 yen per year) for counselling costs incurred through consultation with mental health professionals not covered by health insurance.
The coverage period for this year is from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. The application form must arrive at CLAIR by 8 April 2022 (Fri).
※ Starting April 2021, counselling institutions and individual practitioners residing overseas will also be considered eligible for the subsidy. Please consult with your contracting organisation supervisor for more information. If you wish to apply for the subsidy, you must do so through your contracting organisation.
JET Programme participants can also receive free counselling offered by CLAIR via Web Mail and Skype. If you wish to use these services, please access them using the URLs below, input the ID/password, and follow the instructions for registration. Up to 7 Skype sessions are available between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022. We recommend starting with web mail, which has no limits on usage.
In addition to the Web Mail and Skype counselling listed above, we offer a toll-free telephone counselling service which does not require any advance reservation to use. The service generally operates twice per month, on the 10th and 20th (counselling days which would fall on a Sunday or holiday are instead held on the Saturday prior to that day). The counselling dates for the 2021-2022 fiscal year are listed below. Please make the most of these services if you are experiencing anxiety or other burdens on your mental health.
※＜Operating Times＞
（Weekdays）17:30～21:00 （Saturdays）13:00～16:30
※Schedule for the fiscal year of April 2021 to March 2022 (from January 2022) 20 January (Thurs), 10 February (Thurs), 19 February (Sat), 10 March (Thurs), 19 March (Sat)
Web Mail Counselling
(Please refer to the email version of CLAIR News for the password)
English: https://www.kokoro-soudan.net/en/
Japanese: https://www.kokoro-soudan.net/
Skype Counselling
(Please refer to the email version of CLAIR News for the password)
English: https://www.service-fismec.net/inquiry-eng/login/
Japanese: https://www.service-fismec.net/inquiry-ftof/login/
Counselling via Telephone
Phone number: 0120-810-803
(No advance reservation required. Calls are free of charge.)
※ Limited to one call per person per day (no annual limit)
※ CLAIR has prepared three telephone lines for this service; however, there may be times when the lines become congested. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
CLAIR will be hosting the 2022 After JET Conference and JET Programme Career Fairs for JET Programme participants completing their appointment on the Programme in 2022.
An e-mail containing details of the events was sent to JET Programme participants on 23 December 2021.
If you have not yet received it, please see the URLs below for more information.
After JET Conference Website: https://jetprogramme.org/en/after-con/
Career Fairs Website: https://www.2022jet-onlinecareerfairs.jp/en/
Frequently Asked Questions can be found at the URL below:
https://jetprogramme.org/en/careersupport/faq
For other enquiries, please contact CLAIR at afterjet@clair.or.jp.
For JET participants who arrived in April, it is almost time to extend your period of stay, so please check the dates written on your Residence Card (especially JET participants in their third year who will be reappointed for another term).
For information on extending your Period of Stay or changing your Status of Residence, please refer to page 69 of the 2021 edition of the General Information Handbook (GIH).
https://jetprogramme.org/en/gih/
For JET Programme participants who have passed the JLPT N1, N2, or N3 conducted on 5 December 2021 (Sun), you may be eligible to receive a grant for the test fee.
To check your eligibility, please read the Grant Overview and Eligibility Flowchart, accessible from the link below. If you meet the conditions, please submit your grant application (along with all necessary documents as outlined in the Q&A section) directly to CLAIR by post. It must arrive by 25 February, 2022 (Fri).
https://jetprogramme.org/en/jlpt/
All JET Programme participants are strongly advised to register with their home country’s embassy or local consulate, and/or through your embassy run travel registration scheme while living in Japan, as your embassy may be able to help you and your relatives obtain necessary information and check on each other’s safety in times of emergency. Please check the website of your home country’s embassy or local consulate for more details:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/protocol/index.html
Is your house or apartment covered by property insurance (kasai hoken)? If you do not know, please check with your contracting organisation supervisor. There have been several cases where JET Programme participants were forced to pay for the damages to not only their own, but also their Neighbours’ housing when there were water leaks or other problems. In the event that a water leak occurs, damage to the property of neighbours is covered by the JET Accident Insurance Policy Liability Endorsement, but damage to your own property, as well as damage to the structure of the building, can only be covered by property insurance. Whether or not to purchase property insurance is the choice of the JET participant. However, if you are liable for damages, the costs can be very high. Therefore CLAIR recommends that JET Programme participants enroll in property insurance.
Although the majority of JET Programme participants live in rental properties, earthquake insurance may also be taken to account for the cost of lost household items, such as personal computers or TVs. Therefore, please take care to research a suitable form of insurance for your situation.
It is possible to apply for online Japanese Language Courses. Please check the Japanese Language Course Guide on the official JET Programme Website, and apply through the Contact Information Survey page.
Participants who apply before the 10th of any given month will be able to start their course on the 1st of the following month. Once your course has started, please remember to plan your study schedule ahead of time.
https://jetprogramme.org/en/languagecourses/
CLAIR and The Yomiuri Shimbun have launched a periodical column in The Japan News, a globally-circulated English language newspaper. JET Programme Voices is a collection of articles submitted by current and former JET Programme participant which give a worldwide audience insight into unique experiences and achievements of participants during their time on the Programme. Instructions regarding the submission of documents are accessible from the link below.
https://jetprogramme.org/en/jetvoices
A useful checklist for newly arrived JET Programme participants can be found on page 81-83 of the General Information Handbook (GIH). Please refer to the checklist for tips about how to become accustomed to your new residence and workplace, including reviewing insurance policies and registering with your embassy.
The latest version of the GIH in both Japanese and English can be found at the following link:
To ensure your safety in Japan, please take the opportunity to ensure that you are prepared in case a disaster occurs.
CLAIR has compiled an Emergency Pocket Guide for reference in the event of a disaster. Please keep it with you at all times. Please ensure that you fill out the important parts and keep it with you in case of a disaster.
*CLAIR distributes the Emergency Pocket Guide during orientation for new arrivals.
https://jetprogramme.org/en/emergency-support/
JET Programme participants finishing their appointments and returning to their home countries may be eligible to receive a pension refund (lump-sum withdrawal payment). For more information, please refer to pages 169-175 of the 2021 edition of the General Information Handbook (GIH). jetprogramme.org/en/gih/
Information is also available in English and Japanese on the following website: https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/english/index.html (English) https://www.nenkin.go.jp/index.html (Japanese)
