COVID-19 Information

【日本語はこちら】

Hi all,

As most of you already know, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Nagano Prefecture on February 25, 2020. While the Prefectural Government has been updating its homepage as well as this page with various resources regarding the novel coronavirus, most of the information is in Japanese, so we have summarized it for you here, and provided links to other resources as well.

Please note that as of March 27, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prefectural Government have officially requested all residents to avoid non-essential international travel. Please note that there are entry bans or restrictions for at least 73 countries.

Governor Abe has also requested residents to avoid all non-essential travel, including travel to other prefectures, especially those with high numbers of confirmed cases. The prefecture has recently launched their new campaign “Shinshu Stay Home Action” to encourage Nagano residents to stay home for Golden Week.

Topics covered:
(Click the links below to jump to a section)

1. Prevention
　・Social Distancing
2. Misinformation and Disinformation
　・Stigma
3. Consultations
4. Quarantine/Self-isolation Guidelines
5. Masks
6. FAQ and Resources

Confirmed cases in Nagano Prefecture: 76
Affected areas: Matsumoto (12), Saku (1), Iida (5), Nagano (18), Omachi (1), Suwa (11), Ina (9), Ueda (7), Kiso (4), Hokushin area (7), Yamanouchi (1)

View the most recent case information here (JP).
(No new cases since May 12)

View all Nagano Prefecture case information here (JP).

Graphic from the Prefectural Government’s homepage as of 4 PM on May 26. Please see the legend below:

Pink	Black star (★)	Yellow	Grey Box
Cases with a known source of infection	Cases with an unknown source of infection	Cases that had close contact with an unspecified large number of people	Indicates cases within the same household
Question mark (?)	White	Black square (◼︎)	Black Triangle (▲)
Cases where the source of infection & close contacts are currently being traced	Those who have tested negative and have been discharged from hospital	Asymptomatic carrier	Retested positive
Orange (map)	Light salmon (map)
Areas for which a COVID-19 advisory has been issued	Area with inpatients

We will continue to update this page as new information is released.

– The PA Team

Last updated on May 27, 2020

Seeking Applicants for a Senior High School Global Instructor

If you have teaching experience, are enthusiastic about global education, and are seeking a new challenge, then the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education is looking for you! They are currently seeking experienced applicants for a Global Instructor (G Instructor) for the Toshin (East) region of Nagano.

In order to provide more Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) opportunities to students in Nagano Prefecture, the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education employs foreign citizens as part-time, temporary classroom lecturers with special appointments. These lecturers, Global Instructors, will work closely with the foreign language department and other departments relating to their academic specialty at their assigned school. They will be responsible for developing curriculums for school-specific, interdisciplinary courses together with a Japanese senior high school teacher. Depending on their school placement, the Global Instructor may be asked to Team Teach (TT) with Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) and to participate in after school activities such as English Club, English Debate, and Presentation Contests.

A. Position Details:

2020 Leavers’ Series #3

To all of our departing JETs:

The third installment of the 2020 Leavers’ Series is now available and includes information about the following:

1. Reverse culture shock
2. Saying farewell
3. Framing your JET experience
4. Advice from past leavers

While all of the information will be covered at the online Leavers’ Conference on Friday, June 12th, we encourage you to take a look beforehand to give yourself time to do research and prepare any questions.

See you soon!

Colorful Nagano 2020

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Hi everyone!

We are excited to share our plans for Colorful Nagano 2020.

Background

Since 2008, the Nagano CIRs have hosted Nagano International Perspective, an annual photo exhibit created to showcase the beauty of Nagano as seen by international residents.

This year, with new inspiration, but still under the same vision, we have decided to start fresh with a new exhibit titled Colorful Nagano. This exhibit will showcase the home countries of Nagano’s international residents.

Colorful Nagano represents the diversity that each of us brings to the prefecture. Together with you, we hope to strengthen intercultural understanding across Nagano.

LGBTQ+ in Nagano Series: Anonymous 1

Hey everyone, I hope you are all doing well in these trying times. This admittedly confusing piece is brought to you by my experiences with my Transgender identity and its effects on my life in Japan. 

Introduction

So let’s start with the most confusing aspect of my whole situation: my gender. What is gender? A mess, personally speaking. As the kiddos say, I am AMAB: Assigned Male At Birth. “Assigned” carries a very strong connotation, and shows how negatively Transgender people can feel about their own past, but gives little context. The short of it is: I was raised and perceived as a man for some time in my life because of what I have in my pants. I wasn’t content with my life as a man and the expectations people had of me because of it, so I sought a different identity. You might think I tried to go towards womanhood—and I did consider it—but  I looked for something else entirely. After years of questioning my own gender, I have slowly come to terms with the fact that being Agender (using singular they/them pronouns) is the identity that suits me most. 

Even if you’re part of the T in the LGBTQ+ community, the term Agender might not be something you’re completely familiar with. Hell, I’m not even 100% sure I could define it off the cuff. I’m comfortable with the term and identifying with it, but that doesn’t make me an expert. It’s defined as “denoting or relating to a person who does not identify themselves as having a particular gender” and is often conflated with another Transgender term, “non-binary”. I’ll be honest, it’s hard. No joke, but it can be very ESID. There’s a lot to learn, but no one truly expects the average person to know any of this stuff yet. Maybe someday, but for now it still makes my brain hurt a lot a bit. What I am sure of is my specific situation and how I navigate this identity while having one foot in the closet and another outside.

Nagano Prefectural Board of Education Seeking Applicants for ALT Positions

The Nagano Prefectural Board of Education is currently seeking experienced Assistant Language (English) Teachers for local high schools.

A. Position Details:

1. Job Type: Assistant Language Teacher (ALT)
2. Available Number of Positions: Three
3. Workplace:
   • Base school: A Prefectural Senior High School in Toshin, Hokushin, Nanshin, or Chushin area
   • Regular visit school: Prefectural Senior High schools in the neighboring area
   • Irregular visit school: Prefectural Schools for the physically challenged in the neighboring area
   • Note: Base school: 3-4 days a week; Regular visit school:1-2 day(s) a week; Irregular visit school: A few times a month.
4. Period of Contract:
   The duration of the appointment shall be from August 1st, 2020 to March 31st, 2021 (hereinafter referred to as the first period of the term of appointment), and from April 1st, 2021 to July 31st, 2021 (hereinafter referred to as the second period of the term of appointment).
5. Work Terms and Conditions:
   Remuneration: 280,000 yen/month (3,360,000 yen/year)
   As for other work terms and conditions, the Terms and Conditions for JET Prefectural ALTs shall be applied with some exceptions.
   Exceptions:
   1. Compensation for income tax and inhabitants’ tax is not paid.
   2. Housing allowance is not provided.
   3. The JET Programme Accident Insurance will not be available.

2020 Leavers’ Series #2

To all of our departing JETs:

The second installment of the 2020 Leavers’ Series is now available and includes information about the following:

1. Visa renewal
2. Pension refund
3. Successors (successor’s guides can be found here)*
   *Prefectural JETs, ALTs, and G Instructors should use the one labelled “(様式 2) Essential Information for Successors”

While all of the information will be covered at the Leavers’ Conference on Friday, June 5th, we recommend that you take a look beforehand to give yourself time to do research and prepare any questions.

Keep an eye out for part 3, which will be released in late May!

100,000 JPY Special Cash Payment

Hi all,

We know that most of you have heard about the 100,000 JPY special cash payment (特別定額給付金) for residents, and that some of you have already applied to receive yours. However, as most of the resources online are in Japanese, we are sharing the following PDF documents with English notes for those of you who have yet to apply.

1. Guide to Special Cash Payments
2. Municipalities Accepting Online Applications (see page 2)
3. Municipalities Accepting Applications via Post (see page 1)
4. Using Your Phone to Apply
5. Application Form Sample (this is what will likely be sent to you)

Block Leader Changeover Announcement 2020

In recent years, the Block Leaders of Nagano JETs have fought zombies, Thanos’ army, and maintained the peace in Nagano. However, as life went on, k-drama, of course, followed. For those of you who are new to k-drama or who don’t get what all the hype is about, here is a quick overview:

MCLMSK:RLA follows the lives of 10 people who somehow get into all sorts of situations. They must work together for a year not only to help those in their block survive and thrive, but to make it through the clichéd shenanigans that life throws at them.

With today’s Episode 16 finale now wrapped up and a sequel announced by the producers, let’s recap all of the emotional highs and lows and our favourite iconic scenes. We bring you a general analysis of the characters and main plotlines of the hottest k-drama that’s breaking the internet. Those that haven’t caught up to the last episode today may want to beware as there are some spoilers below.

2020-2021 TEFL/TESOL Grant for JETs

CLAIR is now accepting applications for the TEFL/TESOL grant for the 2020-2021 year!

Any re-contracting JETs wishing to improve their teaching skills are welcome to apply.

Applicant Requirements:

• Be a current JET participant
• Be scheduled for reappointment in 2020-2021
• Do not hold any kind of certification or degree in teaching English as a foreign or second language
• Have not started (including paying for) a TEFL/TESOL course before the application process and the notification of selection results

Course Requirements:

• Offer a certification of 100 hours or more
• Be offered entirely online
• Start after grant approval and be completed before Friday, February 19, 2021
  ※ Any courses paid for before receiving grant approval will NOT be eligible for the grant.

Information on Nagano Driver’s License Centers

Hi all,

This is just a quick update for those of you who are hoping to renew your Japanese license or convert your home country license to a Japanese license this summer. 

1. Converting Your License

As you may have heard, Driver’s License Centers in Nagano Prefecture have temporarily suspended all in-person appointments for Japanese license renewals, among other services, in efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Luckily, however, this suspension does not affect in-person procedures for converting your overseas license.

If you need to convert your license, please make a reservation as soon as possible. While we are not sure about the Shiojiri location, as of April 27, 2020, the Hokushin Driver’s License Center is already fully booked until mid-June.

For more information on what paperwork to prepare, and for tips and tricks on the practical and written tests, visit our page on Converting Your License.