EhimeAJET.com - Prefectural Advisers

Ehime Prefectural Adviser system

Prefectural Advisors (PAs) are designated by the prefecture and trained by CLAIR. Each Prefecture involved with the JET Programme has an appointed PA.
PA's are here to help you by listening to your problems, free of charge, and to discuss options to solve your particular problem in case you can't talk to your supervisor, friends, or family. PA counseling is confidential. If you are having problems coping at home, at the office, with legal matters, in obtaining sick leave (byokyu) or paid leave (nenkyu), with your taxes, in a relationship, or anything, please contact a PA. If the PA can't help you, they will find someone who can. If you seek psychological counseling of a more professional nature, PA's can refer you to a professional counselor. Professional counseling is available over the phone or face - to - face. However, you are responsible for the counseling fees yourself.

Don't forget that there are many sources of information close at hand. Ehime AJET coordinators are available for assistance at any time. There are also 2nd and 3rd year JET's, the JET General Information Handbook, EPIC, MIC, the Internet, etc. All can answer many questions of a more day-to-day nature.

Ehime PAs

Sara Williams
Sara is a native English speaker originally from New Zealand. She says "Kia ora" a lot.

Belinda
Belinda is from Australia and originally from Taiwan.

Mr. Tetsuya Ikeda
Mr. Ikeda is an English teacher at the Ehime Board of Education, and is primarily responsible for Senior High School ALTs and the Mid Year Seminar. Mr Ikeda previously worked as an English teacher at Matsuyama Nishi Secondary School. He can be contacted on 0899 412111 (ext 4858) or via email at ikeda-tetsuya@pref.ehime.jp.

Mr. Nobuaki Murakami
Mr. Murakami works in the International Affairs Division. Mr Murakami lived in Australia, and has also worked for the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO). He can be contacted on 0899 122312 or murakami-nobuaki@pref.ehime.jp.

Confidentiality
In offering counseling, our confidentiality is of utmost importance. Sometimes, in the course of counseling, it is necessary for the counselor to seek advice from a third party. A more experienced counselor may be required to answer a complicated question on law, taxes, contracts and the like. Therefore, a professional in that field may need to be consulted. Statistics are also kept on the type and frequency of the problems JET's encounter. Thus, counselors sometimes need to consult others, and records of a general nature are kept. However, please be assured that at no time is information divulged or recorded, unless that client first gives the PA permission to do so.

Other Resources

CLAIR JET line: 03-3591-5489 [Mon - Fri 9am-5:45pm]
AJET Peer Support Group: 0120 437 725 [toll free] [8pm - 8am]
Tokyo English Life Line [TELL]: 03 5774 0992 [Daily 9am - 11pm] www.telljp.com
International Mental Health Professionals - Japan (IMHPJ): www.imhpj.org
AMDA - International Medical Information Centre: 03 5285 8088 [Mon-Fri 9am-5pm] [English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Thai], Wed - 1pm-5pm [Tagalog], Mon, Wed, Fri - 9am-5pm [Portuguese]

Mediation

Many problems in the JET Program can be resolved locally through mediation. Mediation is a process whereby two parties meet to resolve a problem through examining each party’s underlying needs and cooperatively building a solution that meets as many of these needs as possible. Mediation can be achieved without resorting to a third-party mediator, but sometimes, when attempts to resolve a problem are not proceeding well locally, it can be more productive to have a neutral mediator there to ensure that discussion remains focused on resolution.

Conflict Mapping
Conflict mapping is a good method that can be used during mediation. It focuses on pooling resources, information and energy to resolve problems together rather than dividing these in conflict.

Firstly, decide on a time and place to sit down together to resolve the problem. It is very important to make sure this is done and that the issue isn’t raised when one side is unprepared for discussion. It is also important to make sure you are all there to cooperate to resolve the problem and that people aren’t just going to sit there and argue their side with a closed mind.
Secondly, define the issues. Make sure everybody understands what the issues are. Also ensure the issues are:
- Broadly defined (avoid specific details that are likely to generate argument)
- Objective and positive (like “I need a car” instead of “you won’t let me have a car”)
- Future-focused (don’t get stuck in the past; look at what is needed rather than what has happened so far)
- Shared (so that you aren’t raising issues that cannot be dealt with at the meeting)
Thirdly, identify everybody’s needs. This means writing down a list of the base needs that are not being met for each person involved in the issue. These should be the fundamental “needs” behind the problem, not the “wants”. So instead of saying “I want a car” the actual need would be something like “I need a way to get to one of my schools” or “I need a way to get groceries on the weekend”.
Fourthly, go through each need, one by one, and brainstorm for options to resolve them. All options suggested are valid at this stage, so nobody is allowed to contradict or argue about any of them. The focus should be on generating as many options as possible.
Lastly, narrow down the options to find the most workable one for each need. You will hopefully end up with methods to resolve each of the needs listed for each person and can then start implementing them.

The positive aspect of conflict mapping is that the focus is on cooperation, rather than argument or compromise, so all needs, or as many as possible, are met. If you would like more specific information on running the process then get in touch with one of the PAs.

PA Mediation
Sometimes it can be too difficult to resolve a problem locally. This can be because the problem has gone on too long and people are unable to discuss it constructively any longer, or it can be because people are having trouble with the resolution process itself etc. In this case, PAs are able to come into a conflict to act as neutral mediators. PAs are not there to lead discussion or make decisions, but rather to facilitate the mediation process to ensure that workable and mutual solutions can be reached.

Mediations run by PAs are completely confidential. No information regarding the issues involved, mediation process or resolutions etc. is released to any outside party. If you have a problem that you have tried to resolve locally without success and you would like to try mediating with a neutral party there to facilitate, then please do not hesitate to contact one of the PAs for more information