One of the JET programme participants of this year, Mr. Baudewijn Pronk, reported to us about his life in Hirado city. Please read on to find out how he experienced his life there!

Outline of the job

The position of Coordinator of International Relationships in Hirado is a fun, diverse, and at times very busy job.
You will have your office at the City Hall where you perform your daily duties. These consist of, but are not limited to, translating correspondence between the city or the mayor and foreign organizations, maintaining and updating the city’s English website, replying to tourist enquiry emails, and drafting new proposals.
You will also be called on often to perform work outside of the office. For example the setting up and taking down of concerts, festivals, and exhibitions. Also receiving press or other guest, or you even may be called on to explain the rules of a game of shuffleboard (sjoelen) at the Dutch trading post to a class of children on a school excursion. The festivals and concerts are often on weekends so you will sometimes have to work during the weekend as well.
About once a month you will teach a class and play games at one of the many elementary schools spread out all over the island. This should be a class on ‘intercultural understanding’ and teach for example the similarities and differences between culture in the Netherlands and Japan.

Friendship and Sister Cities

Hirado has many ties with Friendship and Sister Cities both within Japan and internationally in China, Taiwan, and the Netherlands.
The ties in Japan are with cities that have been at some point connected with the life of William Adams, (Miura Anjin) the famous English navigator who won the trust of Tokugawa Ieyasu and who lived and conducted international trade for many years in Hirado.
Other ties in Asia have to do with the life of Koxinga (and important figure in Chinese and Taiwanese history) who was born in Hirado to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father.
The ties with the Netherlands date back to the early 17th century when the first Dutch trading post in Japan was established in Hirado. In more recent years, since 2000, the city has held exchanges with a football club and later with a high school from the town of Noordwijkerhout. This led to the signing of a Sister City contract in 2011. The football exchange has been halted for now, however the high school exchange programme continues and has been held for the third time this year.

High School exchange programme

We have recently completed the first half of this year’s high school exchange. In October we received 6 boys and 6 girls from the Dutch school as well as 4 accompanying staff from the school and the Hirado-Noordwijkerhout foundation. Each student was partnered with a Japanese student from one of three participating schools in Hirado. During the 10 day exchange the Dutch students stayed with their partner’s family in a sort of homestay. During the day the students attended various activities outside of school as well as special classes created for the exchange programme as a group and also attended regular classes individually with their partner.  Next year we will complete the second half of the exchange with a visit to the Netherlands.
These periods and the preparation leading up to the exchange are a very busy time for the CIR and his colleagues at city hall. The schedule for the programme needs to be planned and prepared, and meetings are held with participating schools to discuss the parts of the programme to be held there. On top of this several classes preparing the Japanese students for the exchange are organized.
During the exchange itself you will be busy executing the schedule, interpreting in classes, tending to the Dutch supporting staff, etc. In the evenings there are social and more formal meetings over dinner and drinks.
It is certainly worth the time and effort you put in to it. Over the course of the exchange you will see the students grow, not just in their English abilities, but also on a personal level, and of course in their understanding of other cultures.

The city and living here

Hirado is a beautiful island with lush nature, mountains, nice beaches, temples, churches, and abundant culture and history. You will be living and working in the city center near the harbor. The castle rebuild in the 1960’s and the Dutch trading post which was carefully reconstructed in 2011 form a lovely backdrop for a stroll through the ancient streets that haven’t changed much in hundreds of years.
The city has invested heavily in recent years in making the city more attractive and easier to live in. You will find lots of city parks, and a wooden board walk lining the harbor along the city square, the new tourist information center/ bus and ferry terminal, and the Dutch trading post.
Apart from the tourist attractions there are many municipal facilities that make life here easy.
As all of Japan and especially the smaller cities, Hirado too is dealing with an aging and dwindling population. The city is investing in measures to combat the decrease in population by organizing dating events amongst other things. However, when you venture away from the city center you will see empty stores and uninhabited houses in various stages of decay. Big families are not rare here yet still the population that is now at about 35,000 is decreasing year by year.
On the other side of the big bridge, still within Hirado city limits, lies ‘the most western train station of Japan’ which is serviced by a small local train in two directions about once an hour. Hirado is quite literally the far corner of Japan and having a car or other mode of personal transport is certainly not an excessive luxury. Hirado has a lot to offer and there is plenty to do on weekends too, but sometimes you want to get away and the location is a bit inconvenient.
The job can be very busy at times, but your standard work week is only 4.5 days. From Monday till Thursday from 8:15 to 17:15 and on Friday till 12:00 o’ clock. When you need to work weekends or the occasional evening you will not be paid overtime, but receive time in lieu of pay. So for every hour of overtime you get an hour of free time back. The hours and days you collect in this fashion form a welcome supplement to your standard paid leave days and you can apply for leave easily. Even taking an extended period off is possible if discussed with your superiors. That would certainly be unheard of in any business in corporate Japan.
Apart from all the activities that are part of your duties you will also be invited privately, for example to join the ‘dragon dance’ group and train for performing at festivals with them, or just to go out for dinner or drinks with colleagues or other groups. There need never be a dull or lonely moment. If you ever feel the need to socialize with westerners there are plenty of other JET around in Hirado and surrounding areas, and for a small city Hirado has a substantial foreign resident community as well.

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