JET program (The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program)
'JET' is one of the largest personnel exchange programs in the world. The program invites young people living mainly in English-speaking countries to Japan in order to teach English and to carry out grass-roots international communication. As of January 1998, 5321 young people from 27 countries were teaching English at junior and senior high schools or working in local authorities to deepen mutual understanding between Japan and other nations.
IRT(International Rescue Team)
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency(FDMA) trains and organizes IRTs which are composed of municipal firefighters who can be sent to help at a large-scale disaster occurring Overseas. Recently, IRTs were crowned with great success in Malaysia where they gave assistance after a huge building collapsed.
Japanese local authorities also support study programs for overseas local authority officials, and have established joint overseas branches in New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Seoul, Sydney and Beijing.
Regional networking plan using communication satellite
Linking local authorities via communication satellites enables the efficient transmission of information relating to disasters, as well as the revitalization of communities using attractive introductory films. This project has been in operation since 1991.
High Vision Museum
'High Vision projectors are being used to create a virtual museum of fine arts whereby the general public is able to enjoy famous works easily, and plans to enrich the contents of this virtual museum are also now well under way. There are 172 museums equipped with High Vision' projectors throughout Japan.
In addition, the Ministry of Home Affairs is promoting community network schemes to introduce a computer network to check and reserve public facilities such as halls and gymnasia, and a cable television project to resolve the information gap between local authorities.
The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake' provides a serious and shocking lesson not only for those who live in the Hanshin-Awaji region, but also for those who live in other regions of Japan.
