LIFE AS A CIR
Different Types of CIR
Here in Iwate, there are two main different types of CIR posts: Prefectural CIRs and City/Town/Village CIRs.
Prefectural CIRs work for the Iwate Prefectural Office and conduct their role within prefectural duties, or by request direct to the Prefectural Office. Work duties mainly involve translation and interpretation, but can also include school visits, social media, event planning, cultural exchange and PA duties.
City/Town/Village CIRs work in their assigned location's government office (ie, a city hall, town hall, etc...) and are given a range of tasks; from working with local residents to promoting international tourism to their region. These CIRs are also involved in cultural exchange events, sister city events, social media events and school visits, depending on their designated department.
There are other CIRs, such as International Exchange Association CIRs and museum CIRs, however these are more likely to be positions outside of Iwate.
Japanese Office Dress Code
The dress code for CIRs is going to differ largely depending on where you are employed, but here are a few guidelines that you can start with and adjust as the situation permits. Some placement will require suits every day, and other will only require you wear them on formal occasions. Although you may not be required to dress exactly the same as your Japanese co-workers, taking your job seriously is important, and so is wearing appropriate clothing. A good guideline is to start formal and ask specifically what you can dress in after you get settled in.
General everyday wear for men:
Summer (Cool Biz Season)
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Short sleeved dress shirt/ or regular dress shirt with sleeves rolled up (wearing an undershirt may also be ideal if you sweat a lot)
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No tie or blazer required
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Regular suit pants
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Black/ brown Leather formal leather shoes
Winter
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Long sleeved dress shirt
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Tie and blazer
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Regular suit pants
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Black/ brown dress shoes
*Tip: If you only own 1 suit and are required to wear them daily, setting aside 10万円 and going to buy suits, dress shirts, etc. from Aoyama or Aeon would be a relatively inexpensive way to build your work wardrobe. 3 suit jackets/pants, 4-6 dress shirts, and a few ties should get the basics covered.
General everyday wear for women:
All seasons (formal events will still require a suit)
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Dresses/ skirts (as long as they aren’t really short)
Or business casual shirt and pants
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Flats or low heels are standard
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Women’s work attire is generally quite flexible as long as it fully covers your chest. Wearing shorter sleeved clothing in the summer is also an option if you need to cool down but coming to work in shorts is not a good idea.
*Tip: You can buy some inexpensive work clothing from Uniqlo and GU. Both stores take international debit/credit cards, so they are great options for when you first get here.
First Day at Work
You’re sure to have a designated desk, and you’ll be almost sure to have a computer prepared for you, too. Your office should have all of the materials required for you to file away your finished projects, make new binders/folders for specific translation references if required, sticky notes, hole punchers etcetera so asking your coworkers for their help finding anything is a great place to start.
Brushing up on your business Japanese/keigo:
You are unlikely to be doing much within the first few days so it is a good chance to start brushing up on your keigo and Japanese email etiquette. Most emails have quite a lot of set phrases that are commonly used so a little studying goes a long way.
You will likely have to introduce yourself times to different people within the first week so thinking a little bit about what you will say beforehand could save a lot of energy and potential awkwardness for when you do.
Learning about your surroundings
Similarly, looking up things about Iwate in general, whether it be travel destinations, festivals, agriculture, economics, or historical events will be a great help to you in your work and will also give you something to talk about with your co-workers. Since you are working as a 交流員, in addition to knowing about your own culture, it is really important for you to understand what area you are representing, what sort of things those people value, and goings on of your town or city so you can be a bridge for others who don’t yet have the same ability to access the culture and information as you. It is an important step to represent your area as a CIR and if you are fortunate enough to have the time to learn it in the beginning then it will only be of benefit to you.
Job Responsibilities
The term ESID has never been truer than for CIRs. Some CIRs do primarily translation, some do a lot of school visits, some do trips to outside organizations and some even work doing promotion for museums and even sales. Make sure to read your contract, check how many days off and sick days you receive and get an understanding of what the bulk of your work will be. CIRs day to day tasks can vary quite a bit, but we will try to outline what sort of general requests you can receive from your CO.
Translation:（翻訳）
Translation requests can be a range of things like tourism related translations, formal speeches from your local mayor/governor, public health updates, business e-mails etc.
Visits: (派遣)
You could be asked to visit schools on occasion, give presentations about your country, be Santa Claus for Christmas and go meet some children, or attend foreign exchange events or festivals. Visits may happen on weekends, so don’t forget to take another day off during the week.
Interpretation:(通訳)
This is a field that you may not have to ever do depending on where you are placed, but it is often the most difficult part of the job for CIRs who do end up doing it. Often, you will be called in to support visitors who don’t speak Japanese. This can range from students to diplomats and other important figures. Your CO likely won’t be expecting perfection since you are not a trained interpreter, but researching as much as possible beforehand about the topics that might come up during the interpreting is a good way to prepare beforehand.
Other responsibilities include:
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Assistance with sister city/state relations
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Editing and publishing newsletters, brochures and living guides for residents and tourists alike
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Foreign community assistance: working at the consultation window for foreign residents
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Prefectural Advisor: supporting JET participants from the CIR and JPA perspective (usually the responsibility of Prefectural CIRs)
