The United States Japan Exchange & Teaching Programme Alumni Association (USJETAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and cultural organization that promotes grassroots friendship and understanding between the U.S. and Japan through the personal and professional experiences of over 36,000 Americans who have participated on the JET Programme since its inception in 1987.

USJETAA was created through an initiative developed by the United States Bridging Foundation in 2013 and funded by The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership with support from all 19 JETAA chapters around the U.S. and our sister organization, JETAA USA, via a working group of stakeholders collecting feedback from the JETAA chapter leaders and the JET community.

The impetus for its creation was in response to a growing recognition by the binational committee, CULCON, of the impact JET alumni have as individuals and as a group on U.S.-Japan relations.  In CULCON’s 25^th Joint Plenary Meeting Statement on April 10, 2012, under the section of Grassroots Exchange, they asked governments, academia, non-profits and private sectors to, “Support JETAA efforts to build its infrastructure and promote improved English language learning in Japan and cross-cultural activities.”

Purposes

• Serve as a resource for JET alumni, JETAA chapters nationwide, and potential JET participants.
• Support the network of JETAA chapters in programming, membership recruitment, chapter management, leadership, professional development, and fundraising.
• Facilitate collaboration and information sharing among JETAA chapters.
• Serve as a national clearinghouse for information on chapters, careers, educational opportunities, and U.S.-Japan relations.
• Serve as a point of contact for organizations interested in partnering with JETAA chapters.
• Provide membership services for individual JET alumni not associated with a JETAA chapter.
• Support the JET Programme and the JET community as appropriate.
• Undertake national charitable initiatives.
• Promote cross-cultural understanding between Japan and the United States, and support the U.S.-Japan relationship.