What is a CIR?

A CIR is a Coordinator for International Relations residing and working in Japan. Although responsibilities for a CIR vary according to his or her contracting organization, the majority of a CIR's time is spent organizing and assisting various projects related to adjusting Japanese society to an increasingly multilingual, multicultural, and international world. Many of these project include but are not limited to: international exchange programs, primary and secondary school visits, language classes, cooking classes, cultural lectures, as well as translating and interpreting. CIRs are employed throughout Japan at international exchange associations, prefectural offices, city halls, town halls, village halls, and boards of education.

The CIR designation most often refers to an association with the JET Programme, administered by CLAIR (Council of Local Authorities for International Relations) and funded by MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology).

CIRとは？

CIRとは日本に滞在し、県庁、市役所などの官公庁で働いている国際交流員のことです。仕事内容はそれぞれ契約団体によって多少違いはありますが、一般的に言えば、国際化や多言語化がどんどん進む世界になじむための、国際関連の事業の手伝いなどを主な役割としています。国際交流事業、料理教室、文化に関するセミナーや翻訳・通訳など、国際交流員が様々な場において活躍されています。 「CIR」という職名は基本的に、文部科学省、総務省、外務省や財団法人自治体国際課協会の下に運営されている語学指導等を行う外国語青年招致事業（JETプログラム）との関係のある国際交流員の仕事を示します。

About CIRs and the JET Programme

The JET Program has been in existence since 1987 and has expanded every year since its inception. Each year more and more participants from more and more countries come to Japan to work as ALTs (Assistant Language Teacher) or CIRs. Although the JET programme began with an emphasis on English education, French, German, Chinese and Korean languages are now being taught by participants on the programme.

Click here to find out more about the JET Programme.

CIRとJETプログラムについて

JETプログラムが1987年に始まって以来、年を追ってどんどんと拡大し、参加者数や招待対象言語も毎年増加しています。JET参加者は外国語指導助手（ALT）、国際交流員（CIR）やスポーツ国際交流員（SEA）として来日し、各地方で仕事をしています。はじめの頃、英語教育が主な目的だったとはいえ、現在ではフランス語、ドイツ語、中国語や韓国語もJET参加者により教えられるようになりました。