We finally got around to updating our teacher introductions page to reflect some of the new teachers who have been hired recently. Not all new teachers have been added yet, though, so we'll keep updating the page whenever we have time!
We also sadly said goodbye to a few teachers whose contracts expired at the end of summer, including Takako-sensei, who is off to work with JICA (the Japan International Cooperation Agency, similar to the US Peace Corps), teaching Japanese language and culture in Bulgaria!
If you have a message for any of the teachers who left, feel free to mail it to us, and we'll pass it along!

GenkiJACS was recently approved as a recognized school for the German bildungsurlaub, or educational leave program. Qualifying German nationals can now receive 10 days of state-sponsored study leave with us.
We have been approved for the following states: Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein
The Bildungsurlaub program allows employees to apply for up to 10 extra days of educational leave to study a foreign language abroad.
There is a little more info on our site here. For more information, contact us!

We received a letter recently informing us that the only official Western Union agent in Japan, Suruga Bank, is ceasing to handle Western Union money transfers. This means that students cannot use Western Union to pay school fees anymore.
Their official release (in Japanese) is here. The only thing approaching a reason given is that their partnership with Western Union has expired, and will not be renewed.
The other options previously available for GenkiJACS students to pay are of course still available: International or domestic bank transfer, international postal money order, credit card, Paypal and Moneybookers.