Blog#8 One of the famous King (Lily)

Hello. This is Lily.

Day before yesterday I got a chance to watch one movie the title is "The King's speech". It was showing at movie theather last year. I was dying to watch it but I did not have time because of studying for university. I have always wanted to see it. And every time I went to rental video shop, I checked it up but it was not old enough to rent it by 100 yen or already out. There was not any chance to watch it. However, that day I went to Internet Cafe and I found it! I could watch it without paying. Anyway, I watched.

I think some of you gays have watched or seen this picture.

This is Japanese title. This movie got 4 academy award and 1 golden globe award. This movie was really good. It moved my heart. The king in this movie was actuall exist as George Ⅵ. I got very interested him by watching this movie. So I introduce you about him here.

His name is Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor. This King was one of the England king from 1936 to 1952.  He lived from 1895 to 1952.  He was stammering symptom so that he could not speak smoothly. When he try to speech, he stop suddenly or he say same words over and over. This desease was thought because of the some discipline almost like abuse he had when he was child.
He had a older brother, Edward Ⅷ. Edward Ⅷ was well educated for king so he became a king when their father, GeorgeⅤ, died. However, EdwardⅧ gave up the throne. He wanted to marry Wallis Simpson. She had been married twice so a king could not marry her.  This means Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor became GeorgeⅥ. He became a king without enough education for being king and with stammering symptom. In this era, WWⅡ was about to starting. The king must be strong and stand on his dignity. He started cure his illness with Lionel Logue.

This is Lionel Logue. He was a specialist to cure launguege problem. Because of Lionel's supports GeorgeⅥ suceeded his important speeches. He was a really kind king. People loved him. He overcome his negative aspect and he leaded the country England and people to end of WWⅡ.

If you watch this movie you will know about this king more. And you will like him and his friend Lionel.
When you get time, please check this out.

Blog #7 Kamakura gourmet

Hello! It’s Marumi.

Yesterday was a holiday and it was very beautiful day.

So, I went for a walk around Kamakura. There were lots of tourists too. I found some nice restaurants around Kamakura station which I’d like to introduce to you. Actually, I haven’t been there but I want to go there with my friends some day.

This is a curry rice restaurant, called Caraway along Komachi street. This restaurant is always very crowded and there’s a long cue at lunch time. I can’t find the information when it was build, but my mother said it has been popular since she was young. The dishes are reasonable price, which are about 750 yen. Considering the large portion, it is rather cheap. It also has salad as a side dish.

According to the review of some customers, the taste is mild and very delicious.  Many people say the portion of rice is too much, so they recommend ordering the smaller one. Even some men can’t finish it. The funny thing is it has three types of pickles and jam. But the jam seems to be go well with the curry, so we should try it.

The restaurant itself is classic style and seems very cosy. They also have the take away system.

Second, I’d like to introduce Sabou・Kirara [茶房　雲母] which is about 10 minutes walk from Kamakura station. It’s a Japanese sweets cafe. Anmitsu with shiratama seems to be a popular dish. It also has maccha and oshiruko. Seasonally, amazake is served too. The average price for dessert is 700 yen, which is good considering that you can eat the real Japanese dessert. Even if you are caring about calories, Japanese desserts are relatively good. They don’t contain butter and oil, so the calories are low. It is definitely good for diet and for me!!!

The inside the restaurant is a mixture style of classic and modern. It has very Japanese atmosphere with the interior and Japanese flower arrangement. It also has a nice terrace. Going there on a nice warm day in spring will be definitely wonderful

Third, this is the restaurant I have been interested in since last year.  The name is COBAKABA. It’s a very small restaurant which serves set meals. The set meals are about 800 yen and they are very healthy. Lots of vegetables are used in each meal. Some reviewers say that the dishes have mild taste and the taste of the vegetable stands out. We can see from the photos that the dishes are very healthy. For men, it may be a small portion, so I recommend ordering larger rice.

The restaurant is small, but it has a open atmosphere and if you go there on weekdays, you will be able to stay there for a relaxing time. When I found the restaurant crowded and it had a cue on Sunday, so it’s better to go there on weekdays if you don’t want to worry that you are making people wait. (I often worry, so..)

I suppose these photos have made you feel hungry. Actually, I got hungry by just seeing them.
In Kamakura, there are lots of nice restaurants and cafes. Of course you can enjoy the historical places and beach too. Now it may be too cold but when cherry blossoms begin to bloom, it will be wonderful to take a stroll in Kamakura and have a rest in these nice restaurants.
Please come to Kamakura :) You are very welcome!!!

Blog#9 memorize (yuna)

Hi, I’m yuna. Today I would like to introduce one of ways to memorize things. I am poor at memorizing things so I always search for a good way of memorization.

I found an interesting article in the newspaper. This article says “Study within good hours”.

   As everyone knows, it is easy for us to memorize things at the time before we sleep. According to this article, we have other good times to memorize things. Good times are at 10 AM and at 3 PM. We can memorize things more efficiency at these time than at other times. This article says that the best time depends on people so you should find your best time.

 

It is not efficient that you decide to study for 5 hours per a day and to memorize 50 words per an hour. In turn it is efficient that you study at best time and memorize a lot of things as much as possible at that time.

I think I have studied inefficiency. So I need to find my best time and I want to memorize things efficiency.

   I would like to introduce a man who is professional about memorize. His name is Yoshihito Naitou. He graduated from Keio University and founded a company. Now he is a psychologist and a writer. He wrote books such as “power play” and “Shinnri sen de zettai makenai honn.”

“Kuro manner, Ura rule” is one of his books. In this book he says as follows; ”don’t teach someone for free. Take fee when you teach someone”, “be not honest too much.” Like those sentences, he wrote techniques to get results.  I have not read his books. I want to read them someday. 

Blog#6 Art-Make

Hi, I’m yuna. Today I would like to introduce “Art-Make.” Have you ever heard “Art-Make”? Probably almost all girls know what it is.

 “Art-Make” is to make eye line and eyebrow by dyeing skin with needle. Please look at images as follows:

Even if you get wet, your eye line and eyebrow do not wear off. You can save one trouble to make up again. So recently “Art-Make” has been in fashion among girls. People who operate Art-Make need doctor’s license.

 As Art-Make is being popular, the number of people who are damaged by Art-Make is increasing. In almost all case they use beauty salon and their skin were dyeing by people who don’t have doctor’s license. That’s why the number of the injured is increasing.

 According to a lady who was damaged by Art-Make, her cornea was injured. In other case some are damaged like suppuration, others are damaged like their scabs are not cured.

 It is certain that Art-Make has benefits for you because you can save one trouble. But Art-Make sometimes gives you bad damage. So you should choose a doctor carefully. If you think you want to do Art-Make, you should confirm his or her doctor’s license before operation.

 In my opinion girls should not do Art-Make because girls should protect and care their body. Art-Make is a kind of injuries. I can’t understand why they are injured of their own accord.  

Blog#5: TPP

Hello. It’s Marumi. I'm sorry for the late posting.

In news, TPP is often reported these days. I just know that it is a trade treaty which let us trade without tax within the countries in the treaty. However, I don’t know exactly what it is, so I’m going to find out what TPP is.

First of all, do you know what words are abbreviated as TPP?

It is Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement. (In Japanese, 環太平洋戦略的経済連携協定) Originally, it was signed in 2005 by these countries : Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore. After them, Australia, Malaysia, Peru, United States, and Vietnam joined the treaty ,and now TPP is valid in 9 countries.

It is a multilateral free trade agreement in the 9 countries. It is aiming to make the tariff zero percent by 2015. The things traded without tariff are industrial and agricultural products, finance and medical service, and even right like intellectual property.

This is the map of countries which take part in and negotiating for TPP.

Leaders of TPP member states and prospective member states at a TPP summit in 2010

In Japan, it has been a big problem whether we should join it or not. The opinion of the politicians and public people was divided to pros and cons.

Now, let’s think about the merit and demerit. (I couldn’t find authentic website as a reference, but this seems reliable compared to others. ) This is the website I looked at.
Pros 

Some economists say, ‘It’s the only way to solve the problems of agriculture to join TPP.’ In Japan, the number of people who are working for farming industry is decreasing and they are mainly old people. The lack of successors is a serious problem, and we don’t know if we can continue self-sufficiency. If we join TPP, we can import foods in cheaply. In addition, cheap and tasty rice like Koshihikari from California will be imported. It is said that the price of Gyu-don（牛丼）will be less than 200 yen. It may be good for consumers.
Cons

Tariffs exist in order to protect domestic products. If we join TPP, we can’t protect them and workers will lose their jobs. Especially, agriculture will be damaged badly. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, the value of agricultural and fishery products will decrease by 4 trillion fifty seven million yen (4兆5,700億円)and 3 million five hundred nine thousand （350万9000人）will lose their job. The food self-sufficiency now is 40 percent, but it will be 13 percent.
My opinion

From this website, I can’t be positive to TPP. Even if the price of food declines, it may destroy Japanese industry. Companies have to compete to make the cost lower and more people will lose their jobs and even the quality of products may worsen. Moreover, it will be impossible to continue the agriculture in Japan. Even now, farmers are suffering from lack of successors and low income. I personally would like to buy Japanese high quality products, but if I don’t have money, I have to rely on cheaper products. Since the economy is in depression, people will tend to buy cheaper things.

I have concentrated only on the agriculture. However, if I look for more information about other industries, the situation may be different. So, please don’t think quickly that TPP is bad, but research more and have your opinion. It’s a controversial issue in every industry, so that’s why people’s opinions are divided.

Thank you for reading.

Blog #5 Steve Jobs

Hi! I am Yusuke.
In early October, Apple announced that “"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. I was so shocked! He was a true visionary, a one-in-a-billion creative genius, who changed so many lives.

Firstly, BBC said “Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dies aged 56” In the article, BBC praises him a great deal. They said “As the face of Apple, he represented its dedication to high-end technology and fashionable design.” I think he changed our mind all over the world. What is your reaction to the passing of Steve Jobs?
   Secondly, The Voice of America said “World Reacts to Announcement of Steve Jobs Death” .
In the article, I found interesting text. According to VOA, “I read a very touching and kind of surreal tweet tonight, that said the iPhone was named the iPhone 4S - for Steve. The 4-S really standing for Steve."” What do you think?

lastly, I would like you to watch this speech.

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

Blog #4: My favorite thing

Hi, I’m yuna.

Today I would like to introduce my favorite drama.

That is “SEX and the CITY.”

Probably you know this drama because this is really popular drama in Japan and all over the world.

They have broadcasted from season1 to season6. In addition to those seasons they made movies. A stage in this drama is New York and main characters are Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha.

 She is Carrie.

Carrie’s job is to write a column in newspapers. The title of her column is “SEX and the CITY.”  She is the most main character of four. She often spends night time with boy friends. She met with a gentle man whose name is Big and she went out with him. But they broke. Big got married with a lady. Carrie was depressed because of it.

She is Miranda.

Miranda is a lawyer. She is a good speaker so boys tend to keep away from her. She went out with Steve but they broke. However she met Steve again and went out with him.

She is Charlotte.
Charlotte is an art dealer. She has a strong desire to marry someone like prince. She met with a gentleman who is a doctor and she married him.

 She is Samantha.  Samantha is a president of a PR company. She enjoy “one night love.” She is the most powerful and sexy woman.

The most favorite thing in this drama is “costumes” characters wear. I really want to wear their clothes. Shoes they wear are always cute. Actually this drama is not new one but their clothes are soooo cute in the present.

A thing I like next to costumes is their life style. They succeed in their job. They have good friends and often have breakfast, lunch or dinner and they talk about their own love affair each other. I like their relationship.

The reason I start to watch this movie is to keep listening to English. I was really poor at listening but I didn’t like studying English. I wanted to enjoy learning English. So I changed the way of studying.

The new way of studying is to watch drama!!! That way really fits me so I can keep studying. I would like to recommend my way.

If you are worried about the way of studying English, I recommend you to change your way.

Now I really like talking, speaking, writing and listening English. This is due to Sex and the City. I appreciate this drama.

I hope you can also enjoy this drama and I hope you will find your way to study English.

Blog #3 New Problem for Japanese Manufacturers

Hello. I'm Marumi. 

In the last blog, I mentioned about the situation of Japanese manufacturing companies after the earthquake. Their business has been improved especially in September. However, a disaster which threatened them is happening again.

It is in Thailand, a devastating flood has hit. The news of the flood has been reported in Japan since the beginning of this October. However, it seems that from August to October is a rainy season in Thailand, and there has been some damage through the season.  More than 283 people have died since the middle of July, and even the world heritage temple is in danger.

Because of the flood, lots of plants are damaged in Thailand.

This is the article from the Japan Times.  

Japanese factory workers flee Thailand floods 

In the Hi-Tech Industrial Estate, Japanese factories have reduced the production due to the flood, but the last remaining workers have finally abandoned the factories. Before the workers leave the factories, they hurriedly moved some machines to higher ground and put plastic sheets and sandbags in order to protect the machines. The estate included some manufacturing electronic devices and automotive parts, and 60,000 employees worked there. Other estates which contain factories were submerged and employees were forced to evacuate. According to the Thai Labour Ministry, it is estimated that 200,000 workers in Ayutthaya Province’s industrial estate cannot work due to the flood.

Moreover, Thai’s world heritage site, the Wat Chai Watthanaram temple is submerged under 2 meters of water.

Major dams in the country are almost full capacity, and Bangkok will also be submerged soon. 

The article from asahi.com mentions the situations of some Japanese companies.

Japanese firms moving production from flood-hit Thailand

Japanese companies are needed to make a plan to relocate their operations to other countries. Canon Inc. plans to move some production to drier areas of Thailand and Vietnam. Pioneer Corp., whose two plants have submerged, will increase production in China. The hardest industry in the current situation would be automakers. Honda Motor Co. has suspended the production, and the officials cannot even approach their plant. Other automakers have also stopped their production. According to the Bangkok office of the Japan External Trade Organization, about 300 Japanese-affiliated companies have been damaged by the flood. It will have impact not only on Japanese economy, but also Thai economy because Japanese-affiliated companies employ 20 percent of Thai’s export workers who work at manufacturing industry.

Finally, this article mentions the attitude of JETRO (Japanese trade organisation) .

JETRO criticizes Thai gov't for lack ofinfo over floods

 JETRO criticized Thailand’s government because it did not provide timely and accurate information about the floods. Japanese companies could not understand what was happening when the floods happened. They only received warnings but, they were not enough to decide their next step.

   Japanese manufacturing companies have revived their business after the earthquake in March, but the flood in Thailand is the new problem for them. I wonder why so severe problems for manufacturers have happened in short time. Hope the situation will be better in Thailand, and the production at plants will be started again. 

Blog #2: Child Care Problem in Moldova -What they need-

Bună ziua! (it means ‘Hello’ in Moldovan.)

I’m Motoo.

Last time, I told about left Moldovan children.

So today, I would like to tell about what they need.

According to Yomiuri Shinbun & a briefing session about 20th anniversary of Moldovan independence, educational system of Moldova is well organized.

During the period of Soviet control, Soviet offered compulsory education.

So, average literacy rate is more than 90%.

It is said that there is no need to support by building new school and institution.

↓This is elementaly and middle school of farm village, Moldova.

↓The class room. Students of this school study Japanese after school.

　This school is supported by Supporting Association for Revival Moldova, Japanese group.

The problem is not lack of educational institutions.

The one of the problem is no or few care for children at their home and school.

Because of their parents’ absence, children must do most of all housework by themselves.

So, there is less time to study at their home.

The school of Moldova gives a lot of homework, and scores of homework decide the results of a year.

Children who have not time to study at their home can’t do their homework well.

They get bad scores and bad results, then drop out.

This is the process how left Moldovan children drop out.

What they need is not a kind of building institutions.

They need well care of children at their home and school.

Blog#1: Japanese Manufacturers Business Rebound

Marumi Tasaki

This blog will discuss Japanese manufacturers business, which are mentioned in the articles from the BBC News, the Japan Times, and the Yomiuri Online. 

In the BBC News, it refers to the situation of whole Japanese manufacturers. The Japan Times focuses the car makers' business. The Yomiuri Online shows us the situation which can be seen fromTankan survey.

First, this is the article from the BBC News:Japan's big manufacturers expect conditions to improve.

  According to the Bank of Japan’s survey, the conditions for Japanese big manufactures are expected to improve in the next three months.

  Because of the March 11 earthquake, their confidence was damaged. However, the manufactures have been reestablishing their business, and their conditions will be better in the next few months.

  However, there are also big problem-external risks. The debt crisis in Europe and the economic problems in the US will affect Japanese companies’ expansion plans.Moreover, Japanese yen is extremely high, which influences the manufactures to export their products.

Second, this is from the Japan Times: Toyota, Honda lose market share in U.S. sales rebound. 

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Corp are not still able to export enough vehicles to dealers. On the other hand, Nissan Motor Co. has sold more than expected since April.

After the March 11 earthquake, it was an issue for manufactures to produce the amount of production as much as it used to be.

Nissan’s suppliers have not affected seriously compared to these two because it has fully working North American plants which was not influenced by the earthquake.

Toyota and Honda still do not have varieties of vehicles and it will take time to produce enough amounts which consumers need.

However, they are optimistically saying that in fourth quarter, they will manage to recover their sales as normal levels.

Third, this is the article from the Yomiuri Online: Makers see improvement in business / Tankan survey shows rebound in September

According to the central bank’s quarterly Tankan survey, large manufactures had improved their business in September. After the March 11 earthquake, their business was in difficulty; however they have made the rebound of the business after the earthquake. Especially carmakers made a remarkable improvement which is the biggest rise since 1992. Manufactures still have a problem the rising yen’s value. It prevents them from exporting, which affects their sales grow. 

This is the graph which shows the business transition of large companies.

In conclusion, Japanese manufacturers have improved their business, however they still have problems for exportation.  After the March 11earthquake, they have managed to make the situation better. Even though they have difficult problems, their work will help Japanese economy activate because they have high motivation to make the improvement.