Posts published in “Uncategorized”

By Shiori Yamamot
Dogs, cats, tropical fish, parrots and hamsters… Today, lot of people live with a wide variety of animals. Most people feel at ease or feel happy by spending time with their pets. Also, in recent years, the positive effects that animals bring to us, such us animal therapy, have been gathering attention. Animals have a marvelous ability that cheer people up without words. Keeping a pet have positive effects on children in terms of mentally health, development of social skills and understanding of the importance of life. 
     Taking care of animals helps children reduce stress. Some children cannot express their ideas well to their parents. At such a time, pets are always by their side. Especially, dogs or cats must be the best counselor for them.
     Iaddition to mental health, taking care of pets contributes to improvement of social skills of kids. If their parents welcome an animal as a new member of the family, the children always must care about the pets for their health because pets cannot complain of pain with words. Therefore, children need to understand the animal’s feeling from their actions or facial expression. In the process, children can acquire the skill to understand the feelings of other people. Also, kids can deepen understanding of the importance of life. Most animals cannot live longer than humans, so the owner has to be by their pet’s deathbed. It must be a very sad thing and hard to move on. However, children will learn that nobody has an eternal life and life is so precious. This experience helps children value not only their life but also others’. 
     Some people might disagree because children often have more interests in other things rather than taking care of their pets. However, this concern might be solved by an assignment of responsibility within the family. By entrusting a specific role instead of leaving all the care of animals to the children, they will obtain a strong sense of responsibility to their duty.
     In conclusion, taking an animal at family with children have many benefits as for kids’ mental health, social skills and comprehension of life. Keeping a pet contributes to enhance children’s healthy development.

By Ryuki Tada
     Nowadays, you can read various books on your smartphone. There are people who slide their screens sideways on their phones and people turning pages on their paper books. Probably now is the middle of the transition from paper books to e-books. Reading contents are released in both paper books and e-books. I would like to compare the differences between paper books and e-books.

Many people still love paper books. They say that paper books are good for the eyes because they do not emit blue light harmful to the eyes. They also say that it is easier to concentrate on contents because books do not distract the attention of a reader with annoying notifications. They also argue paper books are more beautiful than e-books. Each paper book has a different design, and readers can enjoy arranging their books on books shelves as they are part of the interior.
     However, I think e-books are better in many ways. First, the portability of materials is greater. When I moved to a new place to attend university, I left most of my comic books at my parent’s house because they did not fit in my luggage. I thought if I had read them in an e-book, I could have brought all of them with me in my smartphone. E-books are more convenient. If you have an e-book, we can read stories anytime and anywhere. I often read stories during breaks between classes and waiting time at a hospital. Also, when you read an e-book, you can change the text size to your desired size. The most remarkable point of e-books is that we don’t have to go to a bookstore to buy books. We can buy contents whenever we want to read them. In addition, for e-books, we can buy not only one volume at a time but also one episode. In other words, we can buy it at a low price and read it little by little. I have been enjoying the book for a long time by buying and reading each episode. In addition, by paying a certain amount of money every month, you can read as many books as you want for free.

Paper book lovers will argue that the data will be lost if a smartphone is broken. It is true.  I lost my comics contents once when I broke my smartphones. However, I was able to restore the data from another smartphone when I created my account in it. The data were saved in the cloud.
     In conclusion, after talking everything into consideration, I think e-books have more advantages than paper books. E-books are portable, convenient, and reasonable. Media are evolving. I think e-books are on trend.

By Towa Oguni

Most students have thought at one time or more, may this class change to online or on-demand from in person? A lot of university and other school have taken classes on online or on-demand due to coronavirus. But now, many schools change class format from online or on-demand to face to face. There are some students saying that on online or on demand a class is the best way. Nonetheless, a class in person is suitable for students to study. Teaching in person allows direct communication between a teacher and students, and also allows a teacher to choose the teaching method that best suits students. There are several reasons why teaching in person at school or university is important, including improving communication skill, asking a question in direct and effective classes for students. 
     Taking a class in person leads to improve communication skills. Classes face to face allow students to interact with each other. Students can improve their communication skill by discussing and solving problems and discussing issues in class. By communicating with various people, you can be stimulated by them and grow as well. Communication skills are important even as adult and face to face classes have a role in developing them.
     In addition to improve communication skills, students are more likely to ask questions of their teachers. It is not a good idea to leave something you do not understand, and it is difficult to ask questions in an on class, and not on demand. While classes in person allow students to ask questions directly to teachers or professors. Also, when one person asks a question, other students can get ideas from it and creating a good learning environment.
     Becoming from online or on-demand classes to in person lead to effective learning. Teachers can teach materials that suits students face-to-face. It is not possible to tell the student’s level of understanding online because their body language cannot be clear online. Teachers can manage students activities easily in the classroom as well.
     Some students might claim that online and on-demand classes could offer the same content as in person. It is true that the content itself may be the same. On the surface, this point has some merits. However, as stated previously, it is also true that online and on-demand classes have less positive impact for students, and in person classes are overwhelmingly more effective for students.
     In conclusion, there are many merits of classes in person. A school or college is a place where students learn, and it is the mission of school to provide effective instruction for students. If students who take effective classes achieve higher grades, it is more likely to lead to future success. Schools should offer classes in person. 

By Nozomi Murakami

Children are running on the school ground under a blue sky without any clouds. A runner is crossing the goal line and spectators are screaming and shouting. In Japan, children take P.E. classes to graduate from high school. Most university students, however, do not take P.E. classes. I would like to argue that university students also should take P. E. classes for three reasons.    

First, the P.E. class gives students a chance to get along well with their classmates. When college students just enter university, they are worried about if they can make friends. In academic classes, it’s hard to get close, because students only talk about questions that they are asked to discuss in the class. However, in P.E. class, students can talk about personal matters, while enjoying sports.
     Second, the P. E. class is good for college students’ health. In college, students who take enough exercise are few. They are busy with studying and homework. If they are required to take P.E. classes, they will have more opportunities to do exercise, and they will be healthier.
     Finally, the P.E. class positively impacts academic achievement of students. Physical exercise such as competing in a group and getting better each other leads to boost students’ mental power. In addition, physical activity improves memory. Better cognitive ability and memory will help college students understand materials and do well in exams. Thus, there are many benefits of taking P.E. class for students. Good P.E. class makes it possible for students to make friends, to live healthy life and to do well academically.

By Kyoko Abe
     You may have seen people who eat, make a call or put on makeup while driving. Also, you must have heard some news about car accidents because of these careless activities. People are busy and want to do it while driving. Whatever their reasons, distracted driving is a serious problem.
     First, it’s dangerous to drive and do something else. According to data of the National Police Agency, the number of traffic accidents related to mobile phone use, etc. doubled to 2,645 in 2019, compared to 1,380 per year in 2009. Each day, more than 9 people are killed due to distracted driving. More than 1060 people are injured in crashes that involve a distracted driver. One out of 3 people text while driving. You are 23 times more likely to crash while texting while driving. Distraction was reported as a factor in nearly 1 in 5 crashes in which someone was injured.
     Second, drivers underestimate the danger of distracted driving. The number of traffic accidents caused by using mobile phones was 1424 in last year. Also, the fatal accident rate because of using mobile phones was 2.4 times higher than the cases where people didn’t use them. The length of time a driver perceives danger by looking at an image varies depending on the driving environment, but according to various research reports, it is consistent that the driver perceives danger if the image is viewed for more than two seconds. If you drive at 60 km/h, it will cover approximately 33.3 meters in 2 seconds. If a pedestrian crosses the road during that time, or if the vehicle in front of you stops due to a traffic jam, you may cause an accident. It means that looking away lead to an accident.

     Finally, imprisonment for distracted driving is too short. As of January 2021, if you look at the screen of a smart phone call or car navigation system while driving, you will be subject to “imprisonment of up to 6 months or a fine of up to 100,000 yen”. Compared to November 2019, a new penalty of imprisonment has been added, and the fine has doubled from “50,000 yen or less” to “100,000 yen or less”. The penalty is tripled to 18,000 yen (for ordinary cars), and the number of violation points is also tripled to 3 points. However, if you cause traffic hazards, you will be subject to “imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 300,000 yen”. Since there is no penalty and the score is tripled to 6 points, you cannot escape the penalty by paying the penalty and your license will be suspended.  However, the penalties should be heavier because it involves human lives. In addition, people do not have a sense of danger because the penalties are lenient.
     Thus, distracted driving is very dangerous. Drivers should be aware of the dangerous consequences of distracted driving and the term of imprisonment should be longer.

photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/intelfreepress/8598246170/sizes/o/in/photostream/

By Mikono Motomori

A HUMAN RIGHT: FREE HEALTH CARE? There are a lot of people who are suffering health disparities in the world. According to Spaceship Earth (2022), health disparities mean various gaps that arise when people get medical care services. And also, almost half of the world’s population can’t get a high-quality medical care even if they have some health and mental problems because of many reasons. They are example, poverty, lack of education and information about medical care and a vast distance to hospitals. This is something that should be addressed. All people are entitled to health care. That’s because living a life is guaranteed as a fundamental human right and it is important to provide the “free” health care for people who need it.

It is necessary for all people to get a medical care in daily life, because a good health is the basic of life. People can’t do anything if they have some trouble with their health. According to the Universal Declaration of Human rights, “everyone has the right to a standard living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” Thus, getting medical care is guaranteed as the one of the human rights for all people.
In addition, all people should be treated equally. According to Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” As indicated previously, there are a lot of people who are suffering from health disparities in the world. They can’t get medical care even if they have some trouble with their health, because of poverty, lack of education and so on. This situation brings on inequality. All people should have the same right to get a medical care regardless of whether which countries they live, what religions they believe and how poor they are.
The high-cost medical care brings on health disparities in the world. And surprisingly, this is a problem that is happening to people close to us. According to the BBC (2019), “[e]ighty-three percent of our patients are employed in some capacity. But for many, having a job does not guarantee access to health insurance or care- and government assistance programmers have strict income limits.” All people have the same right to get a medical care, but some people can’t get it because of the high-cost medical care. So, for all people, the “free” medical care is needed.
In conclusion, all people have the right to get a medical care for their happy daily life and they should be treated equally. In addition, “free” medical care is needed because there are people who can’t get a medical care because of poverty. Thus, all people are entitled to health care.
        

By Sumire Sato

Are All People Entitled to Free Health Care? Medical expense and unavoidable, because everyone get sick, and it costs a lot. There are a few countries where medical expenses are free. For example, it is Denmark. However, is it a good idea to receive to free health care. I will mention that someone negative dimensions of free health care
The first point is the cost. If people can get treatment free, eventually, they would need to pay some money in other ways such as tax. Denmark is one of a county where people can receive medical treatment with no fee. But when we look at the terms of tax, it is not cheap. For instance, the consumption tax in Denmark is 25 % (in 2022). Japan has 10% consumption tax, so when we compare with them one, Japanese consumption tax is not expensive. People can get medical treatment with free, but they suffer from high consumption tax.

The second point is people’s motivation for staying healthy. If all people can get free medical treatment, someone may neglect to care about their health, because it is free to get treated. When we look at oral care, according to an online research, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (2022), about 2 % of people 20 to 64 have no teeth. In addition, almost 90 % of adults 20 to 64 have had tooth decay before. There are already a lot of patients. If all people can get free treatment, more and more people will neglect to care about their tooth.

  The last point is facilities. If people can take free medical care, it may bring some problem in terms of medical facilities or supplies. According to online survey, Statista (2022), the total national medical costs is approximately 44.4 trillion Japanese yen. From now, these costs are burdened by the public, so government can supply medical services. However, if all these costs are not paid by the people, more and more people will need medical supplies and hospitals will be very crowded.

I mentioned about free medical care with three negative points, cost, people motivation, and facilities. It seems to be very good attractive for people to get free medical care, but there are some problems like tax increase, losing motivation to stay healthy and the lack of medical supplies and facilities. It is helpful if people can get some financial support, losing but free medical care for all is not a good policy.

References
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (2022).https://Dental Caries (Tooth Decay) in Adults (Ages 20 to 64 Years) | National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (nih.gov)
Statista (2022).https://Japan: national medical care expenditure per capita | Statista
Trading economics (2022). https://Denmark Sales Statista (2022). https://Tax Rate – VAT – 2022 Data – 2023 Forecast – 2000-2021 Historical (tradingeconomics.com) 

A New Trend in School Uniforms

By Sao Hikino

I predict that Japanese students who need wear same school uniforms in each schools will be less than now, and they will select to wear skirts or pants freely regardless of gender in the future. I have two reasons. First, all people should think about LGBTQ. LGBTQ is necessary factor that all people live without sex discrimination. There is the tendency that more Japanese people start to understand them than before. So, if many Japanese people continue to think about LGBTQ, they will notice the possibility that human rights are violated by the school uniform systems. Second, more women start wearing men’s clothes, and men start wearing makeup than five years ago. Young people begin to think that we can wear everything regardless of gender. If many young people have the idea, schoolgirls may wear a typical Japanese school uniform for boys, and schoolboys may wear skirts in each school.

Japan will go cashless

By Kurumi Okajima

I think a cashless system will spread in Japan more than now, because a large number of people are starting to use electronic money in Japan now. Cashless payment is very convenient. If you have it, you don’t need to carry cash with you. Also, cashless systems will solve the labor shortage in Japan. It is thought that an unmanned cash counter is one way to make up for labor shortages in Japan which suffers from declining birthrate. So, a cashless system will spread in Japan in five years.

People will lose jobs

By Jinki Sakashita 

I predict that in five years, the form of work will change. This is because AI and ICT technologies, are developing at a furious pace. If this goes further, human jobs will be lost to machines. For example, a desk job such as a bank or city hall will no longer be necessary. I think that if automated driving technology is developed, there will be no need for train and bus drivers. In this way, I can predict that the world will become more convenient, but if this happens, many people will not be able to find work. In other words, there is a danger that machines with no labor costs will take over human jobs in five years. 

A Food Revolution 

By Tomoki Onishi 

What I think will change in the next five years is our food life. For one thing, the population is increasing in the world. So more and more people will suffer from starvation. We can expect that we will need far more foods soon if these situations get worse. A new food has been produced, food made from bugs. One example is “Euglena” cookies, which are made from plants, insects, and dried worms. Some of us might never try these products, but others are willing to take them when we have nothing else to eat. Our lifestyles have adjusted to the environment in the past, so it is possible that we will see a revolution in foods in the near future.