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What will happen in five years?

July 29, 2021

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.

The Use of Honorifics With Non-Japanese

November 7, 2020

By Keilyn Henneberry, Gotsu Senior High School

Japanese children are taught from a young age to respect others by using honorifics. However, non-Japanese who live in Japan, such as ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) and international students, are not taught the same rules. This could lead to serious problems for Japan’s society and International relations. The honorific ‘san’ is the most common honorific to be used in Japan, for teachers, it is ‘Sensei’. However, while ALTs are taught to use these, they are not taught to expect them to be used with them.

I noticed the ALT at my school was not being treated like other teachers. She is spoken to by only her first name, without an honorific, by both teachers and students. Teachers use honorifics to other teachers even when they are not around. However, when they mention the ALT’s name, they don’t use honorifics. From that behavior students learn not to use honorifics for ALTs.

One classmate, an international student from Taiwan, was called on by the teacher without honorifics even though the teachers always used honorifics with Japanese students. In classes, all students are called on with honorifics such as ‘Suzuki-san’. However, international students are referred to by first name without honorifics by both teachers and students. Teachers always use honorifics with their students, so why not with international students? In addition, my own brother who is a Japanese American was called on by his teacher without the honorific ‘san’. This is not only a problem towards international students but also non-Japanese and mixed-race children growing up in Japan.

Additionally, my own father, who is a professor at a university, deals with this on a regular basis. His students often call him ‘Henneberry’ instead of ‘Henneberry Sensei’ or ‘Mr. Henneberry’. This illustrates many university students continue this behavior which they learned in primary and secondary school.

In most cases, when Japanese people don’t use honorifics, it is with family members and close friends. This is a form of intimacy referred to as ‘Yobisute’ in Japanese. However, can we call it intimacy when Japanese teachers speak with non-Japanese colleagues without honorifics?

I had an opportunity to talk about this topic online with a group of English teachers and ALTs working all over Japan. Every single one of them had experienced this at least once in their lives in this country, and most of them experience it on a regular basis. One ALT shared her experience at her school, where there were two ALTs. While the other ALT was referred to as Sensei, she was not. She was told that the Japanese teachers assumed it would be too difficult for students to pronounce her last name, so the Japanese teachers did not offer the students the opportunity to use honorifics with her. Therefore, students were instructed to use her first name only. However, she eventually succeeded and convinced the teachers that they were taking a learning opportunity away from the students. The students now use her family name with the ‘Sensei’ honorific.

Each of us can stand up to this issue. For example, when my brother’s teacher called him ‘Henneberry’ and not ‘Henneberry-san’, he ignored the teacher until the teacher said ‘Henneberry-san’. Just like the ALT above, my brother stood up for himself to be referred to with the correct honorific. However, this is not enough to resolve this national problem.

To solve this issue, first, people must acknowledge that this is happening in our society. A lot of people are not even aware of this issue. When I spoke about this to my friends, they were surprised that this was even a problem. This problem has been hard to recognize because of a lack of cross-cultural understanding. It was easier for me to recognize this issue because I have two cultural backgrounds; my mother is Japanese, and my father is from the USA. I see American culture through Japanese eyes and I also see Japanese culture through American eyes. Therefore, this lack of honorifics with non-Japanese stands out clearly for me.

However, ALTs are not fully aware of the honorifics culture in Japan. They are taught to use honorifics when speaking with Japanese people, but not taught to expect honorifics to be used for them. Therefore, they do not realize that they are being spoken to in such an intimate or disrespectful manner. They must be taught to expect the honorifics ‘san’ or ‘Sensei’ to be used with them as well.

This issue will have negative effects on Japan’s society and following generations. By not addressing this issue, Japanese people will continue this cycle of “accidentally” disrespecting non-Japanese. As such, MEXT (Ministry of Education, culture, sports, science and Technology) must change the educational system on how to teach Japanese honorifics to ALTs and people coming from different countries. They must be taught to speak to Japanese people with respect and to expect the same in return. In addition, teachers and students must be taught to use honorifics with ALTs and non-Japanese. Why do non-Japanese people have to fight for such respect, when Japanese people do not have to? Without policy change, this problem will not go away. We all must learn to be better. We must all learn to speak to each other with respect, regardless of race or natural origin, and MEXT should establish policy changes to ensure this.

U-Shimane Go Online

U-Shimane Go Online

July 13, 2020

U-Shimane Go Online

by Mariko Eguchi

After the Ministry of Education in Japan suddenly issued a notice on March 24, 2020, allowing the Japanese universities to go online, professors and students as well as administrators are experiencing a new mode of teaching and learning.

Despite Japan being technologically advanced, the education sector still favors the traditional methods of delivering knowledge: the teacher explaining ideas in front of the blackboard in a classroom. However, the default teaching was denied due to the serious health risk posed by the corona virus pandemic. It was impossible to stick to the familiar teaching style. Nonetheless, the decision to go online was very confusing to everyone.

The teachers and students of the University of Shimane experienced for the first time a shift from face-to-face education to online education. Except a few courses, all the classes are taught either synchronous online teaching or asynchronous on-demand teaching. Both teachers and students have a lot to say about this new mode of education. The followings are students’ perspectives toward their online experiences.

Learning effectively without stress

By Reina Yamane

Recently, a lot of university’s professors give some lectures on the network because of the coronavirus. I think online education is good because students can learn comfortably without stress.

First, we can take a lecture at home. This solves the risk of being late to the classroom, because we do not need hurry in the morning to catch a bus. It is so comfortable for me to stay home all day.

Second, online study is easy for some students to present their opinions to other students. If someone is called on during class in the classroom, she should speak in front of everyone, but some students may feel pressure, and she might not be able to say anything.

However, online participants can comment in the chat box, speak using a microphone, send stickers during online lessons. In online lessons, students don’t have to worry about what others think about themselves.

It is true it is hard to meet friends face to face, but I can contact other classmates even when we are apart. When someone feels lonely, we can meet during online classes and hear the voice of others. It brings a sense of security.

Saving money and energy

By Yutaro Mitsu

Online education has good points. First of all, as you do not need to go to school, financial burden of going to school is reduced. For example, expenses such as gasoline of a motorcycle or the bus fare became needless. Students can save transportation cost.

Also online education saves the physical strength. Going to school is tiring because students live downtown, but the university is located on top of a hill. Staying at home is more comfortable.

Difficulty in online communication

By Ruura Fukunaga

Japanese colleges currently use online class to prevent coronavirus infection, but online class is not necessarily a good way for teachers and students. In my view, the face-to-face class in the classroom is better for several reasons.

First of all, teachers and students are not well-prepared for online lessons, because they experience online class for the first time. So, we must learn to use computers. I often hear teachers and students, “It is hard to do classes through computer.”

In particular, it seems hard for teachers to prepare online lessons. Furthermore, it is difficult to communicate each other. Teachers cannot tell how well students can understand the lecture. It is difficult for students to ask questions, too. If there is a way to stop the coronavirus crisis, I want to take classes in the classroom.

Disadvantages of Online Lectures

By Saki Suyama

Although there are some advantages to being given lectures online, I prefer being taught by teachers at the university to being given lectures online. In my opinion, studying from teachers in the same classroom definitely enables us to concentrate and to spend a more meaningful time for several reasons.

First of all, it is hard for students to prepare each lecture’s handouts in advance. Students have to download them and print them. If some students don’t have a printer, they must go to Media Center or a convenience stores.

Also, we are under a big stress from being seen by others. Many people are shy, so they feel very uneasy to be seen so, they turn off their cameras, and shut down the important channel of good communication. If students turn off the video, teachers can’t see students’ faces, so teachers can’t know if students really understand what teachers said. So, we can’t communicate with each other well.

Classes and COVID-19

Classes and COVID-19

July 13, 2020

Victoria Thomas, University of Shimane

This semester has been a new and bewildering experience for students, staff, and faculty at the University of Shimane. Not only are classes online, but also social events are cancelled, employees are allowed to work from home, and people are maintaining social distance. This situation is stressful for students, staff, and faculty alike. As a teacher, I will explain the situation from my perspective.

My teaching adaptations for COVID-19 actually began at my previous teaching post in America. At me previous institution, we were in winter term from January to March, so we had to make sudden changes to our classes near the end of the term. The administration tried to avoid disrupting our schedules, but in the end, instructors were given four days’ notice to move final exams completely online. The situation was chaotic for everyone, but we adapted and finished the term.

I then moved to Japan to start my position at the University of Shimane. At the end of my two weeks of quarantine, I emerged to find a relatively calm situation. Some people were saying that classes would be in person; others claimed that they would be moved online. The starting date of the semester was extended twice, over a month in total, and we were officially informed at the beginning of May that classes would be online, starting May 11th.

My Intermediate English/Paragraph Writing course was not too difficult to move online, as I have previously taught online writing courses. In video classes, I give short lectures on PowerPoint, and we work on writing exercises together. If the students cannot attend the day’s lecture due to technology problems, they can read the PowerPoint on Moodle and the pages from the textbook, and I answer questions by email or Zoom. The homework for each week is listed in the syllabus and organized by week on Moodle, so my students can find their assignments for the week without having to contact me.

My Communication classes are also partially accessible on Moodle; however, they require more creativity for speaking and listening. The English teachers had to find ways to lead in-class speaking activities online, giving all students as much time as possible to speak English and engage in listening activities. After exploring the technology options with Steve Henneberry, Melissa Huntley organized several technology workshops for the new faculty to help us understand Moodle and Zoom so that we could use them effectively in our classes. Due to coronavirus, some students are not on campus, so even Extensive Reading had to be moved online; this project was organized by Eleanor Kane.

The other difficulty in Communication courses was to avoid giving students too much work. Since video classes are unstable for some students due to their internet situation, I moved some listening and vocabulary activities outside of class time (onto Moodle) so that students had more flexibility and control over their work, but due to that same internet instability, speaking and listening activities take much more time. This is my latest challenge to resolve: how to reduce student workload.

Learning Online Teaching

Learning Online Teaching

July 13, 2020

by Claire Kaku, University of Shimane

Before joining the English teaching family at The University of Shimane, I was a teacher who had taught online very little. At the beginning of April, I was excited to meet my students in person.

Later on, when all the classes were switched to online ones, I have to admit that I felt upset and helpless for some time. Luckily, I have been fully supported by the English teaching family. Steve kindly spared time for Moodle orientation for me. Mariko designed a fun and helpful workshop about Zoom and provides ongoing professional advice for my concerns.

Melissa selflessly offered to answer my ‘silly’ questions and organized workshops on Zoom and Moodle. Thanks to these workshops, my confidence grew. Eleanor always responds timely to my ER questions. Teamwork provides me with great strength to be a better online teacher. Fresh ideas spark when I am surrounded with excellent colleagues.

I’ve thought a lot about what my online classroom should offer to students. Before each class, I remind myself of these two principles: provide meaningful support to my online learners and convey positivity that the students can succeed.

I believe online students are typically working by themselves during Covid-19. They can’t ask for clarification when they first encounter instructions like they do in physical classrooms. Therefore, for their Moodle assignments, I write down the directions as if we were having a face-to-face conversation.

Students don’t need to guess what I want them to do because they can always study my examples to see my expectations. Many of them are motivated to do better on their assignments. Therefore, to encourage them to commit themselves continuously, I always play the role of my students’ biggest fan and spare time to praise their successful outcomes. I enjoy seeing their sweet smiles and laughter after receiving my positive feedback.

As online learners, students write more English emails than they usually do. However, I found they were failing to write as politely as they do in Japanese: not using greetings and being very direct when asking questions.

Pragmatic errors can be more disastrous than grammatical ones. Pointing out their impoliteness did not seem to help. To demonstrate caring for our busy online learners, I provided them with a model to follow. They quickly made use of it, and now their emails are more polite.

As weeks passed by, another problem emerged. From students’ emails, I realized online learning has caused them to communicate less with people, and some of them have begun to have time management problems.

They’ve begun to oversleep, overeat, and delay their assignments. To explore deeper, I changed the topic of the assignment for that week to ‘My lifestyle during Covid-19’. I wanted to discover how students were arranging their lives and if they had found any problems. Time management is an important skill for one’s life. I hope I can help them with it, even a little.

Online-only classes are tiring, and thus not the best choice. But as a teacher, I try to make online classes an inviting and pleasant place to be.

Enjoying Hamada, Shimane

Enjoying Hamada, Shimane

July 13, 2020

Photo by Kyoka Wakabayashi

Hamada, Pretty little port town

By Norio Kawamura

Hamada city is a good city. First, it is place where there is a lot of nature. As Hamada city has sea and mountains. you can enjoy marine sports in the summer and ski in the winter. I tried surfing last summer. It was fun. Also you can see wild boars and foxes if you are lucky.

So, you can enjoy each season. Second you can create new communication in many places. As there are a lot of friendly people in this city. For example, at university, many students from outside the prefecture are coming in, so you can make communication that you can`t normally do.

Wherever you are, conservations will be born and you will find fun. Third, there are many tavern in this city. You can drink a variety of liquor as there are many tavern.

Also, in this city, you can eat fresh fish at the tavern because the sea is beautiful sea, in addition, this city has many households that own fields unique to the countryside, and there are many fresh vegetables many locally.

So, you can eat and drink lots of delicious foods. For those reasons, I recommend you to visit Hamada city.

Photo by Kyoka Wakabayashi

Beautiful Beaches and Mountains

By Kanta Yamamoto

Hamada has a lot of nature such as the beautiful sea and mountains and there are many delicious foods, so there are many ways to enjoy life.

The first way enjoy Hamada is the beautiful sea. The sea of Hamada is so beautiful that you can swim and surf in the sea in summer. You can also enjoy fishing in other seasons. It is great fun to fish on a sunny day. Sea of Hamada is very fun because various fish and large fish can be caught. It will entertain you.

The second way to enjoy the nature of Hamada is the mountain. Hamada is very rich in nature and has many forests. So Hamada has very clean air. So you can enjoy the nature of Hamada more by cycling and hiking in the mountain. It will make Hamada’s nature more enjoyable.

The third way is to eat delicious foods. Hamada has a beautiful sea, so fish is very delicious. Various kinds of fish are caught in each season in Hamada, so you can eat various kinds of fish.

There are also restaurants where you can eat delicious foods in various places, such as near the Hamada station. Therefore, you can eat various dishes. Hamada is very good place because there is a lot of nature to enjoy.

Aquas, Best Aquarium in Japan

By Mai Nakada

AQUAS is the best aquarium I have ever seen. We can see about 400 kinds of interesting fish and no less than 10,000 creatures. In this aquarium, we can see the most fish in the Chugoku region.

Therefore, we won’t tire of seeing them. My favorite fish tank is the shark tank. There are several types of sharks, for example bullheaded sharks. They look funny and pretty! One of the most important reasons I love this aquarium is we are able to see white dolphins.

White dolphins cannot be seen in many aquariums in Japan. So, if you go to AQUAS, you can go through the rare experience! That is why, I would recommend that you go to AQUAS at least once!

Photo by Mai Nakada

Discovering interesting creatures

By Ryu Harada

I always enjoy walking in hamada these days. we can see various things like beetles and flowers, inhabitants, even a beautiful view throughout the walking. Almost all of them are very characteristic because Hamada is located among the nature. There are few places where we can enjoy living among nature like hamada in Japan.

I often run into cute creature like beetles and reptiles. Finding them make me happy because I can see many kinds of them four times a year. Take butterflies for example. When we run into them, we think that the spring has come. In addition, I feel relaxed and lucky when I find stag beetles, too.

We can see not only beetles but also inhabitants. Recently, I often talk with an old man who has a big black dog as a pet. At first, our connection was just greeting. However, we are good terms with each other by my praising his dog. We even talk about our family nowadays. You may be able to meet someone who be on good terms with you.

What’s more, we can see even the beautiful view. There are many beautiful views in Hamada. In particular, I think that we can see the most beautiful view from Yuhi-Park-Hamada. The view that the sun set in the Sea of Japan is very attractive for all people. For the first time I see the view, I thought that it was beyond description.

Why don’t you enjoy walking in Hamada, too?

If you begin this habit, You will be able to find various things that you haven’t ever notice about Hamada.

Photo by Ryu Harada

Fresh sea foods

By Kyoka Wakabayashi

Hamada is rich in nature. I’m sure you will have a good time if you visit in Hamada. First of all, there are many beautiful scenes in Hamada. Especially, I like to see the sunset which is amazing from the view line in the University of Shimane. I recommend you to take a camera if you visit in Hamada. Second, Hamada is facing the Japan’s sea. So Hamada has a lot of fish and you can eat fresh fish. I like BATOU, which is a famous fish in Hamada. Finally, there are some hot springs surrounded by nature in Hamada. For example, “MIMATA ONSEN” is a famous hot spring in Hamada. You can view a waterfall while taking an open-air bath. Therefore, Hamada is in the countryside but it is a very good place. I think you can enjoy yourself if you go to Hamada.

Yukichi Fukuzawa, the father of Japanese modern education

Yukichi Fukuzawa, the father of Japanese modern education

July 13, 2020

by Ruura Fukunaga

Fukuzawa Yukichi is known as the author of “Gakumonn no Susume,” [Introduction to Learning]. He contributed to creation of the Japanese modern education system. In 1860, Mr. Fukuzawa studied in the United States when he was 25 years old.

He was very surprised at American culture. For example, he was shocked to find there was no classes in the U.S. society. Then he studied abroad in the U.S. again when he was 31 years old. He wanted to tell Japanese people what foreign countries were like.

So, he wrote a book Western affairs. Many Japanese people read this book at that time. In 1868, he established Keio University. The university is one of the most famous universities in Japan and have produced many great graduates.

He was involved in founding other universities, too. In 1872, he published “Gakumonn no Susume.” This book says all human beings have liberty and equality. The ideas in the book made Japanese people surprised because at that time there were difference social classes in Japan.

So, they bought and read this book. Many Japanese people know about this book even now. Fukuzawa Yukichi passed away in 1901, but he ideas contributed greatly to modernizing the Japanese society.

Nobunaga Oda, Game Changer

Nobunaga Oda, Game Changer

July 13, 2020

by　Shouya Ajiki

Nobunaga Oda is a Japanese samurai who is well-known for his unifying Japanese lords during the period called Sengoku Era, which means “the era of battles.” He was born in 1534 and died in1582. He was a man who introduced new ways of battles and politics.

It is considered that he changed how warriors fought at wars in Japan. In 1575 a battle called “Battle of Nagashino” took place. At that time samurai soldiers on horsebacks used swords. However, in this battle, Nobunaga used guns and achieved an overwhelming victory against his enemy.

He also invented new ways to evaluate his men. He considered the talent of a man, not the birth of a man. For example, he appointed men of a lower social status to his close aids when he spotted talented people.

One of such examples is Hideyoshi Toyotomi, a son of a farmer, who rose up to the ruler of Japan after the death of his lord, Nobunaga. It was revolutionary to favor men of a low status family in the time influenced by the family background.

Nobunaga’s adventurous attitude of trying new things may be something the modern people should learn in this time of great social change.

Hideyo Noguchi, Bacteriologist Saving the World

July 13, 2020

by　Reina Yamane

Hideyo Noguchi is well known as an important bacteriologist. He saved a lot of people and countries from germs. In 1911, he is the first person in the world to find a germ in the brain with progressive supranuclear palsy.

This germ was revealed as syphilis by Hideyo Noguchi. Thanks to this discovery, doctors became able to treat the sick.

In 1918, he found a germ of Weil’s Disease only nine days since he arrived at Ecuador. Then he developed a new vaccine to cure the disease, and this pandemic was stamped out by this vaccine in Ecuador.

In 1925, he also found that two illnesses were in fact the same disease in Peru and Columbia. This theory was scientifically proven by him. As a result, his services were appreciated by Harvard University.

Even now, his theory is still used in the health care entities. As a result, his face is reprinted on a Japanese bill to praise his achievement.

Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister Reconstructed Japan

Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister Reconstructed Japan

July 13, 2020

by　Yoshihiro Hara

Hayato Ikeda is the 58th, 59th and 60th Prime Ministers of Japan. He changed Japanese economy and society. His famous policy is Income Doubling Plan. This plan is　to double the gross domestic product within ten years and to promote economic growth centered on tax cut, social security and public investment.

In fact, the plan succeeded in the doubling gross domestic product in just four years, which greatly enriched the life of people. In addition, he decided change the Japanese economy to an open economic system. For example, he raised the trade liberalization rate from 42 percent to 93 percent, adapted IMF’s Article 8 and made Japan a member of the OECD.

These encouraged positive participation in Japan’s free trade system. The biggest international event that took place when he was prime minister was the Tokyo Olympic in 1964.

Along with that, the transportation network, cities and living environment were improved and people’s lives became more fulfilling. He is one of the most successful prime ministers of Japan.

He made major renovation to bring Japan into a member of the developed world. I want to work on new things without fear of failure like him. His policy then greatly developed the Japanese economy and society.