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Junko Takahashi

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JAPAN

Sep 24, 2000

Leaders agree to coordinate Pyongyang policies

ATAMI, Shizuoka Pref. -- Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung reaffirmed the importance of coordinating their North Korea policies in their talks here Saturday, the first since the two Koreas' historic meeting in June.

JAPAN

Sep 22, 2000

Mori, Kim aim to build on policies

South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's visit to Japan today marks the first bilateral meeting between the two countries' leaders since the thaw began in earnest between the Koreas in June.

JAPAN

Aug 13, 2000

Takadanobaba: A lot of history and a bit of romance

Waseda Dori near JR Takadanobaba Station is dotted with budget restaurants, bars, book shops and travel agencies, all ready to cater to Waseda University students.

JAPAN

Jul 24, 2000

NGOs eye future cooperation

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — With the official closing of the Group of Eight summit here Sunday, some nongovernmental organizations say they have strengthened their ties and will cooperate in working toward — among other things — resolved conflicts, a healthy environment and human rights.

JAPAN

Jul 21, 2000

Residents of Nago proud to display town's charms

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Many locals were excited on the eve of the Group of Eight summit here today, expressing hope that the event will attract international attention to what they boast is the most beautiful coastline in Okinawa.

JAPAN

Jul 21, 2000

Human chain surrounds Kadena base

NAGO, Okinawa Pref.-- In a unified expression of opposition to the U.S. military's presence in Okinawa, some 27,000 citizens from Okinawa and the mainland formed a human chain around the U.S. Kadena Air Base on Thursday.

JAPAN

Jul 11, 2000

Boost youths' social ties: Oshima

While Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori feels educational reform is a key policy for his Cabinet, new Education Minister Tadamori Oshima wants to establish an educational program to enhance children's social participation.

JAPAN

Jul 2, 2000

International preschool not just about English

On the wall of a gray concrete apartment building on Kawasaki's Shinkawa-dori Avenue a colorful sign reads "Kincarn International Preschool."

JAPAN

Jun 20, 2000

Expat candidates enter the political fray

As campaigning for Sunday's Lower House election heats up, two candidates are lucky to have a guaranteed point of interest — one comes from Finland, the other from China.

JAPAN

Jun 17, 2000

Domestic violence law sought

Japan needs to enact a law to recognize domestic violence as a crime and keep abusive husbands away from victimized women, according to the head of HELP Asian Women's Shelter, a private organization that provides emergency refuge for abused women.

JAPAN

May 31, 2000

Motherly love a hurdle for teens

In today's society, families are having fewer children, fathers are working more and mothers are clinging to their children with greater intensity, hampering children's growth, according to psychologist Yoshiomi Takahashi.

JAPAN

May 27, 2000

Rigid schools failing kids in tough times

The rigidity of Japanese schools is suffocating children and is one of the causes behind the recent rise in youth crime, according to education experts.

JAPAN

May 25, 2000

Children's diet suffers as more eat alone

More than half of Japan's schoolchildren have breakfast alone or without the presence of adults, and only about a third eat supper with their whole family.

JAPAN

May 24, 2000

Video violence begets real thing

When a 14-year-old Kobe boy shocked the nation three years ago by killing an elementary school boy and placing his severed head in front of a school gate, Masatoshi Taguchi said he was afraid similar crimes would follow.

BUSINESS

May 8, 2000

E-commerce tax under construction

PARIS -- Talk about the information technology revolution is everywhere. Electronic commerce is taking off, financial institutions are trading online, and schools are holding class on the Internet.

JAPAN

Mar 12, 2000

'Classroom collapse' prompts charter school quest

While various kinds of private free schools are sprouting up in Japan to provide alternative education, a group of teachers and parents in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, are trying to set up a public free school -- a Japanese version of chartered schools in the United States.

JAPAN

Feb 18, 2000

Early start on spoken English seen as 'advantage'

Last of two partsStaff writer Many public elementary schools are expected to start teaching English in April when the trial period begins for "comprehensive studies," a new curriculum under the Education Ministry's revised teaching guidelines, that take effect in 2002. From the third grade, schools will utilize three hours of class time a week to do original programs, on themes such as English, computer education, environmental studies or social welfare, that are not covered in other subjects. The ministry takes the stance that English should not be introduced as a required subject in elementary schools because experts are divided on the issue. Opponents to the early introduction of English education say it would only increase the burden on children and it is more important to teach Japanese before teaching a foreign language. However, some municipalities are already taking up English on their own during homeroom hours. Tokyo's Chuo Ward is one of the pioneers in such efforts. The Chuo Ward Board of Education introduced a unified English program at all its 16 elementary schools three years ago. The ward has signed a contract with the Institute for English Communication, a private language school, to develop and teach the program in each grade. Although the classes are held only once per term, children learn basic greetings and conversation forms that enable them to talk about themselves and ask and answer questions before they reach the sixth grade, said Keiko Shinjo, supervisor at the board of education. "We want to expose children to a different language and culture from an early age so they will be ready to really study English in junior high schools," she said, adding that all junior high schools in Chuo Ward send selected students to Australia in the summer to study English. During one session in a first-grade classroom at Arima Elementary School, Matthew de Wilde, an Australian teacher, taught the names of animals and fruits and common questions and answers. "What fruit do you like?" de Wilde asked. "I like cherries!" student Riho Ikezawa answered cheerfully. Another student asked the homeroom teacher, "Do you like grapes?" The teacher said, "Yes, I do." Throughout such classes, de Wilde uses only English, but he uses picture cards and gestures so pupils are able to understand his meaning. "English classes should be 100 percent English. You don't need to use Japanese to explain," de Wilde said. "I always hear in Japan that 'we've studied English for 10 years but can't speak at all.' If they know it, they should change the way it's taught." The problem with English education at junior high schools is the focus on reading and translating into Japanese, according to de Wilde. "There is simply not enough English being spoken. ... Until that changes, we won't see much improvement in communication skills." In Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, two native English-speaking teachers were hired to teach English at all public elementary schools and some kindergartens, with course lengths ranging from five to 15 times a year, said Shigeru Koyasu, supervisor at the Chiyoda Ward Board of Education. Many schools in the ward plan to increase the hours used for teaching English after the introduction of comprehensive studies, Koyasu said. Being at the heart of Tokyo, "Chiyoda is a good place to teach English because many foreigners as well as Japanese who have lived abroad live here," he said. "We want to ask those people to help in comprehensive studies." Other municipalities, including Yokohama, Kyoto and Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, along with Tokyo's Minato and Edogawa wards, are known to be active in English education at elementary schools. While these trailblazers are gearing up for English, other interested schools are still wondering who teaches it and how. At public elementary schools, homeroom teachers cover all subjects, except music and art, in upper grades. But they are not trained to teach English. Ritsuko Nakata, founder of IIEEC Teacher Training Center, said many teachers are at a loss when it comes to teaching English to children. IIEEC is a private training institute for English teachers. Nakata said Japanese homeroom teachers can teach English if they get proper training, even if only for a short time. "But that doesn't mean anyone can teach English. They have to want to do it. "It's also important that public schools make use of professional teachers from private language schools," she said. Nakata, a U.S.-born expert on teaching English to children and a member of the education minister's panel on English education, said children should learn "correct" English from the beginning. Children can learn grammar and pronunciation and to speak naturally under systematically designed programs, she said. Katsutoshi Ito, a professor of linguistics at Kanagawa University, said at a recent symposium that between the ages of 4 and 8 is the best time to start learning a foreign language, because children of that age have a strong ability to comprehend language by listening. "It's best to start at elementary school, while children have an ear for English," Ito said. The symposium, titled "Teaching English to Primary School Pupils," was held earlier this month by the Institute of International Education in London, a British education body. At the symposium, Yuri Kuno, a lecturer at Bunka Women's University who has taught English at a private elementary school for many years, criticized the view that teaching English at early ages undermines the study of Japanese and other subjects. "How can you not learn Japanese with only one hour a week or so of English?" she asked. "It's much more important that children learn there are other languages, like English."

JAPAN

Feb 17, 2000

Quest on for firm English footing

First of two partsStaff writer Do all Japanese need to speak English? And will they? Yes, says an advisory panel to the prime minister that recently outlined Japan's goals for the 21st century. In the past, Japan has taken steps to improve English education by reportedly making textbooks more communication-oriented and introducing native speakers as teachers' assistants at public schools. But so far, these initiatives have not produced spectacular results: The general public doesn't speak English. This time, however, Japan is being very serious, more serious than ever before, about transforming the nation into one possessing what it calls "global literacy." In its report submitted to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi last month, the panel urged all Japanese to acquire a working knowledge of English before they become adults and even called for a national debate on making English an "official second language." The lack of proficiency in English will be a "national crisis" in the 21st century, said Tadashi Yamamoto, executive director of the prime minister's panel and president of the Japan Center for International Exchange, a nonprofit organization. At international conferences, the lack of influence of Japanese leaders is more apparent now because many other Asian leaders have a good command of English, Yamamoto said. "The Japanese leaders must be able to speak directly with their counterparts without using interpreters ... otherwise, Japan will be even more underrepresented in the international community," he said. Koichi Kato, a senior Lower House member of the Liberal Democratic Party and one of the few leading politicians fluent in English, admits there are very few people in Japanese political, business and academic circles who can use English effectively and persuasively in the international arena. "Probably, Japan has only about 100 such people now," Kato said. "Japan will change ... if there are about 1 million people in the mainstay of society who can use English at a very high level." Yoichi Funabashi, a member of the prime minister's panel and chief diplomatic correspondent of the Asahi Shimbun, has been one of the vocal advocates of making English an official second language. "The time has passed when only a handful of elite people explained Japan's stance to the world," he said. Japan's "critical mass" must be able to communicate in English in the age of the Internet, where 80 percent of information is carried in English, while the globalization of the economy is affecting every corner of society, he said. As specific steps, Funabashi said multinational corporations should be the first ones to make English an official language, where it is used for all documents and board meetings. In the public sector, the Patent Office is one place that urgently needs to write out documents in English, he said. "Disclosure of information means opening of language," he said. Experts say making English an official second language generally refers to a situation where it is understood by everyone -- from taxi drivers to waitresses -- and where all public services are offered both in Japanese and English. Education Minister Hirofumi Nakasone set up a panel of experts last month to discuss concrete measures on how to improve English teaching methods at schools. "In the near future, we want to see all Japanese be able to use English freely," he said at the panel's first meeting, emphasizing the importance of learning English as "the international language of communication." To improve English education, Yamamoto of JCIE said the government should provide opportunities for all English teachers at public schools to study overseas for one or two years, or at least during the summer. Entrusting English classes to teachers from private language schools and international schools would also be an effective way of improving teaching standards, he said. Along with teacher training, the introduction of TOEFL (Testing of English as a Foreign Language) for university entrance exams is a popular idea among advocates of enhancing English education. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, a Lower House member of the Democratic Party of Japan, is one such advocate. Being one of the new breed of English-speaking politicians, Matsuzawa says TOEFL is useful for assessing the comprehensive English ability of students. "If we use TOEFL, students will also know where they stand in the world's standards of English," Matsuzawa said. TOEFL is used by many U.S. and Canadian universities to measure the English proficiency of nonnative speakers. According to the average TOEFL scores in the July 1998-June 1999 period, Japan ranked 18th out of 21 Asian economies. In the previous year, Japan's average score was the worst among Asian economies along with North Korea. Matsuzawa is actively promoting a bill that outlines educational and social policies for the goal of making English an official second language in Japan within 10 years. According to Matsuzawa, all Japanese children should start studying English at elementary schools. Japan should also make everything bilingual -- from government documents to restaurant menus -- and broadcast more programs in English so people are constantly exposed to the language, he said. But looming over the question of whether to give English official status in Japan is a stark reality: Japan is not a country, like Singapore, where different languages are spoken at home, thus it requires a common language that everyone can use. "In Singapore, you cannot make a living if you don't speak English. But that's not the case in Japan," said Mineo Nakajima, president of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and chairman of the education minister's panel on English education. Trying to make English an official second language is "a little problematic" in a monolingual society such as Japan, he said. The level of English needed in Japan is not the basic English for traveling abroad or giving directions for foreigners here, Nakajima said. "What we need are strong communication skills to express our own ideas clearly to the outside world ... and the important thing is to greatly increase the number of people who can use that kind of English." One of the keys for that goal is to debate and discuss Japan's current affairs in English classes at universities, he said. Increasing the use of English in other courses, such as economics and business, is also important. The LDP's Kato put it more simply: "Not all Japanese need to speak English." But he said large corporations, financial institutions, major organizations and the central government should make strong English ability a prerequisite. "If they clearly state that they will only hire students who can speak and write good English, those who want to pursue those careers will be very serious about English."

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Stores hit by Y2K stockpiler feeding frenzy

Staff writers With just two days left before 2000 kicks in, shoppers crowded supermarkets and department stores Thursday, making last-minute purchases of water, food, oil heaters and other stockpiles to prepare for the possible breakdown of lifelines. Daiei Inc., the nation's largest supermarket chain, has had special sections for Y2K stockpilers set up at each store since mid-December, selling 40 items, including portable radios, water, canned food, crackers, portable cooking stoves and first-aid kits, a company spokesman said. Daiei's Himonya supermarket in Tokyo's Meguro Ward prepared a check list for customers to take with them, suggesting which items should be purchased in case supplies of water, gas and electricity stop. Oil heaters are one of the best selling items, along with water and portable stoves, a store clerk said. "Since late October, people have been buying oil heaters like crazy," a salesman said. There were four types of oil heaters, priced at around 10,000 yen each, but only one type is left now, he said, noting the items sell out the day the store receives a shipment. "About 10 people a day come and ask for an oil heater, but we have to say sorry, we don't have any more," the salesman said. Portable cooking stoves are already out of stock at the store, although some gas cartridges are left. "Customers are afraid that the gas supply may stop, but they are also buying the stove now so they can use it for outdoor activities later," a saleswoman said. Takashi Hazawa of Meguro Ward, who was shopping in the special section, said he came to buy a water tank just in case water is cut off. "I don't think Y2K problems will ever materialize, but just in case, I want to keep water," Hazawa said. "Food? I'll buy it at convenience stores." Another customer, Miki Abe from Meguro Ward, said she already bought water and a portable stove, but came to look for other things, such as a portable electric igniter. "We are so dependent on electricity and gas ... I am a bit worried because we have small children," she said. Ito Yokado Co., another leading supermarket chain, also launched a Y2K preparation campaign, with banners reading "let's prepare before 2000 comes" at special sections set up at each store. A company official said production of oil heaters cannot meet the demand, adding that people are also buying water, portable toilets and portable stoves. "Families with children and seniors are especially concerned about the cold of winter," the official said. "They take the Y2K crisis very seriously, although many people say nothing will happen." Sales of bottled water last week at Ito-Yokado stores was seven times the amount sold during the same period the year before, the official said, noting the amount was also double the peak amount sold during the summer. A saleswoman at Ito-Yokado's Oimachi outlet in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward said water tanks, candles, charcoal and flash lights were top selling items at the store. "Today, a middle-aged man bought five flashlights and 10 candles," she said. "We don't see many young people buying these things, but older ladies and couples are buying them in stacks." Chieko Ueda, from Shinagawa Ward, said she has bought water, wet tissues, dry shampoo, a portable stove, flashlights and much more. "Even though the power company says it's going to be OK, I want to prepare just in case," Ueda said. "I am going to cook a lot of rice on the night of the 31st before the turn of the year." The Olympic supermarket in Tokyo's Ota Ward is also out of portable stoves. All our stock of portable stoves sold out two days ago, a salesman said. "There are no oil heaters in stock either, because everybody started buying them at the beginning of this month," he said. In Osaka's Umeda district, yearend shoppers packed Hanshin Department Store's food floor in the basement within an hour of its 10 a.m. opening Thursday. Hanshin officials said the sale of ready-made traditional "osechi" New Year cuisine has increased this year by 20 per cent from last year. The most popular three-box sets are priced between 20,000 yen and 30,000 yen, but also being sold are 50,000 yen sets cooked by famous restaurants. Some customers bought a 100,000 yen set due to a concern over Y2K problems, the officials said. The department store has opened a special section for food to meet customer demand, where about 10 kinds of instant food and bottled water are sold. The best sellers are canned bread in three flavors -- coffee, sweet red bean and sweet potato. Fusao Kaku, 64, came to buy the canned bread, not as a Y2K precaution but as a souvenir for grandsons he was going to visit. "I am not concerned about the Y2K problem because I think I can get by somehow even if something happens," he said. "I experienced World War II, when goods were scarce. So I can survive as long as neighbors help each other. Still, Kaku purchased bottled water and a cassette-type grill in case electricity and gas are cut off. He will also cook a certain amount of rice and keep it in the freezer as emergency food, he said. Emiko Takeda, 61, visiting the section, said "I am concerned about Y2K problems because so much is reported by the media about it," said Takeda, who stocked five days' worth of food. "I have bought instant food and canned food. But my experience in the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 taught me the most important thing is water," said Takeda from Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. She has stocked 24 liters of bottled water, bottled tea and sports drinks as well as extra cash in case Y2K problems affect the computers at banks, she said. Y2K help for foreigners The Japan Helpline, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization to aid foreign residents, has announced its measures to cope with any Y2K problems. In addition to its toll-free number (0120) 461-997, the group has set aside the following numbers to ensure that callers can get through during the Dec. 31-Jan. 1. period: (0570) 000-911, (03) 3435-8017, (03) 5780-1113, (0990) 54-0954 and (0990) 53-8127. Cellular phones are also available at: (090) 3080-6711, (090) 7170-4769, (090) 8900-1257 and (070) 5235-3229. For faxes: (03) 5780-1112, (03) 3588-1202 and (03) 3978-7804. Internet: Jhelp.com (Users are asked to click on the "help" icon to keep lines open as much as possible in case of emergencies.) The Japan Helpline urges residents to put aside at least three days of cash, stove fuel, water and food.

JAPAN

Dec 28, 1999

50-year-old art exchange emerges from Montana

Staff writer Koichi Ogawa encountered a surprise during a two-month tour across the United States with two other Japanese earlier this year. Ogawa, 61, was visiting a friend in California who told him that an acquaintance from Montana would come down with some artwork. Ogawa was expecting to meet someone showing off his own paintings, but when Ted Boice came in, he was carrying a box that contained something Ogawa never expected. Inside the box were about 40 paintings and a few pieces of calligraphy sent by a Japanese elementary school to a Montana elementary school around 50 years ago. "I was so surprised to see these things and was very touched by them," Ogawa said. The color paintings, kept in very good condition with each pasted on cardboard, depict lively scenes of Japanese New Year's festivities, such as card-playing, kite-flying and "mochi" rice-cake pounding. "We don't see those scenes at New Year's anymore ... those paintings made me recall my childhood when New Year's was so much fun," Ogawa said, noting he is probably about the same age as those who drew the paintings. According to Ogawa, the paintings first came to Boice's attention while he was renovating the S.D. Largent School in Great Falls, Mont. Boice saw the paintings in a library and rescued them from abandonment. He has kept them ever since. When Boice heard that three Japanese men were visiting his friend in California, he realized he had an opportunity to have the paintings explained to him, Ogawa said. One of the paintings,which appears to be the cover of an album, has a label showing it was sent from Aikawa Elementary School in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, through the Junior Red Cross of Japan, in reply to an album sent from S.D. Largent School in 1949. The cover begins with an "appeal," in Japanese, asking what the students study in America and what they do for New Year's. Although neither Aikawa Elementary School nor S.D. Largent School has records of the album's exchange, the Japanese Red Cross Society said album exchanges with foreign schools had taken place since 1922 as an international exchange activity of the Junior Red Cross. Masahiko Takenaka, an official of the Junior Red Cross, said the American Red Cross helped rebuild the Japanese organization after the war. They assisted by promoting participation of young people in voluntary services and international exchanges and by enhancing other activities. "I would imagine that the album was sent as part of that process, although we don't have records of each school's specific activities," Takenaka said. Junior Red Cross activities are carried out through public and private schools on a voluntary basis. Today, about 9,500 elementary, junior high and high schools across Japan are members of the Junior Red Cross. Ogawa, who has traveled overseas several times since retiring at the age of 55, conducted a search for the creators of these works by using copies after returning to Japan."Because many people in America helped me when I was traveling, I wanted to do something in return," Ogawa said, adding that he wanted to "share the joy" with Boice, who wanted to know who worked on the paintings and what they were doing now. So far, Ogawa has found two -- a man living in Yamanashi Prefecture and a woman in Saitama Prefecture. The Yamanashi man, in his early 60s, was identified because he signed his name to his work of calligraphy. He could not recall the work or his school sending an album to America, Ogawa said. The Saitama woman, who declined to be named, said she was "very happy and moved" when Ogawa called her about the painting. Ogawa later sent copies to her. "I had forgotten about it ... I was so moved that the American school kept the paintings for 50 years," she said, recalling the day when a teacher said her school was sending paintings to America. Ogawa said he hopes to find other authors through the school's roll lists and the Red Cross."When I find more, I want to go and visit them," he said. "And I hope that some day these people will be able to visit Montana, as I would if I were one of them."

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