Is Japan Becoming Exclusive? 杉田議員の憂鬱

Japanese follows English.　日本語の後に英語が続きます。

Narujima is not my real name. I chose this handle name because Narujima is an anagram of majinaru, marginal in Japanese.

I was marginalized when I was a child for, first of all, too many school changes because of my dad's business and secondly, too snobby classmates of a public high school, which I chose only because of reasonable tuition fees without knowing that most students are from different classes. (Yes, there are classes in Japan or at least there are those believing that they belong to higher classes.) But experiences at these schools, in which I was severely bullied, made me realize the importance of diversity and tolerance because a society without these values suffocates those excluded and makes them sick or sometimes kills them.

Harassing Husband Syndrome in Japan 夫源病

日本語の後に英語が続きます。

Menopause related symptoms are not unusual. But here in Japan, they may be caused by husbands who don't lift a finger at home, telling wives to thank them for providing for them.

This is "fugen byo, i.e., an illness caused by husbands," a professional diagnosis for Ms. Emiko Kaminuma, a Japanese female comedian, who has been married for over 40 years. According to the diagnosis, her various physical symptoms, such as depression or high blood pressure, are not due to menopausal disorders, but due to harassing husband syndrome.

Are you worried about yourself? If so, why don't you try this checklist below to see how many items apply to your husband? If more than seven apply, he is definitely the cause of your problems. If five to seven, he may be. If four or less, thank God, he's not. By the way, this is similar to retired husband syndrome, but different in that Japanese wives suffer from various symptoms even before their husbands retire......

Kamikaze Marathon Runner 我慢強いので死ぬまで走ります

Japanese follows English.　日本語の後に英語が続きます。

A few days ago, a commentator of a news program said that Japanese runners are likely to win a medal or medals in the marathon in 2020 Olympic Games because they are "patient." She meant by this that Japanese runners will run hard no matter how hot it will be while non-Japanese may not to use their physical power for other races after the Olympics or not to die.

Does it sound familiar? The commentator's remark reminded me of the very famous wartime slogan in Japan, "Want nothing until we win." It also made me think of again kamikaze tokkotai. 

English Skills Are Important As Digital Skills たかが英語されど英語

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Learning English has been one of the hottest issues at schools, home and office in Japan over a long time. English is a must or at least is useful and, for some, should be taught from childhood. But there are other views.

One such example is that the less creative they are, the more they want to learn English. The author of this blog says that someone who is good at speaking English has just a good memory because learning English requires only a good memory. I've also heard a very famous Japanese mathematician saying in an argument about whether or not children should learn English at elementary schools that speaking something lacking substance fluently in English should be most ashamed of and learning Japanese is most important for child education.

I agree with him. Speaking something that lacks substance and intelligence is stupid. Learning our mother tongue, i.e., Japanese, is significantly important for us to think. But this doesn't make it less necessary to learn English. Rather it makes it more essential so that if we, when speaking in English something with substance, aren't made fool of. I believe that learning English isn't sufficient, but necessary as we can't live without some computer skills.   

I disagree with the blog author's comment that the less creative they are, the more they want to learn English. This should be rephrased to, "Learning English doesn't require a lot of creativity, but a lot of exposure to it." In other words, English is not something you make a fuss about, but you should be able to use. And that is why I strongly support Japanese elementary schools to have English classes. Some students may find it fun while others hate it as other subjects and that's all. Nothing more or less.

英語学習。学校、家庭、職場で熱く語られている問題だ。絶対必要とまではいわなくてもやっといた方がいいという人は少なくない。でも違う意見もある。

例えば、あるブログには「創造力がない人ほど英語を勉強する」とあり、「英語はただ暗記するだけの科目なため、得意科目を聞かれて『英語』と答える人は、自分は物覚えがいいだけのバカだと自覚すべき」と書かれている。数学者の藤原正彦氏の「流ちょうな英語で中身がないのがもっとも恥ずべき、一番大事なのは国語」という発言も引用している。

中身のないことを話すのはばかげていること、日本語を学ぶ重要性については賛成だが、それで英語を学ぶ意味がなくなるわけではなく、逆に中身のあることを話しているのに英語で誤解されることを防ぐためにも、英語はやはり必要なのではなかろうか。今や英語はpcスキルと同じくらいに必要（十分ではないが）だと思う。

創造力についても、「英語学習に創造力は必要なく、慣れるだけのこと」と思っている。そんな大騒ぎすることではなく、使えるようになればいいだけのもの、ということ。というわけで小学校からの英語授業には賛成。他の科目と同様、面白いという思う子もいるし、嫌いな子もいるでしょう。それだけのことです。

Which is Funnier, Tom Cruise or Tokyo Olympics Committee? トム・クルーズのだじゃれセンス

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The names of the mascots for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games have been announced, Miraitowa and Someity. According to the committee, the name of the Olympics mascot, Miraitowa, fuses the Japanese words for future (mirai) and eternity (towa). Someity, the Paralympics mascot, is derived from Somei-yoshino, a type of cherry blossom, and is a play on words with the English phrase “So mighty.” 

I can see what they tried to do, i.e., combining English and Japanese words to make them sound familiar and understandable to both Non-Japanese and Japanese speakers. But it falls between two stools. Who would understand the meaning of mirai and towa other than Japanese? And how come did the committee believe that general Japanese would take the trouble to understand the pun of Someity and so mighty? These are funny only for those speaking both English and Japanese or the committee members who were briefed on their meaning and how they should respond when being asked about these names.  

By the way, I watched a TV program a few days ago about Tom Cruise coming to Japan for "Mission: Impossible - Fallout Japan Premiere." Asked by a reporter if he was taking any measures for this heat (the temperature was 34 degrees Celsius), Tom answered, "Fans!," indicating a big fan nearby and fans coming to see him despite the heat. Which pun do you think is funnier, "Miraitowa & Someity" or "Fans"? I would vote for Tom!  

東京オリンピック＆パラリンピックのマスコットの名前が発表された。ミライトワとソメイティである。未来と永遠、ソメイヨシノと英語の so mighty を組み合わせたものらしい。英語と日本語を組み合わせてみんなに親しみやすいものにしたいという意図は分かるが、あぶはち取らずでしょ。mirai と towa という日本語の意味を分かる外国人なんていないだろうし、so mighty の意味を知ろうとする日本人もいないでしょ。日本語と英語の両方が分かる人、それか、最初に意味を説明してもらっている委員会メンバーの間の内輪受けでしょうか。

先日、Mission: Impossible - Fallout の公開を記念してトム・クルーズが来日し、酷暑の中ファンサービスに努めていた。記者に、暑さ対策してるか聞かれ、答えた一言が「Fans!」すぐ横にあった大型扇風機とたくさんのファンをかけたわけ。どっちのダジャレセンスが上でしょう？私はトムに1票です！

Obstacle to Work Style Reform 働き方改革が進まない理由

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Sachiko, a friend of mine, called me the other night and started to talk as soon as I picked up the phone. (By the way, she's fully recovered from anemia, though she's been under the weather because of the recent heat spell in Japan.) She said that she had found the real obstacle to the current "work style reform" in Japan.

Over the last six months, she has seen at least three executives apologizing for the current work related issues, but the reason is not what we think, i.e., the notorious Japanese tradition that employees are evaluated based on work hours or staying late at the office no matter what they do. They apologized for being unable to allow employees to do overtime. They said that they knew that everyone wants to work long hours, like 12 or even 24 hours a day, but the current legal environment doesn't allow it and so they are very sorry for that.

Sachiko first heard such an incredible statement six months ago from one of the top management in a town hall meeting, but didn’t care much at that time because it was just a comment of one man. But a couple of months later, she heard another executive apologizing for the same reason in another meeting and it happened again a week ago. This is not just a man's comment, but a shared view of the management.

Do they really believe that employees like to work long hours? If so, they should be fired because as long as they remain as board members, the work style reform, which is intended to improve work efficiency and ensure a decent life for everyone, can't be done and Japan's work-to-death culture never ends. But seriously, can you believe that company executives feel sorry that the current work hour cutting initiative dampens the motivation of employees eager to work overtime and frustrates them?

幸子さんから電話がかかってきた。貧血は治ったようでうれしいのだが、「何が働き方改革を妨げているか分かった」といきまいている。

何でも、ここ半年で会社の偉い人が3人も働き方改革について従業員に申し訳ないと謝っているのを見かけたとのこと。でもみんなが思っているような「長時間働かせてごめんなさい」ということではないらしい。「働き方改革のために長く働かせてあげられなくてごめんなさい」と謝っていると言う。半年前に初めて聞いた時は、一人のたわごとだろうと思ったらしいが、こう立て続けに聞かされるとこれはたわごとではなく、経営陣の共通した見方と言ってもいいだろう。

というわけで、幸子さん、経営トップってみんな好きで長時間働いているって本当に思ってんの、そんなトップはクビでしょ、と怒り心頭。繰り返しますが、日本の経営陣の人たち、職員が本当は長時間働きたいのに働き方改革に邪魔されて働けずにイライラしているって本当に思っているの？

Whose Life It Is? 誰の人生ですか

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I happened to find an article about the parents of a Japanese man in his 40s. He's not married, living separately from his parents and working successfully in the financial industry.

Gone with the Dream 夢と共に去りぬ

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Since I launched this blog, it's been my daily job to look for any interesting materials for this blog ranging from political stories to family issues. Even if finding a good one, there is another problem, i.e., remembering it until it's written. Actually, keep remembering stories is much more difficult finding them because I usually come up with good stuff at an inconvenient time or place, such as while in the bathroom or asleep.

A couple of days ago, we (i.e., my husband and I) went to see his cousins. We had a good meal and coffee and talked a lot. Being stimulated by the conversation with them, I woke up in the middle of the night with a very good material, even remembering my excitement, although I had to give up on taking a note of it because doing so would completely wake me up (I've been having terrible cold for the last week), while being aware that without writing it down, I would forget about it on the following morning.

I'm sure that the material was one in a hundred good stories that I'd ever come up with, but that it will never come to me.

ブログ開設以来、政治から家族までネタ探しするのが日課になっている。ただ、ネタを思いついても実際に書くまで覚えていられるかは別問題。実は、思いつくより忘れないことのほうがよっぽど大変。思いつくのはトイレとか寝ているときとか、いつも変なときだからである。

つい先日、夫のいとこ会があり、おいしいご飯を食べてコーヒーを飲み、いっぱいおしゃべりしたことに刺激されたせいか、夜中にネタを思いつき興奮したところまでは覚えているのだが、メモしなければと思いつつ、メモなどしたら完全に目が覚めて寝付けなくなってしまう、と煩悶しながらそのまま寝てしまいました。その週、風邪ひいていたので仕方ないっか....

忘れてしまったネタは100個に一つあるかないかの希少ネタ（のはず）。だけど私のところにはもう二度と降りてこないだろう。

Let Go & Give Up おひょいさんの執着

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Obsession is scary.

Japan Is Not Cool! 日本はクールではありません

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Japan launched Cool Japan Fund in November 2013 to market Japanese products and services overseas, but it was reported that their projects of JPY31 billion (USD277 million) had incurred losses of JPY4.5 billion (USD40 million) as of March 2017. One of such projects is ISETAN the Japan Store in Malaysia, i.e., a joint venture with Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, a Japanese department store giant, because of unrealistic price setting compared to local goods prices. This often happens to local development projects, like the estimated number of visitors to a facility being overestimated. It's not cool at all is it?

Also, there are still many company employees wearing a suit and even tie based on the "sontaku" spirit, i.e., the pre-emptive placatory following of an order that has not been given. In this case, they try to placate customers. But the weather in Japan is no longer temperate, but tropical! The temperature is 33 degrees Celsius in Tokyo (as of 16:00, July 4, 2018) and nearly 40 degrees in some other places. Japan has been burning for the last month even though it's still July. What's going on? I don't know, but can at least say that Japan is not cool at all.

クールジャパン機構ですが、大赤字を出していることが記事になってました。マレーシアの三越伊勢丹、何でも現地価格を無視した価格設定が原因でだめだったとのこと。地方の町おこしプロジェクトでも見込み入場者数とか水増ししてよくぽしゃってますよね。

それと、こんなに暑いのにいまだにスーツとネクタイつけているサラリーマンいますね。客商売だと仕方ないのかもしれませんが、日本は熱帯国なので忖度するのはもうやめた方がいいのでは。7月14日16時時点の東京の気温は33度、40度近い所もあるとのことで、まだ7月というのに一体どうなっているのでしょう？いずれにせよ、日本て全然クールじゃないのは確かです。

Rules Without Consequences 掛け声だけならやめて

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Are rules without consequences effective?

The ward where I live prohibits smoking while walking. But I still often see smoking walkers and even cyclists. It's natural because they aren't punished for breaking the rule. Likewise, the Japanese government has been trying to reduce overtime by implementing a work-style reform. But again, employers won't be seriously punished for violating the rule.

There is a common issue. These rules both call for a mindset change, but have almost no consequences, which makes me surprised at the rule makers’ naivety and irresponsibility. Rules need consequences and specific measures. For example, for the first case, why don't they hire staff who find and fine street smokers in exchange for some reward, like JPY1,000 per smoker?

Also, for the work-style reform, how about prohibiting overtime for more than ten hours across the board and the payment of compensation for excess overtime? I'm certain that by doing this, employees not working, but just staying in the office late because of the presence of their lonely supervisors who have no place at home or no idea what to do after work, would go home or at least leave the office. Those doing "real" overtime should of course be paid, but the focus should be on ensuring that employees can live a decent life without depending on overtime payment while changing the current work environment in which the longer you stay in the office (e.g., working for 12, 15, even 20 hours a day ), the more you are promoted.

Are you shocked at the fact that Japanese can't change without being spanked? But it's the same as the racial quotas in the U.S. So, we don't need to be lectured. Just give us a rule.

罰則のない規定に意味などあるのだろうか。

私の住んでいる区は歩きタバコを禁止している。でも歩きながら、自転車に乗りながらタバコを吸っている人はまだ多い。そして日本では働き方改革が進められていることは周知のとおりである。

さてこの二つの共通点は何でしょう。答え。掛け声だけでほとんど何の罰則もないこと。掛け声だけで言うこと聞くなんて思ってるならよっぽどのお馬鹿さんか無責任だと思います。だから例えば歩きタバコ。監視員を雇って歩きタバコ一人見つける度に1,000円払えばすぐに解決しませんかね。

働き方改革も、まずは10時間以上の残業、残業代支払いを禁止したら、家庭に居場所がなくて、または仕事以外にやることのない上司への付き合い残業はなくなると思う。勿論、本当に残業している人には残業代を払う必要はあるだろうけど、それでも1日12時間も15時間20時間も残業するのっておかしくありませんか。そして重要なことは、まともに働いていれば残業しなくてもまともな生活を送れるだけの賃金を保証すべき、ということです。

お尻叩かれないとできないのか、と海外の皆様には驚かれそうですが、アメリカの「アファーマティブ・アクション」と同じだと思っております。偉い人、説教するのはもう止めて、規則を作ってください。