Number of Suicides less than 30,000 - Should Suicide be Legislated in Japan?

In Japan, the number of suicides in 2012 has come down to less than 30,000 for the first time in the past 15 years. However, Japan is still one of the countries with high number of suicides. Should suicides be prohibited by law? In my opinion, the answer to this question is yes for the following reasons. Firstly, countries where suicide is legislated have lower rates of killing themselves compared to other countries. In the United States where suicide is prohibited, for example, number of suicides is 22.2 per 100,000 people. This is less than a half of Japan’s suicide rate, 49.4. The fact that suicide is counted as a mortal sin in many religious countries may have effects on these results. However, legislation of suicide would surely provoke people’s awareness that they must not decide to kill themselves too easily. This is my second reason to agree to suicide being prohibited by law. Lastly, if suicide is legislated, attempted suicide would be punished. This means that people who have succeeded in committing suicide cannot be punished, but from another point of view, it means that people who failed to kill themselves would be given time to rethink about their lives while they are in jail, and restart a new life after being released. For these reasons, I believe suicide legislation would decrease the number of suicides and has the possibility to act as a relief measure to those who attempt to commit suicides.

 

Link: Japan Times “Suicides fall under 30,000 for first time in 15 years”

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20130118a4.html

My Christmas Abroad

                   My Christmas in Madagascar was something different from what I knew of. Because Madagascar is located in the southern hemisphere near the equator, snow never falls and December is in the middle of the rainy season in Madagascar. No snow and no coldness. Even as I was decorating my Christmas tree, I could not have the feeling that Christmas was approaching. However, my second Christmas in Madagascar became the most exciting Christmas of all Christmas I have ever had abroad.

                   That year, my friend’s family and my family decided to go to Ampefy, a tourist site famous for its hot spring and geyser. We used cars to go there, and the trip seemed to be going smoothly, until we reached to the end of the suburbs of Antananarivo, the capital city. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily on the day before and the unpaved road was sloppy. Even my family’s car, which was a 4WD, lost against the muddy road and became unable to move. All of us excluding the drivers got off the car for the time being and made some effort trying to push the car, but there was nothing we could do as the car stubbornly refused to move.

We were all completely at our wits’ end, but a miracle happened. All of a sudden about 15 people came out from nowhere and gathered around our cars. Our family’s driver said something to them in Malagasy and one man stepped forward and exchanged some words with him. At once, the crowd started to push our car. Dynamically splashing the mud, our cars finally started to move. I was quite moved by those altruistic people, who helped a strange foreigner in a trouble. However the crowd’s real intention was revealed when they gathered around the car for the second time. This time, they were sticking their hands towards the passenger’s seat, demanding some tips of money for their work. I learnt that act of kindness is not always offered for free.

My friend and I had a lot of fun at Ampefy, where we happened to meet our friend and his family. The geyser was sulfuric, and everyone’s hair became extremely stiff. I never had my hair that stiff since that day. I struggled for over 10 minutes in the shower to get rid of the stiffness by reiterating shampoo and hair conditioner. We also ate dinner together, as our friend was departing Ampefy the following morning.

I could not have a typical Christmas-like event in Madagascar, but my Christmas at Ampefy was a memorable one which I can still recall vividly. I hope I would be able to have a wonderful Christmas this year as well.

Opinion Piece

           From this year, SFC has started dividing the school year into two semesters from three terms. The number of times and the seasons when exams are held have changed, with some other adjustments in the school calendar, but I do not find my school life improving, and personally prefer the older system with three terms.

           With the two semester system, the final exams are held right after the summer vacation. This might seem convenient because there is longer time to prepare for the exams. However, we tend to be more occupied with clubs during summer, and of course, enormous amount of assignments prevents us from doing test preparation. The exams are held in approximately two weeks after the school resumption, so there is not much time left after the summer vacation to study. As a result, we cannot spend our precious holiday spending time with our friends and families as much as we were able to until last year. This is my first reason why I do not approve of the new school system.

           The second reason why I prefer the old system is that there is less time to work on the Bunkasai project. This year, many classes had to be in a hurry in order to complete their class projects because there was not enough time to work on them. Bunkasai preparation weeks started on the first day of the second semester. Furthermore, because of the final exams at the end of September, we cannot spend time discussing on Bunkasai before the preparation week. With only one month to prepare, the contents of a project would necessarily be limited, or else its quality would be low. Because a Bunkasai is a big annual event, I want to spend a fair amount of time working on it.

           The last reason why I believe the two-semester system is inefficient because of the exams becoming less frequent, resulting in the exam coverage getting broader. Mid-term exam and end-of-term exam is each held twice, with four exams in one school year. Some subjects, which have only one session a week, only have two exams in one school year, without the mid-terms. Until last year, there were five exams in a year and some subjects even had a test right after the summer vacation, adding up to six exams a year in total, with at least three in each subjects. This may sound like a tough schedule, but the exams had less coverage, making it easy for us to study. Simply calculating, six exams turned into four exams means that the exam coverage got 1.5 times broader.

           To sum up, the two semester system is not bringing much advantage to our school lives. We have a hard time studying for final exams during summer vacations which are meant to somewhat take away our mind from school works, less time of Bunkasai preparation, and more exam coverage to study in each exams. I wish the school would resume to the old three terms system.

A Beginner's Guide to the Bunkasai

           A Bunkasai, also called a school festival, is an event typical in Japanese junior-high and high schools. As this is an event occurring only once a year, students put a lot of effort in organizing their Bunkasai.

              One of the aims of a Bunkasai is to introduce the school to many people. The Bunkasai is generally held in November at most schools, and lasts for two days over the weekend. In most cases, anyone is welcome to visit the school during a Bunkasai. Students’ friends and families come, and students invite their old friends to the current school. A Bunkasai is also a great chance for younger children who are planning to attend the school in the future, because the school’s atmosphere can be experienced. In Japan, where many children enter private schools, it is common for elementary school students to visit a Bunkasai as an investigation of the school beforehand. For this reason, schools hold information sessions simultaneously with the Bunkasai. In the information session, teachers and students talk about the school and answers questions from people desiring to enter the school. A Bunkasai is one of the precious chances for schools to be exhibited to people outside of the school community, and this is why a Bunkasai is usually held for two days over the weekend.

Another aim for holding a Bunkasai is for students to present what they want to the general public. Each class or group plans their own project, and works on decorations. A great amount of time is spent on preparations, and its quality and creativity varies by class. Some classes present an exhibition of what they have learned throughout the year, others make fun attractions or plays for visitors to enjoy, and so on. Food booths can also be seen in many schools, selling Yakisoba, Okonomi-yaki, Tako-yaki, etc. In SFC, food booths are not allowed, but the cooking club opens a café in which they sell cakes and other sweets they have made.

Some clubs have performances. There are none in SFC, but some school’s sports clubs invite other schools for an exhibition match. Cultural clubs, such as Karuta or Sadou club, do demonstrations for people to watch, and the brass band or string orchestra club performs in concerts. In SFC, the dance club also does a performance, which is very lively.

In conclusion, a Bunkasai is a big annual event for promoting the school and for students to present what they have created. If you ever had a chance to visit a school’s Bunkasai, I hope you will enjoy it.

Book Review

"The Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

Everyone has their own story of the past and Ged, one of the greatest sorcerers in Earthsea’s history, is not an exception. The Wizard of Earthsea, the first book of The Tales from Earthsea series, is about Ged’s early years, when he was still an obscure young wizard.

On the island of Gont, one boy was found to be unprecedentedly talented in magic. His name is Ged. He is taught under Ogion, the Mage of Re Albi, but he is unsatisfied and decides to go to the school of Roke. Ged’s gift in magic excels even at the school of wizards, but because his desire to learn he fails to notice the most important rule for wizards to keep in mind.  One day, Ged, highly offended by his rival, and uses the forbidden curse to summon the dead spirit. However, the spell had an unexpected side effect. In compensation for breaking the rule of magic, Ged is chased down by a ferocious “shadow”.

“The world is balance, in Equilibrium. A wizard’s power of Changing and of Summoning can shake the balance of the world. It is most perilous.” (p. 48)

For Ged whom ignored the Equilibrium of the world, are there no other ways but to continue fleeing from the “shadow”?

Graduating from the school of Roke, Ged enlarges his experience. After carrying out his task to negotiate with a dragon to leave from a human island, Ged finally makes up his mind to face the “shadow”. Through his journey, Ged finds his own answer of what he must do.

This is a story of one young wizard trying to right the wrong he had done, and reinstate the balance of the dead and alive.

Before I read this book, I was expecting this to be similar to other fantasy stories such as Harry Potter series. However as I went on reading this book, I noticed that in Ged’s world, magic should not be used casually, and is not at all akin to any other books I have read so far. The world of Earthsea is constructed carefully to the details. The aspect of this world, that sacrifice would occur if you act impetuously, can be the same in our world. Everything you do, everything that exists that may seem beneficial for you, might not truly be so. Consider carefully before you act, is what I think the lesson this book is trying to express.

Le Guin has also created elaborate settings of the characters, which took part in making the story more enjoyable. In The Wizard of Earthsea, Ged’s mental conflict is described in detailed, and you can see how Ged has mentally grown up throughout the book.

I hope you find delight in reading The Wizard of Earthsea as I did.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Having a Summer Vacation

              Summer vacation is one of the most exciting events students are waiting for. As the end of school gets closer, students start making plans of how to spend their summer vacation. As far as I know, all schools have summer vacation, and there must be some reasons for that.

              The biggest advantage of having summer vacation is that the students can be freed from the daily 6-hour lessons. Every day, students are under great pressure to complete homeworks, prepare for tests and quizzes, and so on. Needless to say, this situation is extremely tiring, and it is natural for students to demand for some break. Periodic vacation gives impulse to students’ school days, and stops students from getting bored of school life. This must be a good reason for students to be given seven weeks of vacation.

Furthermore, students, unbound from academics, are able to concentrate more on club activities. Because most sports have seasons in summer, it is convenient that schools are off during summer. This way the students can practice more before the matches. Especially in schools like SFC, where the students do not have to worry about university entrance exams, many students are engrossed in clubs and find satisfaction in practicing. Summer vacation can also help students to switch over from studying to club activities.

Apart from club activities which I have already mentioned, summer vacation can give a great chance of experiencing something rare. Going on a trip with one’s family could be one example. Released from stressful school work, students can enjoy and make good memories during their summer vacation. In Japan, many people tend to go back to their hometown and visit their relatives during summer vacation. Meeting one’s relations is quite important in terms of having an opportunity to communicate with many people. Or perhaps some students may go traveling to somewhere far away. These experiences become good refreshments for students who are always driven by schoolwork.

              Now that I have written about the advantages of having summer vacation, I would like to discuss some disadvantages. Summer vacation can disturb some student’s daily routines. Without school, there is no need for students to wake up early in the morning. Therefore, they tend to stay up late and wake up late. As the students continue to live like that, it gradually becomes a habit, which cannot be fixed easily.

              Another disadvantage of summer vacation is that the students have to manage a massive amount of homework. Even during summer vacation, the school does not allow its students to completely get away from the school work. If there was no summer vacation, the students would be having less work per day. Because of summer vacation, students have to catch up with the corresponding amount of work for the lost lessons.

              There are both advantages and disadvantages in having a summer vacation. However, I think summer vacation is essential for giving students some rest from the daily academics and the advantages exceed the disadvantages. I hope summer vacation does not become abolished.

How to be a Successful Japanese Archery Club Member

 Any one can become a successful Japanese Archery player by following this advice.  Most importantly, you must practice hard.  Try to participate in free-time practice as much as possible.  You also need to turn to your seniors and coaches for coaching when you are stuck, but do not forget to be polite.  After practice, write down the advice you were given in your "Shakei Notebook".  Finally, take good care of your bow, arrows, and other instruments so that they are not worn out or broken.  If they are, fix them or replace them with new equipment.  Now, you will be able to become a successful Japanese Archery club member and have many good memories.