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Building Demolition
Japan leads the world in its plans, methods, and techniques for demolishing buildings. It has developed and successfully implemented many of the world’s best demolition methods. Often, demolition operations are conducted without blocking traffic or shutting off electricity in the area. Ensuring that building demolition is prompt, safe, and environmentally friendly requires elaborate methods, careful planning, and simulated practice by skilled workers. As of 2023, the construction waste recycling rate in Japan is 97.2%, the highest in the world.
Yamagata Beniō
Yamagata Beniō (やまがた紅王) is a new brand of Japanese cherries from Yamagata Prefecture. They finally made their debut in June 2023. The distinguishing characteristic of Yamagata Beniou cherries is their size. They are huge, sweet, and visually appealing, ranging from 1 to 1.45 inches in size. The photo below shows a wooden box of 30 cherries priced at 30,000 yen (approximately $215 USD according to the current exchange market).
牧野富太郎 – Tomitaro Makino
Tomitaro Makino (1862-1957) is known as the Father of Japanese Botany. Despite not graduating from elementary school, he earned a Doctor of Science degree. Makino discovered over 600 species and named over 1,000 new species and 1,500 new varieties of plants. Until his death at the age of 94, he traveled all over Japan creating botanical specimens. It is believed that he documented over 400,000 pages of specimens.
In the latter half of his life, Tomitaro visited various places in Japan to teach citizens the joy and attraction of plants. He treated people equally, from kids to the elderly. Some of these people sent him botanical specimens, sometimes resulting in new research. When scientists and the general public collaborate on research, it is called citizen science. Tomitaro is a pioneer of this concept.
After elementary school, Tomitaro taught himself and conducted his research independently throughout his life. Because he disliked placing importance on authority, he did not care much about degrees. However, due to the encouragement of those around him, he finally received his doctoral degree from the University of Tokyo in 1927 at the age of 65.
超深海魚 – Hadal Zone Fish
The hadal zone, also known as the hadopelagic zone, is the deepest region of the ocean. It lies within long narrow V-shaped depressions or “trenches” that range from around 6 to 11 km (3.7 to 6.8 miles) below sea level. In August, 2022, an international research group sent a deep sea exploration vessel with two crew members (one of whom was Japanese) to the 9801 meter deep seabed in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench in Japan. At that depth the water pressure is 1 ton per square centimeter. That is like holding a rhinoceros on the tip of your finger. They saw sea cucumber, sea anemone, shrimp, etc. at this depth. On the way there, they saw deepsea armored grenadier fish (シンカイヨロイダラ) and a species of eel, bassozetus robustus (ソコフクメンイタチウオ) at 6000 meter depth, and a snailfish (スネイルフィッシュ) and ghost snailfish (ゴーストスネイルフィッシュ) at 7000 meter depth. A snailfish has been successfully photographed at a depth of 8336 meters, and this was confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records as “the deepest hadal zone fish ever found”.
Sustainable Development Goals
The term SDGs was adopted at the United Nations Summit in September 2015. SDGs stands for Sustainable Development Goals, which are international goals to be achieved by 2030. In Japan, awareness of the SDGs has gradually increased, and now everyone from small children to the elderly recognizes the term. While Japanese people believe that SDGs is a universal term, as of 2023, in the United States, it is more commonly referred to as “sustainability” or “Sustainable Development Goals”. Therefore, when I say SDGs in the U.S., many people don’t understand me right away.
SDGsという言葉は2015年9月に国連サミットで採択された。SDGsとは、Sustainable Development Goalsの略で、2030年までに達成すべき国際目標のこと。日本ではSDGsの認知度は少しずつ高まり、今では小さい子供からお年寄りまで知っている言葉に。日本人はSDGsは世界共通の言葉だと思っているが、2023年現在アメリカではsustainabilityとかSustainable Development Goalsと言われることが多く、SDGsと言っても伝わらない。
Men & Women in Society
As of 2023, Japanese companies often divide roles into two types: general positions (e.g., sales) and general office positions (e.g., clerical work). Men are typically assigned to general positions, while women are placed in office roles without their input. General office work involves specialized tasks like accounting and human resources, requiring self-study, but lacks a promotion system, leaving employees in low-ranking roles until retirement.
Managers are predominantly male, with women serving as assistants. Many women quit after marriage, while men face criticism for prioritizing childcare over overtime. Women who choose work over marriage are often deemed selfish. Although societal attitudes are shifting individually, systemic change remains limited.
2023年現在、日本の企業は普通、営業などの総合職と事務などの一般職の二つのタイプに分かれている。そしてなぜか本人の希望も聞かずに、男性は総合職で女性は一般職に振り分けられる。一般職は経理、人事、総務などの事務をする。一般職というと雑用のように聞こえるが、経理や労務など専門的な知識が必要で、社員は自分で勉強してこなさないといけない。それでいて総合職は昇格制度があるのに、一般職にはなく、定年退職するまで平社員のまま。
管理職は男性が普通でそのアシスタントに女性が選ばれる。更に女性は結婚したら仕事を辞めるのが普通。男性が育児のために定時に帰りたいと言えば「そんな状況で管理職に就くのは無理だね」と上司に言われてしまう。子育ては女の役目、女の幸せ。「だったら仕事が好きだから結婚しない」と言う女性がいれば、その女性は自分勝手だと非難を浴びてしまう。日本社会は変わってきているとは言え、それは個人レベルで社会全体はまだまだだ。
化粧まわし – Keshō Mawashi
A mawashi is like a loincloth or woven cloth belt that sumo wrestlers wear when they wrestle. A keshō mawashi has a special silk apron-like thing attached in front. Only wrestlers in the Makuuchi and Jūryō divisions are allowed to wear it. Each wrestler is supported by a sponsor company or an individual, and the keshō mawashi is given them as a reward. One keshō mawashi will cost at least $10,000 USD, and can cost more than one million dollars. A keshō mawashi is usually made from a traditional high quality material like, Nishijin-ori, Hakata-ori, etc., and are only woven by skilled craftsmen.
