My visit to Tokyo 2018 (10)

Tokyo Trains Station

The Tokyo trains station was introduced by the Tokyo Travel Guide in the following sentences:

The Tokyo train station is the heart of train transportation in Japan. The JR from this station is connected to all parts of Japan, from Hokkaido (北海道) in the north to Kyushu (九州) in the south.

According to JR’s web-site, Japan's main islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Hokkaido are served by a network of high-speed train lines that connect Tokyo with most of the country's major cities. Japan's high-speed trains (bullet trains) are called shinkansen (新幹線) and are operated by Japan Railways (JR).

JR connects the Tokyo Station to Hokkaido

The shinkansen network consists of multiple lines, among which the Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo - Nagoya - Kyoto - Osaka) is the oldest and most popular. All shinkansen lines (except the Akita and Yamagata Shinkansen) run on tracks that are exclusively built for and used by shinkansen trains. Most lines are served by multiple train categories, ranging from the fastest category that stops only at major stations to the slowest category that stops at every station along the way.

Year-end party of a company: the real feeling was that more than 40 percent "don't want to participate "…

Recently the NHK News on-line reported the following:

会社の忘年会 本音は「参加したくない」４割以上に…

2018年12月19日 4時12分

年末が近づき、会社などで忘年会が開かれる時期になりましたが、20代から40代のサラリーマンの４割以上が、本音では参加したくないと考えているという調査結果がまとまりました。

このアンケート調査は、製薬大手の「田辺三菱製薬」が先月、全国の20代から40代の会社員の男女、合わせて500人を対象にインターネットを通じて行いました。

会社の忘年会への参加について、本音ではどう思っているか聞いたところ、「参加したくない」が15％、「どちらかと言うと参加したくない」が29％で、消極的な回答をした人が合わせて44％に上りました。

女性のほうがその割合が高い傾向で、20代の女性が50％、30代の女性が48％となっています。

参加したくない理由については、「気を使うので疲れる」、「会社の人より友達と飲みたい」などといった声が寄せられたということです。

一方、「参加したい」は29％、「どちらかと言うと参加したい」は26％でした。

調査を行った田辺三菱製薬では「せっかく開催している忘年会にネガティブな気持ちで参加している人たちが一定数いることがうかがえる。会社側としても何らかの対応策が必要になるのではないか」と話しています。

Translation

As the year end was approaching, it was the time to hold a year-end party by a company. A survey result showed that more than 40 percent of the office workers aged between twenties and forties did not to want to join the gathering.

A questionnaire survey was done in the whole country last month by the "Tanabe Mitsubishi Medicine Manufacturing", a major medicine manufacturing company, targeting at 500 male and female office workers aged between twenties and forties through the internet.

When asked how they really feel about participation in a year-end party of a company, 15% answered "I don't want" to participate; 29% said that "if anything I don't want to participate”, the people who answered negatively added up to 44% in total.

The lady had the tendency of high percentage in this respect; ladies in their twenties was 50%, in the thirties was 48%.

About the reasons why one did not want to participate, "I had to pay attention so I get tired." "I would like to drink with a friend more than a person of the company"; voices such as these could be heard.

On the other hand, "I'd like to participate" was 29%, "if anything I'd like to participate" was 26%.

Tanabe Mitsubishi Medicine Manufacturing which held the survey said that "It reflects that there are certain number of people participating with negative feelings the year-end party which was organized with great efforts. For the company it also needs to do some countermeasures."

          I am interested to note how this survey result would stand if compared with similar surveys done in other periods.

My visit to Tokyo 2018 (9)

Yasukuni Jinja (source NHK)

The wooden pillar outside the Yasukuni Jinja

On the 23rd I visited the Yasukuni Jinja by Metro. As indicated in the road side map below, it was inside the Chiyoda district.

After leaving the metro station I walked 150 meters and reached the Jinja. The entrance was marked by an over ten feet tall wooden pillar engraved with the words 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Jinja). After walking pass this pillar, there was the first Torii (鳥居), it was very large. Torii was a gateway at the entrance of a Shinto shrine. After passing this Torri, there was a bronze statue of Omura Masujiro (大村益次郎)(1824-1869) who had played an important role in the inauguration of this Jinja which was dedicated to the spirit of those who died for Japan in wars in the Meiji restoration and after. The plaque at the foot of the statue explained the background on the building of  this Jinja.

The plaque at the foot of the statue

This Jinja had always been a topic for political arguments between Japan and China in recent years.  China often argued that current Japanese political leaders should not go there to pay their respects to the military leaders who were sentenced to death due to war crimes committed in WWII.  After knowing the historical background of this Jinja, I began to understand the reasons why it was logical for the Japanese to use this Jinja to honor all military leaders perished in WWII.

Egypt " discovered the grave of the Shinto priest who served Pharaoh" : the floor had a hole

Recently the NHK News on-line reported the following:

エジプトで“ファラオに仕えた神官の墓発見” 床下に穴も

2018年12月16日 7時15分

エジプト考古省は、首都カイロの南で、4400年前にファラオに仕えた神官の墓を発見したと発表し、今後、墓の内部からひつぎや副葬品などさらなる発見が期待されるとしています。

エジプトのアナニ考古相は15日、カイロの南にあるサッカラでエジプトの調査隊が4400年前、古代エジプトのファラオに仕えた神官の墓を発見したと発表しました。

公開された墓は奥行きが10メートル、幅３メートル、高さも３メートルで、壁には、多数の像やヒエログリフと呼ばれる文字が彫られています。

また、赤茶色や青色など当時の鮮やかな色彩が保たれています。エジプト考古省によりますと、墓の床下には５つの穴があり、神官のひつぎや副葬品などが収められている可能性があるということで、今後、発掘作業を進めるということです。

アナニ考古相は「新しい発見で、保存状態が非常によく、色彩も残っている」と述べ、高い価値があると強調しました。

Translation

The Egyptian Archaeology Ministry announced that a grave of the Shinto priest who served Pharaoh 4,400 years ago was found at the south of Cairo the capital, and it was assumed that from now on further discovery of a coffin and burial items from the grave could be expected.

On the 15th Anany the Egyptian archaeology minister announced that an Egyptian research group in Saqqara located at the south of Cairo had found a grave of the Shinto priest who served Pharaoh in ancient Egypt 4,400 years ago.

The grave opened was 10 meters in depth, 3 meters in width and 3 meters in height; on a wall a lot of images and the so called hieroglyphs characters were carved.

Also, red brown and blue vivid color of those days were kept. According to the Egyptian archaeology ministry there were 5 holes on the floor of the grave, and it was said that it was possible that Shinto priest's coffin and burial items were kept. It was supposed that they would advance the finding work from now on.

Anany the archaeology minister stated that " in this new discovery, the preservation state is very good, and the color is also left behind" and stressed that it had a high value.

              It is nice to know that the Egyptian has made such a discovery.

My visit to Tokyo 2018 (8)

On the 22^nd I visited Akihabara (秋葉原) in Tokyo, a place that was famous for having many shops selling electric goods. The Tokyo Metro Guide introduced it in the following manner:

The location map of Akibhara

Here the most popular street is the Central Street (中央通り), there were shops along this street, mostly were either restaurants or shops selling electrical appliance. As there were a lot of home appliances available to choose, it had attracted a lot of overseas customers, one noticeable ethic group was the Chinese from the mainland. They carried suitcases to shop. Some shops were operated by mainlanders who were targeting at these customers. Some of these Chinese shops also sold brand name medicine or cosmetic that were famous among the mainlanders.

One of the big name in selling the electrical items here is the "BIC CAMERA". This company had a 7- floor building. It sold all kinds of home use items.

My visit to Tokyo 2018 (7)

Pamphlet of the National Museum of
Nature and Science

The location map of the National
Museum of Nature and Science

The National Museum of Nature and Science is inside the Ueno Park. Beside this science museum, there are several other museums in the vicinity.

You have to pay a small amount of entrance fee for visiting the National Museum of Nature and Science (expect for senior citizen or tourists aged over 65). I enjoyed the many exhibits inside the National Museum, in particular the exhibits about human evolution. I liked “Lucy” which was presented in casts of the original fossil assembly, and also its recreated model with muscle and skin positioned next to cast fossil assembly. 

“Lucy” was discovered in 1974 in Africa, near the village Hadar in the Awash Valley of the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia. The “Lucy” specimen was an early australopithecine, dated to be about 3.2 million years ago. Its skeleton showed a small skull akin to that of non-hominin apes, it had evidence of a walking-gait that was bipedal and upright, like that of humans (and other hominins). The original fossils were kept in Ethiopia.

"Lucy"

Museum description of "Lucy"

China lifted food import restriction on rice from Niigata

Recently the NHK News on-line reported the following

中国食品輸入規制 新潟米解除へ

11月29日　10時14分

東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故の後、中国が続けている日本産食品の輸入規制をめぐって、中国が新潟県で生産されたコメの輸入を再開する方針を固め、日本政府に通達してきたことが分かりました。

福島第一原発の事故のあと、中国政府は、放射性物質による汚染が懸念されるとして、福島、宮城、東京など１０の都県で生産されたすべての農産物や水産物、それに家畜などに与える飼料の輸入を停止しています。

これについて日本政府は、安全性が確保された食品のみが流通しており、懸念は当たらないとして規制を解除するよう重ねて求めていて、安倍総理大臣も先月の日中首脳会談で、習近平国家主席に対し前向きな対応を求め、中国側は「科学的な評価に基づき緩和することを積極的に考える」と表明していました。

こうした中、中国が、輸入規制を実施している１０の都県のうち新潟県で生産されたコメの輸入を再開する方針を固め、日本側に通達してきたことが政府関係者の話で分かりました。

日本政府としては、残るほかの規制についても、できるだけ早期に解除されるよう、引き続き、中国側に働きかけていくことにしています。

Translation

Concerning the import restriction imposed by China on food produced in Japan  enforced after the Tokyo Electric Power Daiichi Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, it was found out that China had resumed the policy that strengthened the importation of rice produced in Niigata-ken, and the Japanese Government was informed accordingly.

It was supposed that after an accident in Daiichi Fukushima nuclear power plant, for fear of pollution by radioactive materials, the Chinese government had suspended the importation of all marine and agricultural products from Fukushima, Miyagi and Tokyo etc. 10 prefectures, together with the feed for the cattle etc.

About this, for the Japanese Government, because only the food which safety had been secured would be allowed to circulate, there was no need for worries, thus it asked for the cancellation of the restriction. Abe Prime Minister at last month's Japanese-Chinese summit, toward Chairman Xi Jinping, asked for a forward-looking positive response; the Chinese side expressed that "consideration would be actively taken to ease it based on scientific evaluation."

Under such circumstances, talks among people related to the government showed that among the 10 prefectures/capital with import restriction, China had strengthened the policy which resumed the importation of the rice produced in Niigata-ken and had notified the Japanese side.

For the Japanese Government, it would continue to encourage China to start work to ease the remaining restrictions as early as possible.

        Its seems that the Sino-Japanese relation is improving.