Articles on censorship

Hi class!

Here are a few articles from the past six months:

1. Chinese authorities pull plug on 'vulgar' foreign-made TV

2. New Zealand bans Elijah Wood horror film Maniac

3. The boy killed for an off-hand remark about Muhammad

These are about Japan:

4. Censorship by education boards

5. American teacher’s spin on Japan’s racism riles Net nationalists

Happy reading! 

Japanese avtive elderly woman

I found an article about Japanese on CNN.

According to this article, Mieko Nagaoka who 99 year-old(!) is won swimming competition, got more medals and broke the records. Japan has the highest proportion of working seniors in the developed world, but many elderly people still have enough power to keep an active life.

Nowadays Japan is well known as an aging society, it looks not good for our future. However, Elderly people have much knowledge and many experience of working, life, and on relationship. We can learn many things from them.This article mentioned everybody have a stereotype for elderly people, such as not active or walking with a cane, but I think it is not true. My grandpa and grandma can walk actively and do everything in our house. I am so proud of them, even I live apart from them.  I love my grandma and grandpa, and I always talk to and be with them when I go back to my hometown. I miss them so much because I read this article.

Here are 2 questions:
Do you have any stereotype of senior people between 60-100 year-old?
Why do you think so?

Tweet about Death of Husband

I read this article on The State.

A woman who lives in Seattle tweeted about the car accident which happened in Washington. She took the picture of the accident and posted it on Twitter. After that, she noticed that her husband also uses the road when he goes to work. She tried to contact with her husband but she could not do that because her husband was dead by the car accident. She realized that the death of her husband after she called his office and the police. She told that her husband had an epilepsy.

I thought that how she was sad when she noticed that she tweeted about her husband's death. I could not imagine to see the moment of death of my family. I have never experienced the death of important people. However, I am sure that my family may die someday so I want to spend a good time with my family more than now. She said that her husband had an epilepsy so she should not allow him to drive a car. I think that we should care about our and family's health. The accident can be happened even just walking so we should make sure about our safety every day.

Have you ever talked about your health with your family?
Have you ever watched the car accident?

Sub Culture on the Skin!

How do you imagine when you hear tattoo? Perhaps someone think it can be seen on the skin whose works in the world of Mafia or just enjoying its coolness. This article from Japan Times is about the tattoo as one of a culture in Japan.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/12/09/lifestyle/otaku-culture-gets-under-the-skin/#.Uqab_dKBk2Z

The issue of tattoo has been discussed for a long time. Recently,  the mayor of Osaka, Mr Hashimoto tried to find all police officer who has tattoo on the skin. On the other hand,  the tattoo , in Japanese, Irezumi is popular in overseas as one part ob Japanese culture. The design has also been changing as well, for example, the animation character are often draw on customer's skin.

Some wise said that the appearance shows us the 90 percents of one's characteristic, and I agree. Of course it is one demand if they want to have tattoo or not, but to be honest,  it can scare other people. Therefore I don't hope them to be public officer. I sometimes see foreigner who has tattoo. If they like Japan and try to have cultural tattoo, it doesn't matter me. Moreover, I am quite glad they decided to do it. The difference I will be afraid and be happy is "they respect Japanese culture or not". I have been wondering that they cannot go to hot spring because most of them do not allow those people inside of their facility, and how do they feel. someday I want to know by talking with ... man with Irezumi.

Here are my questions to you guys;
How do you feel when you saw tattoo?
What do you think: what kind of Japanese culture should be spread to the world more?

Is digital piracy possible on any object?

I found an interesting article this week.

Thanks to the presence of a 3D printer, everyone can now make anything they want. While this advanced technology attracts people’s attention, there is a controversy for being questioned whether piracy is violated. The chief executive of a 3D company says he doesn’t think we need the marketplace.

I really feel technology is being advanced. Recently I saw  TV program featuring this kind of machinery creating what children want to get after saying “apple,”. I was amazed. Nowadays in Japan more and more people come to download many favorite songs without buying CDs. Although Japanese people have neglected to protect the copyright because of its lax enforcement, recently I saw a person who was arrested. Therefore I think Japan’s attitudes are changing. Making something useful and complex such as electronic appliances easily is really needed, so balancing between the presence of piracy and technology is important and difficult to do. If the 3D printer become more practical, I hope it will be used to make something for medical treatment.

Let me ask some questions.

1. Can you come up with something made by the 3D printer that might infringe copyright?

2. Are you for or against the idea that “we don’t need a marketplace, it’s a sharing world.”

Why?

Effect of Wii Fit Plus

I found an interesting article on BBC.

 

Reserchers said that Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus can lose weight, and moreover, it helps people to lower glucose levels. Exercise is important for particularly important for people with diabetes. It helps the body use insulin more efficiently.

 

I have Wii Fit, and that game have a tennis program. CP is not easy to beat so everyone can enjoy the game and move hardly. I noticed it can be good for losing weight, but I did not know that this game is effective to cure diabetes. I heard diabetes is terrible disease and also my grandfather had diabetes, so I hope that Wii become the way to cure diabetes. And off course, I want everyone to enjoy Wii Fit Plus and lose weight, or cure their disease.

Connection between monkeys and diets

I found an interesting article on BBC.

According to a team from the University of East Anglia, there is a close connection between the size of monkeys and diet; mid-sized monkeys are the biggest fruit consumers, and they eat 50 different species of fruit a day. Small monkeys eat mainly insects and larger monkeys prefer leaves.

I did'nt really know that the size of monkeys and foods which they like to eat are closely connected, and moreover, I was even surprised to know that not small monkeys but larger monkeys prefer leaves to fruits or insects. At the same time, I can say for sure that mid- sized monkeys are gourmet, being different from me because, surprisingly, they have 50 different spiecies of fruit. In addition, I remember a problem in connection with the topic. In Japan, especially Nikko, monkeys tend to attack tourists to get some foods, and because of that, people pounched by monkeys get injured, but this is not to say that only monkeys are bad; there are several certain reasons which cause such a situation, so I'd like to ask my classmates about them. (129 words)

Here are 2 questions for you,
1: Can you guess the reason why mid-sized monkeys like to have fruits?
2: Why do you think some monkeys have a tendency to attack tourists to get foods?