Cool Japan: School Events

■Cool Japan: School Events 

NHK Cool Japan: "School Events" edition.

In the past, this program has highlighted the unique aspects of Japanese schools, such as students cleaning their own schools, taking turns serving lunch, and being enthusiastic about club activities, but the events they hold are also quite unique and interesting.

"Opening Ceremony"

After the spring, summer, and winter holidays, the school opening ceremony begins.

School is public and holidays are private, so you have to draw a line between public and private. It's important to make a line.

Summer vacation is especially different from overseas.

In many parts of the world, school starts in September, and there is a long period of time without homework as the school year changes.

In Japan, where students start school in April, summer vacation is in the middle of the school year, so there is homework.

What's more, independent research is difficult because you have to think of topics, and it can be difficult because parents get involved too.

There are many products available, such as independent study kits that include lab tools and craft equipment, and these have become a business.

"school trip"

They choose their own destinations, act independently, and use tablets.

School trips have also evolved.

Before Japan entered its period of rapid economic growth, ordinary people had low incomes and rarely had the opportunity to go on family trips.

The basic purpose of the school trip was for everyone to broaden their horizons.

As people have become more prosperous, more families are traveling, including overseas.

But school trips will never disappear.

Because it is a shared experience of our parents' generation.

He believes that the experiences he had as a student, spending days and nights together with others, have been beneficial to him.

As with club activities, activities other than studying subjects are positioned as an important part of education.

"Sports Festival"

It has been going for 60 years and is a local attraction that attracts as many as 5,000 people.

And to do it by hand is amazing. Hats off to you.

Moreover, they are graded and evaluated not only during the actual performance, but also during practice.

In other words, this is an "education" that emphasizes not just a one-off performance, but the process of growth.

There are many purposes for doing this, such as sharing values as a group or learning the importance of cooperation, but what's valuable is doing it while having fun.

This significance has been recognized, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has received requests from over 20 countries to help hold sports days.

Japan's sports festivals may spread throughout the world.

Actually, school "events" are not something you have to do.

It is not something that is required by the school, but something that is done voluntarily.

This is why they value that kind of education. That's why Japanese teachers have a hard time.

Thank you for your hard work.

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Gachon to the Headmaster Mr.Yohei Sadoshima

■Gachon to the Headmaster . Yohei Sadoshima

As a legendary editor at Kodansha's Weekly Morning, he brought out works such as "Vagabond," "Dragon Zakura," "Hatarashi Man," and "Space Brothers," and from there he founded a manga editing company called "Cork," a model that had never existed before in the world. He is also an innovator model from iU .

What is a manga editor?

They are often producers.

In Japan, the job title of producer is not clearly defined, so it is possible for a manga artist to serve as both a director and producer, and for an editor to help them. The role of a producer in Japan is flexible. It depends on the team of people. I was an editor who acted like a producer in the US.

In foreign countries, the position of editor is limited to someone who creates books and magazines. Manga is popular in Korea and China, but the problem is that there are no editors. The Japanese editor profession plays a strange role worldwide. Korea and China are researching how to train editors.

◆Leaving the publishing company

Many people who leave publishing companies become freelancers, such as novelists or original authors. Or they leave publishing companies and start their own publishing companies (like Sadojima-san). There are probably not many people who are trying to create a business in the IT industry.

◆Why start a business?

Publishing, television, and other so-called media have a large influence on society as a whole, but are very small in the industrial structure. Society as a whole is driven by the principles of capital, including GAFA, and many things are decided, but the influence of the media has become limited. I think we are entering an era where things that previously influenced the whole of Japan will only be known by a few people. I wanted to know about the changes happening in society. I felt that publishing companies are good companies, they treat their employees well, and the problem is that they cannot feel the changes in society firsthand.

The Internet is changing everything. It's changing distribution. It's changing communities. It's changing the cost of connecting people.

◆Leaving the publishing company

The publishing industry in Japan is well-structured. Compared to the rest of the world, the Japanese publishing industry is well-structured. I think this is largely due to the fact that Japanese people love to read books.

I started the company thinking that I might be able to compete with the people who founded Kodansha and Shogakukan, but it wasn't that easy.

◆A company that changes society

I love books and got a job at a publishing company, so I thought that I had to go further into the periphery to innovate, but since I started my own company, I hadn't taken on any challenges that even a publishing company could take on. Revolutionary changes are also coming from the IT industry . If I don't get rid of my fixed ideas, I won't be able to become a company that changes society.

◆The future of cork

We place importance on stories. Our company mission is to "change the world for each individual with the power of stories." It is said that we are entering an era of greater compassion, but we are challenging ourselves to see whether a company that aims for something abstract and unclear can have an impact on society.

Although they are able to stand out in society, they are not able to do work that penetrates the social structure.

Migration

Online is fine. COVID-19 has made society more tolerant. It has made me think about how to spend the remaining time I have comfortably.

◆The existence of schools

I have never liked school. I went there because I thought I might not be able to fit in with society if I couldn't do that. School was a time for me to practice patience. That is not happening now. I endure things even though I shouldn't.

◆School of the future

Most jobs have clear objectives. If you meet people with clear objectives, the relationship will be closed. At school, you meet people with only loose common ground. There are chance encounters. Meeting people whose good points you can appreciate after just one conversation can only happen at school. Schools are valuable as a place where encounters cannot be fully planned. I feel that there is potential in chance encounters themselves.

What is a school?

School as a place of instruction is over. You just have to learn by yourself. In order to find your next question, you need to get suggestions from others until you have a certain level of academic ability and experience. I majored in literature at university, but I was interested in psychology classes and looked at the syllabus. There, I found that my interests were opened up to people I had never expected, and when I attended classes, I thought, "I see." University is an opportunity to ask new questions.

◆Message for you guys

How can we free ourselves from the preconception that we have to graduate from university? I think ( iU ) is a university that wants to install free thinking. However, it is not a message to live carelessly. I want students to explore how they can avoid being bound by prejudice during their time at university. It is good to come into contact with many people with different values.

★Postscript

Light-hearted. It was impressive that he started a company with a system from a famous editor, but he also handed over the president's position to become chairman with ease. And after the corona, he moved to Fukuoka. I sometimes imitate his style of taking a stroll every day and attending online meetings on my smartphone. He is much younger than me, but I admire him.

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Kyoto's Cultural Power Master Plan

■ Kyoto's Cultural Power Master Plan

I am currently serving as a member of the Kyoto Prefecture Council for Creating a Future through Cultural Power.

This is the second phase of the Basic Plan for Cultural Power, following the first phase in 2019.

I expressed my opinion.

After the first phase, the Agency for Cultural Affairs is moving to Kyoto and the World Expo is being held in 2025.

For Kyoto, the Agency for Cultural Affairs is a national opportunity, while the Expo is a global one.

How can we make use of this?

The two unexpected changes are COVID-19 and technology.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated digital transformation around the world.

Both cultural expression and entertainment will be centered on digital.

Live performances will also be a hybrid of real and virtual.

Then AI, the metaverse, and web3, three major technologies that were originally separate, arrived at the same time.

A new cultural realm is born.

There is also a lot of debate in the country.

The Council for Cultural Affairs' report identified globalization and digital transformation as important themes.

How to deal with inbound and outbound

How can we develop new areas such as cultural digital transformation and the metaverse?

Kyoto Prefecture's next plan will also be a response to this.

I am active in three areas: human resource development, base formation, and events.

iU , creating a digital cluster in Takeshiba, Tokyo,

This is an art and digital activity at the Kyoto International Film Festival. 

We will also work in conjunction with BS Yoshimoto to lead up to the World Expo in 2025.

We are working to create a community of industry, government and academia.

I would like Kyoto Prefecture to cooperate with this community.

I hope you will make good use of it.

Turning the relocation of the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the digital transformation caused by COVID-19 into an opportunity,

We will take advantage of the upcoming opportunity of the World Expo and the opportunities of new technologies such as AI.

I would like you to move on to creating the next plan.

Thank you very much. I look forward to it.

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Cool Japan: Buddhist cuisine

■Cool Japan: Buddhist cuisine

NHK Cool Japan: "Shojin ryori" (vegetarian cuisine).

The biggest factor behind the worldwide increase in vegetarians and vegans is health consciousness.

Lifestyle-related diseases are becoming more serious, and more and more people are trying to improve their condition through diet.

Japanese Shojin ryori goes even further, being a strict vegetarian diet that not only avoids meat, fish and dairy products, but also spicy vegetables such as onions and garlic.

It is part of Buddhist training, but it has been rediscovered by people overseas and is now attracting attention.

"These days"

Since it originated from Buddhism, Shojin ryori cuisine is found in all Asian countries, but there are very few Shojin ryori restaurants that are open to non-monks, and this is rare in Japan.

Since ancient times, Japan has had a diet of one soup and one dish, with many vegetable-based meals, and it was only after the Meiji period that people began to eat meat, later than the West.

We use plain vegetables to create a deep flavor, which is why it's so delicious.

The important thing is that it's delicious. I think that's what's popular with health-conscious Westerners these days.

"Temple"

I'll enjoy having this.

This is a uniquely Japanese expression, and it means to be grateful for the life of the ingredients.

Not only meat and fish, but plants also have life. We should be grateful to eat them.

And shojin ryori is made with great care, all by hand.

This effort is an important time to give thanks for the ingredients, to think about the Buddha to whom we are offering them, and to think about the people who will be eating the food.

Shojin cuisine embodies more than just not eating meat or fish; it also embodies that spirit.

"ramen"

This is a restaurant that specializes in Shojin ramen. It's in my hometown, the home of rich ramen, and a highly competitive area.

Pork bones, chicken bones, and bonito stock, which are essential ingredients for ramen, cannot be used.

Only kelp and shiitake mushrooms can be used.

Ramen and shojin ryori are polar opposites.

that has led to more than 10 years of research.

Ramen is now popular worldwide, and is also popular among health-conscious vegetarians and vegans.

This multiplication of ingredients in Shojin Ramen is a revolution. I hope it spreads throughout the world.

Even for Japanese people, shojin ryori is an ancient food and is not commonly known.

If foreigners discover it, we will be able to rediscover it and it could lead to new evolution and development.

thank you.

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iU President Gachon . Mr.Hiroki Kimura

■iU President Gachon . Mr.Hiroki Kimura

President of MIXI. The creator of Monster Strike. Without compromising on the philosophy of MIXI, which is to connect people online, he has grown the company into a four-digit billion yen business and expanded its focus from games to sports. And he is studying at graduate school. That's amazing.

◆ Mixi

The company name will be changed from Mixi to MIXI. While retaining the importance of communication that the social network Mixi has cultivated, we will work to enrich communication in various fields, not just SNS. Mixi in lowercase has a strong image of a service brand, but MIXI in capital letters is a slightly larger concept.

What we are focusing on now

Sports business. I think sports has the most room for growth from both a business and social contribution perspective. By stimulating communication within sports, sports funds will be created. Business will also grow.

They are particularly focusing on sports betting. Sports are the subject of betting. In Japan, publicly-run sports such as horse racing and bicycle racing are growing. In the United States, betting on major sports has been legalized. It's all the rage.

Betting alone is no fun, betting with friends is fun. I'm obsessed with trying to create new sports funding while having fun with everyone.

◆School/Learning

I was a dropout. I didn't fit in at school. I didn't attend sports days or school festivals in junior high and high school. I couldn't fit in with the others. I felt uncomfortable. I didn't skip school and stay alone, I played with my friends. I wasn't a delinquent or an honor student. I dropped out of college. Even at college, I couldn't get used to the school environment.

Two years ago ( 2020 enrollment), I attended graduate school at Waseda University. I wanted to learn properly as an adult, so I took a sports-related course. I was finally able to experience learning in a classroom with other students, something that normally happens at university level, even though I'm over 40 now.

Due to COVID-19, many of my classes were online. It was easy to juggle my work as a CEO and my studies. I was also able to submit my papers online. Thanks to technology, it was easier to learn than ever before.

years old and I am learning properly. I am grateful to be able to learn as an adult. It was a very good experience. I studied hard.

◆Message for you guys

If you can find something you want to do or something you can be passionate about, you will win in life. I 'm over 40 now, and I'm passionate about running a company and creating services. Take your time and look for something you can be passionate about and like. You'll be lucky if you find it while you're young. Even if you can't find it easily, you might find it while you're working. Please keep looking.

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