Volume 15, Number 5 |
Despite aggressive efforts to "internationalize", Japan has undoubted difficulties in implementing domestic policies or principles because of what it is: a monocultural island country with a foreign population of less than 1 percent. Most are aware of the US's "melting pot" ideology as a model for multicultural societies but Canada's "mosaic society" ideology is hardly ever mentioned.
With special guest Mr. Taku Iwasaki, learn and discuss Canada's successful ideological multiculturalism model during this month's Coffee Hour. Born and bred in Toronto, Canada, and a native Canadian, Mr. Iwasaki is currently working for the Ibaraki Prefectural Government, International Affairs Division. His extensive background concerning international exchange programs and Canada-Japan business, economic and political relations will surely result in a thought-provoking lecture, not to mention the heated discussion that will be a result of it. He will also be re-performing his speech titled A Gaijinless Japan: Japan's Need to Adopt More Fundamentally Sound Principles Concerning Internationalization, which was originally performed in Niigata Prefecture on June 9th as a part of the 42nd Japan National Speech Contest for Foreign Residents. See you there!
Date/Time: Wednesday, June 27, 2001. 14:00~16:00
Guest: Mr. Taku Iwasaki (Canada)
Venue: Tsukuba Information Centre 3F
We will cook traditional Japanese food; Omusubi(rice ball), Miso-soup and Dashimaki-tamago. Omusubi is the most popular Japanese fast food which has a variety of ingredients. (Umeboshi, Sake, tuna,etc.) Let's enjoy cooking them! We also will show you how to make Futomaki-zushi. If you want to try rolling Norimaki, we will teach you how to do it.
When: Monday, June from 11 11:00am to 1:30pm
Place: Ninomiya public hall (Cooking room)
What to bring: a cup of rice (If you have them at home) chopsticks (or fork)
Contact/Inquiries: Ms.Sanada at 54-7274 or Ms. Hirakawa at 51-6237
There will be another activity at the Takezono-nishi Jidokan on Monday morning, June 25.
TIS is finishing up its 9th year of operation this month and is looking forward to its 10th year beginning in September. Application packets for new admissions in the fall will be available from July 1. If you have children who are in the first to sixth grades and you are interested in seeing if TIS is for you, please visit our web site at http://www.ne.jp/asahi/tsukuba-international-school/ibaraki.japan
TIS exists to give parents whose children need an English language based education an additional option. Many foreign children in Tsukuba, of course, are not English speaking, but TIS can accept such students if they can understand basic instructions and if at least one parent speaks English well enough to communicate effectively at the school. If you are interested in seeing the school before the end of the school year on June 29, please contact the school at 47-0330.
N.G.O "Youngs Peru" is a non governmental non-profit organization whose goals are oriented to combat the extreme poverty and improve the living conditions of the most poor Peruvian young people. Our most recent project is the implementation of a Vocational Training Center for the Rural Youth Development at Tacna City which allows us to train approximately 2,000 youth in extreme poverty per year-FREE OF CHARGE. The cost of this project is around 35,000 US dollars and in order to make this project become reality, we need your valuable help. All contributions are welcome whatever to be the amount, so please contact Mr. Victor Perez Centeno or send directly him your donation.
Mr. Victor Perez Centeno
NGO YOUNGS PERU representative in Japan
Graduate Student from Tsukuba University
Postal Address in Japan:
Ichinoya 35-102, Tennodai 2-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0006
Or send your contribution directly to:
The Joyo Bank, Ltd.
Kenkyugaken-Toshi Branch, Azuma 1-1364-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0031
Branch Code 0130
Branch Number 104
Account Number: 104-1786919
Tsukuba Gakuen Church (near Daiei) offers an English translation of the 10:30 service every Sunday. The normal "4th Sunday of the month" English service will not be held in June, July or August this year due to Tim Boyle's absence. Likewise, the 8:30 pm Tuesday evening English Bible study at the Christian Center will likewise be off for the summer, starting up again in September.
The Tsukuba Catholic Church has an English mass at 8:00 am every Sunday and the Japanese masses on Saturday night (6 pm) and Sunday morning (10 am) are accompanied by an summary of the message in English. There is even a Spanish mass on the 3rd Sundays at 3 pm. On the last Sunday of the month, there is a coffee social after the English mass. For information, call the church at 36-1723. The Tsuchiura Catholic Church offers an English mass on the last Sunday of each month at 3 pm (tel. 21-1501). There is also a Portuguese mass on the 3rd Saturday at 7 pm.
The Tsukuba Baptist Church offers an English language Bible study before the Japanese service every Sunday from 10 to 11 am. It is located in Inarimae just east of Nishi Odori on the street closest to the meteorological observation tower. Tel. 58-0655.
The Megumi Church in Tsuchiura (489-1 Kami Takatsu) also offers English translation of their 10:30 Japanese service over ear phones. An English Bible class is held every Sunday morning at 9:00. There is also an International Fellowship group that holds a monthly pot luck dinner usually on the third Saturday. For information on that, call Melissa Ishio at 38-1374. For more information, call the church at 22-2244 or e-mail LDN03144@niftyserve.or.jp (Also see their Tsuchiura Megumi Church Web Page at http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/ro/tmc/index.html).
The Tokyo International Church, Tsukuba Branch in Amakubo 3-3-5 (across from Tsukuba Univ.) offers a 10:30-noon Chinese (Mandarin) service interpreted into both English and Japanese. There is also an English language Bible study every Sunday evening at 7 pm. For information, call Rev. Huang at 52-6820.
The International Christian Assembly meets every Sunday at their new building just off of Tsuchiura-Gakuen Sen east of Tsukuba (just behind the restaraut with the dragon on the roof) from 10 am for Bible Study and 10:30 for worship. For more information, call Tony Shreffler at 57-9006.
The Nozomi Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tsuchiura (23-27 Komatsu 3-chome) also offers programs in English, including a worship service Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm and a Bible class on Sunday mornings at 9:30. English Bible information courses are available any time. For more information, call Glen Hieb at 0298-21-3578.
The Tsuchiura Christian Church offers an English message translated into Japanese every Sunday morning at 10:30 am. For information, contact Paul Axton at 56-2167.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Tsukuba ward is located at Sakura 2 chome 35-2. Services are translated into English over headphones. The Sacrament Meeting begins at 10 am followed by Sunday School at 11:10 and Priesthood and Relief Society at 12:00. A Gospel Doctrine class in English is also offered. For more information, contact 57-9795.
The Jewish Community of Japan, invites anyone of the Jewish faith in the Tsukuba area to feel welcome at any of their programs in Tokyo. Sabbath services each Friday at 6:30 pm followed by Sabbath dinner; Kosher Kitchen, Saturday morning, 9:30 am. Contact 3-8-8 Hiroo, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo 150; tel. 03-3400-2559, fax. 03-3400-1827.
The Tsukuba International Network is an organization with representatives from numerous research institutions and volunteer groups (including the Alien Times) as well as from the city government that works to come up with solutions to problems foreign residents face. TIN is headed up by Tokio Ohska, who directs the international office at the High Energy Physics Laboratory. TIN has regular meetings to discuss various issues that have plagued the international community for years or that crop up anew from time to time.
The first major success was getting the local buses to put numbers on their buses so that those who could not read Japanese could know which bus they were getting on. As simple a thing as that would seem to be, years of individuals complaining to the bus company had gotten nowhere. It wasn't until an organized group both with a certain amount of clout as well as a willingness to help facilitate the change that progress was made.
Presently, TIN is working on several issues. Number one on the list is to convince the Japanese immigration authorities to open up a branch office in Tsukuba. Several years ago, the Alien Times spearheaded a petition drive to ask the city to put in a formal request to the national government to see that this be done. The city officially passed such a resolution, but that by itself was not enough. TIN has approached both the city and the prefecture to get them to push harder, and they are receptive to that. Other neighboring cities, such as Tsuchiura and Mitsukaido, are likewise being petitioned to join in the effort. It apparently will just take a lot of noise being made. This certainly appears to be a case where "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." (Japanese culture is more often succinctly encapsulated in the Japanese phrase "Deru kugi ga utareru - The nail that sticks out gets pounded in," but here, it would seem, a more "western" approach is needed.) Perhaps a little "gaiastu" (outside pressure) from foreign entities would help too. It would seem such an obvious thing to do, as the national government is committed to further increasing the number of foreign researchers it sponsors in Tsukuba. And yet, another branch of that same government makes it inconvenient to negotiate the paperwork that is required by forcing people to take a whole day off from work to go into Tokyo or up to Hitachi. Hopefully, this will change in the near future. But don't hold your breath. Bureaucratic wheels turn slowly and take a long time to "put grease on squeaky wheels."
Another major effort TIN is undertaking is dealing with the issue of the education of the children of foreign nationals. Their efforts are divided into two main parts. The first is to support the present Tsukuba International School by acting as an advocate in any way it can. The second area involves the Japanese schools themselves, as this is where the majority of foreign children are. This takes the form of both trying to improve the way local schools handle foreign children as well as the broader view of challenging the Education Ministry to make long term plans for putting more resources into helping children who are not native Japanese speakers. At present, foreign children are welcome to attend Japanese schools, but there is no publicly funded program to help them. Local schools are basically dependent on volunteers to help with the integration of such children into the local schools.
Other projects TIN is involved in include:
An ongoing effort is being made to coordinate the efforts of many groups that provide some information to their constituents so that all can benefit from them. The city has a web page with lots of good information on it, and so TIN is helping the city improve that further. As a public entity, however, the city can not give an evaluation to any specific restaurant or whatever, and so TIN is planning on setting up its own web site in the near future on which such information could be given. They are presently applying for funding for this project.
Members of the foreign community in Tsukuba are always welcomed to make suggestions on how they think some particular aspect of life in Tsukuba could be improved. This doesn't mean complaining about every little thing that bugs one, of course, but if you have a concrete suggestion to make, do let your voice be heard. The best way is probably to contact the international desk at your institute, if that is appropriate, or you can always email the Alien Times and we will be happy to do that for you.
Gray Skies Need Not Lead to the Blues
By the time you read this issue of the Alien Times, we should be officially into the "rainy season. In the Kanto area, the Weather Bureau typically declares "Tsuyu Iri" (Entering Rainy Season) sometime in early June. Sometime in July, then, they will announce the "Tsuyu Ake" for the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the muggy summer weather.
This relatively regular weather pattern in the climate of Japan is caused by the boundary between the warm, humid high pressure system that gradually builds up over the Pacific Ocean to the southeast of Japan and the cooler, dryer air to the north and west. A front develops between these rather stable air masses with "waves" of low pressure moving along the front across Japan.
This pattern first becomes prominent in late April across Okinawa and then gradually pushes farther north, sloshing back and forth as it goes. This oscillating movement of the front to the north and south is what gives us brief periods of good weather during the rainy season, when the front temporarily moves away from its average position.
By early June, the "Baiu Zensen" (rainy season front) has moved to where its average position is across Kyushu and Shikoku, bringing the end of the rainy season to Okinawa. This process continues until mid July, when the front breaks up over Tohoku due to the dominance of the Pacific High and a weakening of the contrast between the two air masses.
While cloudy and sometimes rainy days predominate during this period, it is still a good time to get out and enjoy the warmer weather before the oppressive heat of summer sets in. The flowers of this season shift to "ayame" (a type of iris) and "ajisai" (hydrangea), of which there are some excellent displays in the Tsukuba area.
Probably the most famous "ayame" display in all of Japan is the Itako Ayame Festival, in the town of Itako, located at the far end of Lake Kasumigaura. Over 1 million ayame of about 500 varieties are in bloom along the banks of the Hitachi Tone and the Maegawa Rivers. Tour boats go up and down the rivers and on weekends, the traditional "Hanayome Fune" boat, with a girl dressed up like a Japanese bride, makes its journey down the river. To get there, take route 125 until it dead ends in route 51; turn left and follow that road about 10 km to the town of Itako (turning to the right). The festival lasts throughout the month of June.
There are nice displays of ayame and other kinds of iris in Tsukuba along the pond in Matsumi Park and also in the park across from Texas Instruments, which was the sight of the '85 World's Fair (now part of the Western Industrial Park).
Hydrangea festivals are also part of this season, with the biggest being in Mito at the "Howaen" park in Matsumoto Cho, northwest of the downtown area. Over 5500 hydrangea bushes grace the park and are in bloom from mid June to early July (with the festival running from June 14 to July 5). The park is located between route 118 and the Naka River.
There is also a good display of hydrangeas in the park above the parking lot for the cable car going up Mt. Tsukuba (the highest point you can go up by car). The flowers there come out a bit later, and are best in early July. If you can go on a (rare) clear day, the view is spectacular.
By Joseph G. Robbie
Walden led Ned to The Border, Tsukuba's largest gaijin bar. It being a Sunday evening, not too much was going on there with only about ten other customers present. The pub's capacity was well over a hundred, and on Friday and Saturday nights it was jammed. On the stage, two older Westerners and two younger Asians were playing classic rock music with a few rough endings.
"Those guys practice here every Sunday afternoon and then play for the customers after the bar opens at 8:00. They're sounding much better than they used to," Walden explained.
The Hungarian bartender recognized Walden and greeted him, as he had to. Ned, the other nerd, was introduced and hands were shaken. The scientists took seats at the bar and ordered beers and nachos. As they chatted, the place began to fill up a bit. A group of four stunning young ladies, all nurses as it turned out, entered and took possession of a corner table. Another pair of beauties arrived and sat on the stools next to Ned. Walden elbowed Ned and gave him a male bonding kind of wink. Ned blushed.
The nachos arrived, but were ignored, as the men were still stuffed from the Kobe steak dinner they had enjoyed earlier. Ned surveyed the decor of the pub. He wasn't impressed. The Border boasted a large room with dance floor, darts, table football, sound system, DJ booth and kitchen, but the overall impression was one of shabbiness. In general, Japanese drinkers prefer a newer, well-polished establishment with much brass, glass and chrome on offer. The ones that came to the Border did so mainly to meet gaijin, practice their English or check out a weekend band.
The girl nearest turned to Ned and smiled. "Where you come from?" she queried. "New Zealand. How about you?" he asked. She laughed in reply, "Japan, of course." "Oh" he responded, not knowing what else to say. She turned back to her companion, raised her eyebrows and rolled her pupils, this being the internationally recognized gesture for: 'What a geek!'
As Walden Helmsly sniggered into his beer, Ned went to find the toilet, which was like none he had ever seen. It seemed like a porcelain hole in the floor. He was thankful he only had to do Number One, and not Number Two, as he would have been at a loss as to how to proceed.
Rejoining Walden at the bar, he ordered another Kirin and pecked at the chips. The lovely lass to his right addressed him anew. "What kind your work?" "I'm a scientist. I study bugs." "Oh. That's very interesting. Please tell me more." So he did.
Ned went off on a long monologue describing his entire history of research and experimentation. He bought them both a drink, then continued his tale. Bored, Walden wandered off to play chess with one of the musicians. As her friend was flirting with the bartender, Chikako bought Ned another beer and listened wide-eyed as he went on, and on, and on. Ned was getting drunk and feeling ever more affectionate towards the alluring vision before him.
When she was able to get in a word, Chikako asked Ned if he would like to teach her English. "Is the bear Catholic?" Ned joked. She didn't get it. "I'd be happy to help you learn English." "Great!!! Here's my business card with cell phone number. I must go home now. Please call me soon. Bye, bye." She grabbed pal and purse to exit.
Ned perused the card:
Chikako Honda
Stylist
Hair Brains Saloon
09034300573
Wow!!! His first day in Japan and he already had a pretty girl's phone number. Incredible!!! He'd never had much luck with Kiwi women, so he was thrilled and rushed to inform his host. Walden was very congratulatory in his reaction. "Way to go, Dude!" he exclaimed in dated hip. "I'll loan you some English grammar and vocabulary books. Then you can prepare some lessons for her."
"But I haven't a clue about teaching languages" Ned stammered.
"No worries, Mate. Most "professional" English teachers in Japan are hired without previous language teaching experience. You just have to be a native speaker and look like a Westerner."
"No way! That's awesome! So just about anyone can get a job and stay here for as long as they like."
"That's right. Well, you must be all tuckered out from your voyage. Let's head home so you can get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow I'll introduce you at the university and explain the schedule of the entomology conference."
But Ned didn't sleep well. Images of Chikako danced in his head and the excitement of the day refused to subside. What new wonders would the next day bring? (To be continued...)