Japanese who don't know about Japan

When I was in Canada, I had many chances to appeal Japan. However, I couldn't talk about Japan although I am Japanese. Other countries people often wanted to know details. For example, I asked about "samurai" and "ninja". Of course I know them, but I couldn't explain them including historical problems. Even if I know it, I don't have enough skill and vocabularies to tell it. Sometimes, I asked my opinion, not knowledge, like "What do you think about Ainu?"

I feel Japanese people don't know about Japan. We try to study about other countries because of "internationalization" which is really important polity nowadays. What is "internationalization"? If we just can speak English very well, can we be an international person? I don't think so. Of course, it is important to know other countries and bring them in to our business. However, we might lose our identities as Japanese if we don't see ourselves at all. Japan also has great cultures and technologies which we have to keep in the future. In fact, one of great minority group and their culture, Ainu, is losing now. However, we don't have any education about them in the school at all. Maybe most people don't know what is happening to them at all. I doubt that it is good.

I think we have to learn about Japan more, to keep our cultures and identities and to let other countries people know about Japan more.

Common Points

In Monday class, we discussed common points among the group member. It was really hard for me because any points such as hometown, age, major are different. I noticed I have not thought about "common points" so much. I've had chance to think about different points or different culture in the class because I am learning about anthropology, cross cultural communication, and so on in my department. however it is new for me to think about common points. It is so easy to notice the differences, especially when I am in the different culture. I felt everything was new and interesting, but when I think back, I just didn't notice because there are so many differences in visible culture, custom, manner and so on.
However, we have many common points in invisible part such as feeling, for intense, we smile when we are happy, we cried when we sad. Today, I went to speech contest for exchange students, and there were many points that I can agree with them. I think it is because we have same feeling. Also, I could know some cultures which is similar to our culture through their speech. It makes me want to know about other cultures more.
To understand different points is so important but at the same time, it is also important to notice same points to make good relationship with other countries' people. There are soooo many things that I don't know yet. The more knowledge I have, the more things I can know. Then I'll be able to share the ideas with other people, and make communication easily. Therefore, I will focus on not only difference but also same points from now.

Minamata disease

Minamata disease, which is called also Chisso-Minamata disease, discovered in 1956. It is neurological syndrome caused by mercury poisoning. The first patient was a girl who is five years old. The Chisso corporation's chemical factory had released methyl-mercury from 1932 to 1968. It made Shiranui Sea and the Minamata Bay pollute, and the fish and selfish that people eat in daily life suffer from it. People who have a symptoms feel tiredness, have headache, get damage to hearing and speaking. In the worst case, death follow within weeks of the onset of symptoms. The people who lived around Minamata had to fight not only the disease but also harmful rumor and discrimination. Even now, some people suffer from the disease because heredity. The most congenital patients are now in their forties and fifties and their health is deteriorating. Some victims have tried to tied themselves in their house , and isolated from the local society.

This pollution problem is caused by industrial waste and hurt so many people. It tells us how important the sea and the food are, and we must not throw away the wastes that can pollute the nature.

Current issues in Japan

We discussed about current issue in Japan in the class. First we talked about information that the government should announce. Some people think the government should announce all the information, but I doubt it is really good for the people. If the information has possibility to cause panic among the people, the government should not tell them. Not all the people can calm down in this situation that some people lost everything. Releasing of information that can make people panic will second or third damage those people. Therefore, it is sometimes better for the government to withhold the information.
However, people should know what is happening with a stoic attitude. Even if it is the bad information for use, we should accept it and do something we can.