The report of the meeting on 7/10/2023

6participants were there.
We had 1 session.
We discussed what’s new and Topics “Q&A ”

That’s all
(Ari)

The report of the meeting on 11/10/2023

Meeting Memo
Date: Oct. 11, 2023, Chair: Goto, Co-chair: Naoko-san
Participants: KIko-san, Naoko-san, Yuki-san, Ue-san, Libran-san
19:30 - 20:20 Make a speech in turn.
Kikosan got a cold a few days ago but it’s getting better.
Naoko-san started planning the year-end cleaning and working on New
Year’s cards.
Yuki-san sold her unnecessary things to the secondhand shop but got a
lower price than got a lower price than she expected.
Ue-san picked a topic about a policy of the Kishida prime minister
related to the counter-attacking weapon that he wanted to install in
the Japanese defense army.
Libran-san shared a story about his one-day trip from Magome($BGOdF!K(B to Tsumago ($B:JdF(B)

20:20 - 21:00 Choose one of the following topics that you like and
talk about it.

Topics Title: We are curious about you!
1. What is the strangest habit you have?
2. What is the healthiest and unhealthiest thing you do regularly?
3. What is the embarrassing action you happen to make these days?
4. What impression do you try to give when you first meet someone?
5. What are some things you would like to achieve?
6. What brings you the most joy in life?
7. What belief do you have that most people might disagree with?
(Goto)

The report of the meeting on 4/10/2023

Tonight’s meeting had five participants. As usual, we talked about our favorite topics during the first half of the session.

First, Mr. U talked about abnormal weather conditions. He mentioned that this summer in Kyoto saw more days with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius than usual and that there were areas in the United States with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius. He also discussed changes in fishing grounds.

Ms. K discussed the World Happiness Report rankings. Japan’s happiness ranking increased by seven places compared to the previous survey. Despite being in a state of war, Ukraine achieved a higher ranking than immediately after the annexation of Crimea.

Ms.G visited her son’s high school culture festival. She said that each class’s event was like Kintaro-candy, with only three events: a haunted house, a recreation of a festival with ring toss, and a photo booth.

Ms.N shared that her husband earned approximately 40,000 yen worth of points by switching to “UQ Mobile.” He plans to use these points to fund the purchase of a new iPad.

Ms. K enjoys an unconventional approach to meals, such as drizzling olive oil or flaxseed oil over tofu. Flaxseed oil, in particular, has recently gained attention as a very healthy food.

Mr. U answered the 14th quiz. The 14th quiz is a story about an old woman deceiving a young man. She successfully tricked the young man and got a free meal and drinks.

Ms.G, like Ms.K, introduced an unusual food combination: avocado and soy sauce. She said it’s surprisingly delicious when you try it.

Ms.N discussed "KiraKira names." While there are various opinions about KiraKira names, she emphasized that it’s ultimately up to the parents to choose names for their children.

(Libran)

The report of the meeting on 30/9/2023

There were 5 members today.

●What’s new?
A: Gold medal

B: Chico-chan ni Shikarareru

C: EIKEN

D: Talking with her squad

●Today’s topics: Swedish Schools Move Away from Digital Tools
We talked about the following questions.

 ・What do you make of the claim that digital tools impair student learning?
 ・Did you use devices in the classroom when you were in school?
 ・How has the education system in your country changed since you were a kid?
 ・If you had young kids, how much screen time per day would you let them have?

(Nao)

The report of the meeting on 27/9/2023

There were 6 participants in total, and we held the session in a group. I describe each attendee except for me as V, W, X, Y, Z, and F here.

Part 1: What’s new
V recently explored Hokkaido and the Tohoku region for a week in a camping-equipped vehicle. V took a ferry from Tsuruga in Fukui to Tomakomai in Hokkaido and traveled up to Wakkanai. Under the good weather, V took pictures of Sakhalin from Cape Nossapu. Then, V drove along the coast of the Sea of Japan down to Hakodate and crossed the strait to Aomori by ferry. V visited historical places in Yokote in Akita.

W’s favorite pressure cooker was recently broken and W bought a new one online. W frequently uses the pressure cooker when simmering or softening ingredients such as fish and block meat to save time and energy. A pressure cooker makes fish bones very soft and easy to eat. W wonders how other attendees cook if they use fire, microwave, HI oven.

X talked about the incident that happened while playing badminton at the club W belongs to. W was accidentally hit in the face by W’s doubles partner while playing a doubles game. They both chased the shuttlecock at the same time without noticing each other. W got slightly hurt on the nose and had to get new glasses because of the collision.

Y talked about the Radio Taiso (gymnastics) program from 6:30 to 6:40 every morning. It started in 1928 and has been broadcasting for more than 90 years. Radio Taiso encouraged Japanese people after WWII and the Great Kanto Earthquake for their recovery and is now loved by many Japanese people as one of the early morning routines.

Z recently joined an online discussion with university students in Sweden and found many differences between Japan and Sweden. Sweden ranked 6th in the World Happiness Report, while Japan ranked 47th. In Sweden, the average income tax rate imposed on workers is 40%, which is quite high compared to Japan. But university tuition is free, and people under the age of 20 years old are exempt from paying for medical and mental clinic fees.

Part 2.
V talked about individual influencers and influencer agencies that handle issues that occur with influencers.

W, Y, and Z talked about the alien body recently reported in the news, describing it as resembling a small human.

X will be visited by a recycling shop to evaluate W’s belongings for sale.
(Kico)

The report of the meeting on 23/9/2023

Eight members gathered and began the meeting by discussing recent updates from each participant. Based on the STIE rule, two groups were made by four members each in a group.


Today’s topic was whether cursive writing and Japanese calligraphy should continue as school subjects.


Overall, all members valued cursive writing for its cultural and artistic aspects, but on the other hand, emphasized the practicality of digital skills in the modern world.
(Masako)

The report of the meeting on 20/9/2023

7 members attended and we held a meeting in 2 groups.

● What’s new?




Today’s topic: 10 questions are available.

Member A: When he pays at shopping, he uses cashless payment such as bar-code, QR-code payment or credit cards. One of benefits for the payment is tracking down the payment details online. Every time, he can easily track and check his payment history. He skillfuly uses each payment method to take the most of their advantages.

Member B: When she buys something at a store, some young cashiers say, “OO yen kara ni narimasu. ” (It’s OO yen, please.) She asked why “kara ni narimasu.” not “desu” or “de gozaimasu”. Other members suggested that it may be from euphemism expressing politeness.   Saying a short sentence may sound a little blunt for a customer. So, some young cashiers think using longer words may make a customer feel comfortable.

Member C: After finishing housework properly, she feels sense of achievement and praises herself. As treating herself, she sometimes enjoys relax time such as eating chocolate after lunch. Or she enjoys online English lessons and language exchange lessons. These tips contribute to make her daily life happier.

The report of the meeting on 16/9/2023

There were 7 attendees on September 16th. Therefore, we made 2 group.

First, we started the session with “What’s new”. There were several news of periodic health checkup, booking discounts for New Year’s Osechi Cuisine, Covid-19 spreading to elementary schools, and the championship of the Hanshin Tigers. I go for a health checkup every year, and I thought that regular health checkups would be an effective way to check our health and increase our interest in our health.
Then, we moved to “today’s topic about “ September and Autumn events ”. There are stories of mountain climbing, the transition of nature from summer to autumn, and great parks in Saitama Prefecture. The parks are places where one can feel the changing of the seasons and receive the power of nature. I thought that towns with well-maintained parks are good towns.
(Hiroshi)

The report of the meeting on 13/9/2023

$B3+:EF|(B：9/13$B!!(B7:30-9:00
$B;22C $BFbMF(B：$B-!(B7:30-8:15 What’s new
$B!!!!!!-"(BTopic: Happiness$B!"#5$D$N Topic: Happiness
Questions1$B!A#6(B
1. What makes you feel happy? Why?
2. Do you feel that you have to work hard and be miserable now in order to be happy later? Why?
3. Do you need money to be happy? Why?
4. Do you think we need other persons to become happy? Please explain your answer.
5. What is happiness for you? Please explain your answer
6. Do you think it is necessary for us to feel sadness in order to fully appreciate happiness?
(Goto)

The report of the meeting on 9/9/2023

There were 8 members at the session in total.
We made 2 groups.

What’s new
The topics included the day of the discount at the supermarket, a fireworks festival, a contact from an old friend, and the work situation.
The nearby supermarket offers some discount days. The products on sale vary from day to day. To get each product at the best price, she checks what products are on sale and goes to the store to buy the items on sale.
The local fireworks festival was held for the first time since the pandemic. She went with her family. She had a good time with her family. When she sees fireworks during this season, she feels like the summer is ending.
She received a message from her former co-worker. It revealed that there had been a lot of changes at her former company since she left. New boss, new employees, new policies, and so on.

Today’s topic
Today, we talked about topics we brought. They were guest workers, an online English school and the scandal of Johnny’s associates.

Thank you for sharing.
(Toru)

The report of the meeting on 6/9/2023

There were five participants at the session on September 6th. We started off by sharing “what’s new “, and moved on to Today’s topics.

•Do you have anything you want to do when it gets cooler?

•Please tell us about trips you have taken.
(The places you have been to, the places you want to go to, etc...)

•Please tell us about your hobbies.
(The things you are obsessed with, etc..)

We discussed various topics such as an Google tablet, basketball, “My number card “, deers in Nara, decluttering one’s home, Hokkaido, and commemorative coins.

Since I enjoyed watching the basketball games in the World Cup, I was delighted to talk about it. Despite the fact that basketball is not a dominant sport in Japan, it’s remarkable that so many Japanese people went crazy about it. The team Japan played their hearts out, and their attitude towards the games immensely resonated with me.

Decluttering my home is the thing that I’ve been meaning to do for a decade. Obviously, it’s hard to let go of things, and I tend to keep items that hold sentimental value. However, we cannot keep everything.I believe it’s beneficial to determine whether something is necessary or not in order to create more mental space.

It was a worthwhile discussion, and I had a lot of fun talking to them. Hopefully, everyone had as much fun as I did.
(Naoko)

The report of the meeting on 2/9/2023

There were seven participants in today’s session, so we split into two groups. Then, as usual, we made short speeches first.
They were roughly as follows.

• Mr. A talked about the discharge of treated water into the ocean in Fukushima, which started on August 24th. China has renewed its opposition to it, although levels of radioactive tritium in seawater samples taken near the plant are very low and safe.

• Mr. B showed a picture of Shine Muscat that he grew at home and he harvested the other day. he says that they look not so shining but taste better than ones sold in the supermarkets.

• Ms. C talked about her husband’s medical treatment, and he still has 8 day treatments left. She also described Chibanian animals, which existed between 700,000 years ago and 120,000years ago. You can see them in the museum in Chiba city.

• Ms. D found her iPod Touch, which she bought ten years ago, in the closet. It still works, but it may be unnecessary for her now. She is considering whether she throws it away or not.

Next, we moved to today’s topic:
 “Japan’s ANA Gives Option to Skip In-Flight Meal”

As a way to reduce food waste, All Nippon Airways (ANA) is offering two new options on its menu, “No Thank You Option” and “Quick & Light Meal”. From now on, you can skip a meal or choose a sandwich with salad and dessert.

We exchanged views on
•What are your thoughts on ANA’s new in-flight meal options?
•When was the last time you flew? Where did you go?

During a long flight, for some passengers, in-flight meals are helpful to feel relaxed, but some don’t.
However, this service helps food loss decrease. And it is also part of the ’TABLE FOR TWO Program’ addressed by NPO ’TABLE FOR TWO International’. Some airline companies give a certain amount of contribution per canceled in-flight food to the organization to support school meals in developing countries.

Take care. See you soon.
(Yuki)

The report of the meeting on 30/8/2023

< What’s New? >
She is talking about her guitar lessons.
She is learning to play the guitar one on one with her teacher.
She practices at home for 40 minutes every day.
Her trial melody is “barcarolle (Hunauta)”.

For 10 years, his 70-year-old main house and 60-year-old detached house have been attacked by termites.
They live and work under the floor, which is always a damp place.
As this time was within the guaranteed term, the countermeasure was free.

She and her family visited a facility that has a Jacuzzi, a bath, a gym, a large hall with many tatami, and others.
The total entrance fee was only 1,500 yen.
They spent the seven hours there having a pleasant time.

He said that the number of pachinko parlors is decreasing.
The coronavirus is one of the reasons.
The Sumaho game, which charges money, is spreading to the younger generation.
Pachinko shops do not have a good environment and atmosphere, but it is asked how to survive for popular entertainment.
( Ue )

The report of the meeting on 26/8/2023

There were 8 participants in total, and we held the session in two groups.
This is the report of one of the two groups with 4 attendees including me as the chair. I describe each attendee except for me as A, B, and C here.

Part 1: What’s new

A recently bought PS Vita (PlayStation Vita). It is a game player like the Nintendo DS. It was sold about ten years ago and is out of production now, and only secondhand products are available in the market now. A bought the player to play some games that A already has. A has another older version of the PS series and found much progress in the later version compared with the older version. A is very surprised that technology is advancing in the field of game players.


B plays football (soccer) and recently had a conversation with one of B’s football friends. The B’s friend talked about a 75-year-old man who has continued playing football. According to the 75-year-old man, recovering maintenance afterward is very important for muscles or any others. B is interested in the word cooling-down and will check how to do it exactly to cool down muscles and others.

C recently made Tokoroten (gelidium jelly) using dried agar from scratch for the first time although C usually uses powdered jelly for cooking. C thought eating agar with no calories instead of ice cream is much healthier to cool down from the heat. C shared the photos of the raw ingredients and the finished dish with us.

Part 2:

Q. Would you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?
A thinks that A is an introvert. The main reasons are the following. A is not good at spending time with people especially those who are not so familiar with, and also cannot spend time with others all the time and needs some alone time.


Q. What is one thing you will never do again?
C was bitten by a bee when C was trying to wear a rain boot when C was a child. C was so surprised and felt pain, which C could not forget even now. After the event, C always checks beforehand to make sure nothing is in the boots.

Q. What was your favorite subject in school?
B liked sciences but B liked physical education more. B started playing football (soccer) at the age of 10 and feels very good when making scores.
(Kico)

The report of the meeting on 23/8/2023

There were a total of seven participants in tonight’s meeting. We split into groups of four and three. I will report on the meeting of the former group.

Ms.K discussed the incident in which seven babies were killed by a nurse in the UK. She was deeply shocked by the news.

Mr.U talked about a scam targeting the elderly that is currently an issue in Kyoto. The amount of damage caused by scams this year has reached 400 million yen, which is about three times the previous statistics. It seems that elderly people using landline phones are particularly targeted.

Ms.N had been overwhelmed by a hectic daily life until recently. Her son had pneumonia, and her husband and even she herself suffered from high fevers due to nursing. They have all recovered now, but their summer vacation was ruined.

Ms.K initially hesitated to join this group, but gradually came to appreciate the benefits of this group and now thinks it was a good decision to participate.

Mr.U mentioned that she still prefers shopping in person rather than online. He said that especially buying clothes and shoes online is something he can’t believe she would do. He believes that such things are something you need to see with your own eyes and try on your body before deciding to purchase.

Ms.N has a preference for Apple products that she is particular about. She mentioned that Apple products are designed to be very user-friendly and have high reliability for long-term use.

(Libran)

The report of the meeting on 19/8/2023

The meeting took place on Saturday, August 19, with a total of 7 participants.
I was supposed to be the chairperson last Saturday, August 12, but Ms. A graciously covered my role. Instead, I assumed her role as the chairperson for August 19th.

1. The meeting began with the “What’s new?” segment, allowing participants to share their recent events and updates.
• Ms. B shared that her family’s 15 minutes of radiation therapy requires him to drink 500cc of water to ensure a full bladder for the procedure.
• Mr. C talked about his son’s family visiting him after a gap of 5 years. He enjoyed spending time with his grandson during their stay.
• Mr. D mentioned his recent trip to Kamakura for meditation. We also engaged in a brief discussion comparing the Buddhas in Kamakura and Nara.
• I discussed the process of English resume writing. I also noted the significant differences in writing styles since the creation of AI.

2. The second part of the meeting revolved around the topic of childhood games, and Ms. A prepared the article to lead the conversation.
• Ms. B recalled the game of dodgeball and shared memories of playing with milk bottle paper lids and blowing them. She also mentioned knitting as a popular activity during elementary school, particularly the fondness for using the Lily Yarn kit among girls.
• Mr. C raised the question of which hand gesture from “Rock, Paper, Scissors” is most commonly used when asking ChatGPT. He noted that the choice often depends on individuals’ cultural backgrounds, but beginners tend to opt for “Rock.”
• Mr. D recalled the enjoyment of playing with Rubik’s cubes during childhood. He shared a story about some students impressively solving all six faces of the cube in just a minute, showcasing their intelligence.

The meeting ended with participants engaging in lively discussions. I apologize for my poor internet connection, which made it difficult for everyone to hear my voice. Thank you all for attending, and I look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!
(Masako)

The report of the meeting on 16/8/2023

There were 7 participants in total, and we held the session in two groups.
This is the report of one of the two groups with 4 attendees including me as the chair. I describe each attendee except for me as A, B, and C here.

Part 1: What’s new

A’s son attended an overnight summer camp and enjoyed it, but he fell ill shortly after returning home. The camp program was for those children who all have similar health issues, and it was organized by a group that has been operating this kind of camp program for a long time and has a good reputation. The camp had doctors, nurses, and staff who could help the children at the campsite. We were skeptical about whether the care provided by the host group for A’s son at the campsite was adequate.

B shared with us the tradition of Gozan no Okuribi, commonly known as Daimonji, a renowned annual event held in Kyoto on August 16 each year. It is believed that the spirits of our ancestors return home during the Obon period. Okuri-bi is lit to see the spirits of our ancestors off. The Okuri-bi consists of three characters and 2 symbols and is lit on the five mountains in the northern region of Kyoto. The fire is lit
in order of $BBg(B, $BL/!&K!(Btogeter, funagata (ship), another $BBg(B, and toriigata (shrine gate).

C made a trip to Hamanako Lake with C’s daughter using Seishun 18 tickets and shared with us the photo C took on the station platform. It took 8 hours for them to get to their destination and another 8 hours to get back home, which made them on board for 16 hours in total. Although they had to ride on the trains for such long hours, C enjoyed the trip very much, eating the special local product including eels and gyoza.

Part 2: Theme -- summer characteristics in Japan

Every year at Obon when A was a kid, A’s mother bought a ship made with straws at a store and put foods that the family’s ancestors might have liked, and then they together brought the ship to a community center. A also remembers that A went to the school pool during the summer break.

B has seen many more dead cicadas on B’s way to and back from radio calisthenics in the morning compared to last year. B worries this might be caused by the global boiling and can be a sign that something terrible is going to happen.

C’s father took his family to beaches in the summer when C was a kid, which was a good memory for her. But there is one thing B missed during her stay at the beaches, which was eating something other than fish such as sausage. Because the place the family stayed at the seasides served them fish at every meal.
(Kico)

There were a total of seven participants in tonight’s meeting. We divided into two groups. One group had four members, and the other group had three members. I, Libran, served as the moderator for the group of three, so I will provide their report.

Currently, Mr. A is on vacation and has returned to his hometown. He went to a local eel restaurant with his father and his wife to enjoy unagi over rice. It was a luxurious dish that cost 4500 yen per serving, but they enjoyed the reunion. While eel used to be a common dish, it has now become something that is only eaten on special occasions.

Ms.Y talked about the different perceptions of time passing. She mentioned that the way time passes for a child and for an elderly person feels distinct. For instance, for a one-year-old child, a day represents 1/360th of their life, while for a hundred-year-old, a day is only 1/36,000th of their life. In other words, the significance of a day’s worth of time diminishes as one grows older.

Libran discussed yesterday’s typhoon. Recent typhoons have shown an increasing trend in causing more severe rain-related damage. This recent typhoon directly hit the Tokai and Kinki regions, significantly affecting transportation.

Mr. A introduced a video about powerlifting to the participants. The video was created by a globally renowned YouTuber with over two million subscribers.

Ms.Y found out that the house she lived in during her childhood has been turned into an abacus tutoring school. She’s curious to know if the abacus school is still there. Libran expressed a desire to revisit Ireland, a trip he took around 30 years ago.

(Libran)

The report of the meeting on 12/8/2023

There were 5 members today.

●What’s new?
A: Powerlifter YouTube video
He has a favorite YouTube channel. The Powerlifter from the Middle East who is good at lifting heavy things made the videos. His character is very energetic, but he is not so ripped. Besides his appearance, he can lift up very heavy things. A feels a person who is good at something can create good business in this era such as making a popular video.

B: Typhoon 7
The typhoon is approaching Japan next week. So he guesses it won’t be good weather next week. He planned to go to a cooler place such as Nikko, Kinugawa Onsen or Shimofuri Kogen. However, he doubted it was a good idea. Fortunately, he didn’t make any reservations and there was no worry of a cancellation fee. He would go somewhere after the typhoon.

C: Japanese history
She gave a tour guide twice and she found she is not good at Japanese history. A Spanish couple asked the history of the capital of Japan, but she cannot answer the question easily. That experience made her borrow some Japanese history books and learn it. She almost forgot the things she learned in school, but now she is enjoying the learning again.

D: Time flies quickly
She feels time flies so quickly. She watched a Taiga drama last Sunday, but she feels she watched it yesterday. She is very interested in the next episode, so it is a sort of good thing. However, she wants to spend time more efficiently. She needs to do all house-chores, attend English meetings and a badminton sport club. That might be the reason time flies quickly.

●Today’s topics: Is Eating Beans Why Some People Live to Be 100 Years Old?
We talked about the following questions.

•Do you eat a lot of legumes?
•Could you eat the same soup every day?
•Which is more important, the taste of food or its health benefits?
•Do you enjoy desserts made with beans?

(Nao)

The report of the meeting on 9/8/2023

6 members attended and we held a meeting in 2 groups.
(I didn’t understand the Stie rule as a chair that we have 2 groups only when attendees are 7 or more. Sorry for this time operation.)

●What’s new?

Member A : Her desktop computer has not been working well. In the past, she sent its computer system unit to the repair center to fix it and it’s really frustrating to wait for the return of it for about 1 month.

Furthermore, even after it recovered, it had a trouble again such as black screen. So, she looked for the solution on the Internet and successfully fixed it. She worries about if it will have another trouble.

Member B: These days, in Kyoto they had 20 days over 35 degrees of temperature. He is counting on AC and a fan to overcome the heat.

He felt AC is getting not to work enough recently, so he cleaned it yesterday.
How to clean a AC is : 1. Manual check. 2. Taking out air filters. Suck up dust by a vacuum. His AC’s four air filters were dusted and he washed them by a sponge and dried them in the shadow. 3. Hardest part was returning the filters back. It took about 2 hours to clean the AC.

Member C: He introduced his lovely two cats. One of his favorites when he returns to his family home is meeting them. They are Abyssinian which are said to be from Egypt. He also shared the cats’ photo to us. They are so beautiful and looked like coming from ancient Egyptian wall pictures. The cats are quiet and doesn’t cry. He looks forward to giving them delicious food in vacations. Another member also shared his past Shiba dog. She was so loved by all his family members.

Member D: The other day, she had a chance to talk with her husband’s relative on the phone. She heard his grandchild is going to N high school (online high school with schooling). N high school was made for students who don’t go to regular high schools with a variety of reasons and students can learn with their own pace and develop their specialties there. He can’t have any interest on learning at a regular school and has a special talent for computer programming. That’s why he decided the online school.

Today’s topic: “A Glitch in the Brain: What’s Déjà Vu?”

Q4. Please share a way to memorize something effectively?

Member B: He introduced how to memorize street names in Kyoto. Kyoto streets are laid out on a grid. So it’s effective to make the 32 street names in a child song to memorize. In the past, young girls in Kyoto often played a ball game with singing this song such as singing “ $B4]!&C]!&0P!&Fs!&2!!&8fCS!&;P!&;0!&O;3Q!&B}!&6S!"!"!"!"(B” .
For example, $B4](Bmeans $B4]B@D.DL$j!"C](Bmeans $BC]20D.DL$j(B.
Children in Kyoto memorize street names while singing this song with fun.

Q9. Do you believe all spiritual phenomena come from our brain system or some of them are from others?

Member C: Considering the contents of Bible as a Christian, he believes there are a lot of miracles in our world rather than spiritual phenomena.

Q5. Do you have any episodes about memory such as the example you forgot important memories or information and had a trouble?

Member D: When she was young, her friend mistakenly understood the wedding ceremony date for her friend. When she went to the ceremony hall, the wedding had already done the previous day. She was so embarrassed.

(Susan)

The report of the meeting on 5/8/2023

There were 8 attendees on August 5th. Therefore, we made 2 group.

First, we started the session with “What’s new”. There were several news of Isuien Garden Tour Guide in Nara, a ramen shop where people order ramen noodles with the QR code, Children’s “heat stroke”, Japanese national team in the women’s soccer World Cup. It is reported in the news that “heat stroke” is occurring all over the country, and I thought it is necessary to be careful of “heat stroke”. I learned that OS-1, oral the rehydration solution of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is effective in alleviating symptoms of “heat stroke”.
Then, we moved to “today’s topic about “ August and summer events ”. There are stories of story of Kasuga Taisha Lantern Festival and recent each city’s Fireworks Festivals, summer ingredients such as tomatoes, summer noodles such as Somen noodles. Fireworks festivals are being held in various places in Japan this year under the environment where Covid-19 situation has improved. There are fireworks festivals scheduled to be held after August, so I definitely want to go and enjoy Fireworks festivals this year.

(Hiroshi)

The report of the meeting on 22/7/2023

6participants were there.
We had 1 session.
We discussed below title.
Amazon, Marriott and other companies vow to hire thousands of refugees in Europe.
(Ari)

The report of the meeting on 2/8/2023

Five members got together tonight.

<What’s new?>
Her husband has to go to the hospital for radiation therapy and they walk there for 40 minutes. Take care of the heat stroke and wish her husband a quick recovery.

She sold 50 CDs at Book Off Shop and got 2,900 yen.
She is satisfied with the money she got.
I guess there was worth CD in 50 she sold.

She has a plan to treat her tooth next week.
She is worried about gum disease and she had some questions for another member who has experienced gum disease. She may have gotten some tips.

He talked about linking my number card and my health insurance card. He already uses my number card as a health insurance card. The other member connected my number card and my health insurance card, but they don’t use my number card as a health insurance card yet. He recommends trying once.

He talks to us about relearning English.
A person who seriously tried to relearn English at the age of 50, and he got a job as an interpreter at the age of 60, published a book called “$BDjG/1Q8l(B”.
He understood what the book said, but he thought that reality was always difficult.
( Ue )

The report of the meeting on 29/7/2023

There were 5 members at the session in total.

What’s new
The topics each member brought were about going to eat Soba, insects and a cat, cleaning a house, going to a swimming pool, and going to a movie theater.
Recently, soba restaurants have been serving not only soba noodles, but also a variety of foods. He ate zosui of soba seeds and shaved ice. Each region has its original color of soup that restaurants serve soba with and also its own unique regional cuisine.
Her cat cooperates with her to get rid of harmful insects in her house. The other day her cat found something alive in her house. It was a centipede. She looked for pesticide but couldn’t find it. So she used tongs and got rid of it safely.
Recently, he cleaned his house and was impressed with the effectiveness of the detergent. Washing water bottles used to be very hard, but with that detergent, he could wash them easily and very cleanly. That detergent is so useful and can be used anywhere in the kitchen, bathroom, etc. It contains dangerous chemicals, so we must use it carefully.
She went to an outside swimming pool with her family. There were many people at the pool. It was a scorching hot day. She took a seat in the shade. Her son enjoyed the water slides a lot. She is planning to visit again.

Today’s topic
We had some articles and questions to talk about. We talked about differences in the number of days off by country, to miss work to go on holiday, ecology of eels and the issues of demand for tourism.

Thank you for sharing.
(Toru)

The report of the meeting on 26/7/2023

There were seven participants at the session on July 26th. We divided us into two groups, and started off with 3-minute speech, and moved on to Today’s topics.

•Studying English
(The methods you have tried, your favorite way of learning, etc...)

•How did you spend your summer breaks as a kid?

We discussed various topics such as the baseball player named Shohei Otani, the scandal of Bigmotor, Dolphin Swimming, Summer breaks as a kid, and struggles with English.

I occasionally follow Shohei Otani, and I was blown away by how much money he makes annually and the significant impact he’s making on people in both Japan and the U.S.


As an English learner myself, I completely empathize with the challenges one faces while learning the language. Consistently studying and maintaining motivation can be difficult. However, I’ve found attending STIE sessions regularly to be immensely helpful in overcoming these obstacles. These sessions provide a supportive environment where I can practice my English skills and enhance my overall knowledge. The impact they have on me is significant, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such a beneficial study group.


Each participant took part in the conversation proactively; as a consequence, I was able to lead the session with ease, thanks to the members. We had a really good conversation, and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.
(Naoko)

The report of the meeting on 19/7/2023

There were eight participants in today’s session, so we split into two groups. Then, as usual, we made short speeches first.
They were roughly as follows.
- Mr. A talked about Gion Festival in Kyoto. Aroud the Kawaramachi Oike intersection, 84 “premium bleachers” (400,000 yen per seat) have been newly installed. Beverages and obanzai dishes are served, and foreign language commentary is provided through earphone guides. - Ms. B said she’s started cycling again in one and a half monthes after the accident. On early June, for her niece’s daughter’s birthday, she presented “jenga”, toy wooden blocks. Ms. B has an online English meeting with her every Saturday.
- Ms. C visited a beach in Kamakura. She and her daughter enjoyed swimming. But there were a lot of jellyfish on the beach. Their bodies are beautiful transparent blue, but have strong poison. Keeping off jellyfish is better. Her daughter’s birthday is coming soon. She has a plan to go and swim with dolphins in Izu for a present.

Next, we moved to today’s topic:
 “Japanese Teens Think Work Is for Money, Not Fun”

The survey included around 2,000 to 5,000 students from Japan, the United States, China and South Korea.
According to the survey, in Japan, 69% of students said they strongly agreed that having a job is just a way to get money.
However their opinions seem to be based on assumptions, and not their own experiences.

We exchanged views on
•Would you rather have a job you hate that pays well or a job you love with a lower salary?
•Did you think about your future jobs a lot growing up?

You may have to choose a job with a good salary for your family, even though you don’t like it. It depends on your economic situation.

If you quit your job in a very short period, you’ll have to write so on your next resume, which may count against you. You should keep your job in a certain period.

While majoring in English at university, various occupations such as a teacher or a flight attendant came and went in one’s mind, but nothing appealed to one. After graduation, one studied at vocational school, experienced some jobs, and then worked abroad.

One loves one’s recent job with a little lower salary, which makes one consider investment for more income.

Take care. See you soon.
(Yuki)

The report of the meeting on 8/7/2023

1. This is a report for the session held on Saturday, July 8th. The session started with six participants with a brief discussion on recent updates and personal experiences shared by them.

   •Ms. A informed the members that her family is attempting to quit smoking and has been pretending to smoke as a method. She mentioned that fake smoking has been effective so far.
   •Ms. B shared her experience with badminton and mentioned that she is the only woman among five members in the group.
   •Ms. C talked about his recent experience of driving on the highway and shared some information about various junctions and their features.
   •Ms. D discussed the topic of energy drinks and highlighted the potential dangers of consuming excessive caffeine.
   •Ms. E mentioned that her son is starting swimming lessons and she has been planning to purchase a swimming suit to swim with him.

2. The session moved on to discuss mosquitoes and various methods of dealing with them.

   •Ms. A shared her preference for using vape liquid to repel mosquitoes. She also mentioned her childhood experience of using mosquito nets that resembled canopies and discussed the smokiness of mosquito coils.
   •Ms. B mentioned that she had observed a decrease in mosquitoes while weeding in the morning.
   •Mr. C expressed his dislike for mosquito buzzing and shared his habit of using mosquito coils to eliminate them. He emphasized the need for immediate action against mosquitoes.
   •Ms. D suggested spraying the screen door as an effective method to keep mosquitoes away.
   •Ms. E discussed her plans for a BBQ and expressed her intention to try using a pop-up tent. She shared that folding the tent had been a traumatic experience for her in the past.

Overall, the session covered a range of personal updates and experiences, as well as practical discussions on dealing with mosquitoes. Thank you very much everyone for coming!
(Masako)

The report of the meeting on 15/7/2023

There were 8 members today.

●What’s new?
A: Tour guide training
She had a tour guide on site training today. The training place today was Isuien garden, which is a private Japanese garden in Nara prefecture. There is the front and back garden, and also a restaurant. So you can enjoy Japanese cuisines there. She likes the back garden more, because it has beautiful scenery of greens, and a view of the famous buildings and mountains.

B: His daughter
One of his daughters came back to Japan for one month recently. But she had to come back to the U.S because she studies chemistry in California university as a P.D student. He went to Narita airport to see his daughter. He found many people in the airport and it was very crowded. He felt the situation is also the same as that before Covid-19.

C: Gion festival
Gion festival is one of the three biggest festivals in Japan. It is held for almost one month in July in the center of Kyoto. It started after the big earthquake. The parade is divided into two parades from two years ago, and there are more than 30 performances in both parades. Many visitors come to see the festival. He has no plans to visit, because it’s very crowded and also very hot.

●Today’s topics: Turbulence on Flights Is Increasing with Climate Change
We talked about the following questions.

•Have you ever experienced severe turbulence while flying?
•Have you ever been on a flight that had to make an emergency landing or change its route?
•Do you prefer the window, aisle or middle seat on a plane?
•What do you do to make sure you’re comfortable when you fly?

(Nao)

The report of the meeting on 12/7/2023

The participants of tonight’s meeting totaled seven people.

Mr. U said, “Japan is seeking to strengthen its bond with NATO because Japan shares strategic interests with NATO.”

Ms.K had been searching for a lightweight and easy-to-handle vacuum cleaner for a long time because canister-type vacuum cleaners are heavy and difficult to carry. Recently, she finally bought a cordless vacuum cleaner.

Ms.S’s husband has been undergoing radiation therapy for a long time. Recently, he received his 20th treatment. Thanks to the treatment, he is getting better.

Ms.N recently watched “Like Father, Like Son,” directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. The film depicts the anguish and conflicts of a father who discovers that his son, whom he believed to be his biological child, was actually switched with another child at birth.

Ms.K expressed deep disappointment with a famous French cyclist. She feels especially betrayed because she admired him so much.

Ms.S said that even if there is a popular ramen shop in the neighborhood with a long line, she would never be one of those people in the queue. She believes that someday the hype around the ramen shop will die down. She said she would go to the ramen shop only when people no longer line up in front of it.

Ms.N, being a ramen enthusiast, said that she wouldn’t mind waiting in line for less than an hour to have delicious ramen. She once drove for about three hours to visit a popular ramen shop in another prefecture.

(Libran)

The report of the meeting on 5/7/2023

There are six participants in total, and we hold the sessions in one group.

In the 1st session, two speakers told us about recent news, and three speakers told us about their recent activities and thoughts.

Direct seeding of rice by a drone
The demonstration experiment has been performed by a large local agricultural corporation in Kaizu city of Gifu pref. If the results turn out to be effective, the method will be introduced officially starting next year.

Tallest skyscraper
The new tallest building in Japan, Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower, will be fully opened this autumn. The building is about 330m high and has 64 floors above ground and five underground. The speaker worries about the situation if an earthquake occurs.

Buddhist memorial service
The speaker and her relatives hold a memorial service on the 3rd anniversary of her parent’s death at a funeral company’s hall. During the warm-hearted conversation with the party at lunch afterward, they learned something new about the deceased. Interestingly, each one had a different thought about them.

Visiting a hair salon on a rainy day
The speaker went to a hair salon and got her hair cut, permed, and styled. It was a rainy day, so she walked there instead of biking, which she normally does. She makes an appointment with the same hair stylist when going there.

Birthday
The speaker turned X years old today. She feels that her body is not the same as used to be and has realized that staying healthy is most important. She is trying to stay away from junk food as much as she can and care herself for her family.

In the second session, speakers spoke about rain, weather, and memories in summer.

A speaker told us how she spends her time on a rainy day. She tends to do the bare minimum of household chores on a rainy day, whereas she is much busier with more work to be done on a sunny day.

Another speaker introduced the NHK news and disaster prevention application to us as a reliable resource for checking the weather and other information.

Two speakers told us about their memorable summer events at the Y. keikoku valley and the A. resort area respectively when they were kids.

The last speaker told us about a shower when the sun is shining. The phenomenon is Devil’s beating his wife or the fox’s wedding in Japan. If it snows when the sun is shining, it is called Kazahana in Japan.
(Kico)

The report of the meeting on 17/6/2023

There were 5 participants in the meeting
We discussed
1) What is new
2) Anyone comment below question
Questions
Someone gives you an elephant. You can’t sell it or give it away. What do you do with the elephant?
If you could have any superhero power, what power would you have and why?
Why are manholes round?
If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?
What’s the color of you?
What two items would you take with you if you shipwrecked on a deserted island where all your food and water needs were taken care of?
What was the last gift you gave someone?
If you could compare yourself to an animal, what would it be and why?
What would you do if you found a penguin in the freezer?
What food do you think is good for your health?
Rainy season has already started this year. Do you like it or not?
How Do you feel about the rise in Japan’s stock market recently?
Do you have any plans for this summer?
(Ari)

The report of the meeting on 1/7/2023

There were 8 members at the session in total.
We made 2 groups.

What’s new
Topics included new rules for motorized kickboards, improving living habits, giving a birthday present, and a museum event.
Riding motorized kickboards with a top speed of 20 km/h doesn’t require a driver’s license for those over 16 years old, although it is an obligation to make the best effort to wear a helmet and to attach turn signals and a number plate on the kickboards. It is expected that kickboard rental shops will open for tourists and everyone.
As part of improving her lifestyle, she is changing her staple food from bread to rice. In addition, it is good for her to have more side dishes to eat with. Using a digital device is so useful and easy that she is more engaged with it. She thinks that checking unimportant information is not good for her, so she tries not to use it.
She realized that her husband’s birthday had already passed. His birthday is very close to Father’s Day. After celebrating Father’s Day, she forgot his birthday. She gave him presents and he looked pleased.

Today’s topic
We had several articles from news websites and questions to talk about freely.
We talked about lifestage, the generation gap, and the World Exposition in Osaka.
Thank you for sharing.
(Toru)

The report of the meeting on 28/6/2023

7 members attended and we held a meeting in 2 groups.

●What’s new?

Member A : His mother is now suffering from aftereffect of acute pneumonia and he takes her to the hospital every day. We hope she will get better soon. He introduced the article about fertility treatment in UK in 2015. Couples suffering from infertility can have a baby by getting an egg donated by a third-party woman. The egg will be artificially inseminated by the husband’s sperm and implanted in the wife. It can be said that the baby will have 3 parents genetically. This treatment contributes to overcoming difficulty for those struggling with infertility.

Member B: He talked about the current tourism strategy in Japan. Now rich people with annual income over 4 billion yen in Japan counted about 2,2000. On the other hand, the number of rich Chinese with the same income is about 90,000. So, Japanese tourism is now targeting inbound foreign tourists by offering higher quality services. The current weaker Yen is also a booster. For example, the special seat price for Gion Festival costs 400,000 yen and Awa dance, 200,000 yen. Most of the seats are bought by foreign tourists.

Member C: The other day, her family went to Tokyo Disneyland for the first time in the past 10 years. Unfortunately, it was raining in the morning, but in the afternoon rain stopped. They enjoyed 15 rides! and watched Mickey and Minny Parade. Her son was so excited and felt really happy. Unlike 10 years ago, there are some changes in the park. Guests have bag check at the gate for security. The entrance fee is now 9,000 yen for adult. Some new rides are added such as “Baymax ride”. They enjoyed Disney world until 9:00pm. That was the happy family day!

Member D: When she was walking on the different street on her way home, she found the picture of the anonymous world artist, “Banksy” on the car garage of a house. A girl with a red balloon and an eye watching her from the small hole. At the moment, I was surprised to see it, but soon understood that many products featuring Banksy’s works sell online but many of them don’t have license because Banksy is an anonymous artist and it limits selling of its images. License can be given through a specific agent. It’s so hard.

Today’s topic:

Q4. What is the movie you’ve watched recently?
Member A: He watched “Our little sister”($B3$39(Bdiary). It’s a story about 4 sisters living in Kamakura. The director is Hirokazu Koreeda.
This is a beautiful and calm movie depicting Japanese traditional family. There is no exciting scene, but impressive scenery, family relationship and their sentiment are shown peacefully. It looks like the style of Yasuziro Ozu. Main characters are starred by Suzu Hirose, Haruka Ayase. He really enjoyed this movie and felt healed. It’s a very impressive movie.

Q11. Why don’t you ask STIE members to have information and suggestions to solve your questions?
Member B: In the past meeting, he was concerned about the question “Why are manholes round?” He confirmed that a round shape cover will never fall down to the bottom because diagonal line of round is all same in every point. Even if the cover moves to any angle, the edge can keep the same position around the hole. The other day, he found an expert said about the reason of “Titanic” submersible accident. He said round shape is stronger than rectangle shape from any pressure and if the sub was round shaped, the accident would not have happened. Member B thinks that really makes sense.

Q6. Which system of public health insurance would you like to accept?
1. Use only My Number Card
2. Use only conventional health insurance card
3. Users can choose either of them.
Member C: She hopes that all users should use only My Number Card, because she thinks it can avoid tax evasion by managing financial data of all citizens.
It can promote fair tax imposition. However, she is also concerned about the current situation many My number card system troubles are occurring.
Errors of medical data may cause serious problems to our health and life. So the system should be normalized as soon as possible.

Susan

The report of the meeting on 24/6/2023

There were 8 attendees on Jun 24th. Therefore, we made 2 group.

First, we started the session with “What’s new”. There were several news of a tour guide, a story of being busy and tired at work, purchasing a cupboard, and a story that my husband fainted and called an ambulance. Regarding to a story about getting tired at work, when I’m sometimes busy with work, I don’t have time to eat and I get tired easily, so I thought I had to be careful too.
Then, we moved to “today’s topic about “ July and summer events ”. There are stories of story of going to see the hydrangeas, participating in the cycling race every year, sleeplessness in summer, and fireworks displays. The cycling race will be held at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, the same location and road as the Endurance World Championship Motorbike Race 8 Hours that I saw before, so I found it very interesting.

(Hiroshi)

The report of the meeting on 21/6/2023

Eight members got together tonight.
<What’s new?>
She was concerned about the missing submarine that was trying to watch the Titanic which was a sunken ship.
She enjoyed marine sports, especially SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard).
She visited Disney Land with her family on her son’s anniversary.

<topic> Necessary or unnecessary.
We had a discussion about below.
We have many things which are necessary or unnecessary for you, but these depend on each person.
“Kimi ga Yo” memorizing. $B!V7/$,Be!W0E5-(B
The “read” function in LINE App.
landline telephone. $B8GDjEEOC(B
Linear motor train. $B%j%K%"%b!<%?!<%+!<(B
The introduction of Chat GPT. $B!V%A%c%C%H(BGPT$B!W$NF3F~(B
and so on. Thank you.
( Ue )

The report of the meeting on 14/6/2023

There were nine participants at the session on June 14th. We divided us into two groups, and started off with 3-minute speech, and moved on to Today’s topics.

•When do you feel the generation gap the most?

•Studying English
(The methods you have tried, your favorite way of learning, etc...)

We covered variety of topics such as the current affairs, the forest fire in Canada, pickled daikon radish, one’s birthday, the generation gap, and English-related topics.

First of all, we discussed the revision of immigration laws. Although it was a controversial topic, it was valuable to share each person’s opinion on it. I think it would be good for that law to move in a positive direction for both Japanese people and foreign residents living in Japan.

One person shared what her birthday was like. It must have been absolutely sweet, as her daughter cooked meals for her and made a thank-you video. As a parent myself, I thought that would be one of the best memories that she will cherish forever.

We also did a deep dive into the generation gap regarding work-life balance and the perception of standing out in Japanese society. Culturally, we have the saying, “The nail that sticks out will be hammered down.” However, I personally believe that such thinking is gradually diminishing, and I hope that today’s children will become more accepting of others and embrace diversity.

Furthermore, we talked about English-related channels on YouTube, and the significance of understanding the languages in order to communicate with people. Learning another language can be both challenging and rewarding, without a doubt. We need to enjoy every step of the way, and I firmly believe that the hard work will eventually pay off!

I enjoyed every single topics that we covered, and I hope everyone had a good time as much as I did.
(Naoko)

The report of the meeting on 3/6/2023

The meeting took place on Saturday, June 3rd. Based on the rule, we formed two groups to provide more opportunities for attendees to engage in discussions.

The first part of the session covered sharing recent news and events.

•Ms. A shared the news about her family’s medical condition.
•Mr. B discussed the pleasant weather in his location and informed the group about his recent medical check-up, which included a dental check-up as well.
•Mr. C shared information about Kaori Muraji’s discography as a classical guitarist. She had a difficult life, including experiences of divorce and sickness.
•Ms. D shared news about an unmanned dumpling shop in a nearby supermarket. Ms. D mentioned that the shop does not provide change for payments.

The second part of the session was the discussion on Today’s Topic for members to pick a question to answer. I prepared an article about an IT employee receiving salary and company benefits during his sick leave. After the negotiation, which they did not reach an agreement, he sued his employer aiming for a salary increase.

•Mr. A described the negotiation as a situation in Russia. Mr. A also highlighted that the person in the article is lucky to receive a salary and company benefits without actively working.
•Ms. D expressed that the person in the article should not sue his employer since his salary is a significant amount to spend on a lawsuit.
•Mr. C answered, “Specialist or generalist, which is better?” question. He expressed the opinion that the specialists are better and shared a story about his 80-year-old co-worker who used to work as a welder but is now uploading welding articles to the company’s website.

Thank you so much for coming and sharing your opinion. See you at the next meeting.
(Masako)

The report of the meeting on 10/6/2023

There were 6 members today.

●What’s new?

A: Out of season flu
In his workplace, there are 8 employees having the flu, and 2 more are suspected. The patients don’t belong to his department, so that has only a small impact on him. He doesn’t know about them very much, because they are in different departments. He was surprised by the spreading out of season flu, and he believes they only had the flu, not Covid-19.

B: See a doctor
10 days ago, she fell down from the bike. Finally, she went to the hospital to see a doctor today. First, her left leg hurt very much, but the pain disappeared once. However, these days the pain has appeared again. That is why she went to see a doctor. As a result, her bone was fine, and she could get some medicine and the sticks.

C: Marathon
He caught a cold, and went to see a doctor. It was a normal cold, but the doctor said that recently many people, especially the young, got Covid. He ran along the outline of the Imperial Palace, which is 5km per lap. He ran 2 rounds, and took a shower after running. That was the first time and the atmosphere was very good. He runs once a week.

D: Broken cash cards
He thought about going to a discount supermarket last week. He cannot use credit cards or electric money in these kinds of supermarkets. So he needed to withdraw cash before visiting the supermarkets. However, all of his cash cards were broken magnetically and couldn’t withdraw cash. He feels sad that he might need to pay for changing his cash cards to new ones.

E: Her son’s Sports day
Last Saturday, her son’s Sports day was held. He joined 2 races and took first place in both races. He looked very proud of them, and she and her husband were more excited. After the event, they went to Hama-sushi. She usually says to him “Please don’t order expensive one”. However, she said “You can order anything you want.” because that day was special.

●Today’s topics: Studies Find Surprising Health Benefits of Ice Cream
We talked about the following questions.

•Do you find it surprising that eating ice cream might have health benefits?
•How often do you eat ice cream? What are your favorite flavors?
•Do you generally prefer sweet or savory snacks or treats?
•What food do you think is good for your health?

(Nao)

The report of the meeting on 7/6/2023

There were seven participants in today’s session, so we split into two groups. Then, as usual, we made short speeches.
They were roughly as follows.
- Mr. A talked about Kelp which is caught on among vegetarians in the United States now. Kelp provides us with an umami flavor and is good for our health.
- Ms. B said she had made pickled plums. To her surprise, those plums were double in price, 10,000 yen per 10 kg compared to 5,000 yen last year.
- Ms. C went scuba diving, one of her hobbies, in the Izu peninsula for the first time in ten years. She wanted to try it before visiting Okinawa for scuba diving with her guest. The sea water temperature was a little low, 17 degrees Celsius.

Next, we moved to today’s topic:
“Osaka to Make High Schools and Public Universities Free”

It would be so good if the tuition of all the schools is free. Everybody can get chances to learn regardless of rich or poverty. Such people would become good human resources and contribute to the country in the future.
However, it may not be easy for the country to get financial resources for that plan.

We exchanged views on
•Do you think university education should be free for everyone?
•What are your thoughts on Osaka’s plan to make high schools and public universities tuition-free?
•Education isn’t something you can finish. - Isaac Asimov. What are your thoughts on this statement?

Take care. See you soon.
(Yuki)

The report of the meeting on 31/5/2023

There were six in attendance at tonight’s meeting.

Mr. U said that India’s recent rise has been remarkable. The world is currently divided between Western countries and countries aligned with Russia, but India is trying to benefit from both sides.

Ms.K carries her guitar on her back to guitar lessons. It’s been quite challenging lately because she has a knee injury.

Ms. Y has been earning points by paying for her telecommunication contract and making purchases on the Internet, which is very useful when shopping. It is very convenient for shopping, but sometimes it is complicated and confusing for her.

Mr.A often listens to classical music on YouTube. He especially likes the music of Brahms.

Ms.N recently received a notice to renew her driver’s license.
She will attend a seminar at the nearby police station and then receive her new license.

Mr. U spoke about “what people from a hundred years ago think when they come to the present day and look at the present day. A hundred years ago, the Spanish flu and World War I killed many people. In the same way, today, coronaviruses and wars of aggression have killed many people.
Therefore, Mr. U said, “Those who came from a hundred years ago would say that not much progress has been made even after a hundred years.”

Ms.K mentioned that Lady Gaga’s meat dress sparked a lot of discussion. She is a great musician, no doubt, but not everyone necessarily agrees with her occasional eccentricities.

Ms.Y expressed doubts about the chatbot called ChatGPT that is currently a hot topic. She believes that this AI application is still unfinished and has not surpassed the capabilities of humans.

Ms.N is skilled at making cakes and enjoys cooking. However, she was puzzled when her mother-in-law gave her raw squid recently. It looked slimy and made her uncomfortable, and she didn’t know how to cook it, so she searched the internet for cooking methods.

(Libran)

The report of the meeting on 27/5/2023

There were 10 attendees on May 27th. Therefore, we made 2 group.

First, we started the session with “What’s new”. There were several news of rare cats introduced in an NHK program, cutting weeds, Chrome’s Chat GTP Voice recognition function, recent Covid-19 prevention, and purchasing a microwave oven. Chat GTP is collaborating with various application services ,so I would like to use Chat GTP more.
Then, we moved to “today’s topic about “ Jun and summer events ”. There are stories of G7 Summit, Covid-19 prevention, Golden Week holidays mountain climbing, children’s sports day competition and going to Disneyland. The G7 Summit was held in Hiroshima, and I hope that the G7 leaders of developed countries will bring about peace in the world from now.
(Hiroshi)

The report of the meeting on 24/5/2023

6 members attended the meeting.

●What’s new?

Member A : He informed us that currency mark \ is used in both Japan and China and some fraud companies are cheating customers with this mark. Chinese\ values 20 times of Japanese\, so if you buy something tagged \1,000 (actually CN\) in a cheating site, they will charge you JP\20,000. He hopes nobody won’t be cheated by this trick.

Member B: She talked about her lovely cat. One day, she just sat on her cat sitting on the chair by mistake. Soon she stood up, the cat jumped out and luckily had no damage. Her female cat is 4-year-old black cat. B is cherishing her cat so much. When B is struggling with nightmare during sleeping, her cat always wakes her up to stop the bad dream. That’s so cute. These days, the cat often cries at night and B is looking for how to stop it.

Member C: She has four birds (2 budgers and 2 cockatiels). They are not caged birds, so flying in one of the basement rooms of her house. When her family make a plan for family travel, they usually take one day trip, because of taking care of the birds. When they go out, they prepare enough food and others for the birds. These days, they sometimes go to the water park in Quebec city with using free pass.

Member D: Her 10-year-old and 5th grade daughter is now busy to do a lot of homework from the cram school. She is preparing for an entrance exam for a private junior high school 2 years later. She can surprisingly write a lot of Kanji, Chinese characters correctly and has much knowledge about every subject. She thinks that getting knowledge is important but students also need to develop creativities to pursue what they want to do.

Member E: She remembered back when she and her husband met in a share house. The share house was a large apartment having over 30 residents and half of them were foreigners. She wanted to live in English speaking environment and the house was close to her workplace. At first her husband was not eager to speak in English. But as he become used to the environment of the house, he was inspired to study English. And he studied abroad in the Philippines and Australia. He made lots of effort and successfully enhanced his English skills and now he uses English at work. She admires him for his great efforts.

Today’s topic:
Q2. What’s the food that you didn’t eat in childhood, but now you can eat or like? What made you change?
Member A: When he was a child and lived in Shiga, he couldn’t eat Funa-zushi, fermented crucian sushi, because he didn’t like its unique flavor. But now he can enjoy the taste even though the reason is not clear. Also he introduced the interesting historical episode of Nobunaga and Mitsuhide. Nobunaga didn’t know Funa-zushi and when Mitsuhide served the dish to the party to entertain Ieyasu, Nobunaga got angry that he thought it was rotten.

Q3. What are local dishes in your area? What are they like?
Member B: She introduced some local dishes in Nara. Kuzu-mochi is used famous plant, Yoshino kuzu in Nara. And Miwa-somen, Kakinoha-zushi (pressed sushi wrapped with persimmon leaves and mackerel and sermon are put on top of the sushi rice), Nara-pickle and tea porridge. Especially, she feels it nostalgic to remember her mother making Hoji-cha tea porridge and its flavor.

Q1. What is your memorable food in your childhood?
Member C: When she was a child, she often had Kanyu, fish oil gummy candy as a snack. It’s sweet and nutritious. She ate it as supplement her mother recommended. Another member had Biofermin as snack. It tasted like Boro biscuit.

Q8. At your work or daily life, do you have something you want to improve?
Member D: She feels like that her back has been a little curving. Keeping good posture is important for our heath, so she tries to make good posture and looking for a good way to make it. One of her coworkers uses a balance ball during working.

Q2. What’s the food that you didn’t eat in childhood, but now you can eat or like? What made you change?
Member E: Until becoming 24 years old, she had disliked raw seafood such as Sushi and Sashimi and didn’t eat them. But when her Australian friend recommend to eat raw sermon and timidly ate it, she surprisingly found it was so tasty. After that, she got to enjoy eating raw seafood.
(Susan)

The report of the meeting on 20/5/2023

There were 8 members at the session.
We made 2 groups.

What’s new
The Members talked about Kasugataisha, seeing a friend, smartphone, and sales promotion.
We talked about shrines and temples in the prefectures where we live. There are many shrines and temples in Japan. Some of them are nationally famous.
She visited her friend, whom she had known since she was a college student. It was the first time she had visited her since the outbreak of the pandemic. She was relaxed and happy.
Her smartphone is getting slower but she has found that new smartphones are expensive these days because of the weak yen. So she is not going to renew her phone. We shared our smartphone models and the service providers we use.

Today’s topic
Today’s topic was about facts and myths regarding health issues. We had a series of texts and questions to talk about. We shared our thoughts on the topic. They were about what we do when we get colds and what mother tells us.

Thank you for sharing.
(Toru)

The report of the meeting on 17/5/2023

Eight members got together tonight.

What’s new?
He showed us some pictures which were the changing from the darty River to beautiful in Manila.
That was by Asia Development Bank, and that was one scene of the developing country.

She talked about a low-cost airline called LCC.
The cost of the LCC is so cheap certainly,
instead, the environment was the worst in all respect.

She likes studying English using the software called “Duolingo”
She has been always checked the pronunciation of “L,R,V,B” by the software.
Another attendee who has lived in Canada for ten years said I have been given attention even now about that.
That is an eternal problem for the Japanese, I think.

After bad weather days, she had busy days washing and cleaning the bathroom.
(Ue)

The report of the meeting on 10/5/2023

There were seven participants at the session on May 10th. We divided us into two groups, and started off with 3-minute speech, and moved on to Today’s topics.

•What are your short-term and long-term goals?

•Has there been any change in your life since the novel coronavirus was classified as a class 5?

•Studying English
(The methods you have tried, your favorite way of learning, etc...)

One shared her short-term and long-term goals, which requires a test to serve as a guide for historical places in Nara, Japan. I found it to be a challenging yet rewarding opportunity to improve English skills while also gaining deeper knowledge about Japanese history.

Secondly, we talked about the downside of class 5. It hasn’t been long since the novel coronavirus was classified as class 5 in Japan; therefore, I haven’t noticed any significant changes in our lives. Hopefully, things will get better sooner rather than later, and we can regain the life we used to have.

Furthermore, we discussed the significance of taking periodic breaks in order to continue studying English. Personally, I believe that learning English should be enjoyable rather than a source of mental and physical stress. It’s important to take breaks from time to time so that we can fully enjoy the learning process.

We had a really good conversation, and I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.
(Naoko)

The report of the meeting on 6/5/2023

There were 7 members today.

●What’s new?
A: Second tour guide of Toudaiji temple
Last Wednesday, she guided some guests. That was her second time guiding. She is still a trainee, but she tried her best. The tour started at 10 a.m., and it was crowded maybe because of GW. The 1st guests were Mom and her son. He seems to be still young, so she tried to use easy words in Japanese. The 2nd guest was a Swedish guy. She did best, but she felt that she needed to practice more.

B: Matching App
Her cousin’s son got married last year. They got to know each other through an online game club. She heard a Podcast news that said 20% of couples met through matching Apps. In the apps, we can show and search our hobbies. She was surprised, because she couldn’t think that way in her time. She felt these apps were sketchy until that time, but now she understands that is one way to meet each other.

C: Chat GPT for English study
She uses Chat GPT for studying English such as checking her English, and dictionary. She has an English class per week. But Chat GPT helps her to study English additionally. She can use her voice speaking English to type in Chat GPT, so she can check her pronunciation. She will try to have Chat GPT pronounce English. She highly recommends it to study English.

●Today’s topics: Study: Nighttime Eating May Increase Depression, Anxiety We talked about the following questions.

•How often do you eat late at night?
•Do you typically eat your meals at the same time each day?


(Nao)

The report of the meeting on 29/4/2023

This is a summary of a session held on Saturday, April 29, 2023, where eight members attended. The members were divided into two groups of four.

First things first, the session started with each member sharing recent events or news. Ms. A was concerned about taking care of her farms. Mr. B shared his experience with rose tree plants and growing Muscat grapes. Ms. C is celebrating her son’s eighth birthday by serving his favorite food. I talked about my son’s recent YouTube video being viewed over 1,000 times in 10 minutes.

The topic of the day was AI robot servers in restaurants and their potential impact on the economy. Ms. A discussed the potential of industrial robots in the manufacturing sector. Mr. B shared his positive experience working with robots. Robots are more precise than humans and easier to deal with than humans; Robots work hard and never complain. Ms. C suggested that robots could be helpful in nursing homes as a replacement for human power.

Thanks so much for coming and sharing your opinions. See you in the next session!
(Masako)

The report of the meeting on 3/5/2023

There were six participants in today’s session. So we didn’t have to split into two groups. We first made short speeches as usual.
They were roughly as follows.
- Mr. A informed us what will change as the COVID-19 category shifts from Level 2 to Level 5.
- Ms. B visited the guitar competition. Competitors’ levels were so high, and a Filipino won the first prize. In October, she will attend a guitar concert.
- Ms. C aspires to become a YouTuber. She is now learning how to edit videos using a video editor app. Some day near future, she wants to up her video.
-Mr. D talked about a newly developed AI system that is newer than ChatGPT. Its AI can read humans’ minds to help people who cannot speak.
-Ms. E had her son’s birthday party. He has become eight years old. They enjoyed eating and presented him with a puzzle game named “Jenga.”

Then, we moved to today’s topic:
“Japanese Trends: Why Are People Eating Less Rice?”

Rice consumption in Japan has been falling since the 1960s.
After World War II, people’s diets changed from rice through Westernized food to food quickly prepared. And rice is reviewed again with its health benefits. Gluten-free rice flour is getting popular because of the high wheat price.
But amazingly, only 17% eat rice for all three meals.

We exchanged views on
•Do you find it surprising that only 17% of Japanese eat rice for all three meals?
•How often do you eat rice? Has this changed over your lifetime?
•What traditional foods from your country would you recommend trying?
and others.

About Japanese traditional foods, Mr. D would like to recommend foreign visitors to try “Makunouchi bento” (a lunchbox with rice and a variety of side dishes) and “Sukeroku” (a sushi set consisting of rolled sushi with seaweed and sushi rice wrapped in a deep fried Tofu skin).

Take care. See you soon.
(Yuki)

The report of the meeting on 26/4/2023

There was a total of seven attendees at tonight’s meeting.
According to the rules, we were divided into two groups.
I will report the contents of the meeting of the group that I chaired.

Mr.A finished work early today and went home.
There he took care of the flowers in the garden, starting with the roses

Ms S’s nephew lives in the rural area of Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture.
The area is facing a problem of population decline. Various measures have been taken to keep the area alive such as reopening of the closed department store and he is actively helping out with the activity.

Ms.N cooked pork meat adding miso and the flavor of sake for her husband. Compliments from her husband are a great motivation for her to cook.

Are there any promises you have tried to fulfill but could not?
Ms S has been exchanging New Year’s cards with Australians for 27 years.
“Let’s meet someday” is a common New Year’s card phrase among them, but they have never actually met.

What’s the worst thing you ate from a decent restaurant?
Ms.N once ate blowfish at a fancy restaurant with her boss and colleagues. On her way home, she felt sick to her stomach and thought she was going to die.

(Libran)

The report of the meeting on 22/4/2023

There were 8 members in total at the session.
We made 2 groups.

What’s new
The topics each member brought were about ChatGPT, taking a step up test of tour guide, becoming a PTA member, and solar panels.
ChatGPT responds to users’ questions quickly and gently and gives us unified knowledge from all the data available. It’s reluctant to ask many questions to a person but ChatGPT is glad to be asked. It’s easy and helpful.
Ganjin is a priest born in China. He went to Japan to meet the request of the emperor, who was looking for a priest who could give ordination. He became blind on his long journey to Japan.
New fiscal year has started. Each class has 2 PTA members to serve at school events for a year. Since the role would eventually come around, it is better to raise a hand first. There are many members in total. Some are well experienced.
Installing solar panels would help to cover electricity consumption. It’s needed to assess if it’s really worth investing in.

Today’s topic
We had a list of topics to talk about freely.
We talked about an integrated resort plan in Osaka and something that makes feel happy/sad.
Thank you for sharing.
(Toru)

The report of the meeting on 19/4/2023

5 members attended the meeting.

●What’s new?

A: He enjoys NHK Taiga historical drama, “Dosuru, Ieyasu?” Tokugawa family had controlled Japan for 250 years as Shognate with their 15 generations. The current 19th family head is Iehiro Tokugawa, 58 years old, who used to live in the U.S. during childhood and graduated Keio Univ., graduate school of Michigan Univ. and Colombia Univ. He ran for the Upper House. Now he works as an analyst of politics and economics.

B: She went hiking to Mt.Takao, in Tokyo last weekend with her daughter. The height of the mountain is about 500M. There are 5 routes to go up to the top of the mountain and she chose a short route that is not crowded with other hikers, enjoying birds singing and nature. She loves climbing mountains and has climbed Mt.Fuji 4 times before. When she stands on top of a mountain, she feels so happy with the sense of achievement. One of her dreams is climbing Mt.Fuji with her daughter in the future.

C: He introduced the way to divide one year into 24 seasons, “Niju-shi Sekki”. Around 1,000 years ago in Japan, people divided the current each season into 6 more small seasons, resulting in total 24 small seasons. Each season was playing very important roles for farming such as when to plow the farms, plant seeds and harvest them. It’s convenient for farmers to check the detailed seasons with a calendar to secure effective farming. As an example, next day will be called “Koku-u”. Koku means “grain” and u means “rain”, showing spring rain grows all crops.

D: She teaches Japanese to 5 foreigners one on one online. The other day, she gave a first Japanese lesson to an American in his 20’s living in the U.S. His grandmom was from Kumamoto and passed away. Now he is preparing to come to Japan to visit his grandmom’s hometown, enjoy Japanese culture and work in Tokyo. His Japanese level is just a beginner, so she spoke in English in half of the lesson time for explanation. Teaching a language is also a kind of teaching the culture of the country.

E: The other day, her husband went to see the doctor. When he entered the blood test room, the nurse found a green caterpillar on his hat and other nurses also got surprised to see it and shouted. But one of them picked the caterpillar up and went outdoor to escape it. E felt happy that the medical workers valued a life of even a small bug.

Today’s topic:
Article: Bluetooth: The Unusual History of a Name
Q2. Do you use Bluetooth in everyday life? If yes, when do you use it and what is the benefit?
B: She uses Bluetooth when she uses PC provided by her company. The PC has no hole for regular headphones, so she has to use the wireless gadget. It’s convenient, but also annoying because she needs to charge electricity to the gadget often with the long wire.

Q3. Do you know any other product or brand name that has an interesting history?
C: He introduced origin of some companies’ names. A giant retail company, AEON means “eternity” and “bright future” in Laten. A famous snack company, “Calbee” stands for calcium + vitamin-B, making pun. A big food company, Grico is from a nutrient, “Glycogen”. Ms.B introduced origin of “Saran-wrap” that is combined with the names of Sara and Ann who were wives of technicians.

Q2. Do you use Bluetooth in everyday life? If yes, when do you use it and what is the benefit?
A: He uses Bluetooth and it reminds him of COCOA, Covid-19 contact-confirming application for smartphones. With using Bluetooth function, if someone contacts with infected people within 1 M who have recorded their covid-19 infection on their smartphone app, the app notices the fact they have contacted the infected people through Bluetooth. This app was expected to prevent infection, but found some bugs and it didn’t work well.

Q2. Do you use Bluetooth in everyday life? If yes, when do you use it and what is the benefit?
D: She has Bluetooth, but hardly uses it. During driving, her husband enjoyed listening to the radio, but radio programs are no so fun and he changed to listen to Sportfy app with Bluetooth. It successfully makes his driving enjoyable.
(Susan)

The report of the meeting on 15/4/2023

There were 8 attendees on Apr 15th. Therefore, we made 2 group.

First, we started the session with “What’s new”. There were several news about new smartphone purchase, recent arrival of yellow sand from China, using the popular chat GPT recently, and increase of people working in companies. When I saw an TV image in the TV news program that yellow dust was also flying a lot in Beijing, China, I thought that the amount of yellow sand was too much this spring and not good for my health. I hoped that the season of yellow sand would end soon.

Then, we moved to “today’s topic about “ April events ”. There are stories of chat GPT technology that could replace Google search, reduction of things like a minimalist, and the difficulty of choosing gifts for birthdays and Mother’s Day. Chat GPT is a very convenient service function, so many people use it, and I think there will be more and more services that use AI other than chat GPT. I feel that it will have a considerable impact on the way we work and live in the future.
(Hiroshi)

The report of the meeting on 12/4/2023

Eight members attended the session on Wednesday, April 12th. Participants were divided into two groups to allow more opportunities to interact with each other. Due to the original chairperson calling in sick, I as a co-chairperson took on the role of the chairperson.

As usual, the members began with “What’s New?” questions to share their recent news and events. Mr. A brought up news about the plan to abolish the technical intern training program for foreign individuals who came to Japan to gain in-demand work skills. Ms. B discussed YouTube and how her niece has been posting videos. Ms. C shared her experience of selling her son’s slide online.

The topics for the day were questions about childhood memories, prepared by the original chairperson. Mr. A recalled neighbors coming over to his house to watch TV when household TV ownership rates were only 50%. Ms. B shared her sentimental memory of homemade donuts. When her mother passed away, she made the donuts with her mother’s recipe and put them in her mother’s coffin with gratitude. Ms. C talked about her sleepovers at her relative’s house in Nagoya. It was a precious experience for her as a small child to pick crops and go to the beach.

We hope the original chairperson feels better soon. It was nice to hear everyone’s childhood memories.
(Masako)

The report of the meeting on 5/4/2023

There were nine participants at the session on April 5th. We divided us into two groups, and started off with 3-minute speech, and moved on to Today’s topics.

•Please tell us about trips you have taken.
(The places you have been to, the places you want to go to, etc...)

•Please ask if you have any questions for STIE members.

•Do you use ChatGPT? What are your thoughts on that?

One shared her experience of visiting breweries with her friends. Despite the fact that I don’t drink whatsoever, hanging out with friends and visiting those places sounds so much fun for me!

We currently have a person on trial, and she asked us regarding STIE. We clarified how our group was established, how long we’ve been in, and the way we lead a session, etc...

Furthermore, we talked about ChatGPT and adopting new technologies.
I personally think It’s almost impossible to give up technology and go back to the life without the internet for the contemporary man. We can’t help but to move forward technologically.

We had a really good conversation, and I enjoyed every topic they covered. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.
(Naoko)

The report of the meeting on 1/4/2023

There were 9 members today.

●What’s new?
A: Cherry blossom with her dog
Now is the cherry blossom season. In the morning, she had work. So she went to see the cherry blossoms with her husband and her dog in the afternoon. She walked to the next station, and she went back home. She thinks that was good exercise.

B: Troubles in her son school
Her son’s stationery such as pencils and markers were taken by the girl and boy. He asked the girl to return them to him, but she didn’t. The girl said that she found it first, so that is hers. Maybe the stationery is from Japan, so she likes them. She feels that girl’s excuse doesn’t make sense. Finally, her son gave up his stationery.

C: New employees
He visited the place to see the cherry blossoms. There is the Edo Higan cherry blossom which is estimated to be 600 years old. The flowers were white and it was very beautiful, because it was the best time to see them. It is surrounded by rice fields.

D: DIY workshop
She took part in a DIY workshop to make a flower stand. She was excited and nervous at the same time. In the workshop, there were four women. Two of them are good at DIY. They already know how to use the tools. She was exhausted after the one and half hour workshop, but she could make up the flower stand.


●Today’s topics: Procrastination: How to Fight the ‘Thief of Time’
We talked about the following questions.

•Would you describe yourself as a procrastinator? Have you always been one?
•What activities do you tend to do when you’re procrastinating?

(Nao)

The report of the meeting on 25/3/2023

This report summarizes the session held on Saturday, March 25, with nine participants. We were divided into two groups to enable us to discuss more during the session.

The first topic discussed during the session was “What’s New?” We shared our recent experiences, including Mr. A’s story about the cost of pacific saury increasing from 70 yen to 680 yen, making it unaffordable for consumers. Mr. B shared that he went to a soccer game practice and found cherry trees blooming in full. Ms. C was not feeling well and went to a doctor who prescribed traditional Chinese medicine. Ms. D shared her family’s medical issues.

We then moved on to discuss the topic of Senpai-Kohai culture in Japan. Mr. A gave his opinion that senpai cannot be a friend of kohai. Even after graduation from high school, the hierarchical relationship continues, especially when they meet at a reunion. Mr. B shared his experience of practicing soccer during his entire school life. Although the hierarchical structures in the junior/high school soccer club were tight, all club members were friendly at university regardless of senpai and kohai. Ms. D shared that she joined the Japanese Kendo club at her college. All her clubmates left the club in the second year, so she was the only one who could teach the first-year students. Ms. C shared that she was in a table tennis club, and the senpai-kohai relationship was not so strict. She also shared her workplace human relations.

Based on the information from today’s session, the Senpai-Kohai relationship was still positive. In this dynamic, the senpai teaches the kohai, and when the kohai becomes the senpai, they take over the job and pass on their knowledge to the next kohai. It is a cultural heritage that has been preserved through generations.
(Masako)

The report of the meeting on 29/3/2023

Today we had two trial participants. So we introduced ourselves to each other at first.
As there were eight participants, we needed to divide ourselves into two groups. Then we made short speeches as usual.
They were roughly as follows.
- Ms. A went skiing with her son and other families in the Tohoku area last week. Her son can ski very well. She plans to go skiing again during the golden week in May.
- Ms. B got a rash which made her skin swollen. That might be a side-effect of the medicine to remove Helicobacter pylori found while undergoing a complete medical checkup.
- Ms. C talked about a Japanese speech contest in which her son participated. About ten out of fifty participants got the prize. Her son got the Jury Prize. The Canadian first-prize winner received a round ticket to Japan.
-Ms. D went to the hair salon, where she had her hair cut, perm, and henna. She goes there every three months to keep her hair well-groomed, although it costs 14,000 yen.

Then, we moved to today’s topic:
“Starbucks Introduces Olive Oil Coffee”
Olive oil is believed to have a range of health benefits, and
Starbucks is now introducing olive oil to its new menu called “Oleato.”

We exchanged views on
•Are there many Starbucks stores where you live? Do you often visit them?
•Are there any drinks from your country you’d recommend trying?
•Do you like trying new foods and drinks or do you tend to stick to what you like?
•What are the most interesting foods you’ve tried while traveling?

Ms. C said there are a lot of Starbucks in Canada, although they are not so popular. All Canadian love other coffee shops “Tim Hortons.” They are similar to Mr. Doughnuts.

Ms. A likes masala chai, an Indian beverage. It is popular throughout South Asia. A friend of hers introduced it to her.

Ms. B enjoys local beers or food while traveling.

Ms. D mentioned “Book Cafe,” a collaboration between Tsutaya and Starbucks. You can read books before you buy over drinking coffee there.

We also talked about strange food such as Haggis in Scotland, frog dishes in Indonesia, sea snake dishes in Okinawa, etc.

Take care. See you soon.
(Yuki)

The report of the meeting on 22/3/2023

There were six participants in tonight’s meeting.

Mr. U paid a visit to his ancestor’s grave on the vernal equinox. The area around Kyoto station was overflowing with tourists because for the first time in three years, people are trying to enjoy spring sightseeing, with no mask restrictions.

There is only one supermarket in the area where Ms. Y lives. The supermarket offers various discount sales for different products on different days.

Ms.S was delighted that the Japanese national baseball team won! The Japanese team had excellent teamwork. The most impressive players for her were Ohtani and Darvish.

While visiting her niece’s newly built house in Mie prefecture, Ms.K also enjoyed sightseeing in Nagoya and Kuwana cities.

Today, Ms.N watched the WBC final with her husband. Her husband took the day off from work to watch the game.

Mr. U thinks that the current baseball team is stronger than the one from 30 years ago. The current baseball players have overwhelmingly better physical abilities. Due to the specialization of pitcher roles, more rational game management is possible.

For Ms. Y, the most ideal vacation is first and foremost being free from household chores. She also wants to enjoy her time alone, without anyone bothering her!

Ms.S wishes she had started dancing earlier! Hip-hop dancing is very popular among young people now, and there are even schools for it!

Ms.N introduced a joke based on the difference between Japanese and English pronunciation. She also shared an experience in which she misunderstood a phrase said by her Jewish-American boss and took it to mean something completely different.

Ms.N wishes she had studied English earlier! Her seven-year-old son has very good pronunciation thanks to his exposure to English from an early age.

(Libran)

The report of the meeting on 18/3/2023

Seven members attended today’s session, so we split into two groups. We started with making short speeches as usual. They were as follows.
- A colleague of Mr. A retired at the age of 60. Mr. T and his boss gave him good Japanese sake as a gift. That colleague likes driving a car and has the skill to disassemble and reassemble cars. So he will start a good second life with a car-related hobby.
- Ms. B doesn’t feel motivated to learn English recently. Such a condition sometimes occurs to her. To prevent such a condition, she made a small goal to aim for a score of 800 on TOEIC.
- Ms. C studies English using the app “Duolingo” for about 30 minutes every day. She started at the beginner’s level. The contents are gradually getting higher level. The app is helpful for her to improve her listening skill.

Then, we moved to today’s topic:
“Daily Reading Helps Infants’ Language Skills”

According to the article, a US study has found that daily reading from parents helps children under 12 months old build their language skills faster.

We exchanged views on
•What are your thoughts on the findings of this study?
•Which of your friends or family is the biggest reader?

Ms.C’s understanding is like the one below.
During the first year after birth, babies develop rapidly.
At first, they can only cry, but they gradually come to see, hear, vocalize, move, stand up, and so on. Their brains are tremendously developing during that time.
When their parents read books to them every day, they hear so many words and memorize them as sounds in their brains.
Later through experiences, babies will know the meanings of those words.

Ms. C understands it but still thinks talking to babies is more important than reading books to them. Parents should talk to their babies frequently.

Ms. B’s elder sister loves reading and has a lot of books on the bookshelf. Ms. B is not good at reading and enjoys watching TV or videos. Now she feels a lack of vocabulary. She thinks she needs to read more.

Mr. A says YouTube videos help get information if you have keywords to look for. But if you don’t have keywords or if you need to get the overall picture (or details) of the information, you should read the book.

Take care. See you soon.
(Yuki)

The report of the meeting on 15/3/2023

6 members attended the meeting.

●What’s new?

A: In WW2, many soldiers were sacrificed in battle fields. A’s grandfather also passed away in the battle ground abroad. Several years ago, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare started the project searching remains of soldiers died in foreign countries and sending the remains to bereaved families. A applied to this project to let them search his grandfather’s remains. However, when he spoke to the representative person of the project on the phone, he heard that it would take one or two years to get the result. He hopes to meet his grandfather’s remains as soon as possible. May the day come soon!

B: This month, Japanese H3 rocket failed to launch and was exploded in the air even though it spent as much as 50 billion yen of tax. Many people are concerned about the future of Japanese rocket development. Its manufacturer, Mitsubishi Heavy Industry now stuck in the dark cloud. The top of the company put the failure on lack of superior engineers. Japanese rocket technology might lag behind compared to other developed countries.

C: From this April, all bike riders will be required to wear a helmet. That is not regulated by a strict law and not required a fine in case of no helmet, just effort-based obligation. For security, she should wear a helmet and bought a helmet on Amazon for the price of \2,000. She posted the photo of the helmet on the chat box that is so lovey design.
She is waiting for the day it will arrive.

D: She found an article about cyber security in Nikkei News on the Internet. It says Japanese current cyber security system to protect information from other nations and terrorist groups is so vulnerable to hacking and lags behind. In 2022, the U.S. was ranked first place in the number of cyber attacking it received and Japan was second. Furthermore, regarding grade of cyber technology, Japan is ranked the lowest level in three groups of the world. Taking measures for improvement is needed.

E: In this season, she always suffers from heavy hay fever. But this year, unexpectedly, for the last five days, she has not had any symptoms. She wonders why it doesn’t happen, but it’s so great to stay without the symptoms. Now, she is looking forward to viewing cherry blossoms comfortably without hay fever.

Today’s topic
Article: Connecticut Law Makes Schools Teach Climate Change
Q1: What are your thoughts on the above article?
A: He got interested in this article. This topic is typical in the U.S., because each state can create its curriculums by their own. In Japan, all school curriculums follow the national government’s policy. So, it’s difficult for each school to use its own discretion in creating a new lesson. Furthermore, Japanese students are so busy to have many subjects and they may have no time to have a new subject. However, knowing about climate change is very important to deal with and solve the problems caused by it.
Q9. Are there any lesson which was not in your school days but in the current days. B: The local university in Uji city provides special lessons with ordinary citizens living in the city. There are 4 courses including “history”, “health management”, “politics and economy” and “society and welfare”. He took all of the lessons. This kind of system is very beneficial for people keeping learning through a life.

Q3. Do you think that teaching kids about climate change could frighten them?
C: She thinks yes. Adults almost give up this problem because many don’t think they can do a big change. However, children have much time in their future and even if knowing about climate change frightens children, the fear creates sense of crisis. The feeling will positively stimulate children and some of them would solve the problem when they grew up.

Q1: What are your thoughts on the above article?
D: She thought it embarrassing that only 13% of republicans are worried about climate change. It’s so low rate. U.N. is asking us to start teaching global warming in school and make it mandatory by 2025. That is one of Paris Agreement. However, only a handful of nations have carried it out. And she thinks teaching global warming is very important for children to solve the problem.

Q10. If you are allowed to add a new lesson to school curriculum, what lesson would you add? Any lesson is alright.
E: She proposed a multi-language class. Now, students in junior high school learn only English. If they can choose other language, it would open their mind and horizons to adapt themselves to the globalized and diverse society. To make the class smoothly going, Internet and digital technology will help effectively. Privately she would choose to learn Spanish.
(Susan)

The report of the meeting on 11/3/2023

There were 9 attendees on Mar 11th. Therefore, we made 2 group.

First, we started the session with “What’s new”. There were several news about Great East Japan Earthquake 20 years ago, recent warm weather, tax procedures for 2022, attempts to lose weight, and measures against bird droppings. Regarding the recent warm weather, I thought the cherry blossoms would bloom early this year all over Japan.
Then, we moved to “today’s topic about “ March and spring events ”. There are stories of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, trip to Kuwana and Nagoya, and travel plan to Kagawa Prefecture. Everyone seems to be planning trips in spring, so I thought I’d like to go somewhere this year too.
(Hiroshi)

The report of the meeting on 8/3/2023

Six members got together tonight.

What’s new?

He loves solo Karaoke and talks about Ado 20 years old popular singer.
Her area was hit by a cold wave and got damaged.
She talks about every day’s sunrise and it gives her 7 good points.
She introduces the contents of the novel “living” by Kazuo Ishikawa.
On the way from school, she and her son dropped at the ramen shop and she ate ramen including two bunch of noodles.

Today’s topic.

Are these necessary or not necessary?

2. A checkup of the dental in element school is mandatory. 2
8. My number card. 1
9. Digital textbooks for school. 1
14. Do you have any idea that it is unnecessary? 1
  About straw.
( Ue )

The report of the meeting on 4/3/2023

There were 8 members in total at the session.
We made 2 groups.

What’s new
He is reading a book written by Ogata Sadako who worked as a UN official. As he read the book, he found her a great woman and got interested in her more. Her speech can be seen on YouTube. She speaks very fluent English.

He introduced the Hydrogen society. Hydrogen can be used to generate electricity without CO2 emission. Futhermore, we can convert generated electricity into hydrogen and storage it. Then we can use it anytime. On the other hand, hydrogen is very difficult to deal with.

She and her husband enjoy watching Japanese anime together. Attack on titans is her favorite. She is going to watch the new season released recently. Although watching anime sounds childish, complicated stories are enjoyable for adults and it’s a good thing for them to have fun watching anime together.

He talked about TV news regarding the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Some experts come to the show as a guest every time and express their opinion on the incident that is going on right now at the various stand points.

Today’s topic
Today’s topic was about an interview with a Japanese interpreter. We had some questions regarding the article. We did not have enough time for every attendee to talk. We shared our own thoughts about the article.
(Toru)

The report of the meeting on 1/3/2023

There were seven participants at the session on March 1st. We divided us into two groups, and started off with 3-minute speech, and moved on to Today’s topics.

•Please tell us about your hobbies. (The things you are obsessed with, etc..)

•Studying English
(The methods you have tried, your favorite way of learning, etc...)

•What are your go-to apps?

First of all, one shared his interest in baseball, and touched on the player who is currently playing in the U.S. Although I’m not familiar with the topics besides Shohei Ohtani, I enjoyed hearing members’s enthusiasm for baseball.

We also talked about the custom of taking a bath in Japan. Traditionally, we take a bath, however intriguingly the way of taking a bath varies from person to person.

In addition, one mentioned the app called Inshot that is used for editing videos. He showed us the video that he made, and that was absolutely amazing! Despite of the fact that I’m not a tech savvy, his presentation made me interested in making videos.

We had a really good conversation, and hope everyone had as much fun as I did.
(Naoko)

The report of the meeting on 22/2/2023

There were seven attendees at the session, so we split into two groups. We started with making short speeches as usual.
They were roughly as follows.
- Benefit of sports. According to an article, 15 minutes and 9 seconds exercise helps your cognitive function go 10% up. Walking, jogging, and even strength training changes your mood to positive.
- She bought a food processor which helps her easily mince vegetables or other food. She makes furikake (dried food sprinkled over rice) of pickles or dried fish.
- Recent China seems to be headingin ro the different direction of their One Belt One Road Initiative, such as the Solomon islands in the Pacific area.
- She will start to collect Goshuin (red ink stamps) given by shrines and temples as a proof of visiting. She bought a Goshuin book, and will visit Yakuoin temple on Mt. Takao to get her first Goshuin.

Then, we moved to today’s topic:
“Marie Kondo Has ‘Kind of Given Up’ Tidying Her House”
Even Marie Kondo, a tidying expert, has kind of given up on tidying her own house, because she wants to enjoy spending time with her children at home. In her most recent book, she gives advice to help people tidy their lives, not just their things.

We exchanged views on
•What are your thoughts on Marie Kondo giving up on tidying her home?
•Who does most of the cleaning and tidying in your home?
•Which of your friends or family has the tidiest home?
•Do you like having a tidy home? Have you always been this way?

During our long life, we go through several periods or stages as a child, a worker, a parent, a carer, a senior, and so on. It may be necessary for us to change the way of tidying in order to enjoy our life.

Take care. See you soon.
(Yuki)

The report of the meeting on 18/2/2023

There were 9 members today.

●What’s new?
A: Super Bowl
This Monday, he enjoyed watching the Super Bowl, which is the most famous American football match in America. He feels the Super Bowl is part of American culture. Aiso in Japanese universities, students play American football. The game takes 3 to 4 hours. It’s long because of the time out.

B: Costco
Last weekend, her family visited Costco, which is an American supermarket. The supermarket is two hours drive from her house. Her son loves the big shopping cart. He also enjoyed sample food such as Mango, Apple and a piece of cake. They had a pizza for lunch. That is very big.

C: Eggs
The price of eggs is very high, around 380 yen, which is double compared to last year. The reasons are said that corn, which is the feed of chicken, is expensive because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and many chickens died from spreading Avian influenza. He feels that the dishes including eggs will be declined.

●Today’s topics: Is Tipping Out of Control? Many US Consumers Think So
We talked about the following questions.

•Have you ever had trouble tipping while traveling abroad?
•Have digital payment methods become more popular where you live recently?
•What is your plan tomorrow?

(Nao)

The report of the meeting on 15/2/2023

There were nine participants in tonight’s meeting.
We were divided into two groups.
Here is what Group A discussed.

Ms. S. mentioned that she is interested in using solar panels to charge PCs, smart phones, etc. Batteries with solar panels are sold on Amazon in the price range of about 1,500 yen to 10,000 yen.

Ms. M passed a test to work as a trainee at an entertainment facility where she would experience various scenes of daily life in a dark space.

Mr.U is having trouble with the battery of his bicycle, which is two years old since he bought it, because it is already weak. He showed us how to make the battery last longer, such as not overcharging it.

Ms. N. went to the dentist. Fortunately, no cavities were found. It is important to brush your teeth well after every meal and keep your teeth healthy!

Ms. S. said that the term “JYOSHI-RYOKU” is becoming obsolete. It is becoming commonplace for men to cook, wear makeup, and raise children. Instead, the term “NINGEN-RYOKU” is being used more often. The ability to solve problems on one’s own is important.

Mr. U said that aliens were once thought to look like octopuses. In reality, they have extremely high technology and knowledge. And they definitely exist.

Ms. M said that if the Internet disappeared from this world, we would go back to the Showa era when Twitter and FaceTime would not work, and communication is very inconvenient.

Ms. M. said she does not like the state of silence. It is a very uncomfortable state, a state that makes people feel lonely and makes people nervous.

(Libran)

The report of the meeting on 11/2/2023

   Twelve members participated on Saturday, February 11, 2023. Before separating into two groups, we welcomed Ms. D as a guest member by giving self-introduction time to all of us.

   As usual, the session started with sharing the recent events and topics. Ms. A frequently used the Skype app to get in touch with her relatives and friends. Mr. B discussed a recent hot issue, whether wearing a mask. The bottom line has left the choice to the individual’s discretion. Mr. C shared the news about more students refusing to go to school. In place of regular schooling, “Free School” is the alternative way to offer opportunities to socialize with other children. Ms. D explained a language app called Duolingo. Ms. E talked about her fun time with her family and friends at the restaurant.

   “Today’s Topic” was the memory of school lunch. Ms. A recalled some students who did not like milk. They had to keep their milk on the desk until school ended. Mr. B brought a lunch box to school because he resided in a rural area. Even though he was only an elementary student, he felt that was up to the financial circumstances of each family what to include in the lunch box. Mr. C commented on some students still eating in the afternoon class. People considered leftover food a waste of money when Japan was not a developed country. Ms. D had a fun memory in that students tried to make each other laugh with funny faces during eating and drinking milk. Ms. E had an unpleasant memory when she could not complete her lunch.

   Hearing through the generations could gain my historical background knowledge of Japan. Thank you very much for sharing your story.
(Masako)

The report of the meeting on 8/2/2023

6 members attended the meeting.

●What’s new?

A: It’s a sunny and windy day. Sitting near the window and bathing in the warm sunlight, she enjoyed napping comfortably. Spring is coming day by day.
In her farm, Komatsuna spinach is blooming by the influence of warm weather with the lovely yellow flower similar to Nanohana.

B: Two days ago, an big earthquake hit Turkey with an intensity of 7.8Mag. Many buildings were destroyed and the number of victims exceeded 10,000. It reminds us of the big earthquake in Kanto area in 1923 with 7.9Mag causing death toll of around 100,000. It is said the same scale of earthquake might occur in the area with high possibility within 30 years.

C: Last Saturday, he went to Hibara Lake to fish Wakasagi with his friends. It was his first experience. Even though temperature was - 13 degrees at 6:00 early morning, many people were there. He brought a fishing gear and a tent. He really enjoyed fishing Wakasagi and asked a local restraint to cook them. The good taste of Wakasagi Tempura and the beautiful scenery of Hibara lake made him so happy.


D: He went to the movie theater to see the latest movie, “Legend & Butterfly”. It’s a story of Nobunaga and his wife, Noh. Nobunaga is often portraited as a crucial dictator, but this movie gives different perspective about him. It depicts his childhood and how he was dictated by Noh who was beautiful, smart and excellent in martial art. It might be said as kind of love story of the couple. He enjoyed appreciating the movie.

E: This morning, she had an online English lesson.
Having a lesson with a native speaker makes her feel sense of accomplishment, but at the same time it makes her exhausted. She sometimes feels dilemma of the two feelings. However, feeling tired might be the sign of how she effectively works out. She feels it necessary to focus on speaking skills more.
Today’s topic
Q:  What’s the food or drink making you feel refreshed and energetic when you feel tired?
A: Sweet taste eases her stress. These days her favorite is one of instant coffee items, “Nestle Nescafe caramel maquiart”. It has rich taste and savory flavor. When she enjoys it, she can remove tiredness and come to refresh herself. However, it has some food additives promoting diabetes such as corn syrup and dextrin. So she enjoys it with caring not to take too much.
Q:  Do you have a memorable song encouraging you and making you feel happy?
B: His memorable melody is “Little Brown Bottle” composed by Glenn Miller. In his university life, he played the Tenor Sax. This melody is to commemorate his solo debut in performance. With his hard practice, he successfully performed the solo part. This melody reminds him of the days and encourages him.
Even now he remembers fingering of tenor sax and can move his fingers.

Q:  Could you share us one of breath-takingly beautiful sceneries you watched?
C: He chose the scenery of Hibara lake that he stated in “what’s new” session.
He kindly uploaded the picture on our Skype chat box. It is a magnificent view of the lake covered with snow and outline of mountains early morning expressing beautiful black and white world. He was fascinated by the dynamic view.

Q:  It’s said laughing eases our stress. Do you enjoy Rakugo, Manzai, comedy movies and dramas or any other performance?
D: He sometimes enjoys plays at a theater. He used to be a member of a theater play appreciation group, Meien established in Tokai area about 70 years ago. The organization provides 6 chances of watching a play in a year to members with paying \2,800 for monthly fee. There is rare opportunity to watch a play in Tokai area and this organization contributes to creating more play performances there. Now he is not a member, he actively appreciates plays.

Q:  Could you share us one of breath-takingly beautiful sceneries you watched?
E: She chose the scenery viewing on the top of Ayers Rock in Australia. In the past she went to Australia and climbed the mountain. It took about 1 hour and more and she got out of breath and tired. But when she stood on the top of the mountain, she was overwhelmed by the magnificent and picturesque scenery.
She remembers the breath-takingly beautiful sight.
(Susan)

The report of the meeting on 4/2/2023

A new member joined the session as a trial.

We introduced ourselves first and then separated into two groups.

This is a short report of the discussions in group A, in which the new member joined.

In the first section we talked about “what’s new?” and in the second we discussed today’s topic relating to “hard skills and soft skills in the workplace”.


A. What’s new?’


She said she forgot to take out the change of 800 yen from a vending machine when she bought a bottle of water in the downtown of her city. She noticed it the next day when she was trying to put down the calculated figures in the household account.

She had to give it up to revisit the downtown because the bus fare to the town cost nearly the same amount and she thought it impossible for the change to remain there. Someone must have gotten it away, she thought. We were sorry for her.


He talked about the breakdown of the hot water system of his apartment. The cold weather must have been the cause of the trouble, he said. He was told by a repairman that he had to replace it with a new one. The owner of the apartment would pay the cost of the replacement, he said. He is now waiting for the new one to be set.


She said she stopped eating out at a conveyer belt sushi bar because the media reported that some young men did mischief on the items on the belt. She hoped those who did the prank should be punished severely because that style of service has formed one of the important Japanese cultures and it could be destroyed by their disgusting behaviors.


She said she had to get a geography test in the coming month for completing her credits. She majors in social welfare and has a hope to become a teacher in the future, she said. She added she has vision impairment. Therefore she needs time to prepare for attending our session because she needs to read in braille what is written in the topic. She is young and prospective (by the way, she said she belongs to Debating in English Society at college). We are happy to have her in our session. We’d like to make as much effort as possible in order to support her.


B. “Hard skills and soft skills” in the workplace


One of the members said hard skills have dramatically changed compared to the days a few decades ago. Along with the development of hard skills, like the skills to use computers or to operate highly developed precision machines, the jobs themselves have changed in their content. But “soft skills” such as communicative abilities or the ability to share different points of view on some problem also have become more important than before.

Another member said he has always been trying to encourage staff members to have confidence in what they do, not to force his views on them.


The theme was worth being discussed but it seemed a little bit difficult to talk about.

(Ogu-ma)

The report of the meeting on 1/2/2023

We talked about latest situation.
First, it has been colder than usual winter. I was amazed that snow in Hiroshima piled up more than Sendai. In fact, it doesn’t snow in Sendai than everyone expects. So, one member couldn’t go out for a while. But, Some members exercise to keep health at home. One member uses a walking machine in his garage. He said that it took an hour to warm his body. Other member walked from her home to a park. It is a good habit to keep health.
 In winter, everyone use a heater. When go to bed, some members uses a electronic blanket. That can continue warming during sleeping. Before sleeping, I turn on a fan heater. However, it automatically stops after alerting. That’s why I can’t sleep due to coldness sometimes. I want to try to use a useful blanket.
 Next, We talked about wearing a mask. We don’t need to wear a mask recently. But, in Japan, peer pressure has strong power one member said. Indeed, people wear a mask regardless of outside. If I find a person who don’t wear a mask, I might be cautious of that person. On the other hand, I would worry about other people’s gaze, If I don’t wear a mask. Every members said that they will continue wearing a mask. Because a mask has various merits.
 We don’t need to care halitosis. We can enjoy strong odor foods like a garlic ramen. it is a enough reason to wear it. Moreover, women don’t have to make up. For women, it maybe a good to save time. And then, it can warm a face. Especially, I feel it this winter.
 A mask is cheap and easy to get, but, we often have to put off a mask only in such case.
We should care about it.

That’s all, thanks.
(Shinya)

The report of the meeting on 28/1/2023

There were 10 attendees on Jan 28th. Therefore, we made 2 group.

First, we started the session with “What’s new”. There were several news about hotel life with COVID-19 disease, life under soaring electricity prices, replacing with a plastic shoji, considering purchasing a cupboard, and training English with Hello Talk. Under soaring electricity prices, some people want to use electricity efficiently, while others use energy other than electricity like kerosene etc.
Then, we moved to “today’s topic about “ January events ”. There are stories of the increase in the number of overseas tourists under this situation of COVID-19, hatsumode(first visit of the year to a shrine) and Osechi Ryori (Japanese traditional New Year’s food), this year’s resolution to improve English pronunciation, and the winter season and measures against snow. As for New Year’s Osechi Ryori, many people liked “chestnut mashed potatoes”, but I also like “dashimaki egg”.
(Hiroshi)

The report of the meeting on 25/1/2023

We had six members tonight.

Mr.S spoke first. He plans to camp in Miyagi prefecture from February to March. Therefore, he would like to purchase camping equipment such as a tent for three people.

Next, Ms.Y spoke. The area where she lives had 25 to 30 cm of snow today.
It’s been eight years since she ’ve had this much snow and it’s hard for her because she is not accustomed to snow.

Ms.S has said that her husband may have prostate problems.
An MRI scan found no problems with him but soon, he will undergo a detailed examination.

Mr. U said China’s population has fallen for the first time in 68 years.
China’s fertility rate is 1.3, lower than Japan’s 1.1. Soon, its population will be overtaken by that of India. China is aging rapidly.

Ms.N said now she spends 10 minutes a day exercising and 15 minutes learning English. Exercise is essential to stay healthy.

Mr. S is not fashion conscious. He tries to dress as simply as possible, wearing clothes such as Uniqlo and Muji.

Mr. U has a license for large vehicles.
he took the license for no particular reason
It took a lot of money, time, and hard work to get the license.

For Ms.N , her iPad is an indispensable item for her.
She uses it to listen to English-related podcasts.

Ms.Y used to work in a tea plantation when she was young.
It was exceedingly difficult for her to operate the machine that harvests tea leaves.
After operating the machine, her hands went numb, and they trembled when she tried to pick up anything.

Ms.S was moved by the sasamochi made by a 95-year-old woman who appeared on NHK Educational TV. Although she wants to eat a piece of sasamochi, they sell out quickly, so it is difficult to eat.

(Libran)

The report of the meeting on 21/1/2023

There were 7 members at the session.
We made 2 groups.

What’s new
He set a goal to run 10 kilometers every week. He not only wants to build vitality, but also run fast.

He introduced a Japanese word, Arumoku. He overheard a young boy saying it when he was walking on the street. There was another young man walking and smoking. He wonders if this word is popular among young people.

The local government in her city offers discounts on school lunches. In her city, school lunches have to be paid for, while some schools in other areas provide free lunches. She thinks that all school lunches should be free.

Her son got a stomach ache. It took him 2 days to recover. In addition, her husband became sick again. He seemed to have caught a cold at his work and infected her. She felt a chill and fever after he came back home, so she took a rest.

Today’s topic
We had some articles from the internet. Each member picked one article to talk about.
We talked about difficulty in legal language, sleep and alertness, delaying gratification and self-driving.

Thank you for sharing.
(Toru)

The report of the meeting on 18/1/2023

Six members got together.

They brought topics such as edible insects, English education, a maiden name and their income, the Dondo ceremony, and the cold area in Fukuyama.

<Topic>
2. Please tell us about trips you have taken.
He makes a plan to revisit the Shikoku area by car.
5. Please tell us about the kind of news that you are into.
He showed an interest in the exchange letter between a Japanese and a Taiwanese.
7. What are the goals you set for this year?
His goal for this year is safe driving.
9. What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?
The vacant house which is located a long distance some risk.
10. What is the weirdest food combination you enjoy?
She introduces the combination of Miso soup with yoghurt.
( Ue )

The report of the meeting on 14/1/2023

6 members gathered at the session.

What’s new
He introduced to us some Tanka he read in the newspaper. What wrote about relationships of elderly couples caught his interest in particular.

The number of people who got infected with Covid has been growing again. And yet those who have vaccinated have only light symptoms.
She bought some Japanese sweets well known in Fukuoka. They reminded her of the trip she took a long time ago.

Since China stopped the zero covid policy, the number of infected people have been increasing in China. The percentage of cases in China is much higher than in Japan. She worries about the situation in China.

He went to a temple to do sutra writing. Sometimes he goes to a temple. It is good for him to keep his mind in controll.

Her husband had been staying at a hotel after being infected with Covid, but he finally came back home. It seems that staying in a hotel for a week was tough because of strict rules.

Today’s topic
The topic was about the case of Nissan former chairman Carlos Ghosn escaping to Lebanon.
We chose a question regarding the topic and talked about it.

Thank you for sharing.
(Toru)

The report of the meeting on 11/1/2023

There were six attendees at the session on Wednesday, January 11. We started with making short speeches as usual.
They were roughly about:
-medical check-up with almost good result except for slightly higher blood pressure and a little unbalanced eyesight in both eyes,
-news about Japan’s government policy of migration from metropolitan areas to depopulated local areas, providing support money up to 3 million yen per family and 1 million yen per child with some conditions,
-an aged friend who unfortunately got infected with coronavirus, although her 109-year-old mother was fortunately non-infected,
-the distance that foreign female workers feel sexual harassment while talking to others, partly coming from cultural differences,
-her husband’s one-week stay at a hotel to heal himself from infection of coronavirus,
and so on.

Then, we moved to today’s topic:
“Japan’s Momofuku Ando and the History of Instant Noodles”

Instant noodles were invented by Momofuku Ando in Ikeda, Osaka in 1958. He also developed his Chicken Ramen into Cup Noodles. Now Cup Noodles are eaten around the world. He even developed noodles that can be eaten in space when he was 95. He left his saying, “There’s no such thing as too late in life.”

We exchanged views on
•What are your favorite quick and easy meals?
•Are there any great noodle places where you live?
•What are your favorite foods to have on a cold winter’s day?
•How often do you eat instant noodles? What’s your favorite type?

Take care. See you soon.
(Yuki)

The report of the meeting on 7/1/2023

There were 9 members today.

●What’s new?

A: Japanese high school soccer game
Recently He has enjoyed watching soccer games. Last year, he enjoyed the world cup. Today, he watched the semi-final Japanese high school soccer game. Next Monday, the final game will be held, and he’ll watch it. There are many excellent players in Higashiyama high school in Kyoto. So he likes that team.

B: Population
He is interested in the Japanese population. Last year, there was the smallest number of births in Japan. It means the power of the country is declining. The government decided the budget for child raising should be doubled. But, the financial resources are not decided.

C: Kouhaku program
One week has passed since the new year came. She just watched the Kouhaku program. She found familiar singers in the program. One of the singers, Hikawa Kiyoshi, looked beautiful. There are many Johnny’s groups, and they look like Koreans. She cannot distinguish whether they are Korean or Japanese, because they wear makeup.

D: Japanese lessons
She registered the company, and she teaches Japanese online. After the 4th Japanese, she started to give Japanese lessons. Her student this time is a woman who got married and has lived in Japan for 6 years. Her character is very good, so she enjoyed the free conversation lesson.

●Today’s topics:
We talked about the following questions.

   •Do you often take a vacation in winter?
   •Are you into any winter sports? Are there any you’d like to try?
   •Have you made a goal for this year? If so, what is it?
   •Have you ever spent the holiday season abroad? If so, where did you go? If not, would you like to?

(Nao)

The report of the meeting on 4/1/2023

This was the first session in 2023.
Four members participated in tonight’s session.

Happy New Year everyone.
May this year be happy and fruitful.
I’m looking forward to enjoying English with you this year as well.

1. She talked about Taiga drama by NHK “How will you do, IEYASU?”.
She likes shogun IEYASU and expects this year’s Taiga drama.
Also, she said about a pickle named Matumae-zuke, and the first play of badminton her favorite sport.

2. She visited her family’s guardian deity Sogahime shrine as pay the New Year’s first visit. Her husband and she pulled up a fortune slip.
Congratulations, her husband got “$BBg5H(B”, and she was “$BCf5H(B.”
She talked about her relative who is a YouTuber who lives at $B5`LZ(B in Shiga.

3. She did the general house cleaning at the end of the year but it took till the New Year.
As her husband got 7 days of New Year holiday, her family enjoyed the $B$*@57n(B at her mother-in-law’s house located near her house.

4. He talked about the “Kanji of the year”.
Kiyomizu-temple has announced the Kanji of this year every year.
The Kanji represented the aspect of the society of the year.
He went back to10 years before what was the kanji at that year
<2022 “$B@o(B” Fighting>
The war between Ukraine and Russia.
The fight against Coronavirus.
The battle of the World Cup. The rest (2013~2021)is omitted.
( Ue )


The link to the report of 2022
The link to the report of 2021
The link to the report of 2019-2020
The link to the report of 2018
The link to the report of 2017
The link to the report of 2016
The link to the report of 2015

$B$3$N%Z!<%8$N@hF,$X(B