Nipponica

We are living through a transition period in world affairs. The power and the unity of Western countries to act as the ultimate arbiters of global affairs is not collapsing, but is in clear decline.

Most of us can agree on this point, but where is the better place to spectate this era of transition, from inside the West or from outside? Perspective is everything. For those of us from Western countries, on both sides of the Atlantic, the politics of populism inevitably becomes a major talking point when viewing the changing world.

While I broadly agree with the overall point of the shift of global power away from the west, almost no mention was made in the article about the rise of Africa to fill some of the western vacuum. Nigeria alone is quickly becoming a powerhouse in population while China and the rest of East Asia is declining. Factor in India and ASEAN and the multipolar future looks quite clear.

According to the results for the 2023 school year, an average of 50.6% of third-year high school students achieved the standards, led by Toyama Prefecture where 61.4% of students hit the mark. In contrast, Miyagi with 39.6% was the only prefecture where this was under 40%. The national average for the ratio of third-year junior high school students meeting the standards was 50%, led by the city of Saitama with 88.4% followed by Fukui Prefecture with 83.8%. The lowest of these figures was claimed by Saga Prefecture with 30.1%.

Not exactly breaking news that English education is not exactly a priority for Japanese students, but there was a nugget of new info (for me, at least).

The national standards aim for students to achieve a level equivalent to at least the A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), an international index of language proficiency, by the end of junior high school, corresponding to Grade 3 of Japan's own English test, Eiken, and A2 level (Grade Pre-2 of Eiken) by the end of high school.

Since I am not in the JET/ALT world, I never realized that there was a specific CEFR level that students are expected to meet. Obviously makes sense, but A2 is still nothing compared to the JLPT 2 (B1-B2) level that is expected of foreigners at the minimum for Japanese level in the workplace.

Takahisa Sato was caught playing “Disney Tsum Tsum” on his smartphone under his desk during a preliminary assembly session in Ogawara, Miyagi Prefecture, on June 10. Local six-graders had been watching the session as part of their social studies class. Some of them wrote about Sato’s behavior in their essays following the visit.

While inappropriate, I wish this was the baseline of government corruption in Japan. Keeping LDP ministers occupied with Tsum Tsum is much more cost effective than countless funding scandals.

In 2020, the government released its first damage estimates for the Tokyo metropolitan area in the event of an eruption of Japan's highest peak, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures west of Tokyo.

In the worst-case scenario, the accumulation of ash could reach 10 centimeters in the capital's Shinjuku Ward 15 days after the eruption starts.

We will need a lot of brooms.

Foreign residents are increasing in number in southwestern Japan's Kyushu region as well as in Yamaguchi and Okinawa prefectures at a rate exceeding the national average amid a labor shortage.

The trend emerged in the Vital Statistics released on July 24 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, based on basic resident register data as of Jan. 1, 2024. It comes as the population of Japanese nationals continues to dwindle in these areas.