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I read an article on PRESIDENT Online, which I sympathized with. It was a talk between Kumiko Torikai and Takashi Saito. I would like to excerpt some of their dialogue as follows.

Kumiko Torikai (from PRESIDENT Online)

-Adopting English private examinations for the University Standardized Test, which starts in fiscal 2020, have canceled at the last minute. Not only this, Japan has been confused about English education for thirty years. What is the cause? Kumiko Torikai points out that regarding the ability to speak English as English conversation is fundamentally wrong. -

Torikai: “An enormous problem of the series of English education reform is the relation with Japanese language becoming weaker. Mother tongue is important to study foreign languages, but they are trying to dismiss it. “
Saito: “Japanese in general have a complex about speaking English. Speaking English fluently is cool. Halting Japanese English is embarrassed. But is that an ability to test by university entrance examination?
Torikai: Exactly. Those who want to speak English fluently should make an effort to do so. But university entrance examination should test basic skills that studied in high school, especially reading skills.
Saito: Basically, systems should be improved gradually, and it tends to get good results. Current National Center Test for University Admissions includes listening test. So if the test will be improved, I think that they could measure students’ communication ability.
Torikai: I agree with you. There is no need to measure four skills separately. The four skills
should be learned comprehensively. So examination has to measure comprehensive ability. I don’t understand why speaking ability should be measured separately.

I felt relieved when I read the Torikai’s opinion. There were descriptions in a book that she wrote as follows. -According to a questionnaire, many companies need English writing skills. Because nowadays, e-mails are the mainstream rather than phone calls. Apparently, those who are very good at English are not always good at work. (H.S)

From the official website of the ”Fukushima 50"

I wanted to see this film at a theater, but I have hesitated to go to theaters due to coronavirus, and eventually they themselves had closed. I gave up seeing the film for the time being. However, online distributing of the film has started despite a new one and I was able to watch it the other day.

Needless to say, the film depicts desperate effort at the Fukushima-1 plant by about fifty workers when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. (Based on the book “Man who saw the edge of death-Masao Yoshida and Fukushima-1 plant” written by Ryusho Kadota) The unexpected state of emergency at the nuclear plant resembles the world today. The words by Mr. Yoshida such as “Don’t panic””Stay alert””Why did this have to happen?””What did we do something wrong?””Let’s go back home alive” resonated very deeply within me. The nuclear accident in the film inevitably seemed like a foretaste of today’s pandemic.

And, what I realized from the film are planning a more worst-case scenario than a worst-case scenario, there is no “definitely” in this world, crisis management, manual preparation, doing first things first, regular practice, preparing all the time for emergencies, adhering to rule, fear of unfounded optimism. Of course, a reliable leader and a unified chain of command are necessary.

In the future as well, unprecedented natural disasters or unknown viruses might attack us. Human beings tend to be like the proverb “The danger past and God forgotten”, but I had an acute feeling that we should examine recent events in all aspects and keep learning. And I think that I should never forget that there are people who secure our country at the risk of their own lives even at this very moment. (H.S)

Trailer