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Kei Komuro and Mako Wedding Press Conference and Japan’s melancholy
Even though it was due to my inactivity, it was very painful to have a pain in my back, I couldn't move and my tone of voice became rough because of the pain. At such a time, talking to a 16-year-old who doesn't listen to others and doesn't want to listen to others is nothing but a pain.
How long are you going to watch YouTube all the time? I'm telling you, you can't find what you want to do or what you like by watching YouTube.
I know.
I know." The high school student lays down in his messy room and replies in a depressed tone. The high school student lays down in his messy room and replies in a depressed tone, but shows no signs of letting go of his iPad.
As I said the other day, I'm going to get the right to vote in a little while. You'll have the same right to vote as Mr. Mikitani and Mr. Son (please ignore the nationality issue). You have to think things over and have your own opinion.
As I said this, I was becoming more and more intoxicated with my own words. This was at a time when there was talk of a general election. At this point, I decided to take a shot at explaining the importance of adulthood and elections to my unthinking son.
What are you thinking about? (You're not thinking about anything, are you?)
If you don't have your own ideas, the way you've been living won't work in the future.
When I tried to explain why poor people don't vote, the high school student said in a quiet voice, "You are Japanese, but you don't have your own opinion.
When I tried to explain why poor people don't vote, a high school student said in a quiet voice, "You're Japanese, how can you express your own opinion?
"Well…"
I tried to say something, but I couldn't finish my sentence.
I tried to say something, but couldn't finish the sentence.
I wonder how many Japanese people are capable of rejecting outright the idea that "a Japanese person can't express his or her own opinion.
I was distraught.
I mean, as a parent, I had no idea that my child was in despair.
He was an ordinary first-year high school boy. He's not a yankee, he goes to school diligently, his studies are okay, but he has good friends, and he talks a lot at home. He likes to play games, watch YouTube, and watch comedy shows… He doesn't seem to think about anything, which makes me feel uneasy when I see him from the side.
But when she said, "There's no way I can speak my mind when I'm Japanese," I was really scared. And I thought that maybe Japan is really screwed up.
☆☆☆☆
In Japan, early childhood education is flourishing, and free and open-minded educational policies, such as Montessori and Steiner, are being touted. It is certainly wonderful, and it is said that Shogi player Fujii 7-dan received such an early childhood education.
However, in general, once a child enters an ordinary elementary school, such a policy no longer applies, and cooperation rather than self-assertion is forced upon them. In short, they are corrected to make them easier for teachers and schools to handle.
Even if your family is wealthy and you go to an international school or a school with a liberal atmosphere such as Wako Gakuen, unless you get a job at a foreign university or company, you will live in a social system that forces you to be ultra-individualistic and cooperative in Japanese companies. Even if you don't join the system and are active in the music industry, which seems to be a free market, you may be thrown into a bloodbath like Keigo Oyamada (from Wako Gakuen).
The education I received in Japan. To put it bluntly, I hated it. I don't have any good memories of school in elementary, junior high, and high school. I don't even know what the school rules were (even the length of skirts were decided), and now I wonder how no one died in sports meets, long distance swimming events (just swimming in the ocean), mountain climbing, and so on. The teachers of the club activities didn't mind hitting the students, and students who violated the school rules were hit on the head with the attendance book without question. I don't think these things had any negative influence on my personality, and I don't think they were necessary at all. Also, I think the examination system is really annoying. For people who have something they want to do, it is really a hindrance.
I don't know what the purpose of school was then, and I don't know what it is now. What is the point of school if all you want to do is study, or if you want to destroy your personality and deny your humanity?
There was an incident in Kobe that symbolized this. It was the Kobe Takatsuka High School school gate crushing death case. For an overview of the incident, please refer to Wikipedia, etc. It was a shocking case of a school killing a child. The teacher counted "5, 4, 3…" as he vigorously closed the iron door, despite the fact that some students were rushing to the school to be late, and a female student was killed when her head was caught in the door.
Students are there for the school, and they must obey the rules, and if they don't obey the rules, they may die, that is the school. Children are treated like mere numbers, like 100 yen lighters.
I don't think this trend has changed much even now. I feel this way when I see the way the Board of Education is handling the bullying issue.
In such an environment, children's minds are slowly dying.
In addition, with an aging society and no economic development for decades to come, it is impossible to "communicate one's thoughts" while receiving military-style education in Japan.
The children feel it firsthand and are in despair.
It's not just about the right to vote.
And today, I watched the press conference on the marriage of Mako of the Akishino family, I will call her Mako now that she has left the Imperial Family, and Kei Komuro.
Mako said, "I know that there are many people who are hurting right now, who are finding it difficult to live while protecting their hearts. I sincerely hope that with the warm support of the people around us, we can create a society where more and more people can live while carefully protecting their hearts.
He pointed out the problems facing Japan in a simple and clear manner. Of course, I am sure that he was slandered himself, which led him to make such a statement, but I doubt that would have been enough to make him choose to leave Japan and live in America.
I am sure that these two young people must have been in despair. They must have felt that it would be difficult to live in this society that ignores the "heart" so much.
I think it was a wise decision.
I also realized that these two young people were really smart and would change Japan in the future. I also realized that people like them are leaving Japan.
I don't want to see how this press conference is going to be bloodied in the future, but from the comments that are hanging around, I feel gloomy.
"If you don't like it, get out of Japan.
A comment I see often on Twitter and Facebook. The LDP and Ishin people often say this too.
But isn't it a bit vain this time?
The members of the Imperial Family, whom we have revered up until now, are saying, "Well then," and leaving…
I wondered what the sixteen-year-old was thinking as she watched the press conference on TV in a daze. I couldn't read anything from their profile, but maybe one day you'll be able to leave Japan like these two.
Yukiko Yako