When You Want to Know What Happened After a Masterpiece

A great story may end with “The End,” but its characters do not necessarily stop living in our imagination. Generative AI may now be able to continue those stories in ways that feel surprisingly natural.

Last weekend, one of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films was shown on television.

I have seen it many times before, but Nausicaä is still charming no matter how often I watch it, and the story never loses its excitement.

But what happens after the words “The End” appear?

In human society, people never simply “live happily ever after” forever. Perhaps one day the heroine marries someone, gives birth to an adorable pair of twins—a boy and a girl—and before long a struggle over succession breaks out.

Or, of course, something completely different might happen.

As long as the original creator is still active and able to continue the work, the sequel should probably be written by that creator. Unfortunately, for many reasons, that eventually becomes impossible.

American television dramas and movies often continue through sequel after sequel, and perhaps that is only natural.

Life does not conveniently stop just because the words “The End” appear on the screen. In a sense, the characters in a story continue to live lives of their own.

And generative AI is becoming capable of telling what happens next while maintaining a surprising degree of consistency with the original world.

Take The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, for example.

I gave AI the following prompt:

“Could you write a roughly 400-character synopsis for a short story set twenty years after Princess Kaguya returned to the Moon? The main characters are Princess Kaguya and her twenty-year-old son, a prince. His father is one of the five noblemen who once proposed to her. Kaguya returns to this country with the Moon’s highly advanced science and technology, and the prince meets his father. He later marries an Earthly princess, remains on Earth, rules the country, and brings happiness to its people. The story should end with ‘and they lived happily ever after.’”

The AI replied:

“Twenty years had passed since Princess Kaguya returned to the Moon. The Emperor and the old bamboo cutter had already died, and the story of the Moon Princess was slowly fading into legend when a silver vessel descended on the outskirts of the capital.

From it emerged Princess Kaguya, unchanged by age, together with a young man of twenty. He was her son, born of one of the five noblemen who had once sought her hand in marriage. Before returning to the Moon, Kaguya had told no one that she was carrying his child.

Having studied advanced medicine, agriculture, and energy technology on the Moon, the young man returned with his mother to visit his father. Now an old man, his father saw something of the young Kaguya in the prince’s face and immediately understood.

The prince eventually shared the Moon’s knowledge generously with the people, reducing famine and disease and bringing prosperity to the country. He then married the daughter of an Earthly king.

Princess Kaguya returned once more to the Moon, but the prince remained on Earth. As a king linking two worlds—his father and mother, Earth and Moon—he ruled wisely, and the people lived happily ever after.

And so the story ended happily.”

It sounds almost like something Shinichi Hoshi might have written, but it is remarkably well constructed.

Personally, the only things that felt slightly out of place were the silver spacecraft and the fact that Princess Kaguya had not aged at all.

I also found it interesting that the AI deliberately avoided revealing which of the five noblemen was the prince’s father.

After only a few rounds of discussion with the AI, I suspect we could produce a genuinely moving Princess Kaguya, Part Two in just an hour or two.

Ordinary writers may have a hard time competing with this.

These days, people often talk about the importance of having practical, hands-on skills.

The number of white-collar jobs will probably decrease dramatically.

Even doctors may eventually do little more than perform examinations according to AI recommendations, while some kinds of work are largely handed over to AI and humans simply supervise the process.

The question will then become what we do with all the time that AI gives back to us, and how we use human creativity.

But how many people will still be willing to go through the troublesome process of creating something themselves?

I do not know how close we really are to the so-called technological singularity.

But there is little doubt that we have already entered an age in which AI can perform, one after another, tasks we once believed required uniquely human creativity.

Perhaps human beings are now being forced to reconsider, and rapidly change, the very way we live.

“The End” may soon mean only the end of the original story—not the end of what can be imagined next.

 

・・・

Vocabulary for Learners

live happily ever after
A traditional ending meaning that people continue to live happily for the rest of their lives.
「いつまでも幸せに暮らしました」という昔話などの決まり文句

succession
The process of deciding who will take over a position, title, or leadership role.
後継、継承

original creator
The person who first created a story, character, artwork, or other work.
原作者、創作者

consistency
The quality of remaining logical and not contradicting earlier information.
一貫性、整合性

fade into legend
To gradually become remembered more as a story or legend than as a real event.
次第に伝説・昔話になっていく

out of place
Strange or unsuitable in a particular situation.
場違いな、違和感のある

hands-on skills
Practical skills involving actual work or direct experience rather than only theory.
実践的な技能、手に職

white-collar jobs
Professional or office-based jobs rather than mainly physical labor.
ホワイトカラー職、事務・専門職

supervise
To watch and manage work done by other people or systems.
監督する、管理する

technological singularity
A hypothetical point when artificial intelligence develops beyond human intellectual ability and causes rapid social change.
技術的特異点、シンギュラリティー

#GenerativeAI #JapaneseCulture #CreativityAndAI #FutureOfWork #JapanesePathologist

I Made It to the Cemetery Before Obon Ended

Today is the final day of Obon in Japan. I almost skipped visiting our family graves this year, but somehow, not going simply did not feel right.

Obon comes to an end today.

I worked as usual on the 13th and 14th, and yesterday the weather was not very good, so I missed my chance to visit the cemetery. Before I knew it, it was already the 16th.

For a moment, I thought perhaps it would be all right to skip the visit this year.

Still, somehow, I could not quite feel at ease.

 

Fortunately, thanks to the cloudy weather over the past few days, the temperature stayed around 26 or 27 degrees Celsius, which made things much easier.

First, we visited my family grave, and then we went to the cemetery where my wife's family is buried.

Around that time, a light drizzle began to fall.

On the way back to Kamakura, we drove along a slightly elevated road, and from there I could see Kamakura wrapped in mist.

Once we entered the old part of Kamakura, there were many tourists as usual. The drizzle did not seem to bother them much, and quite a few were walking around rather soaked.

It is sometimes said that during Obon, the spirits of our ancestors return home, leaving their graves temporarily empty. If so, one might wonder how much meaning there is in visiting a grave during Obon itself.

Even so, there is surely meaning in going there to pay one's respects and clean the grave.

In any case, I am glad I managed to make it before Obon was over.

A small sense of relief.

Sometimes, simply showing up before it is too late is enough to bring peace of mind.

・・・

Vocabulary for Learners

make it in time
To arrive or finish something before it becomes too late.
間に合う、時間内に到着する

feel at ease
To feel calm, relaxed, and free from worry.
安心する、気持ちが落ち着く

drizzle
Very light rain made up of small drops.
霧雨、小雨

wrapped in mist
Covered or surrounded by a thin cloud near the ground.
霧に包まれた

pay one’s respects
To show respect for someone, especially someone who has died.
敬意を表する、お参りする

ancestor
A person in your family who lived many years before you.
先祖

peace of mind
A feeling of calm because there is nothing left to worry about.
安心感、心の安らぎ

#Obon #Kamakura #JapaneseCulture #FamilyTraditions #JapanesePathologist

Is Using AI the Same as Cheating?

AI is becoming part of our everyday lives and our work. As that happens, I sometimes wonder what all those years of memorizing facts and formulas for exams were really for. If we can now ask AI almost anything, where exactly is the line between using a tool and cheating?

When I use AI in my daily life and at work, there are times when all the effort I once put into studying for exams starts to seem almost ridiculous.

What, after all, is the difference between cheating on a test and asking AI for help?

These days, it sometimes feels as though almost every online news article has been touched by AI in some way—or was written by AI from the beginning.

There were occasional exams where we were allowed to bring in an English dictionary. But in today’s world, does it still make sense to ban computers or smartphones from an exam room?

In history class, we were expected to memorize exact dates down to the year, month, and day. Yet most of that disappeared from memory as soon as the exam was over. The same is true of formulas in mathematics and physics. How many of them do we really need to memorize?

When it comes to tests that are little more than exercises in memorization, perhaps it is enough to understand the general picture. With formulas, what matters is how to use them, not whether they have been hidden from us and successfully memorized.

Even with foreign languages, using automatic translation on a smartphone may ultimately allow us to communicate our intentions more accurately.

A time when the very concept of “cheating” begins to lose its meaning might actually be rather interesting.

Still, we will probably continue to need memorization, because there will always be situations in which AI is unavailable and we have to think for ourselves. If so, tests designed to make sure that we have truly learned something may remain necessary.

And in the end, using AI well requires abilities of our own.

To make proper use of AI, we still need to accumulate knowledge and experience until they become part of us.

 AI may change what we need to memorize, but it does not eliminate the need to build knowledge of our own.

Vocabulary for Learners
cheating
Breaking the rules in an exam or test to get an unfair advantage.
カンニング、不正行為

memorization
The process of learning something so that you can remember it exactly.
暗記

formula
A mathematical or scientific rule written with numbers or symbols.
公式

automatic translation
Translation done automatically by a computer, smartphone, or AI system.
自動翻訳

general picture
The main idea or overall understanding of something, rather than every detail.
大まかな全体像

think for oneself
To form one’s own ideas or judgments without depending completely on others.
自分で考える

make proper use of
To use something in an appropriate and effective way.
適切に活用する

accumulate knowledge and experience
To gradually build up knowledge and experience over time.
知識や経験を蓄える

become part of us
To become deeply learned or absorbed so that it naturally influences how we think and act.
自分の血肉となる

Other People Are Not Extensions of Me

A recent workplace harassment scandal involving the mayor of Yokohama made me reflect on my own behavior toward others. Even when we believe we are correcting someone for their own good, our standards and values are not necessarily theirs.

Yesterday, the mayor of Yokohama apologized before the city council over allegations of workplace harassment.

According to media reports, some of his behavior had apparently been repeated to the point where one could only think, “This has gone too far.” Under the circumstances, the apology was probably unavoidable.

At one point during the questioning, he became tearful. What those tears meant, of course, only he knows.

Was he reflecting on what he had done? Was he thinking about his own future? I cannot know.

It is all the more unfortunate because Yokohama’s city administration has generally been regarded as successful, including its continued achievement of zero children on the daycare waiting list.

Workplace harassment cannot simply be brushed aside. Rebuilding trust will take time, and changing an organizational culture is never easy.

We often see similar scenes in movies and television dramas: a boss or colleague harshly reprimanding someone.

The person being scolded may have made a simple mistake, let their guard down, or simply been given a task beyond their ability. There are many circumstances, and within the story, there is usually some reason why they are being blamed.

As viewers, we may even think,

“Well, I suppose they had it coming.”

But when a reprimand goes too far, it can become harassment.

Even if the person giving the reprimand believes it is simply guidance or instruction, the person receiving it may experience it very differently.

I know that I can be demanding of other people.

There have been times when people around me have cautioned me about it.

Looking back, I think I was often trying to correct people because they had failed to meet the standards I expected.

I believed it would be good for them as well.

But perhaps that was simply a difference in values, and perhaps I was wrong.

Other people are not extensions of me.

They have different values, different experiences, and different abilities.

The same is surely true even within a family.

And this is something any of us can fall into.

There have been many other times when I have said too much.

I need to take what has happened to the mayor of Yokohama as a warning for myself.

I have already lived through a large part of my life.

For whatever time remains, I hope I can live with a little more consideration for the people around me.

 Other people are not extensions of me—and perhaps remembering that is one way to become a little kinder with the time I have left.

・・・

• workplace harassment — 職場でのハラスメント
• reprimand — 叱責する、厳しく注意する
• brush aside — 軽く扱う、問題にしない
• meet someone’s standards — 誰かの期待水準を満たす
• an extension of oneself — 自分の延長、自分の一部のような存在
• take something as a warning — 他山の石とする、戒めとする
• consideration for others — 他人への思いやり、配慮

#Yokohama #WorkplaceHarassment #Leadership #SelfReflection #HumanRelationships #Respect #LifeLessons #Japan #pathologist

Lives Caught Between the Two Sides of a Card

As Japan approaches August 15, memories of war return through television, family stories, and the news. Peace and madness can sometimes seem as close as the two sides of a single card—and countless human lives may lie between them.

Last night, NHK aired a drama about the young Osamu Tezuka, the man later known as the “God of Manga.”

He was born in 1928, and when the war ended in 1945, he was still only sixteen.

The drama depicted him narrowly escaping death during an air raid.

He saw many people wounded and killed before his eyes, and one line stayed with me:

“So this is what hell looks like.”

My wife, who was watching with me, said it reminded her of something her father often talked about.

He had survived the great air raid on Yokohama, and he said that one of the hardest things was having to step over many dead bodies as he fled.

What came back to my mind was something my mother once told me.

“I remember Yoshi-san”—my grandmother—“turning on the light in the room on the night of August 15 and saying, ‘It’s all right now, isn’t it?’”

Both kinds of scenes appeared in last night’s drama.

War seems to exist somewhere between sanity and madness, like the front and back of a card.

And when I imagine tens of thousands of human lives caught within that single thin card, I feel helplessly saddened.

In the news, I heard that a man in Ukraine who had been recovering the bodies of people killed in the war died in an explosion as he was getting into a vehicle.

The exact circumstances are not clear, but it is not difficult to imagine what may have happened.

To add yet more suffering to the deaths caused by war, and to the grief already carried by the bereaved.

How cruel can human beings become?

Or perhaps that cruelty appears cruel only when seen from one side.

Seen from the other side, perhaps someone could claim that it is not cruel at all.

Every year, as Japan marks the anniversary of the end of the war, Japanese people are once again made to confront war.

It is summer, and sometimes I think perhaps we should be enjoying ourselves more.

But perhaps this is something like a cross that Japanese people have been given to carry.

Even so, will all of this eventually become nothing more than a distant past?

I hope that this desire to mourn and remember, too, will remain caught between the two sides of that card.

I hope that our remembrance of the dead will always remain between the two sides of the card—between sanity and madness, peace and war.

 

・・・ 

narrowly escape death
To survive a situation in which one came very close to dying.
九死に一生を得る

air raid
An attack in which aircraft drop bombs or launch weapons on a place.
空襲

sanity
A state of rational and mentally sound thought or behavior.
正気

madness
Extremely irrational, violent, or uncontrolled behavior or thinking.
狂気

the bereaved
People who are grieving because someone close to them has died.
遺族

recover a body
To find and retrieve the remains of someone who has died.
遺体を回収する

confront
To face and deal with something difficult or painful.
向き合う

a cross to carry
A continuing burden, responsibility, or suffering that someone must bear.
背負うべき十字架、重荷

distant past
A period of history that feels far removed from the present.
遠い過去

remembrance
The act of remembering and honoring someone or something from the past.
追憶、慰霊、記憶

#Japan #August15 #WorldWarII #OsamuTezuka #WarAndPeace #Remembrance #AirRaids #Ukraine #Peace #History #JapaneseHistory #pathologist

Taking It Easy When the Weather Makes You Feel Unwell

Typhoon Chan-hom crossed Japan after approaching Honshu from an unusual direction. With sudden changes in atmospheric pressure came headaches, fatigue, and a general feeling of being unwell—a reminder that sometimes the best thing we can do is simply take the day a little more gently.

Typhoon No. 15, Chan-hom, came straight toward Honshu from the east and crossed the island.

Around two or three in the morning, the rain was incredibly heavy, and it woke me several times.

After days of intense heat and too little water, the trees looked much healthier this morning.

Usually, I think of typhoons as approaching Japan from the southeast and moving northward.

This one, however, followed a very different course, and this morning did not bring the crisp, refreshing weather we often associate with the passing of a typhoon.

Still, the temperature is relatively low, and today’s high is apparently not expected to reach 30°C.

Normally, once the heat lets up, I quickly begin to feel better.

But not this time.

Perhaps because of the low-pressure system, I am not feeling quite myself.

I have a headache, some allergy symptoms, my stomach is not quite right, and my whole body feels sluggish.

I suppose this is what people call “weather-related illness.”

In the past, symptoms like these may simply have been dismissed as vague, nonspecific complaints, but these days they seem to be taken somewhat more seriously.

In particular, when atmospheric pressure changes sharply over a short period of time, as it does with a typhoon, the body may have even more difficulty adjusting.

This may reduce our efficiency at work, and perhaps even increase the risk of making mistakes or having an accident.

On days like this, I would rather try to stay calm, keep a smile on my face, and take things gently.

Fortunately, commuting is less stressful during the Obon holiday period this week, which helps a little.

Some days are better spent not pushing ourselves, but simply moving through them calmly.

 

・・・

atmospheric pressure
The pressure caused by the weight of the air in the atmosphere.
気圧

weather-related illness
Physical symptoms or discomfort that may be associated with changes in weather or atmospheric pressure.
気象病

low-pressure system
An area where atmospheric pressure is lower than in the surrounding region, often associated with clouds, rain, and storms.
低気圧

sluggish
Feeling tired, slow, or lacking energy.
だるい、体が重い

nonspecific complaint
A symptom that is difficult to attribute to one clear medical cause.
不定愁訴、非特異的な訴え

adjust
To become accustomed to a new condition or situation.
適応する、順応する

let up
To become less severe or intense.
弱まる、和らぐ

take things gently
To avoid pushing oneself too hard and proceed at an easy pace.
無理をせず穏やかに過ごす

#Japan #Typhoon #ChanHom #Weather #WeatherRelatedIllness #AtmosphericPressure #Obon #SummerInJapan #DailyLife #TakeItEasy #JapaneseLife #pathologist

What Does It Really Mean to Be “Important”?

As August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, approaches, we hear many stories about the war. One phrase always troubles me: “a failed military operation.” When decisions made by those in authority cost countless lives, what does failure really mean—and what does it mean to be “important” in the first place?

Every year, as the anniversary of the end of the war approaches, I hear many stories related to the war.

One phrase always catches my attention:

“A failed military operation.”

Many soldiers lost their lives because an operation failed.

War is a struggle in which one side kills the soldiers of the other, and eventually there is a winner and a loser.

But what does it really mean for an operation in such a war to “fail”?

Is there any salvation for the lives lost because of that failure?

No.

When human lives are at stake, failure should not be allowed.

And yet, failures happen.

Perhaps there is no way around that.

But the people who command such operations are important people—people in positions of authority.

In the military, they receive specialized education, rise through the ranks, become senior officers or generals, and are entrusted with the lives of many people under their command.

And when their judgment is wrong, not only soldiers but also ordinary civilians may lose their lives.

It may not always be possible to say clearly what was a failure and what was a success.

Still, those in authority hold the power of life and death over the people beneath them.

There were people who had no choice but to entrust their lives to those considered important.

The judgment of important people is not necessarily correct.

And yet there are people who must live according to those decisions.

This is not limited to war.

In many structures of society, there are hierarchies.

And within those hierarchies, there are people who end up making sacrifices.

We could simply say, “That is how society works.”

But is that really enough?

Why is human society filled with so many contradictions?

Whenever the anniversary of the end of the war approaches, I find myself thinking about many things.

And as always, I do not know the answer.

Perhaps the hardest questions are the ones for which no one in authority can give us the right answer.

 

・・・

military operation
An organized action carried out by armed forces for a specific purpose.
軍事作戦

at stake
In a situation where something important may be gained, lost, or harmed.
危険にさらされて／かかっていて

authority
The power or right to make decisions and give orders.
権限、権力

rise through the ranks
To gradually move into higher positions in an organization.
昇進して地位を上げる

under one’s command
Under the control or leadership of a particular person.
指揮下にある

judgment
The ability to make decisions, or a particular decision made after consideration.
判断

the power of life and death
The power to determine whether someone lives or dies.
生殺与奪の権

hierarchy
A system in which people are ranked at different levels of power or importance.
階層制度、上下関係

make sacrifices
To give up something valuable, sometimes unwillingly, for a larger purpose or because of circumstances.
犠牲を払う

contradiction
A situation in which two ideas, facts, or principles seem to oppose each other.
矛盾

Hashtags

#Japan #WorldWarII #August15 #WarAndPeace #Authority #Leadership #Responsibility #HumanLife #Society #Reflections #JapanesePerspective #pathologist

The Relationship Between Negative Energy and My Blog

A quiet commute during Japan’s Obon holiday season made me realize something slightly uncomfortable: frustration, irritation, and other forms of “negative energy” may be part of what keeps my blog moving.

Because of the heavy rain that began late last night, the air was slightly cool this morning, and I woke up feeling refreshed.

I had wondered whether anyone would really bother going to work during this awkward gap between the scattered holidays of the Obon season, but apparently about 60 percent of the usual commuters still do.

The train was nearly empty, and I found myself grateful to the railway company for keeping the usual service frequency even at a time like this.

I wonder how many of the people heading to work are what we call essential workers.

My own profession is one of them. Illness does not take a holiday for Obon or New Year’s.

The cool weather will probably last only through the morning, and it will no doubt become hot again during the day. Still, at least there is none of the usual stress caused by a crowded commute.

And then a thought suddenly occurred to me.

What am I going to write about today?

I have only just written about my distrust of politics, and I also recently wrote, almost impulsively, about something that made me extremely unpleasant.

Inside the spacious train car, the people around me seemed relaxed. There was little of that tense atmosphere that usually says, “All right, another workday is about to begin.”

So then the question becomes: what am I supposed to write about?

Japan’s decline?

The Dodgers’ poor performance?

World peace, perhaps?

Global warming?

Environmental pollution?

Even if I wanted to write about such things, I know only a little about them, and opinions are often divided. They are not subjects I can properly deal with in the twenty or thirty minutes I usually have to write.

Still, when something negative catches my attention, I can usually turn it into material for my blog.

On a peaceful morning like this, however, even that becomes difficult.

Perhaps negative energy is one of the forces that drives my writing.

I could write more about enjoyable things, or about happiness.

Perhaps there are simply fewer such things.

Or perhaps, even when they are there, I do not particularly want to show them off.

Either way, they are strangely difficult to write about.

Of course, once I arrive at work, I will have to switch into full concentration and take everything seriously.

But perhaps there is also something good about arriving at work with my mind as relaxed as it is today.

Perhaps a little less negative energy is not such a bad thing, even if it leaves me with less to write about.

・・・

scattered holidays
Holidays that are separated by working days rather than forming one continuous break.
飛び石連休

essential worker
A person whose work is necessary for society to continue functioning, even during holidays or emergencies.
社会生活の維持に欠かせない仕事に従事する人

service frequency
How often trains, buses, or other forms of transportation operate.
運行頻度

tense atmosphere
A feeling of pressure, nervousness, or seriousness in a place or situation.
張り詰めた雰囲気

impulsively
In a sudden way, without much advance thought or planning.
衝動的に

material for my blog
A subject, experience, or idea that can be used as something to write about.
ブログのネタ

negative energy
Here, frustration, anger, anxiety, or dissatisfaction that becomes motivation for thinking or writing.
ここでは、不満・怒り・不安など、思考や執筆の原動力となる負の感情

drive my writing
To provide the motivation or force that makes someone continue writing.
文章を書く原動力となる

#Japan #Obon #DailyLife #Blogging #Writing #Commuting #EssentialWorkers #Kamakura #pathologist

Sorting Through My Father’s Belongings

Two months after my father’s seventh memorial service, I finally began sorting through some of the things he left behind. Among them was something that was a kind of shared “treasure” for both of us: an old stereo system, together with a collection of vinyl records.

It has been two months since my father’s seventh memorial service.

I had been thinking for some time that we needed to start sorting through the things he left behind, but somehow I could never quite bring myself to do it.

My mother, however, has apparently begun going through things little by little, so I decided it was time for me to take care of one particular “treasure” that my father and I shared.

Calling it a treasure may be an exaggeration.

It is simply an old stereo system.

But I brought it home, together with the records.

Some of the LPs were ones I had collected during my student days.

Back then, I got myself a credit card from Midoriya, a department store on Dogenzaka in Shibuya, and ended up spending more than I could afford.

Eventually, I had to sell quite a few of my records just to pay the bills.

Even so, there were some that I simply could not bring myself to part with.

And now, after all these years, I wanted to listen to them again.

Carrying the stereo home was no small task.

My back began to hurt, but somehow I managed.

Then I looked at the record player.

There was no stylus.

I searched online and was surprised to find how expensive some of them were.

And this did not seem like the sort of thing for which I should simply order something cheap and random on the Internet.

Then I remembered a recent episode of NHK’s documentary program 72 Hours.

It had featured a record shop, and I had been surprised to see just how many people still loved vinyl records.

Maybe that shop would have what I needed.

I looked it up online.

Apparently, it does.

So one of these days, I think I will go there and have a look.

Stopping off in Shibuya once in a while might not be such a bad idea.

Sometimes, sorting through what someone has left behind does not only bring back the past—it gives us a reason to go somewhere new.

sort through
to examine a group of things carefully in order to organize, keep, or discard them
整理する、仕分けする

belongings
the personal things that someone owns
所持品、遺品

memorial service
a ceremony held to remember someone who has died
法要、追悼式

bring oneself to do something
to make oneself do something emotionally difficult
思い切って〜する、気持ちを奮い立たせて〜する

part with
to give up or sell something that one would rather keep
手放す

stylus
the small needle-like part of a record player that touches the record groove
レコード針

vinyl record
a record made of vinyl, especially an LP or single
レコード盤、アナログレコード

no small task
something that is difficult or requires considerable effort
容易ではないこと

stop off
to visit a place briefly while traveling somewhere else
途中下車する、途中で立ち寄る

#Japan #VinylRecords #RecordPlayer #Shibuya #Memories #Family #LifeInJapan #pathologist #Kamakura

Trying Not to Become an Unpleasant Person

A badly parked luxury car, a couple who ignored a simple complaint, and a small lesson in everyday manners. Sometimes the people who irritate us most can also remind us how we ourselves should behave.

I went shopping at a store near my home.

There were only three parking spaces, and one car had been parked diagonally across two of them.

I was the third person to arrive, so I had no choice but to wait until that car left.

It was some kind of expensive luxury car whose name I did not even know.

Eventually, the couple who owned it came back.

I said to them, “I couldn’t park because of the way you parked your car.”

They completely ignored me.

Not even a small nod of acknowledgment.

They simply drove away.

They were an unpleasant couple.

Since they were driving a car like that, I suppose they must be extremely wealthy.

Perhaps they hardly ever have to go shopping for themselves in the first place.

And perhaps it has been so many decades since they last had to apologize to anyone that they have simply forgotten how.

There are actually quite a few people like that.

But then I thought that I should be careful not to become that kind of person myself.

As the old Japanese saying goes:

“Learn from the faults of others and correct your own.”

It is easy to notice unpleasant behavior in other people. The harder part is making sure we do not gradually become the same way ourselves.

・・・

park diagonally
To leave a car at an angle rather than properly within a parking space.
斜めに駐車する

have no choice but to ～
To be forced to do something because there is no other reasonable option.
～せざるを得ない

luxury car
An expensive, high-quality automobile, often associated with wealth or status.
高級車

acknowledgment
A small action or response showing that you have noticed or understood someone.
会釈、認識を示すこと

unpleasant
Not enjoyable or agreeable; making others feel uncomfortable or annoyed.
感じの悪い、不快な

extremely wealthy
Having a very large amount of money or property.
たいそうな大金持ちの

apologize
To say that you are sorry for something you have done wrong.
謝る

learn from the faults of others
To observe other people’s mistakes and use them as a lesson for your own behavior.
他人の振り見て我が振り直せ

#Japan #JapaneseLife #EverydayLife #Manners #HumanNature #LifeLessons #Kamakura #pathologist

Why Politicians Leave Us Feeling Hopeless

From disaster-zone visits to expensive overseas trips and questionable local projects, public spending often leaves taxpayers wondering whose money politicians think they are using. It is a frustration that extends far beyond Japan.

Today is Risshū, the beginning of autumn according to the traditional Japanese calendar.

Although this is actually the hottest time of the year, autumn has already begun on the calendar.

Even at the peak of the heat, the days are gradually growing shorter, and I have been seeing far more dragonflies.

The temperature is expected to fall slightly next week. Now, all that remains is to wait for autumn.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently visited the earthquake-stricken areas of Kumamoto.

Judging from the television footage, she appeared to be accompanied by a considerable number of people. According to news reports, the visit itself lasted 51 minutes.

I think it was good that she found time in her busy schedule to travel to Kumamoto. Still, I could not help wondering how much the entire visit cost.

There is, of course, great value in a prime minister going to a disaster area and seeing the damage with her own eyes.

At the same time, I wonder how much a brief visit involving so many people actually contributes to helping those affected.

This morning, the news reported that the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly had spent hundreds of millions of yen in public funds on overseas trips over the past several years.

In one case, members reportedly stayed at a hotel in Paris that cost well over 100,000 yen per night.

And the money, of course, came from taxpayers.

In Kamakura, the city assembly has faced criticism for installing a gold-colored display bearing the names of former assembly presidents and vice presidents, as well as current members.

Together with repairs to the wall, it reportedly cost approximately 3.85 million yen.

Kamakura’s local taxes are by no means cheap. It is difficult to accept that our money is being spent on something like this.

Do people become less careful with money because it is not money they earned through their own hard work?

Of course, some expenditure is necessary for politics and government.

There are things politicians cannot understand without traveling abroad. There are things they cannot see without personally visiting a disaster area.

But behind the phrase “necessary expenditure,” have they become numb to the fact that they are spending taxpayers’ money?

They want to achieve good government by spending other people’s money.

Sometimes I find myself wondering whether that idea is inherently impossible.

The moment politicians acquire power, some begin to behave as though public money and public office have become their personal property.

Do we not see far too many such incidents, from national government to local assemblies, in every corner of the country?

The same thing has probably been happening for centuries.

How much longer will this sense of hopelessness toward politicians continue?

And yet, suppose I became a politician and suddenly had public money at my disposal.

Could I treat it with the same care as the money I earned through my own hard work?

I am not entirely confident that I could.

Perhaps the problem is not only what power does to politicians, but what it might do to any of us.

・・・

public spending
Money spent by a government or public authority.
公的支出、政府や自治体による支出

taxpayer
A person or organization that pays taxes.
納税者

disaster-stricken area
A place that has been seriously affected by a natural disaster.
被災地

public funds
Money belonging to a government or public organization, usually collected through taxes.
公金、税金などから成る公的資金

at someone’s disposal
Available for someone to use or control.
人が自由に使用・管理できる状態で

be numb to something
To become unable or unwilling to notice or react strongly to something.
何かに対する感覚が麻痺している

inherently
In a way that is a basic or inseparable part of something.
本質的に、生来

public office
An official position in government.
公職

in every corner of the country
Throughout the entire country, including many different regions.
国中いたるところで、全国津々浦々

not entirely confident
Unsure whether one would really be able to do something.
完全には自信がない

#Japan #JapanesePolitics #Politics #PublicSpending #Taxpayers #GovernmentAccountability #PoliticalPower #Kumamoto #Kamakura #Risshu #pathologist #Kamakura