グレン・S・フクシマのジャパン・ウォッチ

Strategy is key 外交戦略の重要性

現在のところは「蜜月期間」にあり、高い支持率を誇る鳩山内閣。新政権にとって、内政と同様に外交戦略が重要な鍵となる。

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fukushimaGlen S. Fukushima, a native of California, is President & CEO of Airbus Japan and former President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. From 1985 to 1990, he was based in Washington, D.C. as Director for Japanese Affairs and, later, Deputy Assistant USTR for Japan and China at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

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Nov 9, 2009 ジャパン・ウォッチ

11月7日号 1面

250pixel_2 Rocking the world
独占インタビュー MONKEY MAJIK の挑戦

Rising rock band Monkey Majik normally plays to packed halls filled with young, screaming fans. But their recent gig at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo was for a cause without a voice: the thousands of poor kids throughout the world who rely on the efforts of the "Free the Children" charity.

"Free the Children is special in many ways," says Canadian vocalist and guitarist Maynard of the four-member multicultural band. "It was a Canadian who started it (the charity). It focuses on children who are in countries and are in some way or another enslaved, and these are issues or topics that particularly my brother and I care about, and as a band as well."

Free the Children is one of the world's biggest charities, founded in 1995 by Craig Kielburger, who was 12 at the time, and 11 of his schoolmates.

Craig's older brother Marc helped him manage the organization.

The band -- composed of Maynard, brother Blaise Plant, and two Japanese, Tax and Dick -- is active throughout Japan but is based in Sendai, where all the members reside. Maynard came to Aomori Prefecture in 1997 as an assistant language teacher through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. He founded the band in 2000 and later summoned Blaise from Canada to come and join.

Due to the band's bicultural nature, the members were designated as Canadian goodwill ambassadors to Japan this year.

The band's embassy performance on Oct. 24 was solely for charity, with proceeds going toward the construction of schools and pumps for drinkable water in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

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【WORDS 単語をチェック】
rock ~ ~を揺るがす rising 前途有望な play to packed halls 大入りの会場で演奏する gig (単発の)演奏、ライブ poor 不幸な Free the Children フリー・ザ・チルドレン(貧困や児童労働から子どもを解放、支援することを目的とする国際協力団体) charity 慈善事業、団体 multicultural 多文化の (be) enslaved (ここでは)児童労働させられる found 設立する(後出は結成する) manage 運営する (be) composed of ~ ~から成る (be) active 活躍する (be) based in ~ ~を拠点とする reside 住む assistant language teacher 外国語指導助手(ALT) Japan Exchange ... Programme 海外の大学出身者を、国際交流や語学教育のために日本の学校に招く公的事業(JETプログラム) summon 呼ぶ due to ~ ~のために bicultural nature 二文化を持つ特質 designate ~ as ... ~を…に指名する goodwill ambassador 親善大使 proceeds 収益金 pump ポンプ drinkable water 飲料水 Rajasthan ラージャスターン

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Nov 6, 2009 1面

English Salad by Chikako Kobayashi

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Push Comes to Shove (Part 2)  いざとなったら(パート2)

Julie is surprised to hear about the events at Yusuke's sports day.


(Continued from the previous issue) 

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Yusuke: You'd be surprised how fired up I can get when it comes to competition.

Julie: Really?

Y: There's also an event called bo-taoshi.

J: Do you try to push down a "stick?"

Y: Well, it's more like a pole.

J: How does it work?

Y: Part of each team tries to keep their pole standing vertically by crowding around it. The other team members run over to the opponents' pole and try to pull it down.

J: So you have a bunch of kids climbing on top of other kids who've wrapped themselves around a pole?!

Y: Yes.

J: Don't kids get hurt?

Y: My cousin said he split his lip open when he was shoved into a pole he was protecting. But he didn't notice he was bleeding until later because he was so focused on winning.

J: Yikes. I haven't participated in a sports day since I was in elementary school. And even then, the events were pretty low-key. The highlight was eating hotdogs for lunch!

「今週は編集上の都合により1面とジャパン・ウォッチの更新はありません。」

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Oct 30, 2009 English Salad

English Salad by Chikako Kobayashi

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Push Comes to Shove (Part 1)  いざとなったら(パート1)

Julie is surprised to hear about the events at Yusuke's sports day.

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Julie: So what have you been up to lately? 

Yusuke: We're practicing for sports day at school.

J: Yeah? What events are you competing in?

Y: "Kibasen."

J: What's that?

Y: (Looking in his dictionary) Cavalry battle?

J:
I've never heard of it.

Y: You form groups of four people each. Three people stand in a triangle. The two people in the back hold one of the leader's hands, and place their other hand on the leader's shoulders to create a "horse." The fourth person, or the rider, climbs on top of them. Then they go to "battle."

J: What do you mean by battle?

Y: The students are divided into the red team and white team. The person on top of each "horse" wears a "hachimaki" bandana in his team color. The kibasen groups from each team charge toward each other. Players on top of the kibasen "horses" try to take the hachimaki bandanas from the other team.

J: Sounds dangerous. Somehow, I can't imagine a gentle boy like you in an event like that.

(To be continued)

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Oct 28, 2009 English Salad

ここで差をつける安河内哲也の英文法

東進ハイスクール・東進衛星予備校講師 安河内 哲也

ある朝起きたらなぜか無性に運動したくなり、自転車で海沿いを走って、湾岸にある野球場までの十数キロを往復しました。なんとそれから、1週間も朝のライドを続けています。朝の新しい習慣になりそうです。ジャージにママチャリだと、どう見ても不審者なので、一カ月間続けることができたら、サイクリングギアをそろえようと思ってます。語学の勉強も運動も 「継続」 こそ命ですね。さて、それでは今日の問題です。

次の(    )に入る語を一つ選びなさい。

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1. The recent (    ) of the yen made it difficult for exporters to ensure profits. 

A. appreciation B. appreciating C. appreciate D. appreciated

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2. We deeply (    ) for the unpleasant experience you had at our inn.

A. to apologize B. apologizing C. apology D. apologize

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3. We demand that you (    ) the image from your site within 36 hours.

A. removal B. removing C. remove D. removed

                                                                                         解答 1. A 2. D 3. C

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Oct 27, 2009 ここで差をつける 安河内哲也の英文法