LEARNING AND CULTURE
5 Reasons Japanese Need to Speak English Now
Silence is no longer golden in this increasingly connected world
The pen is mightier than the sword.
Such an old proverb seemed nonsense when this war in Ukraine broke out. When a megalomaniac dictator has access to nuclear weapons, he doesn’t need a single word to kill hundreds of thousands of people.
However, reading world leaders’ tweets and the posts of nameless people’s outcry, I found myself deeply moved. Their powerful presence overshadowed the Japanese government’s silence. NHK ―the public broadcaster－didn’t update the situation in Ukraine often and that disappointed me. Other channels were completely tone-deaf, blaring fake laughter during comedy shows and reviewing a new Hawaiian restaurant in Osaka.
ペンは剣よりも強し。戦争の前ではそんな諺は意味を持たないように思えたが、SNSで広まる各国のリーダーや名もなき人々の力強い言葉には深く動かされた。それに比べて日本政府はずいぶん静かだし、メディアの報道のなさには落胆させられた。
1. Japanese Media Is Worthless in a Global Crisis
TV stations are nothing but deadwood in Japan. They don’t seem qualified to call themselves media because they mainly produce soap operas and quiz shows. The Japanese have no option but to tune in to other nations’ sources such as BBC, ABC…
