Think moderately

2023年4月16日

Think 'moderately'

Hello everyone! How's it going? This is teacher Asuka.

Today, I'm going to think about 'diversity' in Japan.

Have you ever heard someone say as 'I'm half Japanese and half American'? Foreigners never use 'half'. 'Half' in Japan seems 'mixed', 'double' or 'part' overseas. The other day I read an interesting column about 'diversity'. The writer named Sandra Haefelin, is half German and half Japanese. She spent her childhood in Germany and came to Japan when she was 20.

She wrote that people in Japan didn't understand that she was Japanese when she introduced her Japanese name in Japanese, and they didn't think she was Japanese because she didn't look Japanese. That's why she was interested in the meaning of 'half' in Japan.

In her book, she tried to make the Japanese understand that 'you can't find see someone's true colours by the way they look'. She also wrote that she wanted them to respect others and imagine their way of thinking, values or behaviour.

Not only in Japan, but also in other foreign countries, more or less, there have been a lot of merits in terms of culture, education, raising children and so on. Therefore, she suggested that it would be good not to think extremely that Japan is number one, or that foreign countries are better than Japan, but to think 'moderately' is suitable for building relationships with foreign countries.

Considering for and respecting others whether Japanese or foreigners, should be a great and efficient tool for communication in the global world.

Thank you for being with me as always.

See you next time!

Teacher Asuka

English broadcasting below
https://stand.fm/episodes/643bc81c8a52be72e300a64b

いつもの生活に世界のスパイスを。

Teacher Asuka 講師のコラム