Author Archive: admin

Overworking Issue

2016年11月25日

Japan is doubling its efforts on tackling karoshi or death from work in the wake of a work-related suicide that sparked public outrage. Matsuri Takahashi, 24, committed suicide after working 105 hours of overtime a month. The advertising giant, Dentsu Inc., which she was then working for, was being thoroughly investigated by labor authorities to find any other employment violation. The company, in response, banned its employees from staying in the office later than 10pm and cut the maximum monthly overtime by five hours to alleviate their working condition. However, the reaction to Dentsu’s countermeasures was not as expected. A good number of their employees raised their concerns about not…
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Expert

Overworking Issue

2016年11月25日

Pre-reading Questions: Did you have a dream job when you were a child? Does anyone in your family work overnight? A company in Japan is inspected by authorities due to the report that employees from the company worked overtime illegally. It is suspected of violating the labor law. Japanese companies now are on a hot seat and will not be exempted to the inspection. Japanese businesses are far behind in legal compliance. Employees normally spend more than 100 hours of overtime work in a month. Authorities are aiming to stop excessive overtime. Surprise on-site inspections of workplace are also planned. The company Dentsu Inc. forbids employees to work from 10…
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Intermediate

Overworking Issue

2016年11月24日

Japan - Beginner

Pre-reading questions: What is your dream job? What are the most popular companies in your country? In Japan, working conditions are too strict and sometimes they cause employees to commit suicide. An employee from Dentsu Inc. was reported to have committed suicide due to overworking. Overworking can cause depression according to the health office. Now, authorities are inspecting the company and its branches because of the situation. They are also going to have on-site inspections to almost all companies in Japan. Vocabulary: strict – 厳しい[adjective] used to describe a rule or command that must be obeyed employee – 従業員[noun] a person who works for another person or a company for…
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Beginner

Daytime students in night schools

2016年11月18日

  The government forged ahead with a proposal for the sake of junior high school students. These students were the ones who were rebuffed, or were incapable of going to daytime institutions. Public night institutions typically cater classes to those 15 years old or older who have not completed compulsory education. Educational abutment centers are operated by municipalities, while free schools are managed by private sectors. There are 97,000 junior high school students countrywide who refused to go to institutions. The new government protocol renders 31 accessible public night junior high school institutions in 25 cities across eight prefectures in Japan. Currently, all these institutions had about 1,800 enrollees, and…
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Expert

Daytime students in night schools

2016年11月18日

  Pre-reading questions: Have you ever thought of attending night classes? Do you think night classes are safe for teenagers? What can you say about a class consisting of students of different ages?   In 1947, night facility assembly for junior high school students started after World War II. It was the time when everything was in turmoil. Recently, the government is in progress with their latest policy. The government will soon acknowledge junior high school students to attend night facilities. The said junior high school students were the ones who declined going to or are unable to go to daytime facilities. The ministry has requested additional funds for this…
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Intermediate

Daytime students in night schools

2016年11月18日

Education - B

  Pre-reading questions: How long do you study at night? Would you like to go to night school?   Around 97,000 junior high school students don’t go to school. The government asked the students to attend night schools. These night schools use the same textbooks as regular schools. At Kyoto’s Rakuyu Junior High School, they study with older students. The ministry said that this will help them attend classes, yet students must be careful when traveling at night.   Vocabulary: night school – 夜学校 [noun] a school that gives evening classes. textbook – 教科書 [noun] a book used for the study of a particular subject regular – 普通の [adjective] ordinary…
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Beginner

US Inmates Uses Instant Ramen as Currency

2016年11月18日

  Tobacco was the preferred currency that inmates use in prisons before. Nowadays, the chosen currency of inmates is ramen. Jailbirds were no longer happy with the food’s quality and quantity inside the prison that they have begun depending on ramen noodles as a form of cash in the subterranean economy. Ramen turned into an invaluable product used to trade for other goods inside the prison as it is economical, palatable and rich in calories. 60 inmates were interviewed as a part of the study to learn how the inmates responded to the declining services in prison. The food received by the inmates is either inedible or too little to…
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Expert

Programming, a new fun way of learning

2016年11月18日

  The number of classes that teach programming to children is amplifying. This is in accordance to plans on having programming as an elementary school subject by academic year 2020. These kinds of classes are expected to induce creative and logical thinking among students at an early age. Last September, around 60 elementary school students assembled in a room to study programming. A second-grade student made a computer game about a parrot that rescues the monkey on a cloud by sprucing up on-screen commands such as changing the X coordinate by 10. CA Tech Kids, Inc. runs classes for elementary school students in eight locations since its foundation in 2013….
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Expert