Newsletter No.43

October 2002

Lecture: Jordan, My Country

A lecture by H.E. Mr Samir Naouri, the Jordanian Ambassador to Japan, took place on Thursday, September 12, from 6:30pm at the International House of Japan. The debut on the modern stage of the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan is still fairly recent, but from ancient times the country has prospered due to its important position, binding together East and West as well as the sea and the desert. Jordan's various tourist offerings include its splendid landscape, crusader fortresses, Greco-Roman and other ruins, and the world heritage site of Petra. Following a video introduction to Jordan, Ambassador Naouri spoke in easy-to-understand English about Jordan's customs, history, and present and future prospects. The Ambassador spoke on such fascinating topics as the state of the Dead Sea (With a salt content so concentrated things float on the surface, the Dead Sea's water is gradually decreasing) and the huge "Red-Dead" project, to bring water from the Red Sea, whose water level differs by 400 meters, and the filming of the Indiana Jones movie on location in the country. During the Q & A session, there was a question about the Israel-Palestine problem, which the Ambassador answered by explaining Jordan's position in detail, providing a wonderful learning opportunity for the audience. The lecture was extremely well-received. ESUJ intends to invite other ambassadors and ministers to introduce their countries in the future.

September English Club

Masumi Muramatsu's English Club took place on Tuesday, September 17 at the Tokyo Kokusai Forum. As there had been no English Club in August, the audience was large. September represents the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack and MM's theme was New York, including the "here is New York" exhibition held recently in Tokyo. Wearing his "Manhattan" tie, which displays a map of Manhattan, MM spoke of his New York experiences and various topics relating to the city. He approached his subject from various angles, showing clips from films set in New York, including Batman, Fail-Safe, 13 Days, and Crocodile Dundee.

"here is New York" exhibition: ESUJ members participate

A charity photograph sale was held at the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi from September 10-16, organized by the Asahi Newspaper. After 9/11, professional photographers and several New Yorkers gathered photographs showing various aspects related to the tragedy for an exhibition and on-the-spot printing and sale to benefit the families of the victims.　About 500 of photographs were shown in Tokyo for printing and sale. During the exhibition period, 1375 photographs were sold, with 4.3 million yen contributed. Around 20 ESUJ members and supporters worked as volunteers at the site.

Debate Seminar in Kansai a big success

The "Parliamentary Debating Seminar in Kansai" was held on Wednesday, October 9 at 6:30p.m. at the Osaka Prefecture University's Gakujutsu Koryu Kaikan, under the joint auspices of ESUJ and KIEF (Kansai Intercollegiate ESS Federation). There were around 160 participants, mainly from the ESS clubs of universities in Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Nara. The seminar started with an explanation in Japanese of debating and comment on the highlights of the model debate by ESUJ debate committee member, presently working in the Kansai, Masaki Miyashita. After that, a model debate was given by the four visiting British university students on the motion "This House would make voting compulsory." The audience were riveted to the punchy, larded-with-wit presentation, which included high-level scholarly debate about basic concepts of democracy and what an election should be, in easy-to-understand, clearly pronounced English. After that, Mr Marc Whitmore, ESU lecturer, gave a concrete explanation of the significance and fine points of debate, as well as its charm. This fourth annual Kansai seminar seemed to exude a feeling that the coming to grips with parliamentary debate increases every year in the Kansai as well.

Event Information Autumn 2002-Winter 2003

ESUJ Lecture (in English)
The Theatrical Japanese -From Miyazawa Kenji to Avant-Garde Theatre-
Lecture by Mr. Roger Pulvers
Tuesday, November 12, 6:30 - 8:30pm at International House
Admission: Free for ESUJ Members / \1,000 for non-members

ESUJ Christmas Party！
Tuesday, December 17, 6:30-8:30pm at Foreign Correspondent Club of Japan 　(Yurakucho)
Charge　\6,000　（Buffet）

ESUJ Debate 2003: Debate for Adults
Sunday, February 23, 10:00-19:00 at Kokusai Fashion Center (Ryogoku)
Our second adults' debate, following this year's debate in June. We're expecting a debate every bit as good as that of our student debaters. We'll be looking for debaters wishing to participate in the debate. Also audience members