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| Newsletter
No.62 |
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May
2004
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Visit to Japan of Lord Watson
Chairman of ESU London as well as of the International Council of
the English-Speaking Union, The Lord Watson of Richmond, CBE visited
Japan from April 11-15, on his way to Korea for the festivities surrounding
the launch of the ESU, Republic of Korea, his first visit to Japan
in 35 years. Lord Watson is a graduate of Cambridge University and
active in many fields including media, advertising, academia and politics.
He is a former BBC presenter and a member of the House of Lords. He
received a warm welcome from Chairman Hanabusa and various participants
in ESUJ activities. Having arrived in Japan early on Easter Sunday,
he attended mass at St. Ignatius Church. While in Tokyo he visited
landmarks including the Tokyo National Museum, Shinjuku Garden, Asakusa,
and the Diet Building. He also took a day trip to Kyoto, which he
very much enjoyed, before continuing on to Seoul. On the morning of
April 13, he visited our small office and was most impressed by the
high level of activity of ESUJ. In particular, he praised our home
page and JITOW (Japan in Their Own Words) and recommended that each
of the 53 ESU-affiliated countries introduce a similar system, creating
a network for the exchange of opinions.
Special Lecture: "Asian Dimension of English"
ESUJ welcomed Lord Watson to the North Building Hall of Keio University's
Mita Campus on April 13, for a Special Lecture co-organized by ESUJ
and Keio University Research Center for Foreign Language Education
and International Center. The audience for this well-attended event
numbered more than a hundred people and included ESUJ members, the
general public, and students. Lord Watson quoted Napoleon's words
comparing the geographic size of nations and their wealth, noting
they did not coincide. He suggested it was necessary to reconsider
national interest by taking a fresh look at the whole world, with
consideration of language as the communication tool for understanding
various countries'situations.
His very interesting talk covered many topics. In a reference to Sir
Winston Churchill, a former Chairman of the ESU, Lord Watson referred
to the three spheres of the English language Churchill described:
the British Empire, the European Continent, and the Pacific Ocean.
In sum, many humorous anecdotes and concrete examples were included
in this extremely interesting talk full of "John Bull Spirit". Finally,
it goes without saying, the audience was completely charmed by Lord
Watson's beautiful BBC voice, speaking the Queen's English. After
the talk there was a lively question-and-answer session, followed
by a delightful social hour with Lord Watson in the adjoining faculty
club.
English Club
On April 20 (Tuesday), Masami Muramatsu's English Club met for the
first time in the conference room of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun Main
Building under its new format, jointly organized with the Nikkei Weekly.
In addition to our regular members, readers of the Nikkei Weekly are
now welcome to participate. The audience numbered nearly 80 people.
Chairman Hanabusa gave the opening remarks, followed by Mr Hirotsugu
Koike, Nikkei Editorial Writer, who described his experiences as a
foreign correspondent, including an exclusive interview with President
Bill Clinton aboard Air Force One. He also supplied behind-the-scenes
glimpses of reporting about world VIPS. Next, MM and English Club
Chairperson Muneo Wakabayashi talked about their trip to Korea for
the launch of ESU Korea, having just returned from there the day before.
Mr Wakabayashi amazed everyone with his depth of knowledge of the
Korean language by giving an impromptu lesson in Hangul. MM spoke
of the similarities between Turkish and Korean, then of their relationship
to Japanese. It was an evening full of new things to be learned!
The next meeting of English Club will be on Tuesday May 18, from 6:30-8:30,
at the Nihon Keizai Shimbun Main Building, Conference Room B, 11th
floor.
Eleven Members visit Korea to Celebrate the Launch of the ESU,
Republic of Korea
ESU, Korea was officially inaugurated at a Founding Ceremony on April
16. Korea is the 54th country to join the English-Speaking Union.
Representatives from eight member countries including Lithuania, Romania
and Hong Kong attended the celebrations. After the founding ceremonies,
attended by an ESUJ delegation of 11 members led by Chairman Hanabusa,
a real time debate was held over the internet between Ewha Women's
University and ESU London. Chances seem good an opportunity for English-language
debate between Japan and Korea will arise soon.
After the delegation from ESU Japan participated in the commemorative
founding ceremony, they visited the ancient capital of Gyeongju where
they were blessed with a golden opportunity to learn about Korean
history and culture. With Korean TV drama all the rage in Japan and
Japanese popular songs being sung in Korea, cultural exchange between
the two countries is proceeding apace. We look forward to a deepening
of exchanges between the English-Speaking Unions of our two countries.
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For
further informaiton contact!
E-MAIL:esuj@esuj.gr.jp
Fujikage-Building
9th Floor, Motoakasaka 1-1-5
MInato-ku, Tokyo 107-0051
TEL: 03-3423-0970 FAX: 03-3423-0971
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