 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Newsletter
No.64 |
|
July
2004
|
ESUJ Sixth Annual General Meeting
The Sixth Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday, June 22 at the International House of Japan in Roppongi, with 38 members in attendance and 171 proxies. Chairman Hanabusa chaired the meeting. After the report of activities for 2003, the statement of accounts for 2003 was discussed and unanimously approved. Appointment of Mr. Naoji Yui as a director was also approved. The chairman said that despite continued budget stringency, we expect to provide an ever-increasing number of enjoyable activities and would appreciate the cooperation of the membership in such ways as increasing the number of ESUJ supporting members.
Lecture "English and I" by Mr. Shijuro Ogata
Following the AGM on Tuesday, June 22, at 6:40 Mr Shijuro Ogata, former Vice-Governor of the Japan Development Bank and international banker spoke to a full house of more than 100 people in the International House auditorium. Mr. Ogata's relationship with the English language dates from the age of 12, or junior high school under the old system of education. Then, his first foreign language was German, with English only his second foreign language. At that time the elite course encompassed German and French. Later, he received a Fulbright scholarship to study at the Fletcher School in Boston, where he began the hard struggle to master English. Continuously in the international field as an employee of the Bank of Japan, he spoke with humor about his experiences and various episodes relating to English up to now. Here are some highly suggestive and interesting things Mr. Ogata had to say in his talk and the Q and A session, in no particular order:
| ・ |
I may have been a "Fulbright Scholar", but I'm not "full bright"; I'm only "half bright!" |
| ・ |
The fact that both French President Giscard d'Estaing and German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt spoke good English was very useful for the smooth progress of the EU. |
| ・ |
How to improve your English: 1. Listening to and speaking recent prevalent English is good, but reading and writing are also important. It is very useful to keep a daily in English. 2. More than correct English, the content, or substance, of the message is what matters. |
| ・ |
The EU Central Bank is in Frankfurt, but the common language is easily understood English. Should England convert to the Euro, the English would probably become more difficult and harder to understand. |
| ・ |
Reasons for the loss of steam of the Japanese economy following the bubble: 1. over-confidence plus arrogance, 2. failure of the monetary system, and 3. ironically, too much stability without a sense of crisis. |
| ・ |
Solution: Recognition that Japan is not a developed country but still a developing country, like America. |
| ・ |
The group of men with prominent wives is known as "Mr. Thatcher's Society". Sometimes this sort of husband turns to corruption. |
A comical dialogue ensued between Mr. Ogata and ESUJ vice-chairman Akashi, in which both these accomplished English speakers agreed that it was more than adequate to speak "broken" English!
ESUJ-TNW Debate 2004
~3rd Debate Competition for adults~
Under the joint auspices of The Nikkei Weekly, ESUJ-TNW Debate 2004 took place on Saturday, June 12 at the Tokyo Main Building of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun with nine two-person teams participating. Participants included people from all walks of life, both young and old, including debaters from last year's competition, former student competition debaters, and first timers with a high level "war of words" right from the beginning. The two preliminary rounds were divided into groups A, B, and C, with each group consisting of three teams. Teams entering the final rounds were decided on the basis of winning two preliminary matches in each group plus the team from all the remaining teams with the highest number of wins and points.
The semi-final round pitted "Global Family" against "Wild but Formal" and "AMINOS" against "Droopy Eyes", debating the motion "This House would introduce a regional system to replace the present prefectural system in Japan." Advancing to the final round were "Wild but Formal", consisting of former student debaters Kiyoharu Tsukada and Keiko Tsuji, as the proposition team and "AMINOS," consisting of debate instructor Toshiyuki Inoue and pupil Rumiko Miyamoto, as the opposition team.
The motion for the final round was, "This House believes that the Japanese Self Defense Forces should withdraw from Iraq." A hot debate ensued, with the proposition side questioning whether there was any real meaning to having the Japanese Self Defense Forces in Iraq while public order continued to worsen and arguing that NGOs could be more effective, and the opposition side stressing the fundamental importance to Japan of the Japan-US alliance. The "judge panel", consisting of the entire audience, voted 39 to 31 that "Wild but Formal" were the winners. Congratulations!
Continuing the trend, this competition for adults again featured in-depth argument and composed speeches, for a thoroughly stimulating, delightful debate. A special thanks to Takashi Ebihara, tournament director, who left the following day for a new position with his company in America. For complete details of the competition, please see the ESUJ web site.
English Club
While MM was away attending a meeting of the International Humor Society in France, the June 15 session of English Club featured a talk by Nikkei Weekly editorial staff member Kaoru Morishita, along with the introduction of scenes from the film "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (never shown in Japan) and various enjoyable episodes related to "Learning English from Songs," by E.C. chairperson Muneo Wakabayashi.
The next meeting of English Club will take place on July 20 (Tuesday) from 6:30-8:30pm, in the 11th floor B Conference Room of the Nikkei.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
