Today's Poland:
Lecture by H.E. Dr. Marcin Rybicki

Ambassador Rybicki gave the 11th lecture in the Series of Ambassador's Lectures on October 27 (Fri) at 6:30 at the Japan National Press Club. Accomplished in many fields including politics, diplomacy and education, Dr. Rybicki began his talk with the geography of Poland, pointing out that it is situated in the center of the European continent, with no major mountain ranges to protect it. As a result, Poland has long been consumed with power struggles. Mongols, Russians, Napoleon, and the Germans all fought here. At times, the Polish people were not even involved in the fighting, resulting in the nation's complex and tragic history. Now the Polish people are fully enjoying their independence, but they deeply appreciate the value of peace. Remarkably, the president and prime minister of Poland are twin brothers. Both men are lawmakers from the intelligentsia and have the support of the people.

It is an established stereotype that Poland has a cold climate, but in summer it can get even hotter than in Rome. Another accepted stereotype is that the Poles are big drinkers, but this is also false. Their alcohol consumption is in fact only 18th in the world. This misunderstanding arose from the fact that when Napoleon attacked Russia in winter, "drinking like a Pole" was often mentioned. When French soldiers drink, they get drunk and go to sleep, but when Polish soldiers drink, they become intensely fearless and courageous. It is thus natural that another established image of the Polish people is that they are passionately patriotic, as anyone who has heard Chopin's compositions will understand. In this century, in order to join the European Union (EU), many economic conditions had to be met and a big revolution has occurred, which is gradually accumulating results. Following EU membership, movement across borders was liberalized, and many Poles left for England and other countries. This has presented the young people with wonderful educational and other opportunities, but it is also something of a problem as far as the vitality of the nation is concerned.

At present, there are about 130 Japanese corporations in Poland, such as Toyota, Isuzu, Toshiba, and Sharp. Japanese corporations' superior management and efficiency provide many opportunities to learn from them, the ambassador pointed out.

Relations between Japan and Poland are that a Japanese delegation visiting the Vatican in the 16th century was met by a Polish bishop. At that time (1585), the Japanese representative produced a beautifully written document which has been recently discovered and become newsworthy. In conclusion, as charter flights to Poland are available on Polish Airlines, the ambassador urged everyone to come to Poland.

Takuwakai Luncheon

On November 14(Tue. ), a Takuwakai Luncheon was held. This time we welcomed Ms. Mami Hijikata, our first Takuwakai female speaker, talking on the subject of "Toshizo Hijikata, a fighter of the Bakumatsu Era". Toshizo Hijikata never married. Ms. Hijikata is a descendant of the second son of the third brother in the family, who eventually became the family head. Toshizo was born in 1835 in the city of Tama, in Hino, in the same year as Katamori Matsudaira, the lord of Aizu, and Ryoma Sakamoto. From his youth, Toshizo was an accomplished swordsman. Some young men got together in their native province of Tama, and with Isami Kondo as their leader and Toshizo as deputy leader formed the Shinsengumi, which would be very active in Kyoto during the end of the Edo era. After the Restoration of Imperial Rule in 1867, Isami Kondo was beheaded in Chiba, but Toshizo fought on in Utsunomiya, Aizu and Sendai, advancing with Takeaki Enomoto as far as Hakodate. Leading the former Bakumatsu army while dreaming of establishing a republic in Hokkaido, he died in battle, at the age of 35. Toshizo's charm, Ms Hijikata explained was threefold: his humanity, his strong spirit of carrying through to his initial goal, and his romanticism. She also compared the Shinsengumi and Ryoma Sakamoto's Kaientai to present-day joint stock companies, providing just the sort of extremely refreshing analysis one might expect from a professional banker like herself.

English Club

English Club's monthly meeting took place on November 21 (Tue. ) at the Japan National Press Club. Members' Two-minute speeches were given by Maki Ono, a 6th year medical student, on Communication between Doctors and Patients, and by Yuko Fujimoto on The Force of a 'Smile'.

Our guest speaker was JAL's 35-year veteran PR man, Mr. Geoffrey Tudor. Tudor-san started his talk by stating that of the ten busiest cities pairs in the world, four originate in Haneda Airport and all four are domestic routes, with Haneda- Sapporo the No. 1. From the point of view of an expert, he explained to the full house of sixty people in an easy-to-understand way how particularly drastic the changes in the airlines' world environment have been during the past ten years.

English Club will not occur in December as the Christmas party will take place. The next English club will be on January 16 (Tue. ) from 18:30-20: 30, at the Japan National Press Club. Guest speaker will be Dr. Magdi Khalil, who is researching preservation of cultural properties in Japan. He will speak on the topic of "Arabic and Islamic Culture".

ESUJ Christmas Party! Tuesday December 19

18:30-20:30, Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (Yurakucho Denki building, 20th fl. ).
We hope everyone will come!
Thank you for your cooperation to notify the office of your attendance by Tuesday, December 12 (apply here)