Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Battleships: Prince of Wales and Yamato 5

　　The evacuation from the Prince of Wales was completed except for one person. The captain, Thomas Phillips remained on the deck of the Prince of Wales to sink with the ship. It is said that Japan's bombers got in a line and the pilots gave their salutes to Admiral Thomas Phillips one by one as they passed in front of him and he also sent a salute to the pilots. After the exchange of salutes, he bound himself to the deck and sunk with the Prince of Wales. The mortality rate of the crew of the Prince of Wales was only 20%, in spite of the sinking of the ship. Except for fatalities during the fight, all crew members were saved. On the next day, Japan's aircraft flew to the battle area and dropped bundles of flowers in honor of the bravery of the British sailors to calm their souls. If you couldn't understand this Japanese way of thinking, check this url in which I wrote about the Shinto religion.
　　By the way, let's cut to the chase. All I wrote above was just introductory remarks.
　　After three and a half years, Japan's battleship Yamato was sunk in the naval battle off Bounomisaki (Operation Ten-Go) and more than 90%(3063/3332) of the crew of Yamato were killed by the U.S.'s repeated air attacks. Don't you think that the mortality rate is too high? What's the difference between Yamato and the Prince of Wales?　　Link to Next


Admiral Thomas Phillips

(Vocabulary)
give a salute to  敬礼する
fatality [C] (事故・戦争・病気などによる) 死亡者（数）,（不慮の）死
bravery 勇敢さ, 勇ましさ
cut to the chase (informal) (末節の話をやめにして) 本題に入る
introductory remarks（話の）前置き


ウエールズの乗員全員の退艦後、デッキには、トーマス司令長官が残った。このとき日本の航空隊は、全機整列し、一機ずつデッキ前を通過して、司令官に最敬礼を送ったと伝えられている。司令官は、その間、ブリッジから挙手敬礼をもって答え、日本の航空機との挨拶の交換後、司令官はデッキに体を縛りつけ、艦とともに沈んでいった。ちなみに、マレー沖海戦におけるプリンスオブウェールズの戦死者は、艦が轟沈していながら、総員の２０％に過ぎず、戦闘中の死亡者以外、全員が助かっている。そしてさらにマレー沖海戦の翌日には、日本軍機が、再度戦闘海域に飛来し、機上から沈没現場の海面に花束を投下して英海軍将兵の敢闘に対する敬意と、鎮魂を行っている。
さて、本論に入る。今まで書いてきたことはほんの前置きに過ぎない。では、この戦いの三年半後に行われた坊ノ岬沖海戦はどうだったか。この海戦では、戦艦大和が沈み、乗員３３３２名のうち、９０％以上にあたる３０６３名が死亡した。なぜか。ウェールズでは２０％ではなかったか。

Battleships: Prince of Wales and Yamato 4

　　However again, no more battleships for Japan were committed, though Japan knew about the existence of both battleships of the Prince of Wales and Repulse. Receiving the information of the departure of the British fleet, Japan's 85 bombers took off from Saigon which is now Ho Chi Minh City. 15 bombers found the Prince of Wales and sank it against heavy anti-aircraft fire. It is said that Winston Churchill lost his speech on hearing the news of the sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse. This incident was startling and sounded impossible to him.
　　Let's see the details of the battle now. In the battle, Repulse was sunk first and next the Prince of Wales got seriously damaged and was about to sink. Then, the captain, Thomas Phillips sent a wire to the pilots of the bombers asking for 30 minutes to evacuate the crew and they responded to it and suspended the attack. The crew of the Prince of Wales moved to the destroyer Express, and the destroyer Electra and Vampire searched for the crew of the sunken Repulse. Finally Electra saved 571 and Vampire 225, including the captain of the Repulse and war correspondents.
　　During their rescue work, the bombers were waiting for the completion of the evacuation. Thinking of the fuel consumption or flight range of the bombers, this suspension of the attack was very dangerous. They might not be able to get back home or fight even if they met enemy aircraft on the way back, but they chose the suspension.　　　Link to Next

(Vocabulary)
commit [他]〈資金・兵力など〉を投入する
commit sth to sth ＜…＞を＜…＞に投入する
His company has committed $10,000 to the project. 彼の会社はそのプロジェクトに1万ドルを投入した．
be lost for words 言葉に窮する［詰まる］
speechless (怒り・動揺などのため) 言葉を失った, 口のきけない
speechless with rage/fear 怒り［恐怖］で口もきけなくて
leave/render sb speechless ＜人＞を口もきけなくする
I'm speechless  (怒り・驚きなどのため) 言葉もない



Battleship Prince of Wales

実際の戦いを見てみよう。これからが本論である。事前の情報によって日本は英艦隊が世界最強戦艦のウエールズまで投入していることを掌握しているが、それでも勝たなきゃならない。そういう状況にあったのである。英国艦隊出撃の情報を受け、日本はサイゴンにある航空基地から、九六式陸攻59機、一式陸攻26機、計85機を出撃させた。うち、１５機がウェールズに遭遇しこれを撃沈。ウエールズ撃沈の報告を聞いた英国首相チャーチルは、「あの艦が！」と絶句したと言われる。まず戦艦レパルスが沈み、次いで戦艦ウエールズが被弾し、沈む寸前にウエールズの艦長のトーマス・フィリップス司令長官は、日本の航空隊に向け、乗員を退官させるので、３０分時間をほしい、と打電する。ウエールズの乗員たちは、巡視船エクスプレスに乗り移り、エレクトラとヴァンパイアが沈没したレパルスの乗組員を捜索し、エレクトラが571名、ヴァンパイアがレパルスの艦長と従軍記者を含む225名を救助した。

その間、日本の襲撃部隊は、空で待機した。英国軍の救助活動の間、いっさいの攻撃行動をせず、空で待機したのだ。当時の飛行機は、燃費がよくない。３０分の上空待機というのは、帰還するのに必要なギリギリの燃料しか残らないということであり、その間に英国の航空隊が急襲してきたら、日本の航空隊は帰還するための燃料を使い果たし、全機、墜落のリスクを負うことになる。それでも日本の攻撃隊長は、戦闘を休止し空で待機を指示したのだ。

Battleships: Prince of Wales and Yamato 3

　　Let's check the battleship the Prince of Wales. It was a huge battleship mounted with ten 14-inch guns and powerful anti-aircraft guns nicknamed "pom-pom" guns. The latter could shoot 6000 bullets per minute. She had experienced a fierce air attack from Germany and Italy 2 years before. Additionally the crew was well trained to repel the aircraft. Moreover, the name of the battleship, the "Prince of Wales" derived from the name of Edward VIII in his Crown Prince days, the elder brother of then king George VI. How proud of this battleship the Brits were. Another battleship, Repulse was alike. The commander of the fleet was Admiral Thomas Phillips who was the best veteran officer. They were unarguably the strongest in the world. They set out at past 1700 hours on Dec 8th from Singapore searching for the Japanese fleet in order to smash them.
　　How about the Japanese side? Against the world's most powerful British fleet, Japan could only spare two old battleships, Kongo and Haruna, whose age was 27 years old. Their armaments were at most the level of cruisers. It was just like a joke. No one would believe the victory of Japan, however Japan actually survived both the Japanese-Sino and Japanese-Russo War in the same situation. That's why Britain delivered the most powerful battleships to the East. If Japan couldn't win the battle, the troops proceeding down the Malay Peninsula would be completely killed by the shortage of military necessities.　　Link to Next

Pom-pom guns

戦艦プリンスオブウェールズは毎分６０００発もの弾を射出できるポムポム砲など、当時最高クラスの武器を搭載し、ヨーロッパ戦線において十分な経験を積んだ戦艦。その艦名にも彼らの自信が感じられる。当時の国王ジョージ６世の兄王である、エドワード８世の即位前の王太子プリンス・オブ・ウェールズの名前を冠していたのだ。さらに英国東洋艦隊司令長官は、実戦経験の豊富な英国の誇る最強の士官、トーマス・フィリップス海軍大将。彼らは、日本のマレー上陸部隊の輸送船団を攻撃するために最強の布陣「Ｚ部隊」を編成し、１２月８日１７時過ぎに、全艦シンガポールを出撃した。これに対し、日本が対抗して派遣できたのは、艦齢２７年の金剛と榛名の二隻だけ。兵装・装甲の厚さも巡洋艦程度の実力しかない戦艦である。悪い冗談としか思えないが、日本は同様な条件で日清／日露の戦いを制した実績があり、これを知る英艦隊は最新鋭の不沈戦艦を派遣したのだった。一方日本は、英艦隊に敗れればシンガポール攻略を図る日本陸軍への支援を絶たれ、陸軍は下手をすれば全滅する。そのような状況なのだが割ける艦船は、金剛と榛名しかない。どうなってしまうのか、、

Battleships: Prince of Wales and Yamato 2

　　In the U.S.-distorted post-war education, I was taught as follows: that is, the Imperial Headquarters was so stupid that they didn't notice the importance of aircraft and continued to rely on ships. As a result, Yamato was destroyed mainly by military aircraft. It seems that the U.S. would like to instill disgust at Japanese military knowledge into Japanese young people such as me. Is this true? I declare it's wrong and I'll write about the evidence that proves me right.
　　In the first place, it was Japan who sent a battleship to the bottom for the first time in the world. I don't mean Pearl Harbor. The battleships destroyed by the air assault at Pearl Harbor weren't in operation. The switches of those ships were off! There is another precedent in the battle of Taranto which took place on the night of 11-12th November 1940 during the Second World War, and the ships sunk were moored in this case too.
　　I'm going to talk about the naval battle off Malaya, in which the proud British battleships of the Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk by land-based bombers and torpedo bombers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. This engagement was fought on 10th December 1941, 2 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and it was the beginning of the rise of the power of naval aviation over the guns of battleships.
　　Viewing also the following years of history, there were only 2 cases apart from the naval battle off Malaya in which the battleship in operation was sunk. The name of the battleships were Yamato(Apr. 7th 1945) and Musashi(Oct. 24th 1944), both of which were repeatedly attacked by overwhelmingly huge numbers of military aircraft before sinking. In other words, the battleship had such a strong and overwhelming power at that time.
　　The naval battle off Malaya was an unprecedented mission for Japan to attack only by aircraft the strongest and bravest battleships in the world at that time. Anything you do first since recorded history requires an unbelievably tremendous amount of time and effort. You'll appreciate how daring Japan was in those days.
　　What of the British side? Britain along with the U.S. had been pushing Japan to the brink of waging war against the allied nations since long ago, and eventually and successfully they plunged Japan into the bottom of deep sorrow. Britain was already ready for fighting Japan. They would be confident of victory in the battle.
　　Six days before the battle, Force Z moored in Singapore, which consisted of the battleship the Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser Repulse and four destroyers. The objective of Force Z was to intercept the Japanese fleet with its extraordinary power. On the other hand, Japan had to transport military supplies to the troops which were going down south on the Malay Peninsula.　　Link to Next

(Vocabulary)
the Imperial Headquarters　（旧日本軍の）大本営
instill  to teach someone to think, behave, or feel in a particular way over a period of time:
instil confidence/fear/discipline etc into sb A manager's job is to instil determination into his players.
prove sb right/correct  ＜人＞が正しいことを証明する
send ~ to the bottom  ～を沈める
the naval battle off Malaya  マレー沖海戦
rise 《常に単数形で》台頭, 権力獲得, 出世
the rise of fascism ファシズムの台頭
her rise from poverty 彼女が貧困から身を起こしたこと
the rise and fall of sb/sth ＜…＞の興亡, 栄枯盛衰
appreciate 《[他]進行形不可》…を認識する, 理解する
appreciate how/why  どれだけ［なぜ］…かを認識する
It is difficult to appreciate how bad the situation has become. 状況がどれだけ悪化したのかを認識するのは難しい．
fully appreciate  完全に認識［理解］する
fail to appreciate something  ＜…＞を認識［理解］できない
daring 危険を伴う; 怖いもの［命］知らずの; 斬新な, 大胆な: [名] [U] 度胸; 斬新さ, 大胆さ
a daring rescue attempt 危険を伴う救助活動
a daring young officer 命知らずの若い将校
what of ...? (formal) (ほかの人やもののことを持ち出して) …はどうなんですか？



Battleship Yamato

我々が戦後の偏向教育で教えられたことがある。戦艦の時代から航空機の時代に変わっていたことに気がつかなかった大本営が馬鹿だというのだが、そもそも世界で最初に航空機で軍事行動中の戦艦を沈めたのは、日本なのだ。航空機で戦艦を沈めた先例としては真珠湾攻撃とタラントの戦いがあるが、そのどちらも撃沈したのは作戦行動中の戦艦ではなく、スイッチの切られた、港に停泊している戦艦だった。作戦行動中の戦艦を撃沈したのはマレー沖海戦での日本が世界最初であり、その後においても現代までの世界の戦史において、航空部隊が作戦行動中の戦艦を沈めた事例は、このマレー沖海戦と、終戦間際に圧倒的な航空機をもって沈められた戦艦大和（昭和２０年４月７日）、同様に大多数の航空機をもって沈められた武蔵（昭和１９年１０月２４日）の３例しかない。言い換えれば、戦艦（バトル・シップ）というものは、それだけ強力かつ圧倒的な存在だった。まして、マレー沖海戦が、世界で最初に戦艦を航空機で叩くという作戦だったということは、前例のない不可能への挑戦だったということであり、何事も、はじめてのことというのは、たいへんな緊張と決断力を要することを考えれば、日本が、どれだけ凄かったかがわかろうというものだ。一方、英国軍にしてみれば、日本を追いつめ、開戦に踏み切らせたわけで、すでに何ヶ月も前から日本がやってくることを見越して、準備万端整えて、日本軍を待ち受けていた。マレーの海域で、英国海軍は、１００％確実に勝利できる体制をひいていた。開戦の６日前の１２月２日に、英国の誇る最新鋭の巨大不沈戦艦である「プリンス・オブ・ウェールズ」、巡洋戦艦レパルス、その他駆逐艦４隻からなるＧ艦隊をシンガポールのセレター軍港に入港させていた。

Battleships: Prince of Wales and Yamato 1

　　I rang in the New Year and I chose the biggest-ever battleship Yamato as the topic of my first entry. Two battleships were built of the same size just before the Greater East Asian War; one was Yamato and the other was Musashi. Far bigger battleships than them would never be built any more, because the role of battleships in war decreased. Both Yamato and Musashi were attacked by airplanes and torpedoed. The end of Yamato was more tragic than that of Musashi, so Yamato remains in Japanese minds even now as the symbol of the tragedy of the war. Testifying to the popularity of Yamato, Yamato was featured in a Japanese anime and it was exported as "Space Battleship Yamato", also known as "Star Blazers" in the U.S. I'll cite the description from Wikipedia about Star Blazers;
　　Star Blazers is an American animated television series adaptation of the Japanese anime series, Space Battleship Yamato l (1974), ll (1978), and lll (1980). Star Blazers was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. Significantly, it was the first popular English-translated anime that had an overarching plot and storyline that required the episodes to be shown in order. It dealt with somewhat more mature themes than other productions aimed at the same target audience at the time. As a result, it paved the way for future arc-based, plot-driven anime translations.
　　Returning to the topic, I will build my thoughts about the last war around the battleship Yamato. This topic will need ten or more entries, but please keep subscribing.
　　Yamato headed out for Okinawa with only enough fuel for one-way and without any defence force by fighters in April 1945, when the Greater East Asian War was near its end. It meant that the crew were going to throw away their lives. Some people referred to this action as a reckless plan, but is that so? Actually, Yamato sank in the East China Sea on the way, receiving air assaults by numerous aircraft and being torpedoed by submarines. Was Yamato foolhardy? I feel like this action included an invisible and monumental intention.
　　Temporarily, the allied forces would feel on top of the world. The pilots of military aircraft would be in ecstasy, attacking and sinking the world's biggest battleship! They must have had a boisterous party.
　　However, when the fever of victory fades away from the winner's mind and the grief of losers diminishes after a certain span of time, and both winners and losers obtain understanding, some surely put on their thinking caps. The last voyage of Yamato might suit the purpose of such people who can see history through neutral eyes. Is it still too early to think about the causes and effects of the war serenely, beyond a dichotomy between winners and losers?
　　As Voltaire said in his Letter to Frederick the Great; History is truly written only in nations with freedom. I'm writing about Yamato in the following several entries.　Link to Next

Star Blazers Intro (English) 　

Star Blazers

(Vocabulary)
ring in the New Year　新年を迎える
testify to sth ＜…＞を明示［証明］する
an animated movie アニメーション映画
adaptation [C] 改作, 翻案, 脚色
television/film/stage adaptation  テレビ［映画，舞台］用の脚色
significantly  《文修飾》 重要なことは
overarching 全体にわたる, 包括的な
a target audience/group/market  対象となる視聴者［グループ，市場］
The target audience for this magazine is women aged 25-45. この雑誌が対象とする読者は25歳から45歳の女性だ．
audience 1 (コンサート・講演・映画などの) 聴衆, 観衆, 観客; 2 (テレビの) 視聴者（層）, (ラジオの) 聴取者（層）, (雑誌・本などの) 読者（層）
a captive audience  とらわれの聴衆
Advertisers make use of the fact that they have a captive audience on trains. 広告主は電車の中にとらわれの聴衆がいるという状況をうまく利用している．
[!] There were about 200 people in the audience (×200 audiences). 観客はおよそ200人ほどいた．audienceは集合名詞なのでaudiencesは不可．
build stories around  ～を中心に据えて物語を作る
assault [C] (軍事的な) 攻撃, 急襲
a military/an air/a ground assault  軍の［空からの，地上］攻撃
foolhardy 無謀な, むちゃな, 向こう見ずな
monumental 《通例[名]の前で》とてつもない, とんでもない
a monumental task  とてつもない任務
in ecstasy  歓喜して
put on your thinking cap (informal) じっくり考える, 熟考する
dichotomy (formal) 二分される違い, 二項対立 [＋dichotomy between]
serenely (人・表情などについて) 穏やかに, 安らかに; (場所・景色などについて) 穏やかに, のどかに
Letter to Frederick the Great; ヴォルテール ｢フリードリヒ大王への書簡-1739/4/27｣ 歴史は自由な国においてのみ真実に書かれうる。

日本海軍が作った当時としては世界最大最新鋭の戦艦、大和と武蔵。戦艦の価値が下がった今、これ以上の船が造られることはあるまい。大和は同型艦武蔵と比べ、より悲劇的な最後だったため日本人の心に今でも残っている。大和は宇宙戦艦ヤマトというアニメにも登場し米国にも輸出された。なぜか名前はスターブレイザーと変えられているが、これはもしかしたら大和という戦艦を米国民に知られたくないのかもしれない、、、戦艦大和の最後の任務と宇宙戦艦ヤマトの任務と重なっていることが米国の子供達には隠されている。確固としたストーリーを持つアニメは米国ではこれが最初だという。大和は片道分の燃料だけで航空機の護衛もなく出撃し、東シナ海に沈んだ。これは無謀な攻撃だろうか。沈めた方はどんちゃん騒ぎをしたことだろう。沈められた方は悲しみに沈んだだろう。しかし、時が経ち、勝者と敗者の興奮と悲しみが薄れ冷静に歴史を見ることができるようになったとき、大和の出撃はどのように評価されるのだろうか。

Encounter

　　At first, see the picture. One of three guys on the left is well known in Japan and has lots of fans. He is Mr. Ishige, a former professional baseball player. This picture was shot in a bar in the poor quarter of the city last night. Why was he there? I was drinking till midnight with my friend (on the right in the picture). Around when the date was changing and when we were about to leave the bar, he came in with his friends, one of whom was my old acquaintance and an orthopedist. Anyway, we stayed there two more hours and enjoyed chatting with him. It was a really relaxing night-time encounter.

(Vocabulary)
bar in the poor quarter of the town 場末の酒場
quarter 　《常に単数形で》(特定の人種・民族などの)地区, …街
the Chinese quarter of the city  その都市の中国人街

His Tomb

　　We had decided on one of the hotel restaurants as the rendezvous last night and got together at 6:30am, the designated time, after check-out from the hotel. I admired their punctuality and toughness. We grabbed breakfast from the tables of the cafeteria and headed for Tokyo Station to catch the bullet train. The nearest bullet train station from Y's cemetery is Shin-shirakawa and it took about one and a half hours to reach it. Then lively conversation followed as a matter of course. The primary topics were about the old days.
　　We rented a car and went to a supermarket at first. We got incense sticks, flowers for offerings, Japanese sake and a lighter. We were all non-smokers and nobody had a lighter. It was about 15 minutes' drive from Shin-shirakawa station to his cemetery. I'll post several pictures of his tombstone for other friends who couldn't visit it. Some cleaned his tombstone up by splashing it with water. Others pulled all the weeds in his grave unit. I lit incense sticks, and arranged flowers in a vase at his tombstone. We prayed for his peacefulness in the next world and wished we could have seen him someday, somewhere again.
　　When I visited last time a decade ago, his mother was alive. Now she was buried with her son and husband. I recalled her last words. "Always remember Y!" Yes, I swore I would never forget Y and his parents, in silence.

(Vocabulary)
decide on/upon sth [句動詞] (多くの選択肢の中から) ＜…＞を選ぶ, 決める
Have you decided on a career (×decided a career) yet? もう仕事を決めましたか．
複数の選択肢の中から一つを選ぶ場合はdecide on/upon sthを用いる．
rendezvous  待ち合わせ場所; (約束の時間に，または場所で) 会う, 落ち合う
rendezvous with sb  ＜人＞と落ち合う
as a matter of course/routine  当然［日常］のこととして
Safety checks are carried out as a matter of routine.  安全点検は日常的に実施されている．
light ［burn］an incense stick  線香をたく

Long Stories

　　The last person arrived at the hotel at about 20:00 hours. He left his hospital after the treatment of dialysis patients as the Saturday routine. As soon as he arrived, we went out drinking.
　　It was a quarter century ago when we got together last time. We were all single and still pretty green as doctors at that time. Now, we had got married, had kids and one had even a grandchild. Furthermore, we are at a certain position in our profession. It wasn't easy to adjust our schedules. We enjoyed chatting and drinking so much, but the most joyful one must have been Y, about whom I wrote in the previous entry.
　　We exchanged stories about each other's quarter century. To my surprise, a friend's wife was from the same year of the same high school as my wife. Time has passed by like a flash. However, it wouldn't be enough if we had a whole night to talk with. We had to get up early the next morning and came back to the hotel about 12 o'clock midnight.
　　The picture shows the Tohoku bullet train we took the next morning, which connects Tokyo and Aomori, the northern end of Honshu, the biggest island of the main four islands of Japan. Japanese bullet trains are really comfortable and have been in service for 50 years without any physical injury or death. Even in the recent catastrophic earthquake, seven trains running over 200 km/h successfully stopped. How amazing!

Visit A Grave

　　I've already lost several friends from my medical student days. I'm writing about one of them, Y, who passed away in his early thirties some 20 years ago. We were really good friends. He and I specialized in radiology and general surgery respectively and had been working away from each other just after graduation. One day he was found dead in his room and the cause of death couldn't be pinned down.
　　His grave was built in Fukushima Prefecture, which was the original home of his parents. You might know about the recent nuclear plant's accident in the same Prefecture. His parents would have been living in Okayama City with him where our medical school is located. After his sudden death, however, his parents sold their house and moved to Fukushima, leaving all their recollections in Okayama City. Now the parents are also in the same grave.
　　On the last weekend of September, four friends of his including me visited his grave. Three friends were from Kochi, Yamaguchi and Okayama Prefecture and I was from Ehime Prefecture. We got together in Tokyo after a 20 year interval. I'll be writing about this short trip to Fukushima Prefecture in the next couple of entries. Lots of items are coming up in my mind now and I feel really sad, but I'm going to write the entries as cheerfully as possible.

Wandering in Charlottetown 1

　　During trips, in particular overseas, usual things for local people often attract the tourist's attention. I took pictures of unusual things to me as I walked along the streets in Charlottetown, the capital city of Prince Edward Island.
　　Look at the first picture. Do you know what in the picture drew my attention? It was the two national flags of Canada and the UK. I believed that one member of the married couple came from the UK at first glance. A couple of hours later, when I found the official house of the Lieutenant Governor on the map, I understood why two flags had been raised. Canada is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations! I'm not familiar with modern Canadian politics, but when I noticed the reason why a national flag of the UK was raised in front of an ordinary folk house, the vivid remembrance of my high school days came up with the face of my history teacher. I used to wish I could visit foreign countries in those days. Now, it actually came true.
　　I'd like to add one more thing about the national flag. You might doubt it, but some Japanese people tend to hate their own national flag as the result of the biased education by people influenced by communism. Of course, I'm not one of these silly people, but I'm envious of Canadian people's pride in their national flag.

(Vocabulary)
Governor General of Canada  カナダの総督
Lieutenant Governor  副総督

Shot

　　Today's title is about shots of the shot put. Don't you have anything which you know nothing about but you want to know something about it. Shots are one of those objects for me. Golf ball manufacturers are supposedly competing for the longest reach for their golf balls. Then, how about shots? Are you indifferent? Shot putters would desperately want to get the shot which flies farther.

　　According to a sports-related magazine, in both of the Atlanta (1996) and the Sydney (2000) Olympic games, a craftsman's-made shots swept all the prizes; gold, silver and bronze. In such cases when Japan is exclusively too excellent, the rules are often modified. In the shot put world too, the regulations for the shots were changed. However, the craftsman never became downcast and in the next Olympic Games in Athens (2004) his shots swept all the prizes again.

　　What would become of his shots in the next Beijing Olympic Games (2008)? You might be convinced of his shots' landslide win, but the craftsman didn't offer his shots to the Beijing Olympic Games, even though he elaborately crafted them. He witnessed the Japan-bashing in the AFC Asian Cup in China and the Chinese people's stone-throwing at the Japanese Embassy and he felt that China wasn't qualified to be holding the Olympic Games. That's why he denied offering his shots.

　　He is going to offer his shots to the London Olympic Games this year. I hope you'll recall the craftsmanship embedded in the shots.

(Vocabulary)
shot putter  砲丸投げの選手
downcast  ふさぎ込んだ, 意気消沈した
bashing  (人・団体などに対する) 激しい批判, バッシング

Full Circle

　　Life occasionally generates moments when you feel things have come full circle.

　　I was born in a remote village of Ehime Prefecture in 1958 when 13 years had passed since the devastating end of the Great East-Asian War. As you know, Japan was beaten thoroughly in the war, which came to an end in 1945. At that time, those who were associated with education considered how they could raise Japanese young people who would be responsible for the reconstruction of Japan. In my prefecture, some passionate people and one of the Catholic orders, Ordo fratrum Praedicatorum, established a school for 12-18 year old boys, Aiko Gakuen, in 1952. For your information, "ai" means "love" and "ko" means "light". The principles of the school was based on that of Christianity, evading the post-war brainwashing by MacArthur.
　　Lots of young boys were keen to enter Aiko Gakuen and brilliant boys got together from not only Ehime Prefecture, but all over the country. I was eager to do it, but my primary school was average, and I needed to learn something more and at a higher level for the entrance into Aiko Gakuen in a preliminary school in Matsuyama city, which was 6 hours away from my home by bus and train at that time. The school also wanted to collect up-and-coming boys even from remote regions and provided those boys with one night's stay and meals. I started attending the school every Saturday, leaving my primary school earlier. I crammed from Saturday evening to Sunday evening and went back home late Sunday night. This short trip continued for one year.
　　Nagahama, in which my office is located now, is on the route that I used to move along 40 years ago. I never had even the slightest idea that I would work here after 40 years. It was full circle indeed.
　　Additionally, I had a fantastic reunion with my old friend, who used to get on the same train at his village near Nagahama. He entered a different school from mine, but finally became a surgeon and opened his own clinic in his original village. Our reunion was the first time in 40 years.

(Vocabulary)
come/turn full circle　振り出しに戻る
Ordo fratrum Praedicatorum　ドミニコ会（カトリックの修道会の一つ）
order　修道会
up-and-coming  新進気鋭の, 将来有望な
reunion [C,U] 再会, 再び一緒になること
his reunion with his wife  彼の妻との復縁

Negative Mass Media and Exhortation for Positive Thinking

　　A low-fat diet and moderate aerobics exercises are essential to keep good physical health. Aerobics exercises are, in particular, necessary to enhance the cardiopulmonary function. On the other hand, I think that you want to take proper care of your mental health, too.
　　Lots of pessimistic news like about disasters, disputes, terrorism and economic unrest from TVs deplete our energy and make us blue. There actually exist various unhappiness and sufferings in the world. However, it's very important to recall that all the things in the world aren't desperate, while recognizing that this world is full of violence and injustice.
　　You get to watch what you feed yourself as far as the media goes and that kind of thing. In today's society, there is a lot of negativity that comes from the news if you watch the regular news. A part of it is, I do believe, what they do for ratings to get people to watch and those kind of things. However, you have to take it with a grain of salt. You have to take a look at it and say "Not everything is like that." Not everything is doom and gloom and fear-based. There are positive things out there in the world. It's important to find and do those positive things.
　　Even if it is a simple thing like helping your neighbor to pick up trash along the street or whatever it might be, doing positive things for other people helps you and that makes you feel good.
　　You, including me of course, need to do mental exercises too, paying attention to positive aspects of beautiful scenery or buoyant occurrences around us. It's not a big deal. You have only to volunteer for something for your neighbors like cleaning streets as I wrote above. Such simple things have the power to change us positively. You will be impressed that life is not that bad. How about joining the volunteer activities around your neighborhood?

(Vocabulary)
exhort (フォーマル) (演説などで) …に呼びかける, 勧告する [同意] urge
exhortation  勧告, 呼びかけ
negativity  悪い面のみを見る態度
take it with a grain of salt.　一粒の塩と一緒に食べろ
つまり「味のないものはそのままでは食べられない」転じて「眉唾（味のないもの）はそのまま受け入れられない」になります。話がうますぎる場合などに「話し半分に聞く」「疑ってかかる」「眉に唾を付けて聴く」というように使います。
doom  運命　悲運
gloom   暗やみ, 暗がり; 憂鬱(ゆううつ), 絶望感
doom and gloom　 陰々滅滅な;  暗い見通し

New Year's Resolution

　　I wish all of the subscribers to my blog a Happy New Year. As for the annual event concerning myself, I chose several items that I would aim to accomplish this year. Revealing my private intention here will drive me into a corner, but it's my way to stir me into action. The list of my resolutions I chose is as below:

1. Improve my Korean skills from the 4th grade to the 3rd.
2. Improve my German skills from the 4th grade to the 3rd, as well.
3. Reach at least the lowest level of Mandarin Chinese skills.
4. Get enough physical power to jog for 10 kilometers.
5. Read at least 50 books in various fields except for books regarding medical science.

　　I don't know if I can attain the above items, but I'd like to stay goal-oriented and positive all the time. As you get older, you generally become inactive. I've seen lots of those people in the past quarter century as a surgeon. They ended their lives just like old leaves which fall down in autumn.
　　I wish I could be active and healthy until the last minute of my life. The above resolutions might be suitable measures for this purpose.

End of the Year

　　It's a long time since I've written. I had several items for the topics of my blog, but I have been busy these past couple of weeks. When the climate changes rapidly, no matter whether it gets hotter or colder, aged or weak people easily fall ill and they often go into serious condition. Additionally, I was invited to the year-end parties. These parties are, what you call, seasonal events in Japan. Various groups of people get together and have parties in December. As for me, I attended a total of nine parties this month with people from my office, my bicycle friends, motorcycle friends, my neighbourhood, alumni of my high school, university, , , . These were some of the reasons for my recent blog-writing laziness.
　　Anyway, New Year's Day is coming around the corner. I'm considering my New Year's Resolutions now. I'll declare them in my blog at the beginning of the new year, setting myself to fight against the wall. My secret of success is to talk about what I'd like to do to block my escape route. My initial declaration will force me to achieve the goal.
　　Today is the last day of the year 2011. All my daughters came home and are chatting in the living room. I'll join them and enjoy German wine over watching TV. I wish all of you a Happy New Year! 

State Guests from Bhutan

　　The King of Bhutan and his newly wedded wife visited Japan and left for their country today after a week's stay. During the stay, the media followed them and published in a careful manner what they did in every single place which they dropped in at; the tsunami-hit and devastated areas, the busiest street in Tokyo, historical temples, art factories, traditional gardens in Kyoto and even a tiny primary school in the area worst affected by the earthquake. To start with the conclusion, I was really moved to see how they behaved. I felt their sincere sympathy for us. I'm grateful for their visit.
　　By the way, he made a speech in parliament in front of the Congressmen in English. I was listening to his words live. Also in this speech, I felt his genuine concern for us from his words. Then, I remembered Wen Jiabao's speech given in parliament a few years ago. It was done in Chinese and I couldn't understand it at all. However, according to the story I heard later, he intentionally skipped several sentences, because the Chinese media was shooting videos of his speech at that time. That is to say, his speech must have been different from the draft which was submitted to the Japanese government. I felt his country's dishonesty.
　　Anyway, Bhutan was noted on my list of vacation destinations.

(Vocabulary)
state guest / state visitor  国賓
Kingdom of Bhutan  ブータン王国
genuine concern  心から心配すること
Wen Jiabao  温家宝
a vacation/tourist destination   休暇［旅行者］の目的地

Nuclear Crisis in Fukushima Daiichi Plant

　　I'll refer to the nuclear crisis in this entry that occurred on March 11th in Fukushima Prefecture.
　　I heard lots of people express their opinions. Some insist that Japan should abandon the nuclear plants forever, but I don't think so. Unfortunately, Japan's present leadership is unbelievably childish and lack the necessary ability to cope with this unprecedented disaster. Additionally, when the enormous earthquake broke out in Japan's big city of Kobe in 1995, the leadership was a left-wing government just the same as this time. They cheapen the spiritual backbone of Japan and never show any respect to people who were killed on behalf of Japan. I've taken them as human flops. I realize that the disaster of March might be a warning from God to Japan and also an ordeal to human beings which was given to Japan as the representative of the world. At the risk of sounding immodest, only Japan can overcome such heavily damaged conditions.
　　The top level of technology, a high level of culture and security, is the key to understanding present-day Japan. The U.S., France and Japan are the leading nations with respect to nuclear technology. Among these nations, Japan is still continuing research into a fast reactor, which produces energy endlessly, though it also produces plutonium as the waste. If Japan developed a secure fast reactor, this world would have become more peaceful. Lots of international disputes are derived from the scramble for energy.
　　I have something that I'd like people outside of Japan to know. That is, you can see the influence of China and Korea behind those who insist on the abolition of nuclear technology. If we had absolutely secure and environmentally thoughtful energy, I would have agreed with the abolition, but we don't have hopeful resources for energy yet in Japan. Anti-nuclear people, including the Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, never accuse China and Korea of operating nuclear plants, though once the accident broke out, the radioactive substances would have flown to Japan like yellow sand. I mean, their opinions are totally inconsistent. They also call for the government to follow the good example of Germany, but they manage to hide the contradiction between the German administration's stated policy and its actions. When Germany needs extra energy, they can obtain the electricity from neighboring nations such as France, which produces their electricity from nuclear plants. Moreover, most plants are located near the border with Germany to take in water from the Rhine river. If the accident occurred in this area, Germany couldn't evade the influence.
　　One thing, from another point point of view. Neighboring countries like China, North Korea and Russia have nuclear weapons. On the other hand, Japan doesn't. If the U.S. leaves Japan in the future, what will become of their deterrent effect? Japan never throws away plutonium and nuclear technology from the aspect of self-defence. If the Japanese got allergic to nuclear power itself,  nuclear power-driven vessels like aircraft carriers and submarines could have never dropped in to Japan. It is the ultimate purpose of China.
　　The present Japanese administration hasn't noticed yet how fierce and rogue China and Russia are. China has disputes with many countries. As you know, they want to have control of the South China Sea now, which is an extremely important energy supply route for Japan.
　　Thinking as above, I feel that this disaster might be a big ordeal which God has imposed on us. Lastly I'd like to add, I never give up and other Japanese people would say the same. We are tough enough to overcome this difficulty.

(Vocabulary)
flop  [C](インフォーマル) (演劇・映画などの) 失敗作
human flop 出来損ないの人間
ordeal 厳しい試練, つらい体験
at the risk of sounding immodest  うぬぼれているように聞こえるかもしれませんが
conditions 《複数扱い》 (周囲の) 状況, 事情, 情勢
difficult economic conditions  厳しい経済情勢
The people have [are at] a high level of culture. 民度が高い
present-day  [形] 《[名]の前でのみ》現代の, 今日(こんにち)の
our present-day society 現代社会
present-day Russia 今日のロシア
research into
[!] research into (×of) the causes of breast cancer  乳がんの原因についての研究
「…（について）の研究」はintoまたはonを用いて，research into...またはresearch on...とする．
scramble 《常に単数形で》 (欲しい物・必要な物などをめぐる) 奪い合い, 争奪戦
the usual scramble for the bathroom in the morning  毎朝繰り返されるトイレの奪い合い
thoughtful
1 思いやりのある, 親切な
2 考え込んだ, 思いにふけった
3 思慮深い, 慎重な
inconsistent 〈ふたつの供述・結果などが〉 相反する, 食い違う, 矛盾する
contradiction  [C] 矛盾, 食い違い
the contradiction between the administration's stated policy and its actions 政府が公言した政策とその実際の行動との食い違い

Der Mai

　　Der Mai ist mein Lieblingsmonat. In Japan scheint dann oft die Sonne, viele Blumen und Bäume blühen. "Es lacht der Mai", fängt ein Gedicht Goethes an. Man möchte am liebsten nach draußen in den Garten gehen und mitlachen.

(Vokabular)
Lieblings-　お気に入りの
anfangen　始まる
das Gedicht　詩
draußen　戸外に

A Sincere Gratitude

　　I'm writing about Mr.YL who has frequently given comments since several weeks ago. I know that he is from the U.S. judging from his IP address and imagine that he is learning Japanese.
　　Japanese and English are completely different languages from each other. I think that it is one of the reasons why most Japanese are misunderstood. Certain medias like the New York Times, frequently accuse Japan over unprovoked causes. I have thought for a long time that it's impossible to make Americans understand the spiritual aspects of the Japanese, but it was just plain wrong.
　　The name of Mr. Toshio Tamogami and Mr. Bun'yu Kou appears in his comment. This surprised me very much. Why does an American know them? They are conducting an educational campaign for brainwashed people with a masochistic view of the history of Japan. What's more, he knew the website of the Society of the Dissemination of Historical Facts (http://www.sdh-fact.com/). His comment was just what I wanted to affirm. Please check his comment. (Link)

(Vocabulary)
unprovoked 〈攻撃・非難などが〉 いわれのない, 正当な理由のない
plain まったく, すごく
(just) plain stupid/wrong/bad まったくばかげた［間違った，ひどい］
masochistic view of history 自虐史観
affirm
1 [他](フォーマル) …を断言する, 肯定する
2 [他](フォーマル) 〈考え・感情など〉 を支持する

German Media and Administration

　　Germany has been one of my favorite countries since I began learning German in my medical school and now I often enjoy netsurfing on Germany. The other day, I was really surprised to read some reports on Japan's atomic plant's accident published by various German news media. This unhappy accident was made a political issue by the German opposition party. I have written about the SPD before.
　　The atomic power station's collapse is broadcast hysterically in Germany, where those facilities have been reportedly decreased by the government in the not so distant future. Germany seems to have increased the import of natural gas from Russia. The natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea is under construction and is not being interfered with by other countries on the way to Germany. In other words, they are shifting the source of power from atomic power to natural gas. They say, "The replacement is for safety." Don't they think of improving the safety of atomic power plants? Japan will do it, I believe.
　　Russia will sell the natural gas to Germany because it's more profitable than they use it domestically. On the other hand, Russia gets power from atomic power plants. It means that the German efforts to abolish the atomic power plants are nonsense from the global viewpoint.
　　What's more, the French atomic plants are lined up near the border with Germany. If an accident occurred in these plants, Germany would be surely affected because of the west wind.
　　The German reaction might be due to the fear of an accident in Chernobyl though the structure of the reactor, the running system and the measures taken against the accident are totally different from those of Japan. In Japan, the price of one's life is unbelievably high in comparison with that of Russia. The Environment Agency set the ambient criteria strictly and with enough margin of safety. If several data exceed the allowable limit set by the Agency a little, you don't have to panic. I'd like the German media to keep their head and check the real data carefully.
　　Eventually, they are just making political capital out of the unhappy accident in Japan. The Prime Minister, Merkel, might be sorry for the current of thought as she is originally a physical scientist from East Germany and knows more about atomic plants.
　　A friend in need is a friend indeed. Germany wasn't a real friend of Japan. The German rescue team went back home at once without heading for the devastated areas while 18 teams from all over the world are working there. Lots of the Japanese are grateful for those countries from the bottom of their heart. The present administration must be so, though their policy originally was anti-U.S. How about Germany? This year is the 150th anniversary of entering diplomatic relations between Germany and Japan. I was so disappointed.

(Vocabulary)
Chernobyl  チェルノブイリ
exceed the allowable limits set by the Environment Agency 環境基準を超える
ambient criteria / standard  環境基準
margin of safety〔【略】MOS〕 / safety margin  安全域
keep your head   (困難な状況などで) 冷静さを保つ
make capital out of sth ＜…＞を利用する, に乗じる
a current of thought 支配的な思想［考え方］, 思潮
enter diplomatic relations  国交を結ぶ

ドイツでの日本の報道について

ドイツは大好きな国の一つで、時折ドイツ国内のネットサーフィンを楽しむ。日本の地震の報道については本当に驚いた。日本の自然災害が政争の具にされているのだ。

ドイツの原発事情；

日本の事故がヒステリックに報道されている。
ドイツでは原発を減らすという。そしてロシアからのガスを買う。他国に影響されぬようバルト海ルートが造られているという。ロシアは自国で消費するよりも高く売れるのでガスを売り、自国では原子力発電を行う。地球レベルで見ればなんの環境対策にもなっていない。
フランスの原発はドイツとの国境近くに建設されている。何かあれば、ドイツに影響があるだろう。
チェルノブイリの後遺症か？　日本と比べたらその構造も、管理体制も、対応も全く異なるのに。日本の厳しすぎる環境基準、ロシアと比べて命の価値の違う日本。
結局は、ドイツで原発を減らすというのはＳＰＤ（ドイツの民主党）の政争の具である。物理学者のメルケルさん、さぞや頭の痛いことだろう。

結局ドイツは友人ではなかった；

ドイツからの救援隊は何もすることなく帰国した。１８地域からの救援隊は今なお活動しているにもかかわらず。アメリカには借りができたなと国民の誰もが感じている。アメリカ嫌いの現政権もなにも言葉はあるまい。果たしてドイツに対してはどうか？今年は国交開始１５０周年という節目である。ドイツには失望した。