Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

What I Think About Afghanistan

　　Afghanistan is surrounded by several countries, all of which are eccentric and hard to deal with. Since the time of Alexander the Great, no foreign nation was able to control this country. Even well-known Alexander the Great wasn't able to conquer the area, and every nation or power which tried to conquer the area since then was fought back. The U.S. is going back home now. I've seen the same scene in which lots of people were trying to escape the country as that of present Afghanistan. Though I didn't know about the global conditions, I felt somewhat sorry to see the people who were fleeing Vietnam in 1975. Then Laos and Cambodia became communist. Then Iran became islamic in 1978.
　　The U.S. lost its authority. Lots of people in the world would think so, observing the situation of Afghanistan. I saw the U.S. President Biden's televised address about a month ago, and he told us that Afghanistan's situation is perfectly controlled by the U.S., but his fabrication was exposed in a few weeks. The U.S. declares that it will protect Japan from invasions by other countries, but is that credible? I learned that the U.S. isn't almighty. Japan should get armed enough to discourage the Chinese Communist Party.
　　How about buying the U.S. Naval 7th fleet along with the soldiers from the U.S.? The U.S. can save budget and the U.S. national bond which Japan owns would be enough to pay for them.

(Vocabulary)
lose one's authority 権威を失墜する

Anniversary of The End of The War

　　August 15th rolled around again. Showa Ten-noh declared the defeat of the Great East Asian War on this day in 1945. This day is deeply engraved in the mind of most Japanese, though the official signing day was Sept. 2nd. Since then, the Japanese have been brainwashed by biased historical education, but now lots of Japanese people came to learn the real history and became proud of being a Japanese.
　　There is a shrine called "Gokoku" in every prefecture. "Gokoku" means the protection of the country and numerous people who lost their lives for the sake of Japan are honored in the shrine. I was going to visit Gokoku shrine in my hometown, but I was afraid to be close to other people in the grounds. Then, I visited the Army's graveyard in my neighborhood to avoid crowded circumstances. I expressed my sincere gratitude for the present peaceful environment in my hometown.

Radiology and My Present Job

　　I had worked as a general surgeon for nearly 40 years. During those days, I often utilized a variety of tests using radioactive rays, like chest X-ray test, CT test, etc. I sometimes adopted radiation therapy for breast cancers and esophageal cancers. However, I didn't know exactly about the principle of radiology. Just like you can drive a car, not knowing the structure or mechanism of the car. In the clinical scene, many specialists assisted me.
　　Now, I've changed my job from a general surgeon to a company doctor and the radioactivity has also changed its character for me from the means for the treatment to something to protect. However, there's no radiologists around me.
　　The following picture shows a book, which I received from my Shakuhachi - Japan's traditional bamboo flute- instructor, who was a specialist of radiology by trade. I had to learn the radiology and radiation hazards from this book to keep the employees of my company safe and healthy.

(Vocabulary)
by trade 職業は
He was a boat builder by trade. 彼は船大工の職人だった．

Heavy Rainfall

　　Heavy rain has been continuing across Japan like in the rainy season, which is from June to mid-July in a usual year. A part of Kyushu got devastated by a landslide and inundation above the floor level.
　　This abnormal weather is said to continue for a week judging from the pressure pattern. It seems timely for the Government which requests its nationals to refrain from going out for nonessential and nonurgent business, but the expansion of damage is concerning.
　　The sectors of transportation, sightseeing, hotels, restaurant business, and so on are already suffering hardship. Then, this heavy long-lasting rain is added. I hope that they will survive the hardship and live up to the expectation of people who are itching for a chance to set out for trips.
　　I got an e-mail today from the organization consisting of all the hotels in the Dogo Onsen Spa area, which is the most popular tourist spot in my hometown of Matsuyama City. They asked me to assist in the mass vaccination, which is scheduled next Thursday, of the staff members of tourism industries in Dogo Onsen Spa. I replied OK promptly.

(Vocabulary)
inundation 浸水, 氾濫(はんらん)
live up to sth [句動詞]《受け身形不可》＜期待など＞に添う
The movie didn't really live up to expectations. その映画は実際のところ期待はずれだった．
be itching to do sth (inf) ＜…＞したくてうずうずしている
be itching for sth (inf) ＜…＞が欲しくてたまらない

 

Small Trip to Fuchu City

　　I was asked to check the condition of the applicants for the vaccination from Hiroshima Prefecture, and I visited Fuchu City in the Prefecture. I left my house on the previous evening and took a hotel in Fuchu. I love wandering in strange places and I took a walk around the hotel. It was located near the Fuchu Railroad station and the station was thought to be the center of the city, but I felt it was deserted. It might be due to the pandemic and/or the restriction from it. Almost all of the commercial facilities were closed.

 

Tokyo Olympics Over

　　The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are over. I think that this Olympics finished in success. Because of the pandemic, various limitations were imposed on this Olympics, but people who were involved in the Games have done a good job. I'd like to extend my congratulations to them and thank the Government for its decision. Seeing the happy faces of the participants and ordinary people, some groups who were against the Olympics sank in silence. Their gloomy appearance made me feel refreshed. In addition, I hope for the vigorous fights and cultural exchange in the coming 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

(Vocabulary)
gloomy 鬱(ゆううつ)な, 重苦しい; 悲観的な[同意] depressing ; 薄暗い, 陰気な
cultural exchange 文化交流

Cancellation of My Trip

　　I had a plan to visit Hokkaido this summer vacation to see my youngest daughter. She works in a hospital in Hokkaido as a resident and she is a postgraduate student of Oxford at the same time. She temporarily came back from the U.K. last summer avoiding the pandemic in the U.K., and she is going to re-visit and stay in the U.K. for at least two years. If the pandemic should cease next summer, I'm sure to visit Oxford next summer vacation with my wife, but its possibility might not be high. We'd like to see her in Hokkaido, but we had to give up the plan due to the surge of the Wuhan virus infection.

 

Lunch Break During the Health Check Session

　　The annual medical check of the employees is regulated to be compulsory for every business unit by law. If something wrong was found in the tests, the employee will be sent to a clinic. I had been working in the clinic side for a long time until last year, but now I'm in the medical check side and I deal with people who sometimes strongly declare that they don't need any medication.
　　If they don't feel any health problem subjectively, they don't comply with my opinion often. I soothe them to consult a doctor at that time. It requires much effort, but my job is rewarding.
　　The following picture shows my table at lunch time during the session. My lunch was a sweetened bun and a canned cafe au lait over reading a book through my kindle.