Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

What It Means To Understand English

　　At the risk of over-generalizing, I think if you are born and live in Japan, you don't need any language other than Japanese. That might be why the ordinary Japanese are poor at English. On the other hand, the number of non-Japanese who can have a good command of Japanese is only a few. The grammar of Japanese is quite unique, which has three kinds of letters like "hiragana", "katakana" and "kanji". The first two types have about 50 letters at most respectively, but "kanji" has a few dozen thousand letters, though 1000 letters are enough in daily life. I believe that there is no other language that has as complicated and cumbersome grammar as Japanese.
　　Lots of misunderstanding between Japan and other countries have been repeated so far. Even now it's through the media that the ordinary Japanese get information on outside of Japan. If the media was biased, Japanese people would be easily brainwashed.
　　Now, however, the situation has completely changed. I don't need the Japanese media to get information from outside of Japan. I can directly read a variety of news items on the web of the foreign news media. The Japanese who understand English can have more information than the other Japanese people. I feel that I'm lucky to have learned and been learning English so far.

英語がわかると言うこと

日本人に生まれ、日本で暮らすとき、日本語さえわかれば他の言語を覚える必要は無い。 これが原因だろうか、日本人は一般に英語が苦手である。また、日本語を話す外国人は多くない。日本語の文法体系はかなり特殊であるし、文字は３種類、うち２つは５０個程度の文字数だが、もう一種は数万に及ぶ。日常で使うには１０００も有れば十分だが。これほど厄介な言語はそうはないと思う。

従って、日本と海外の情報交換はこれまでの歴史を振り返っても誤解が多かった。日本人が海外で起こった事件に接するのは日本のメディアを通してだった。メディアがいい加減な根拠のない報道をすれば、それが日本人の知識となっていた。

が、今は違う。情報はメディアを通さずとも伝わってくる。英語がわかると言うことは、そうでない人々に比べて圧倒的に知識が増える。英語を理解しない人にはわからないかもしれないが、今まで英語の勉強をしてきてそう思う。

Air Out

　　My parents are now in two nursery facilities respectively. Their return to their house is thought to be already hopeless. My wife, my daughter, her husband and I went to my parents' house for its cleaning. Opening the door, the air was damp and heavy, so first off, we opened all the windows and aired the house out. After a while working, we ordered pizzas from a nearby shop. We used my mother's favorite plates, which reminded me of my mother's healthy days. My mother turns 90 this year. I know no one can avoid aging, but I became a little sad.

Newborn Baby's First Visit to a Shrine

　　I'm writing about a long-lasting tradition of Japan, "First Visit To a Shrine".
　　"Newborn Baby's First Visit To a Shrine" is celebrated by his/her parents and grandparents on about the 30th day after birth. As you may know, sunlight is harmful for newborn babies, so about 30 days after their birth, babies can go out for the first time while avoiding the direct sunlight. The parents of the newborn baby take their baby to the shrine to wish his/her happiness on this day.
　　My wife and I accompanied the visit. The baby's paternal grandparents were already in heaven, and five of us including the baby sat down on the tatami mat in front of the Shinto priests to receive purification from them. After the memorable visit, we got seated to a special dinner.
　　We flew to Tokyo, where my daughter's family live, with intensive care against the coronavirus pandemic. Our granddaughter can't do anything now, but I'd like to keep an eye on her growth.

Balneum

　　My daughter is giving her daughter a bath in her kitchen sink. I took this picture with my wide angle lens and consequently the baby's face is enlarged. She looks relaxed during bath time. I recalled the scene when my wife was giving my daughter a bath about 30 some years ago.

Meet My Grandchild

　　My daughter gave birth to a baby girl on March 5th. The baby was totally healthy without any congenital illness. I didn't mind whether the baby was a boy or girl, and I simply hoped that the baby would be born healthy. The news of the successful delivery really made me relieved. She discharged from the maternity hospital a week after the childbirth. Some might wonder about the week's stay in the hospital, saying "The baby has something abnormal, or not?", but it is the usual way for the delivery in Japan's hospital for both mother and the baby to receive a week's hospital care after the birth. My wife was staying in Tokyo for about three weeks after her discharge to help her to take care of the baby.
　　Above was really good news, but bad news came in at the same time. People who got infected with the corona virus are increasing across Japan. The government asked the nation not to move for nonessential and non-urgent tasks, but I was not able to wait to meet my first grandchild and visited Tokyo with prudential preparation. The baby was so adorable. I've no words to express my delight.

Yellow Sand

　　Do you know a troublesome phenomenon, Yellow Sand, which is often seen in Spring in Japan and maybe South Korea. The fine particles flung up from the desert in the west of Peking streak from the west of Peking across the Korean Peninsula to Japan. It's nothing but an annoyance.
　　The yellow sand not only stains cars, but also damages their air intake system. My car is fortunately an electric car and doesn't need the air, but cars which are driven by gasoline would need more careful maintenance after the drive than usual. What's worse, it harms human health. My throat felt harsh now though I wore a mask all day. Nothing good comes from China.

 

LINE Issue

　　Do you know "LINE", the most popular SNS in Japan. This risky SNS has finally been brought in dispute.
　　When I got to know about "LINE" a few years ago, I looked for the information on LINE on the net and found the fact that its server was placed in South Korea. Japan's Personal Information Protection Law is in effect only in Japan. That is to say, the LINE-users' personal information are surely stolen by South Korea. Since I found the fact, I've warned people around me, but most people were indifferent to my advice. Under the threat of the Wuhan virus infection, the Matsuyama Century Lions Club, to which I belong, has held online meetings using "LINE" for the recent several months, but I didn't want to use "LINE" and have been absent.
　　The Japanese Government banned the use of "LINE" in government agencies. It's very natural, but the decision was too late. I knew from the prime minister that the maintenance of the LINE's server was done by China. What a lax risk management it is!
　　Today, I found an interesting news item on the net. It says that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) banned governmental and military personnel from driving Tesla Cars in the premises of their offices. I assumed that it must be due to the battery's firing accident which happened the other day, but according to the reporter, the CCP is concerned over built-in 9 cameras (8:outside 1:inside) and sound recording functions of all Tesla Cars. The CEO of the Tesla Company denied the collection of those data, but the CCP might have suspected that the U.S. would do the same thing as the CCP do.

(Vocabulary)
Personal Information Protection Law 個人情報保護法
lax〈態度・規制などが〉 甘い, 手ぬるい, 緩い
be lax in (doing) something ＜…＞（すること）に対して手ぬるい

数年前、ＬＩＮＥの情報を探すと、サーバーが韓国に置かれていることがわかった。個人情報保護法は日本国内にしか適応されない。ということは個人情報が韓国政府に抜き取られてしまうということになる。そのときから周囲にＬＩＮＥは危険だと話してきた。ほとんどの人は僕の警告に無関心だった。武漢ウイルス感染を恐れ所属するライオンズクラブはＬＩＮＥを使ってオンラインミーティングをしてきた。僕はどうしてもＬＩＮＥを使う気になれず、ずっと欠席状態。
昨日、菅総理が政府機関でのＬＩＮＥの使用を禁止すると発表をした。これでやっと周囲にもわかってもらえる。その際に知ったのだが、韓国のサーバーのメンテはなんとＣＣＰが行っている。なんという危機管理の甘さよ。
そして今日、興味深いニュースを見つけた。ＣＣＰが政府関係者、軍関係者にテスラ社に乗ることを禁止したという。先日のバッテリー発火事故のためかと思いきや、記者によると、テスラについているカメラ９台（８台は外、１台は中）と録音機能が問題になっているのだろうという。自分たちがＬＩＮＥを使って情報を集めているからアメリカを同じことをしていると考えたのだろうか?

Lifting Emergency Declaration in Greater Tokyo Region

　　The long-awaited day comes tomorrow. The prime minister, Suga, announced that the Government is going to lift the variety of restrictions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic on the 21st. My company requests its employees to avoid the move to the areas in which the state of emergency is declared. I admire the efforts of the government and people who work in the travel industry and endure hardship under the restriction. I just hope that the epidemic will disappear. I got a flight ticket on the first weekend of April. To where? Of course to Tokyo! I can't wait to meet my granddaughter who was born on Mar. 5th. My wife is in Tokyo now to help our daughter's chores and sends me granddaughter's pictures every day. I've refrained from stepping into downtown and the epidemic areas of the Wuhan virus in my position as an occupational doctor. Shall I go to those places soon?

 

The U.S. and China Talks in Alaska

　　The talks between the U.S. and China were held on March 18th in Alaska. The authorities allowed the media to stay in the room during the talks and commoners like me were able to see the talk. I saw the scene via Youtube or something and was surprised in many ways. Their words were unexpectedly not polite and even violent. The U.S. official raised the issue of human rights and the China side rebutted it pointing out the BLM issue.
　　If I were the U.S. Secretary, Blinken, I would have said, "It's in the U.S. that a black, who you referred to, can be the president. Feel vexed? So, let a Tibetan, Mongolian, or Uighur be a president of the Communist Party. Can you?"
　　I got relieved to know the stance of the U.S. Government against China. I assumed that the Biden regime would lift the sanctions which former President Trump imposed. The policy against China wouldn't change at least for now.

 

Single Life

　　My wife left for Tokyo on March 10th to take care of our daughter who would discharge from the maternity hospital on 11th. She is going to stay in Tokyo for three weeks and I was going to enjoy my single life during her absence. I'm visiting some restaurants for breakfast and supper, and am eating lunch in the cafeteria of the company, but I can't avoid household chores like cleaning, washing, taking out the trash, and so on. The trash must be separated according to municipal rules. It's such a handful for inexperienced persons.
　　My second daughter and her husband came to my house, maybe with mercy. Then I was calculating how many pairs of socks and underwear I have. I was thinking of managing to survive the three weeks without washing. My daughter was appalled and told me that my laundry is sure to emit horrible odors and I should learn how to use the washing machine. I had no other option and I learned it from my daughter. The washing machine seemed to have various convenient functions, but I learned automatic washing only. I've only to put my laundry and some detergent into the tank and just push the starting button. It's very handy and helpful.

 

What becomes of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

　　The recent poll says that more than a half of Japanese people want to re-postpone the Tokyo Olympics one more year. Japan's government is going to shut out international spectators and tourists during the Olympics. Without international guests, can the Olympics be livened up? To tell the truth, the increasing number of would-be volunteers appear to back out of their tasks. I'm for the postponement though it might be a considerable hardship for athletes and people who are concerned to wait for the Olympics one more year.
　　By the way, do you know where the 2022 Winter Olympics is to be held? It's in Beijing. The U.S., Canada, and EU acknowledge China's policy for Uighur people as GENOCIDE. Naturally their policy doesn't go well with the Olympic Charter. What becomes of this Winter Olympics? Even if China pushed to hold the Games, would the Olympics, in which lots of countries from the northern hemisphere don't join, be completed? Does such Olympic Games make sense?
　　Japan has the experience of holding two Winter Olympics in Sapporo and Nagano. How about Japan's taking on the substitute of China and holding two Olympics of Winter and Summer in the same year, 2022?

 

Silent Invasion

　　My friend gave me a book written in English, which is shown below. The title of this book is "Silent Invasion". Its Japanese edition has already been published and I was going to read it, but using this present as an opportunity, I decided to read this book. I'm reading "Into The Wild" now, and will read it after that book.
　　The first words which came into my eye immediately when I looked at the contents were "Dyeing Australia Red". If you know about this book for the first time, you would be able to imagine the content. Arrogance, totalitarianism, militarism, and infringement of human rights of China have long been criticized and now even pro-China countries like Germany and Australia came to change their attitude altogether.
　　I thumbed through its preface and the author wrote about the Australian torch relay associated with 2008 Beijing Olympics. There seemed to happen a disturbance or a riot caused by Chinese students. Apparently it's the same situation as Nagano city in central Japan. Mainstream medias in Japan concealed the incident and most Japanese don't know about it even now.
　　Around when I started writing this blog, I often picked up topics about politics and foreign affairs. It was to let ordinary people not only in Japan but across the globe know the facts. Now, however, they can reach the primary information by the development of the internet technology. The mainstream medias became unable to lie to people. It's wonderful.

(Vocabulary)
本の目次のページにはふつう単に contents と書く. なお, content と単数形にすれば本の「内容」になる
disturbance 騒ぎ, 暴動 , 騒動, 騒乱; （平静･正常な進行を）乱すこと

RareJob

　　My company encourages its employees to learn English. My company is one of the representative companies in Japan and some of the employees are required to pick up English to communicate with international customers. My company tied a corporate contract with RareJob, which is an online English education company based in the Philippines, and started offering opportunities to speak English to their employees. 50% of the lesson fee is covered by the company. Additionally, the good attendance and/or the improvement of the TOEIC score being acknowledged, even employees' own expense is supposed to be refunded. All the tutors are from the Philippines and we talk concerning the offered topics for 25 minutes per lesson. The time difference is only an hour between Japan and the Philippines. I was amazed that the founder of RareJob had hit on a good idea and I'm grateful for my company's generosity.
　　I started the lesson on RareJob on March 1st. The lesson continues until the end of the August for six months. What will become of my English speaking skills?

 

China's Act of Spite Against Taiwan

　　I heard about the recent trouble in Taiwan's agricultural industry. The destination of export of Taiwan's pineapples had been mainly China for a long time, but the Chinese government began to harass Taiwan. This news spread across Japan immediately.
　　Taiwan reached their big helping hand to Japan 10 years ago when the enormous earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan. Japanese people never forget a favor offered by others. Ordinary people in Japan moved to express their gratitude and started to buy pineapples produced in Taiwan. Some importers responded in concert with this movement and the amount of import of pineapples from Taiwan increased to 2.3 times compared with last year. Moreover it seems to expand.
　　I looked for them at a few supermarkets near my neighborhood, but I didn't find any, so I bought the processed pineapples of pineapple cakes, which is shown below, via Amazon. I like this cake originally and bought several packages. I brought some of them to my office and my daughter. Hang in there, Taiwan!

(Vocabulary)
spite [U] 悪意, 恨み= harassment 嫌がらせ
out of spite (for spite とも) 悪意［恨み］から, 腹いせに

The Second Happiest News This Year

　　I wrote about the marriage of my second daughter the other day, and today, my eldest daughter who got married last year gave birth to a baby girl, who is my first grandchild. She or it - I've no idea about which I should use as the pronoun for the baby anyway - is perfectly healthy. I'd like to visit Tokyo, in which my daughter lives, just now to meet my grandchild, but the appalling virus stands in my way. My company requests employees to refrain from moving to Tokyo and other highly infected regions. I can't wait for the lifting of the emergency state declaration of Tokyo.

 

Surgery Done

　　My surgery finished successfully for about an hour. I feel I'm recovering from my surgery now. I've performed myself traditional McVay Repair and Iliopubic Tract Repair on a few dozen patients of the inguinal hernia so far, but I adopted a newly developed procedure using artificial membrane for myself. I don't know yet if this decision was right or not, but my symptom has gone and I'm spending time comfortably on my bed, though I feel strong pains when moving. The traditional method leaves a stretched feeling for some time, but I've none now. This would be the most advantageous point of the new method.

(Vocabulary)
a stretched feeling　つっぱり感

 

Preparation for Annual Health Check

　　The staff members of the Safety and Health department of the company started preparation for the annual health check for the employees, which will be held in April. The items of the check would be almost the same in every developed country, but some of the items differ according to the employees' tasks. I've been thinking that I have only to check everyone on autopilot, but I was wrong.
　　The annual health check is provided by the law called Industrial Safety and Health Act and it has several detailed rules. According to employees' occupational condition, the staff members have to see if they have an unfavorable effect from dust, noise, vibration, organic solvent, weld fumes and poisonous substances which my company uses like arsenicum, and biantimony trioxide.
　　That is to say, the health check items vary person by person. This makes the health check complicated. The number of the target employees is more than 3,000. It must be held avoiding congestion as a measure against Covid-19. I'll write about this health check later after it has finished.

(Vocabulary)
Industrial Safety and Health Act　労働安全衛生法
provide that　(フォーマル) 〈法律・規則が〉 …ということを規定する
The law provides that employees have the right to join a union.　その法律は従業員が組合に加入する権利があることを規定している．
solvent 溶剤, 溶媒; (借金の) 支払い能力がある
solvency 支払い能力のある状態
arsenic ヒ素
biantimony trioxide 三酸化二アンチモン
welding fume; weld fume 溶接ヒューム
weld [他] 〈金属〉 を溶接する; (金属の) 溶接部［箇所］

 

2020 Tokyo Olympics

　　What will become of the one year late Olympic games in Tokyo? Representative players from all over the world are surely expecting it to be held, but about 70% of Japanese people around me seem to be reluctant to have it. As for me, I'm on the reluctant side. I'm sorry to say this for the authorities concerned, Japan should be cautious to the utmost about receiving visitors. The influence of the Wuhan virus is now decreasing in Japan. I hope that this tendency would go on and on to put an end to the outbreak.

今年、1年遅れの東京オリンピックが開催されるのだろうか？ すでに代表に決まっている選手たちは是非とも開催して欲しいだろうが、日本の国民感情はどうだろうか？僕の周りでは７割くらいは消極的な考えのようだ。僕自身ももう開催しないほうが良いのではないかと考えている。
準備に投資した関係者には申し訳ないが、海外からウイルスが持ち込まれる可能性がある。大量に外国人がやってくることには慎重になるべきではないか。

My Surgery

　　My surgery for my inguinal hernia is scheduled in the beginning of March. I have a little restlessness, but I have no other way than undergoing the surgery. I'd worked as a general surgeon for nearly 40 years and performed lots of operations and a variety of anesthesia, but it's the first time to be placed under general anesthesia. I'm feeling the same sensation as my patients had felt.
　　My illness is not so serious and is often seen in the hospital. It's a kind of everyday affair for the surgeons. I have no allergic history, so my anesthesia and surgery would be surely successfully done, but my knowledge of several malpractice suites makes me uneasy. The patients which I was concerned about would be uneasy like myself of today. I'm wondering if I'd been able to care for them with self-reflection.

(Vocabulary)
malpractice suit 医療過誤訴訟

 

手術

３月上旬に鼠径ヘルニア根治術を受けることになっている。少し不安もあるが仕方ない。これまで多くの患者の麻酔や手術に関わってきたが、手術を受けるとはこういうことかと今更ながら思っている。特殊な疾患ではないありふれたものであるし、薬剤に対するアレルギーなどもないので心配する必要など無いのだが、それでも知識として種々の合併症を知っているだけに不安がある。これまで関わってきた患者たちも見なそうだったのだろうなあと説明不足があったのではなかったかとこれまでの自分が行ってきた医療に対して思い返している。

What I think about the mainstream media

　　The New York Times reported without any hard evidence on Jan. 6th that some of the mob who had stormed into the Capitol Hill killed a policeman, and this news sparked and fanned the 2nd impeachment trial of President Trump. Other mainstream media also blindly followed this report one after another.
　　I heard the fact today that the policeman had nothing unusual about his health after the insurrection.He passed away from the attack of his personal problem. His death had nothing to do with the insurrection. The New York Times made an official apology on the previous day of the impeachment trial. However, they were totally irresponsible for their report. They didn't get the positive fact about his death before reporting. I'm just astonished beyond words.

(Vocabulary)
hard evidence 確かな証拠