来週は東京にも寒波到来の予報。北海道や日本海側は豪雪に見舞われ、この冬一番の寒さがやってきそうです。
A cold wave is approaching Tokyo next week. Hokkaido and the Sea of Japan side are hit by heavy snowfall. The coldest weather of the winter is coming!
参加者：Amy, Akane, Haruko, Sam, Noric
MC:Haruko
Blog: Noric
本日のトピック
100年の歴史を持つ『週刊朝日』が5月で廃刊になります。日本で初めて出版された週刊誌で、一時は100万部の発行部数を誇りましたが、今は7万部に落ち込んでいます。「楽天マガジン」等、ウェブ端末を使って雑誌読み放題のサブスク・ビジネスも出現し、紙の週刊誌の時代は終わりつつあるようです。
"Weekly Asahi", which has a history of 100 years, will be discontinued in May. It was the first weekly magazine published in Japan, and once boasted a circulation of 1 million copies, but now it has fallen to 70,000 copies. The era of weekly paper magazines seems to be coming to an end, with the emergence of unlimited subscription businesses such as "Rakuten Magazine" that use web terminals to read magazines as much as you want.
AIを駆使した新しい技術が開発されました。冷凍マグロの鮮度を調べる時、以前は尻尾を切りその切り口を見て判断していましたが、それでは肉の鮮度が落ちてしまいます。AIは超音波を使ってマグロを傷つけることなく鮮度を判断できるため、専門家の手を煩わせることなく、漁場から直接消費者に魚を届けることも可能になります。AIは色々な分野の常識を変えて行きそうですね。
A new technology has been developed that makes full use of AI. When checking the freshness of frozen tuna, we used to cut off the tail and look at the cut end. But that would reduce the freshness of the meat. AI can use ultrasound waves to determine the freshness of tuna without damaging it . And the method make it possible to deliver fish directly from the fishing grounds to consumers without the help of experts. AI is going to change the common sense in various fields.
成人の日、靖国神社の能舞台で「居合道」の演武奉納に出演しました。居合道とは対戦相手を頭の中で想定して演技する、己自身をを高める精神的な武道です。私は現在4段。真剣を扱えるランクですが、まだそこまでは自信がありません。寒い屋外での演武でしたが、清々しく演技できました。
On Coming-of-Age Day, I performed "Iaido" at the Noh stage of Yasukuni Shrine as the dedication to the deity. Iaido is a spiritual martial arts that improves oneself by imagining the opponent in one's mind. I'm currently in 4th dan. It's a rank that can handle real Japanise sword. But I'm not confident enough to do that yet. It was a cold outdoor demonstration, but I was able to perform refreshingly.
コロナ対策の旅行の規制が少しずつ緩和されて、訪日観光客も増えました。某リサーチ会社が「まだ海外旅行に行きたくない」と思っている人を国別に調査したところ、スペインは5%,韓国は16%, 米国,中国は!4%でした。日本はというと、なんと35％！この数字には驚かされますが、最近は日本国内の魅力に気がついた、単に海外旅行には行きたくない！などの理由があるようです。
The number of tourists visiting Japan has increased as travel restrictions have been eased little by little. A research company surveyed people by country who said they didn't want to travel abroad yet. The result found that 5% Spanish, 16% in South Korean, and 4% American and Chinese don't want do it. And Japanese answer was 35%! I'm surprised by this number. But recently people have realized the charm of Japan rather than foreign ones. And what's more, they just
don't want to go abroad! That's simple!
日々排出される各種ゴミには地球上だけでなく宇宙でも問題が山積みですが、色々な取り組みは始まっています。スウェーデンはヨーロッパ随一のゴミ処理先進国。自国内のゴミ処理だけでなく、近隣諸国からもゴミ処理を引き受けるビジネスを始めています。住民は自ら家庭ゴミを処分ボックスに運んで行く、収集日時は随時など、考え方も画期的です。
Various kinds of garbage is being discarded every day. It's a piling up problems not only on earth but also in space. Sweden is one of Europe's leading countries which dispose waste wisely. They have started a business handling waste disposal not only within their own country, but also from neighboring ones. Residents themselves carry their household waste to the disposal box, and the collection date and time are flexible. The way of thinking is really epoch-making!
次回は1月28日、15時より、Skype で開催します。
Written by Noric