昨日の記事の中で、普天間の基地の中に継続配備されている航空機が何機あるかというクイズを出しました。
約20年ぶりの普天間基地とオスプレイ(二カ国語)
I threw out a quiz in my entry yesterday: How many aircraft are stationed on Futenma Base permanently.
正解は２８機です。オスプレイは２４機で、残りの４機はＯＳＡ（支援航空機）と言うセスナのような小型ジェット機で、主に司令官等の移動に使われています。時期によっては短期的に普天間を利用する航空機もあります。
The correct answer is 28. There are 24 Ospreys. The other four are operational support aircraft such as small Cessna-type jets which are used mainly as a more efficient mode of transportation for commanders as they travel to various bases, etc. Depending on the season, there may also be many other aircraft parked at Futenma which are on temporary assignments.
夕刊フジの連載「日本の新常識」⑨は、昨日「日米ともに道徳教育が不十分」という見出しで掲載されました。下記のＵＲＬでご確認ください。なお、英語バージョンは下記に掲載しました。ご参考にどうぞ。
The 9th installment of my weekly column “Common Knowledge Revisited” in the Fuji Evening News ran last evening under the headline “Moral Education Lacking in Both Japan and the United States.” It can be viewed at the following URL in Japan. The English version follows below.
http://www.zakzak.co.jp/society/domestic/news/20150404/dms1504041000004-n1.htm
Common Knowledge Revisited ⑨
Moral Education Lacking in Both Japan and the United States
The all-time world best-selling book is the Bible. Estimates range from 6 billion copies to 3.88 billion copies. In Japan, where Christians have never made up more than 1% of the population since the Meiji Era, approximately 350,000,000 copies of the Bible have been sold or distributed.
Best sellers are often touted as being second only to the Bible. As recent works, “Harry Potter” (450,000,000 copies of the series) and “The da Vinci Code” (80,000,000 copies) come to mind.
The best-selling Japanese novel was Eiji Yoshikawa’s “Miyamoto Musashi.” In the category of Manga, No. 1 is Oda Eiichiro’s “One Piece” (380,000,000 copies) followed by Takao Saito’s “Golgo 13” (280,000,000 copies), and so forth.
There is a unique best seller in the United States which numbers 832 pages, is 5.5 cm thick, and weighs 1.2 kg. It is said to be “the second Bible” and has sold 30,000,000 copies. I bought this book around 1990. The title is “The Book of Virtues,” a reader on morals. The book was written by William J. Bennett, who was Secretary of Education under President Reagan.
The author selected 10 virtues which we should acquire and presents them through poetry, fables, stories, and literary masterpieces. The ten virtues are: Self-Discipline, Compassion, Responsibility, Friendship, Work, Courage, Perseverance, Honesty, Loyalty, and Faith.
In the United States, traditionally morals have been taught at home or at church. This gigantic book became a best seller because it is perfect to be read to children at bedtime to teach them morals.
In Japan, where religion is not emphasized, the extended family, the community, and the schools have played a large role. However, in recent years there has been a rising trend toward nuclear families and a decline in community-based society. In addition, following the war, GHQ (General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) considered the moral curriculum taught in schools (“shuushin”) to be linked to wartime militarism and banned it.
Later, a morality curriculum was revived, but under the present educational system where studies focus mainly on entrance exams, teachers, students, and parents have only a superficial interest in moral education. There is no doubt that is one cause for bullying, suicide, homicides, and child delinquency.
Accordingly, I am highly in favor of a renewed emphasis on moral education. People who scream this is “forced patriotism” look to me like people who have too strong of a patriotism for certain countries other than Japan.
Dr. Bennett’s book has been published in translation as “Magic Thread: 100 Fables, Stories, and Anecdotes to Enrich the Heart.” It is said by some that the original English version imitated the Japanese morality curriculum, but the main issue is the stark reality that moral education is sadly lacking in both the United States and Japan.
Looking at the leaders and people of the continent where the Analects of Confucius, probably the original Asian treatise on morals, was created only strengthens that conviction.
