A student organization since 2006, which is actively engaged in movements to host the Olympics.

Students Society - "Tokyo for 2016 Olympics"







They wanted to feel the "power of sports" through Olympics! visiting many cities, from Tokyo to Fukuoka on the Olympic Caravan, for two and a half months. They mainly visited universities, student organizations, and NPO. and travelling 6,089km for 77 days, appealing the new style of Olympics, considering the environment now and the disabled people.


Could you tell us more about the Olympic Caravan?

At the departing ceremony on December 1st, 2007, former Nordic skier, also the gold medalist Kenji Ogiwara came to see us off. During the tour we met many athletes, for example, Haruka Hirota, the Trampoline athlete of Beijing Olympics, Takashi Yamamoto, silver medalist of swimming at the Athens Olympics, Ryuji Yamamoto, baseball player of Hanshin Tigers. We also socialized with over 2000 people from various fields; universities, NPO, lawmakers, etc.











Local papers and radio stations spread our activities so thanks to them, we could send our enthusiasm of the Olympics all over Japan and could also listen to what the local people really think about this. We learned a lot from our Olympic Caravan.



Planning and Publication Manager: Kazuya Otomo (left) and Representative: Yuriya Morisaki (right)

Miss Morisaki, I heard that it was your experience of communicating with foreign people which made you want to join this movement.


My life has greatly changed since my encounter with foreigners during the World Cup. I was in the second year of junior high school at that time. I met a whole bunch of foreigners with face paintings in Odaiba and they all looked very excited, as if there was a festival or something. I just went up to the crowd and spoke to them, using my small vocabulary. They all listened very hard, trying to understand what I was saying and I was very happy about it. It made me feel I was a part of their group and that experience really changed my life after that. I thought, if I join this organization and the Olympics would really be held in Tokyo, Japan, maybe I could make the children have the same experience that I've had. I hope more and more new dreams will come up from the Tokyo Olympics.

Mr. Otomo, what's your impression of working as a member of this students organization?

I have joined various human rights activities and environment events but it wasn't what I really wanted. I wanted to engage myself in some social activities that got to do with my favorite sports. For this Tokyo Olympics Bidding, it is a little different from the past Olympics. There has been a clear proposal for the environmental problems. I think that this is a global problem which each one of us need to take responsible for. If the Olympics would be held in Tokyo 2016, everybody in the whole wide world would be more interested and have more positive feelings towards the environmental problems.

Let's support this bidding movement for the Tokyo Olympics which is directly facing the environmental problems of us human beings.

Students Society - "Tokyo for 2016 Olympics　website

In the last couple of years, over 17 million Japanese people go abroad on business and travel. Many of them come home impressed with the "kindness" and "warm-heartedness" of the local people there.

The local people there are never as wealthy as the Japanese people but they live an active life and welcome people like us from other countries.




Don't you think it is now time for us to open our hearts and give the foreign people who come and visit or live in Japan a warm welcome? It is the important mission of the Interpreter Volunteer Guides to convey this feeling of warm welcome.

The Work of Volunteer Guides

Here's an interview with Ms. Fukaya of the Tokyo City Guide Club about the Interpreter Volunteer Guides.






Why did you want to become an interpreter volunteer guide?

Many interpreter volunteer guides have the experience that they have been warmly welcomed by the local people overseas. I, too, have the same experience. Many of us want to help, like tour-guiding the foreigners who come to Japan in return of what they have done to us.


What kind of a club is "Tokyo City Guide Club"?

Our group members have all passed the "Tokyo City Guide Test." It's an informal club. First we made small groups of our specialty fields and started the group by doing workshops and study groups. By continuous study groups, we've come to the conclusion that we all wanted to study more about the metropolitan city, "Tokyo". I think it's a great group. We walk around the city and study the history, culture, and the environment. It is a joy for us that we can directly learn them by walking around the city. Members have a great relationship, too, and we are quite satisfied with our intelligent group. I am pretty sure that foreign tourists will love our group.

How do you guide the tourists from overseas?

I think it's natural that after we have input all our knowledge at the study group and gain confidence, we want to spread this happiness to someone. We have 23 model guided courses at the moment and we guide not only tourists but we also have the opportunity to guide foreigners who live in Japan, for example, expats in Japan and groups of exchange students. We hear happy voices from them that they could really experience the Japanese culture.

Why did you want to become an interpreter volunteer guide?

Many interpreter volunteer guides have the experience that they have been warmly welcomed by the local people overseas. I, too, have the same experience. Many of us want to help, like tour-guiding the foreigners who come to Japan in return of what they have done to us.


What kind of a club is "Tokyo City Guide Club"?

Our group members have all passed the "Tokyo City Guide Test." It's an informal club. First we made small groups of our specialty fields and started the group by doing workshops and study groups. By continuous study groups, we've come to the conclusion that we all wanted to study more about the metropolitan city, "Tokyo". I think it's a great group. We walk around the city and study the history, culture, and the environment. It is a joy for us that we can directly learn them by walking around the city. Members have a great relationship, too, and we are quite satisfied with our intelligent group. I am pretty sure that foreign tourists will love our group.

How do you guide the tourists from overseas?

I think it's natural that after we have input all our knowledge at the study group and gain confidence, we want to spread this happiness to someone. We have 23 model guided courses at the moment and we guide not only tourists but we also have the opportunity to guide foreigners who live in Japan, for example, expats in Japan and groups of exchange students. We hear happy voices from them that they could really experience the Japanese culture.

Tokyo　City　 Guides


翻訳者　：tranlated　by　下野佐紀子

Let’s travel with foreigners for the purpose of rediscovering the fascination of Japan.

Tourism is ace in the hole for Japan to be international and vitalized locally.Let’s travel with foreigners for the purpose of rediscovering the fascination of Japan.

1. What’s the importance of tourism?

To vitalize Japan, especially stimulate local industry, “tourism” is very important key, I think. Until recently, there had been big outbound tourism (Japanese people’s going abroad) and small inbound tourism (accepting foreign tourists in Japan) in Japan. Accepting foreign tourists in Japan is effective for Japan to be international. Tourists from various countries vitalize local areas and causes us to be proud of our own hometown again.

Tourism provides a spark for industries to vitalize. Shops and accommodations for tourists will be established and new souvenirs will be invented.


2. What do you think impresses us most about Japan?

There are a wide variety of characters according to regions ranging from Hokkaido to Okinawa in this small country. The nature and contrasts of all four seasons and local specialties are great, and we have many kinds of characteristic hot springs. Hospitality peculiar to Japanese, if Japanese understand foreigners more and are proud of their own region, will become a big tourist resource.

3. What do you think is most necessary for Japan to be a tourism nation?

We need to try to find a lot to be proud of in Japan with foreigners. Things that are commonplace for us can be very attractive for foreigners.
Public organizations and major companies in the tourism industry need to provide opportunities for foreigners to perform as leader. We need to make efforts to make students from overseas and foreigners who will stay long think it’s comfortable to live in Japan.
If they will say that they like Japan when they come back to their home countries, it will be excellent PR.


4. Would you give messages for students who are interested in the tourism industry?

I want you to strive to be professionals of tourism. In my laboratory, a student from China strived to qualify as a professional of tourism and joined a major travel agency.

In his third year with the agency, he made an important role in the Beijing Olympics on the ground, because foreigners can care for many things that can not be done by Japanese.

I want you to gain enough experience and aim to be a manager in a Japanese company.
In the future, opportunities to demonstrate your abilities will increase without doubt, and you strive to be a leader then.


5. What’s your motto?

Seeing is believing. I think it’s important for us to experience anything with our body as well as with our mind. When you want to do something, try it first.

Professor Masaru Suzuki ProfileGraduated from School of Commerce, Waseda University in 1967 and joined JTBAfter work at the Kyoto branch, 5 years in Sydney and 4 years in Beijing as responsible officialAfter manager of Oceania in JTB World and manager of Asia of directors, 8 years ago, he started to give lectures such as “Vitalization of international tourism” to university students as a professor who had carried through his own businessman life. Now he is making efforts to forge “a tourism nation, Japan” where expanding equilibrium of two-way tourism, inbound and outbound is established.

Japanese singer popular among Japanese-Brazilian community which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of immigration

Yumi Inoue, who have been making performance at Japanese community for ten years

1:What brings you to sing songs in Brazil?


I watched Japanese Brazilian sing Japanese songs with full respect in singing contest in Sao Paulo by NHK on TV.
Then I asked my manager to give me an opportunity to “sing Japanese songs for Japanese Brazilian in Brazil”.
Various people including my manager helped me make performance in Brazil, though I didn’t have any acquaintances and didn’t have any human relationships in South America.
First performance was successful, and I was asked to “make another performance there the following year”.
This is the 10th year I have performed at Japanese community in South America including Brazil.
I was anxious lest I should make myself understood by people in South America who have different language and culture from me, but I found that if we “enjoyed songs”, it didn’t matter what race they were, and what nationality they had.

2:This is the 100th year people have immigrated into Brazil, what do you think about that?


First-generation and second-generation Japanese immigrants have established Japanese community of today with considerable difficulty.
This year we will have many memorial events both in Japan and Brazil, but next year, the 101st year is more important, I suppose.
I’d like to continue to sing “Obrigado, Kasatomaru”, a song for “Japanese immigrants” to prevent these events from resulting in a boom, hoping that “everyone keeps in mind that there are many people who had difficulties in living a foreign country as immigrants”.

Interview with Naoki Segi, the director of the film “KIZUKI”

Expressing gratitude to natureInterview with Naoki Segi, the director of the film “KIZUKI”Environmental issues without borders!!

Q:What inspired you to direct a film?


A:I was born in Yokkaichi, Mie, which was notorious for pollution. When I went on a family trip to Nagano, I was so fascinated by prodigality of nature that I was eager to live surrounded by nature.
Also at the fourth grade of elementary school, the picture of Minamata disease in a school textbook, which showed the miseries pollution caused, has convinced me to break into broadcast journalism.
However, I failed to pass examination of major newspaper company and joined the filmmaker where I had been working as a part-timer when I was in college.
Only two and half years after I joined it, thanks to excellent staff, I became a director, though it usually takes 10 years at least to do.
It took very little time for me to become director, so I was at a loss about what I wanted to be like. At age 26, I quit the job to travel all over the world. I have been asking myself whether I really loved films or not for seven months there.
I saw myself objectively in an environment where I had trouble in communicating.
I paused to realize that film, which contained 24 exposures in a second, could deliver more messages than photos. Then I came back to Japan to start all over again from assistant director.
I really love films now.

Q:Do you develop a special feeling for “KIZUKI”?　


A:I emphasized contradictory behavior and inner conflict people have.
This film is not documentary one.
It is a human drama depicting social problems hiding behind.
We make something and consume resources for our survival.
We have to consume resources to make something.
This is human contradictory behavior.
This film is composed of four stories and each story has a main character of its own. Each character has his or her contradiction and conflict. You can check stories from your own experience.

Q:What do you think about environmental issues in China?　


A:There is a scene where people pick up trash washed ashore on Ishigaki Island in the film.
80 to 90 percentage of it is from abroad, especially China and Korea.
What I want to say is it’s not only China and Korea that is to blame and we have environmental issues without borders.I want this understood.
It is essential that people from all over the world should take some actions all the more for environmental issues without borders.

Q:Can　I　have　the　message for foreign students　？


A:Unfortunately, it’s the case that sometimes trash is not sorted out in the proper way in a district where many foreign students live.
Though they have respective environment, culture, and lifestyle habit, I want them to think again about what they should do to solve environmental issues without borders. .

Q:What　is　your　Motto？　


A:It’s “gratitude”. I don’t forget to express gratitude to nature, people around me, and my family.

Naoki Segi
Born in 1963, in Mie
Working as a freelance after having worked for
a production after graduation from college
He continually shoots films which are set on nature
and community of region. His previous film
“Watch with me”,
which was about how terminal care should be,
got best customer satisfaction in the film,
drama magazine “Pia” in last June.
He is now attracting attention as a social director
in the field of education and of town development
as well as in the film industry.

Break down the barriers that people feel toward speaking English

MR　Patrick Harlan　Comedian, entertainer,
actor Cohosts Eigo de Shabera Night
on NHK television

Q: What made you want to be a Comedian? And ｗhy in Japan?

A: Well I wanted to be an actor. I have been acting since I was 6, singing and performing in general. I came out to Tokyo in 1996 to be an actor. I watched Japanese TV and they had American personalities (talent) but not good American actors so I figured that they needed a good one and that was me! After a year on the scene, it turned out that this country didn’t really need me. I didn’t get any big jobs and hadn’t really made a name for myself as an actor. So I had to improve my skills. Then I met my partner, Makoto Yoshida. He wanted to be a comedian. I said, “Gosh. If I want to be an actor, I should know how to be funny in Japanese. So I figured “Use him and lose him”.
I thought “Practice with him for awhile and when I get famous, I’ll go back to acting”. But apparently, I’m not going back to acting anytime soon. I picked Japan to act in and I picked a career as a comedian to improve my acting skills.

Q: What was your first impression of Japan?

A: I was amazed that it was similar to America. I thought it would be much more different. Japan has American clothes, fairly big houses, regular cars and better food! This is a great country to get along with!


Q: How did you overcome the barrier of language as a foreigner from a non-kanji country?

A: Kanji cards! I just carried them around with me everywhere, when I was on the bus, when I was supposed to be working. I focused on reading (rather than writing).
I made 2000 cards in 2 years. Once you know kanji, it makes a huge difference.

Q: What is the key for Japanese to improve their English?

A: Go away! Living in a foreign country would be the fastest.
There is no secret. Just study. It’s no different from learning how to play tennis. No one learns how to be a good tennis player in an hour or a week. It’s just the same thing. Practice makes it perfect.

Q: What was the “culture shock” for you in Japan?

A: Maybe my attitude or behavior as an American. By Japanese standards, it was too unrefined. For example, arms on a table, crossing my legs, or sitting next to an important person and saying, “Hey, how is it going?” I had no idea. So the expectation of politeness was a bit stricter. I also hit my head a lot.

Mr Patrick Harlan
Comedian, entertainer, actor. Raised in Colorado.. Earned a B.A. in the Study of Religion from Harvard University in 1993 and arrived in Japan the same year. Formed the comic duo Pack'n Mack'n with Yoshida Makoto in 1997. Cohosts Eigo de Shabera Night on NHK television, hosts Jam the World (J-Wave Radio) on Fridays, and appears regularly on other TV and radio shows. Coauthor of Bakusho Mondai, Pakkun Eigo Genron.

The Star of International Education, Kazuko Hirota, Ph.D.

Q: You have experienced guiding many students. What do you think is the best way to decide the order of priority?

A: I don’t decide the order of priority on things. For me, intuition is really important.
When I think about things seriously, the most important thing would naturally come up and I try to act honestly to it.


Q: What do you recommend to foreigners in Japan for enjoying their life here?

A: The important thing is never forget the purpose of coming to Japan.
Of course there are both bad things and good things happened. But the way you accept it would change them to a part of your meaningful experience.
We have also been sending many students to abroad, and there　are people who regret for not having gone abroad, but not for having gone.
I guess they all had a big dream when arrived Japan, so I would like them to keep it and have a positive life in Japan.
Even if you got some problem, it will surely help you as an experience, so accept it and keep challenging anything you want.

Q: It has been 8 years since I came to Japan. What do you think is the thing international students should know about when studying Japanese?

A: Japan has spiritual culture that is “understand each other without expressions”.
So we avoid direct expressions and have a lot of ways of expressions to “read between the lines”. Understanding the culture peculiar to Japan will direct you to the improvement of Japanese language.
When I see Tea ceremony and Japanese food, I find many delicate manners and nonverbal ways of expression. I can say it is also really important to understand about it.

melody.: A brave, young television host and singer

Q: What do you think is the most distinct difference between J-MELO and other music shows in Japan?

A: One obvious difference would be that we do everything in English, including interviews. Another difference is that most music shows in Japan are directed toward a Japanese audience but we make J- MELO for foreigners or people who don’t know much about Japanese culture and may be interested in J-Pop or Japanese music. We don’t only feature J-Pop, but classical music, jazz music and even traditional music. People who watch the show can get a good sense of what Japan really is. It’s our job to let people around the world know about Japan. I can see all the traditional things from a foreigner’s point of view because I wasn’t raised in Japan, but in Hawaii, so I feel like I’m learning something. It’s easy to explain things in a simple, easy to understand way.

Q : You’ve collaborated with a lot of artists on the show J-MELO. Do you have any special memories from these experiences?
A: The most special memory that comes to me right away is the collaboration I did in Okinawa with Isamu Shimoji and Yukito Ara. My mother is originally from Okinawa so I used to visit every summer to see my relatives. Their traditional music and their culture is something that I’ve always experienced. I’ve never had a chance to perform in Okinawa before so because of this collaboration I was able to perform in front of my relatives and grandmother, which was the happiest thing for me. Also, those two Okinawan musicians were so soulful. In Okinawa everything is so laid back. To them, music is something really fun, not work, like it can not be in Tokyo, so that was kind of new for me.

GUNZA FIVE is kind to foreigners

GINZA FIVE, where you can go directly from the exit C of Ginza station on Tokyo Metro, they are promoting their shopping mall which is kind to foreigners by issuing multilingual brochures and opening a homepage not only for Japanese but for English, Chinese, and Korean speakers which was completed by the 5th of November.

The numbers of visitors, who are foreign residents of Japan and tourists, have been increasing these days. That gives them the need of more information about Ginza including maps and lines, not only in English, but in Chinese and Korean, also. The most notable feature of the brochure is it is written in ‘foreigners’ point of view’. American, Taiwanese, and Korean actually went interviewing. While conventional brochures were written in owners’ view, this time they had a shift-change to focus on foreigners, which means, their customers’ point of view. When you stop by Ginza, we highly recommend you to get one of the multilingual brochures and have a little language lesson or even a fun reading time!!

Challenges in Japan

and his lessons for the ‘game of life’

1) Would you mind sharing with us what made you want to
become a basketball player?

I used to play baseball when I was a kid but since I was tall,
I was asked to play basketball instead. Also, I was able to
get a scholarship into a university and that was probably
the most important thing. In reality, it is difficult for parents
to spend that money to go to college.

2) Speaking of names, I’m aware that your son Kobe was
named after the Kobe beef. How far back have you had an
interest in Japan?

It’s a true story. My wife and I went to a restaurant and had a
steak named Kobe. The restaurant was also named after the
steak so we found that very interesting. When we asked what
it meant, they said it meant tender beef and also the name of
the city.We wanted to name our child after interesting names
which weren’t like Joe, Tom… We wanted it to be a little bit
different.

3) What attracted you to Japan? Is there a favorite part of the Japanese culture that you
are interested in?

I am definitely interested in the culture. As I get older, I want to travel and experience
different cultures. I had a chance to live in Europe for 8years and when the opportunity
came along to come to Asia, it was a ‘no brainer’ and I accepted the challenge.
I think the food is good. Ｔhere are some sushi I ate. I also like the professionalism and
the services here. I think one of the hardest things for me here is walking through the
subway. At some of the stations, I keep bumping my head.

Tokyo Apache's head coach and former NBA player. Also is father of Kobe Bryant who is the NBA superstar.
Tokyo Apache's coach extremely popular to children
always!
1954.10.19 H:207cm W: 112kg