Bangkok Study Tour by Tsushima High
１ＩＴＩＮＥＲＡＲＹ

DateTime

Schedule

Transportation/Flight No.

11:00 Leave Centrair
TG 64515:00 Arrive at Bangkok Airport(2-hour time difference)
17:00 Transfer to Hotel
Charter Bus
8:30 Leave Hotel
9:00 Visit JICA Thailand Office
10:30 Transfer to JICA Volunteer
12:00 Arrive at Nakhon Pathom School for the deaf
Charter Bus
Aug-02
15:00 Transfer to Phra Pathom Chedi
15:30 Arrive at Phra Pathom Chedi
16:00 Transfer to Hotel
17:30 Arrive at Hotel
8:30 Leave Hotel
9:00 Visit Watsuttharam School
11:30 Leave Watsuttharam School
15:00 Visit JETRO Bangkok OfficeCharter Bus
Aug-03
16:10 Leave JETRO Bangkok Office
19:00 Transfer to Airport
20:40 Arrive at Bangkok Airport*3:00 Leave Bangkok Airport(*about 3 hours Delayed) TG 644
Aug-04*10:30 Arrive at Centrair(*about 2.5 hours Delayed)
２ ＭＥＭＢＥＲＳ(７ members)
Kazuaki Ito(vice principal), Mimana Onishi, Yuka Taketani (two 2nd year students),
Shogo Takeuchi, Moe Miyake, Rika Takeda, Daiki Kajiwara(four 1st year students)
３ ＣＯＮＴＥＮＴＳ(1) Aug-02 (Wed) 9:00～ JICA Thailand Office
We left our hotel for Exchange Tower at 8:30.
In the office on the 31 st floor, we received a briefingfrom Ms.Kajisawa , a JICA staff member . In herbriefing, she answered our two questions we had
asked her in advance. The questions were as follows.
The security system
Q1 What are support activities in Thailand?
is very strict in
Q2 What do the supported countries return?
Exchange Tower.
A1 Speaking of developmental aid, you may hit upon
infrastructure facilitation. Of course, it is very important for their economic prosperity.
But you must pay more attention to the social security system, such as how to deal withaging and how to protect socially vulnerable people. In Thailand, where the population isaging, it may be required to learn nursing care service and insurance systems from Japan.
In fact, many handicapped people live away from the center of Thailand. They go shoppingat the market in the morning and evening in order to enjoy conversations with theirneighbors and friends. The market is ‘a kind of salon’ where many people gather. Somego there on wheelchairs. At the market, their way is often narrow or uneven. So therelated sections or agencies are eagerly finding effective solutions to their inconvenience.
A2 From the supported countries, we Japanese received a lot of kind messages anddonation money in return in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Aug-01

(2) Aug-02 (Wed) 12:00～ Nakhon Pathom School for the deaf
Our visit destination in the afternoon is Nakhon Pathom School. The school is for deaf
students, socially vulnerable people. All the pupils and students, from kindergarten
children to senior high school students, about 200 people in number, live in dormitories inthe same school grounds. Here, Kaori Sano has been working and teaching for a year. In
her undergraduate days, she had traveled as a backpacker around the world, especially inthe developing countries. After her graduation, she became a teacher at a special support
school in Hyogo Prefecture. And in August last year, the courageous and active teacher
came here as a JICA volunteer, and has lived a dormitory life with the children.
At first, we received an explanation about her support
activities. She grasped the actual situations of thedeaf in Thailand. She knew their literacy rate is only
20 percent, compared with about 100 percent in Japan.
She suggested to the principal that they should betaught with both sounds and words, and that theyshould be taught by non-handicapped teachers as wellas handicapped teachers. Besides, she promoted theiruse of hearing aids. As a result, hearing aid users increased from three to eighty-four innumber. She said, “It is true that Thailand has achieved rapid economic development
since the late 1980s. However, it has faced the problem of economic disparity between theurban and rural areas. Administrative correspondence for the handicapped still needsimprovement.”
Secondly, we gave the children ourpresentation about our school, forexample, school introduction, Owari
Tsushima Tenno-matsuri Festival,and sights of Tsushima City. And
we gave some quizzes, for instance,“In which month do cherry blossoms

come out, in April or in September?” Thesemessages of ours were translated into the Thai
language by Ms. Sano. The Thai language
was conveyed to the children in sign language
by the Thai teacher. It took time and labor.
The pupils and students were watching theirteachers with shining eyes. That was because
they can’t communicate with each other if they
don’t watch carefully.
Lastly, we were asked some questions by the children, such as “Do you have a flood in Japan?
How about a dam?” “Are the children beaten or hit by the teachers?” It’s a trilling question.
After our exchange with the children, we had Ms. Sano
guide us around the school. We found large dormitories inthe vast area. Near the dormitories, there was a small
vocational training workshop where they learn to processrings and metals from a professional craftsman. It isworthy of attention! The students who have been welltrained here will successfully continue to work even after
their graduation. This is one small shop or step, but one
giant leap for them, I think.

(3) AUG-03 (Thu) 9:00～ Watsuttharam School
We left our hotel for Watsuttharam School at 8:30. The word ‘Wat’ means ‘temple’ in Thai.
That is why Watsuttharam School is located just near Suttharam Temple. At the parking
lot close to the temple we got off. Toward the school we walked for on eminute. In the front we saw a big building. At the gate we entered.
From the campus we heard soul-stirring music. On each side we saw
fifty students lining up orderly with Japanese flags in their hands. From
the other side we saw the principal coming up. That was how we werefully welcomed by the whole school. We were treated as courteously as
if we were national guests. We had the lei of the orchid worn to ou r
neck one by one.
Soon after entering the school building, we all were required t oprostrate ourselves on the floor so as to express respect to the roya lfamily. We behaved as ‘national guests.’ In fact, all the teachers were dressed in black inorder to be in mourning.
Secondly, we were asked to enter the meeting room. The principa lintroduced us to their school, and each of our students introduced the mto our school in English for two minutes.
After our presentations, we wer ehaving coconut juice and dumplings,
and then heard, “Ready. Please come here.”
We were called to the hall. A welcome
party was beginning with a welcome
message written in the banner. We enjoyed the traditional Thai danceby the students dressed in gorgeous costume, not in black. It’s tempting.
Then, we took a class ‘Muay Thai(Thai Boxing)’ with the students. We
wore a pant and gloves for a boxer. And we kicked the sandbag andpunched the mitt, with a whack echoing in the gym.
After the class, we took the other class ‘Mat-Making’ with the juniorhigh school students. They taught us politely together how to make it.
We got these classes successfully done, and were again called to thehall. Parting time was approaching. Our 2.5 hours was a short, butsignificant, period of time. We were presented with a visit
commemorative plate by the principal. The previous dancers came up
to the stage again. A farewell party began with the up-tempo musicwith a smile. Some of our students were moved into tears.
Just as we left the school, we had the whole school see us off
kindly. We were deeply impressed by their hospitality. A
welcome banner, their school presentation, their teaching ofMuay Thai and Mat-Making to us Japanese, and dancing
costumes took a lot of time and efforts,
I think. We must not forget it evenwhen we return to Japan.

We would like to build
stronger Ties with Thailand!
もっと固い（カタイ）絆でつながりタイ！

(4) AUG-03 (Thu) 15:00～ JETRO Bangkok Office
The last visit destination of this study tour was JETRO Bangkok Office on the1 st floor ofNantawas Building. It is located near ISETAN department store, where we had lunch thatday. JETRO stands for ‘Japan External Trade Organization.’ Its activities are “Promoting
foreign direct investment(FDI) into Japan,” “Promoting tradeand business between Japan and the rest of the world,” and“Assisting business expansion of developing countries.” Its
jurisdiction is the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry,
while JICA’s jurisdiction is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This visit was realized thanks to International Office ofPolicy Planning Bureau in Aichi Prefectural Government.
The briefing was given to us by Mr. Suzuki and Ms. Imaizumi.
①General information of Thailand
Its population is about 65 million, which is half as large as that of Japan. It is the fourthnext to Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam among ASEAN countries. Around 9 5percent of the population believes in Buddhism. Thailand’s per capita GDP is a little lessthan 6000 US dollars, which is about 15 percent of Japan’s per capita GDP.
②Economic information of Thailand
A characteristic of the economy of Thailand is that the ratio that primary industrie s
account for is high, 33 percent, while the ratio of GDP share in primary industries is low, 8percent. It means that the economic structure is not efficient. So they say that it is theurgent need of the hour to reduce the number of people working in primary industries andat the same time to increase that in secondary and tertiary industries, mainly the servic eindustry. At this point, opinions may be divided. It may be a problem that economy aswell as education is concentrated in Bangkok too much.
Besides, the Thai export and import destinations are dispersed around the world. Its risk
management is good.
③Investment in Thailand
There are about 4500 Japanese companies operating in the Thaimarket, which has increased by about 680 companies in numberc
ompared with six years ago. On the other hand, some companies
are withdrawing from Thailand.
ISETANdepartment
We asked two questions.
store.
Q1 What is the reason why the Japanese companies withdraw?
The selling area is
A1 The main reas on is that its demand has decreas ed o r
set for Japanese ordisappeared. And the Japanese restaurants are a saturated market, pro-Japanese.
and labor costs have risen.
Q2 The traffic congestion in Thailand is very severe. We have seen many motorcycles run
on the side of the cars freely, which is very dangerous. The streets are narrow in spiteof a lot of motorcars. Can’t they use light vehicles or mini motorcars instead? It
will be a little useful in reducing the traffic congestion, I hope.
A2 It may sound like a good idea, but people in Thailand are proud of having their ow ncars and moving in their own cars. So they will not feel like using any light vehicles.

In this way, it will be difficult to increase the well-being level ofpeople of all classes in Thailand, but it is challenging.
In any case, we should make the most of the merits Thailand has had– geopolitical superiority, good development of industry infrastructure,
and a pro-Japanese country (a country friendly to Japan), I think.