Produced by OCHANOMIZU UNIVERSITY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL and GEICMUM’S TIMESPROFESSIONAL EDITION, NOVEMBER 2019

Gender-free uniform a ‘happi’ choiceOchanomizu Girl’s
University announced
in 2018 that it will
accept transgender applicants.
More and more education
organizations are expected tofollow this trend. However,there are concerns about apossible contradiction between
the recognition of gender
diversity and the distinctionof school uniforms based on
gender difference. Considering
this discrepancy, students ofOchanomizu Girl’s University
Senior High School designed agender-free school uniform.
The project members had
a number of interviews witha variety of people such asprofessors, fashion designers
and sexual minorities. A
fashion designer of clothing
brand Blurorange, Tomoyo
Matsumura, gave them sometips for coming up with ideas.
Blurorange manufactures
femi n i n e c l o thes for thosewith male bodies. People withany figure can wear themwithout sexual stigma. The
project members realized thatobserving wearers and trying tocomprehend their minds werenecessary before working out
ideas based on Ms. Matsumura’s
lecture.
On February 23, 2019, themembers at last created “happi
school uniform.” “Happi” has
two meanings: the English word

Photo by Sakurako Tsujimoto

The happi school uniform“happy” and ‘happi’, which are
traditional coats worn at festivals
in Japan.
The uniform has two points
w hich a r e mindf ul of bothcisgender, a gender type whose
gender identity and sex matches,and sexual minorities. First, theproject members incorporated
Japanese clothes into the “happi
uniform.” As a professor at
Ochano­mizu University, Niimi
Iho, demonstrated to them,Japanese clothes manifest little
gender difference compared toWestern counterparts.
With reference to theselectures, the students focusedon and utilized this uniquecharacteristic of Japaneseclothes. Second, its sleeves andhem are designed to be longer
than the wearer's arms and hip.
This distinctive structure enables
concealment of parts of the bodythat reveal their sex.
However, the project
members say that “happi
uniform” is not complete yet.
In designing a uniform forsexual minorities, the students
adopted the idea of hiding
gender difference. In orderto realize a world accepting
diversity, is it really the best
way to conceal differences? Isn’ta uniform designed to reveal
gender differences openly more

successful in achieving a society
in which everyone respects eachother’s sex?
The answer is not clear yet.
There is no panacea at this time,as there is no single place in theworld that is totally tolerant ofgender diversity. Nevertheless,the project members regarded
their action as a significant step.
That is, they believe that thecycle of improving and adding
new concepts to one proposal
would lead to proceeding
toward a more open-mindedworld.
At the 91st Academy Awards
in Los Angeles, California,
actor and singer Billy Porter
turned up on the red carpet in a
hybrid tuxedo ball gown, which
attracted considerable attention
from all over the world. Duringa magazine interview, he said, “Iwant people to understand thatyou do not have to understandor even agree with otherpeople’s authenticity or truths,
but we must all respect eachother.”
Today, our life is restrictedby gender more than necessary.
Hopefully, a society in which
one's freedom is not restrainedby gender will arrive in the near
future.
By Yui Aoki, Miyo Saito, Yuna
Sato, Sakurako Tsujimoto andKako Yoshihara

NOTICE TO READERS
Ochanomizu University SeniorHigh School is in Bunkyo Ward,
which literally means “center ofeducation” in Japanese. As thename suggests, there are manyeducational institutions, cultural
heritages and historical sites tellingJapanese history, especially fromthe Edo period to the present.
Our school is one of them. Its

predecessor is Tokyo girls’ Shihan
School, the oldest government
girls’ school aimed at training female teachers. Now it is aiming totrain female global leaders. In addition, the school was designatedas a Super Global High School(SGH) by MEXT from April 2015
to 2019. The mission of SGH
was to cultivate human resources

who can succeed in a globalized
world. Students in the school
have worked on various projects
in order to learn how to contributeto global peace and welfare as
global citizens.
They gained various points ofview and developed abilities tothink about social problems critically. Though our school is nolonger registered as a SGH as ofthe end March 2019, it has beenregistered as a Super Science
High School (SSH) since April
2019. The students started togain a new understanding of theworld based not only on a global
point of view, but on a scientificone.
(By Natsumi Yanagisawa)

2

MUM’S TIMESNOVEMBER 2019

GENDERA letter and smiles from dear girls in ZambiaM

any women are
feeling anxious orin the worst casedying from not having enoughinformation about pregnancy
and childbirth. The secondlargest cause of death of girls
aged 15 to 19 is from pregnancy
and childbirth.
JOICFP made an effort toconfront this situation by taking
various actions. JOICFP is
an international cooperation
NGO established in Japan toprotect the health of pregnant
women around the world. To
solve the problems mentioned
in the previous paragraph,
JOICFP has taken actions suchas contributing to maternaland child health by having
peer educators teach their own
generation, such as educating
one’s friends and acquaintances.
Learning from a friend of
the same age seems to havea positive effect. The peer
educator teaches sex educationand promotes discussions andthinking about gender problems

Photo by NGO for International Cooperation
JOICFP

Left: The letter that students
received from girls in Zambia.
Above: Girls holding the soap.

in society with young people.
This method of teaching iscalled CSE (Comprehensive Sex
Education).
Three students (Yume Abe,
Shino Ito, Maho Yatsugi) in
the 12th grade at Ochanomizu
University high school wereamong those who took action
as peer educators. They sent
handmade scent soap with aflyer including information on
menstruation to a village called
Copperbelt in Zambia. They also
included info on the importanceof keeping undergarments

hygienic. They wanted toaddress concerns of girls of thesame generation in developing
countries using the concept ofpeer educator.
At first, they thought that
it would not be enough, but itwould raise their awareness justfrom the fact that the girls got
soap from girls in developed
countries and from the infor­
mation in the flyer. They learned
that it is significant to go froma negative situation to a zerosituation and decided to put it
into action. They conducted asurvey with the girls to find out
how their awareness changed.
As a result, the number ofpeople who thought that it
is appropriate to wash theirundergarments increased. Before
the students’ action, some girls
said the reason they wash theirundergarments is that they smellor itch, while others did not evenunderstand why they shouldwash them. After the action,
more and more girls understood
the health reason for washingthem and the reason for keeping
them clean. The three students
got a letter of gratitude written
by girls from Copperbelt.
Ito Shino, one of the Japanese
students, said “We feel that
we were able to make a slight
improvement to the current
situation at the site. When wesaw a picture of the girls smilingwith soap in their hands, wewere satisfied with our work.
By Shino Ito, Rio Shiozuka,
Suzuho Tauchi, Kokoro Higo andRisa Yamashita

How tolerant are Japanese of transgender?
O chanomizu University,a girls’ school, announced
it would formally accept
transgender female students
from April 2020. To begin with,a transgender is a person who
has a gender identity or gender
expression that differs from theirassigned sex.
Transgender acceptancehere all started from a motherasking the Junior High School
Affiliated with Japan’s Woman’s
University if her son (as statedonly on the family register)
could take the entrance exam ornot, as a female.
This gave an opportunity forseparate educational schools
to think and discuss how tohandle gender issues seriously.
In addition, Nara Women's
University also announced it
would accept transgender female
applicants after Ochanomizu
University.
A total of 0.47% of people
in Japan is said to be LGBT(=lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender) currently. In mostdeveloped countries such as
the United States, France andFinland there is a curriculumthat includes the topic of LGBTas part of compulsory education.
Among all those countries,
Finland is especially prepared toaccept LGBT people. Actually,
Finland is said to have lesssexual discrimination than any
other country, according toresearch done in 2018.
On the contrary, there are still
countries like Korea that prohibit
identifying as a LGBT person.
There was also the Orlandonightclub shooting incident in
Florida in 2016. It was a mass
shooting at a gay nightclub
and 50 people including thesuspect were found dead,with 53 people injured. The
nightclub was a place especiallyfor homosexual people and thesuspect was known for having a
discriminatory attitude.

There seems to still be gender
discrimination in such countries,
including Japan. It shows that to
be tolerant of LGBT also means
to have surroundings that allow
people to feel more comfortablewith regard to sexual boundaries.
In Japan, LGBT is not fullyrecognized in general yet. Also,
there are still many people who
don’t try to understand LGBT
as one of the identities a person
can have. In 2015, there wasa suicide case at Hitotsubashi
University because of the lackof understanding of an LGBT
person and his feelings. In thecase, GuyA revealed the fact that
he was asked if he would flirt
or not with GuyB in group chatwithout permission. GuyA alsomentioned it was annoying andstressful. GuyB was heartbroken
and committed suicide. The
judgement on what kind ofpunishment is suitable for GuyA
remains still unclear.
Surprisingly, even after thiscase, the LGBT community
is not fully recognized among
Japanese people. According to
the study "Survey of attitudes
toward LGBT in the workplace"by the Japanese Trade Union
Confederation in 2016, about 8
percent of eligible respondents
were LGBT. Furthermore, the rateof those who think discrimination
against LGBT should be
abolished was over 80 percent.
However, 20 percent or more of
the people answered "no" when
asked whether they could accept
it or not if their boss, coworker orsubordinate was a transgender.
We can say that the way
people understand LGBT in Japanis still lacking from this survey.
To overcome this problem, it isnecessary to know that there arepeople with complications about
their sex.
By Mirei Inaoka, Chisa Kajiura,
Kokoma Shigenobu, Sumire Fuji­
maru and Akane Miyashita

NOVEMBER 2019

MUM’S TIMES

3ENVIRONMENT

Relation between lifestyle and heatstroke risk

Agroup of Ochanomizu
University SeniorHigh School students
analyzed segmentalized
situations of getting heatstroke
and it turned out that there is anincreased risk during labor work
for adults and during exercise
for children in Japan.
The group calculated thecorrelation coefficient, whichindicates the relationship of two
variables, between the numberof heatstroke patients by EMS
and each of four data used forcomputing WBGT (Wet Bulb
Globe Temperature); averagetemperature, highest temperature,humidity and declination of thesun from 2010 to 2017. The
group’s study is based on a datasetof the Japan Meteorological
Agency, the Fire and Disaster
Management Agency, andt h e N a t i o n a l Astronomical
Observatory of Japan.
Heatstroke is a collective
term for a variety of healthhazards that develop when ourbodies cannot adapt to a hot andhumid environment. Heatstroke
has various symptoms. Any of
the following symptoms could
be a sign of heatstroke.
The degree of severity is mildfor Level 1 and severe for Level
5. The major symptoms at each

Juveniles

AdultsEldersType

More Exertional

More Exertional

More Non-exertional

Situation 1st

During Exrcise

At HomeAt HomeSituation 2nd

In Public Places

During Working

In Streets andParkingSituation 3rd

In Schools

In Public Places

In Public Places

The month when
the number ofheatstroke patientsby EMS is many

July / August

July / August

July / August

The month when
the rate ofheatstroke patientsby EMS is highMay / June /SeptemberAugustJuly / August

When the rate ofWhen the difference
During practice forheatstroke patients
The rainy seasonof temperature is big
the Sports Day
by EMS is highDay-level feature

A change of season

The day with high After the hot days
temperture
continue

Characteristics of Heatstroke by Age Groups
By Moeka Ueda

level are as follows: Level 1,
dizziness and faintness; Level 2,
muscle pain and muscle cramps;
Level 3, abnormal perspiration;
Level 4, listlessness and nausea;
Level 5, not responding whensomeone talks to you or highbody temperature.
There are many cases among
adults of exertional heat stroke
due to heavy sweating duringwork. The team found thateven when the awareness ofheatstroke is low, if the humidity
exceeds 70 percent, a large
amount of sweating occurs andthe risk increases.
The physical characteristics
of children are the main reason
for heatstroke among them.
Compared with adults, they areaffected by radiant heat more
and the function that controls
body temperature adequately is
undeveloped.
As can be seen fromthe research, there is a low
correlation between the numberof people transported by EMS
because of heatstroke and
WBGT. It is necessary to pay
sufficient attention to the risk ofheatstroke.
The coefficient between the
average temperature and thenumber of heatstroke patientsis the highest, at 0.71. The
coefficient between WBGT andthe number of heatstroke patientsis the second highest, at 0.69.
On the other hand, when the day
temperature difference is morethan 8.5 degrees Celsius, forexample when the temperature
is not high, such as in April andMay, and where the temperature
is low, such as in Hokkaido,
the coefficient between WBGT
and the number of heatstroke
patients is the highest.
Based on the analysis results,
it was found that WGBT iseffective as an index of the riskof heatstroke when there is low
awareness of heatstroke.
It is necessary that not
only organizers, but also eachindividual take appro­p riate
measures. The group recommends
that “Com­p re­h ension of therisk lurking in the surround­ing environment properly andconcretely beforehand is a firststep toward heatstroke measures.”
By Hitomi Suzuki, Moeka
Ueda, Ayana Kobayashi, Natsuki
Chiba and Chihiro Hasegawa

Aiming for gold in reducing trash at Olympics
In 2020, the Tokyo Olympic
and Paralympic Games aregoing to take place in Japan. The
Games give people unforgettable
impressions and provide a great
deal of excitement. However,trash is likely to be a considerable
problem, as there will be a huge
number of spectators.
The Tokyo organizing com­mit­tee for the Games suggests
a goal of “Zero waste,” whichmeans reducing the amountof waste as much as possible.
They are trying to use resources
effectively and to prevent harmful
effects on the environment.
To think about what people
can do, examples from previous
Olympics and what has been
done in daily life can be useful.

In the London 2012 Olympics,
the London Olympic Committee
succeeded in preventing morethan 90% of garbage from being
generated and put in landfills
that are already nearly full. For
instance, London Bio Packaging,
Ltd. supplied over 120 million
pieces of compostable packaging.
As a result, they could compost
over 1700 tons of garbage.
One way to reduce garbage
would be bringing washable
chopsticks carried in a case or
portable cutlery. Today, about
25 billion pairs of chopsticks
that are mainly imported areused every year. Under thecircumstances, using portablechopsticks would help reduce
garbage and give people an

opportunity to think about thedaily trash generated.
To conclude the suggestion,
the government should makethe best use of past examples or
efforts and realize an environ­mentally friendly Olympics
which reflect the Japanesetraditional spirit of “mottainai,”or “no waste.”On the other hand, the nationand visitors must realize theirown responsibilities for saving
the Earth’s environment and it isimportant for each of them to act
independently.
If the government and indi­viduals cooperate with eachother, the Tokyo Games will
be much more wonderful andimpressive. Everyone in thisPhoto by Fumika Terada

Disposable chopsticks seen at leftand ecological chopsticks at rightcountry should make efforts
to hold a sustainable Olympic
Games.
By Mana Nishitani, Kana
Suzuki, Miyu Hanada, Fumika
Tera­da and Yumika Nagatome

4

MUM’S TIMESNOVEMBER 2019

OKINAWA

Seeing Okinawa battle sites with our own eyesIn April 2019, Ochanomizu
high school students went
to Okinawa on a school trip.
In addition to the abundance of
nature that we could feel easily,
we learned about the Battle of
Okinawa looking at documentsin the memorial museum andvisited “gama” caves, which
played an important role toprotect Okinawan residents
during the conflict.
The first extensive damage
in Okinawa occurred in October
1944, and 688 people died. The
battles continued and in 1945,
Japan started suicide attacks and2,500 people died within justfew months.
The United States Armed
Forces started taking Okinawa
using air raids on Kerama Islandin March 1945. Okinawa wascompletely occupied by the U.S.
Army within two weeks.
The leader of the Japanesemilitary in Okinawa committed

Source: Official website of Okinawa Kanko Channel

Monument of "gama"suicide on June 23, 1945, andthe battle ended. The American
military officially ended thebattle on July 2 and finally theJapanese military signed a fullscale surrender on September 7.
They then went to a natural
cave called Nunumachigama
in a rural area in Yaesecho. It

was used as a hospital to treat
sick and wounded soldiers.
The full length is about 500
meters. More than 1,000 soldiers
were interned there, wherearmy surgeons, nurses andyoung people worked. Withoutanesthetic and medicine, they
were unable to care for themvery well. Many of girl students,
known as “shiraume gakutotai,”
had to endure difficult conditions,
including being pushed around.
Soon, they were forced toleave because of the American
invasion. Many soldiers were
given cyanide and died. Finally,
many were left to live by
themselves. Inside it was too
dark to see properly.
The students learned a lot
about Okinawa. What theywould like to convey is that it isimportant to see with your own
eyes. They studied the Battleof Okinawa in social studies
class, but that is only one partof the picture. Through theirexperiences in Okinawa, they
not only learned, but also felt thereality.
By Shannah Jenkins, Reina
Saito, Ruri Sekiguchi, Natsumi
Taguchi and Ayuna Maeda

Tasty question: Is taco
rice a traditional food?
S tudents at Ochanomizu
Univer­sity Senior High School
took a trip to Okinawa from
April 12 to April 16, 2019,and finding that people in
Okinawa use cheese and mincedmeat produced in America as
ingredients in “taco rice,” they
wondered whether it could
be recognized as a traditional
Okinawan food.
The definition of traditional
food is as follows.
1: Food local people makeadjustments to with ingredientsthat the area specializes in.
2: Food made with ingredientsthat are only available in the area.
3: Food that local people createin their own way with some
ingredients from other areas.
(From Shoku no miraiwo
kangaeru by Ando Momofuku,
the promoter of Nissin food)To name a few, senbei soup,
fukagawamesi, kuwai and houtou
are accepted as official local foodby the Ministry of Agriculture,

Forestry and Fisheries.
In 1984, Parlor Senri,a Mexican food specialty
restaurant, invented taco rice.
Since U.S. armies from nearby
U.S. military bases often visit
Parlor Senri, they had to design
food filling and reduce the cost.
Matsuzo Gibo, the chef of
Parlor Senri, then came up withtaco rice.
They could cook it with
inexpensive beef and use rice tomake it cost friendly.
From the 1990s, schools in
Okinawa adopted taco rice as aschool meal. Taco rice rapidly
spread beyond Okinawa to becomea meal enjoyed across Japan.
Considering these ingenious
contrivances for taco rice, you
can say that the dish meetsthe first condition of being a
traditional food.
Taco rice derives from
Mexican tacos. People in
Okinawa combine ingredientssuch as minced meat, onion,

Photos by Nagisa Omori (left) and Toko Ikegami (right)

Taco rice (left) and goya chanpuru (right)

spice, cheese, lettuce and tomato
and put it on rice to create thedish. This style of cooking by
jumbling various food together issimilar to Okinawa “chanpuru.”
For example, when people
make goya chanpuru, which is oneof the local dishes of Okinawa,
they fry goya, meat and tofu. Tacorice contains all mixed ingredients.
In this way, the method for making
taco rice is a traditional cooking
style of Okinawa, fulfilling
condition three.
In conclusion, Taco rice
already meets two conditions,enough to be a traditional food.
Though taco rice is quite different
from food on the Japanese
mainland, the dish is popularamong people in Okinawa.

By Toko Ikegami, Nagisa
Omori, Takiko Goda and Rio
Shinohara
Mum’s Times
Published by a group of 38
students of Ochanomizu University
Senior High School, a public highschool in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, in
cooperation with the not-for-profit
Global Education Information Center(GEIC) .
Publisher: Ochanomizu University
Senior High School
Project Supervisors: Takashi
Hatakeyama
Editor: Yuka NaruseContributing Editors: Ayano
UsukuraStaff Writers: Yuka Naruse, Matoi
Takagi, Natsumi Yanagisawa, Reina
Son
Contact: 2-1-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo
Ward, Tokyo, Japan
URL: http://www.fz.ocha.ac.jp/fk/