SGH Summary Report
2014-2015

Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School

Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School
Designated Year 2014
SGH Summary Report(2014 - 2015)
Printed: March, 2016
Editor: the Research and Development committee of SGH at Urawa High School
Cooperation: Scott Aikin, Kai Osawa
Publisher: Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School
Principal: Takeshi Sugiyama
Address: Ryoke 5 - 3 - 3, Urawa-ku, Saitama City, Saitama, 330 - 9330, Japan
Tel: 048 (886) 3000
Fax: 048 (885) 4647

Preface
Urawa Prefectural High School was designated as a Super Global Highschool in 2014. In this report, we have put together a record of activities from thepast two years.
We applied for SGH for the following reasons. First, we aim to equip Urawa
High School students to become global leaders. Students should always try to
overcome the difficulties they face. With this in mind I want our students, whoare expected to play an important role in the world, to strengthen themselves by
nurturing more global views and interacting with various kinds of people.
Second, we want to share our approach to education with the world. There
are 56 high schools designated as SGHs in Japan, and we want to share ourapproach with these other schools. Also, the designation as an SGH has
increased the number of visitors to our school. I believe transmitting theapproach of our school’s all-around education to others will have a positiveeffect on the future direction of education in Japan.
Third, I think being an SGH will augment the education of our school. If you
already think that your education is satisfactory, there is little room for
improvement. From now on, by receiving feedback from other SGH schools, wewill be able to enhance the education of Urawa High School.
In the last two years, SGH activities have already elevated Urawa HighSchool’s potential in two main areas, the research in our advisory groups andinternational exchanges. I am proud that our students, faculty, parents and thealumni association are working together to passionately build and promote theeducation at our school.
I sincerely hope that our SGH program will help produce more and moreglobal leaders who will positively influence the world wherever they are throughinnovation and compassion.
Takeshi Sugiyama
Principal

Contents

Report 1

Advisory Groups………………………………………….1

Fiscal 2014 Main Activities…………………………………………………………………….2
Fiscal 2015 Main Activities…………………………………………………………………….4
School Year 2015 List of Advisory Groups………………………………………….6
School Year 2015 Syllabi of Advisory Groups…………………………………..17
Beneficial Energy Integration for Humans…………………………………….17
Experiencing the World of Go………………………………………………………18
Forming a Global Problem-Solving Network………………………………. 19
Japanese Archery with Foreign Exchange Students……………………...20
Minorities………………………………………………………………………………………21
Not Depending on, but Taking Advantage of IT…………………………..22
Parasports……………………………………………………………………………………..23
Preventing Children from Getting Involved in Cyber-Crimes………..24
What is Open-Mindedness?............................................................................25
Annual SGH Summary Report Leaflet…………………………………………….26
Brief Introduction to Urako’s SGH Programme……………………………..28
Sharing Japanese Intrinsic Values through Japanese Archery……….33
What I learned from my experience abroad………………………………….35
Preventing Children from Getting Involved in Cyber-Crimes………..37
Problems of IT Dependence We Face……………………………………………39
What is Open-mindedness?..............................................................................41
Think from Para-Sports………………………………………………………………….43
Power Problems in Japan………………………………………………………………46
School Year 2015 Mid-term Report of SGH…………………………………………52
Forming a Global Problem-Solving Network…………………………………53
Should Japan accept immigrants?...........................................................................55

Report 2

Foreign Exchange……………………………………….59

Reports by the group which went GB as an SGH in school year 2014……….60
Conditions for Railway Development…………………………………………60
The Future of Railroads………………………………………………………………69
Future of Railway Exports of Japan…………………………………………….73
Achievements of English Debate in Relation with Global Issues……….78
Tom’s Tales………………………………………………………………………………………..95

Report 3

Reiwa Seminars…………………………………………103

Summary of Activities……………………………………………..……115
Super Global High School Programme…………………………………………116
Super Global High school News…………………………………………………...118
Reports and Plans of SGH (International Exchange)……………….……..120
The Schedule of Integrated Study for Year 2 ………………………………...124
New Ideas for Advisory Groups as a SGH………………………………………..26
Minutes from the 5th SGH Committee meeting………………………………28
Management and Guidance Committee………………………………………130
School Year 2014 Notes of First Meeting………………………………130
School Year 2014 Report of Second Meeting………………………..133
School Year 2015 Notes of First meeting………………………………138
Overview of conceptual plans of SGH……………………………………………..140

Report 1
Advisory Groups

Our SGH program has started with project studies in integrated study(SGH Seminars) and foreign exchange with our sister school as the two mainparts.
Project studies in integrated study have a prior history of over 15 years
since they started as advisory groups in 2000. Every second-year student is
enrolled in one of the 40 unique courses, with their own unique focus, doing
research, and writing a final paper about the course’s theme proposed by the
instructor. Even before being designated as an SGH, there were various types ofcourses and numerous researches were conducted. Thanks to the SGH program,
our advisory groups have been able to address more and more social and global
issues in line with our core themes of “Enrichment of Society”, “Sustaining a
Global Environment”, and “Universal Values of Humanity”.
In this report, you can learn the main activities in 2014 and 2015, see alist of the Advisory Groups in 2015 and some of their syllabi, browse the contentsof the presentations in the summary report at the Fukutake Learning Theater of
the University of Tokyo (the same as its distributed leaflet), and read thesummary of the mid-term report in September, 2015.
You can also read the report “Should Japan accept immigrants?” from“the Collected Papers of SGH Seminar 2014” as one of the example of ourstudents’ works.
The videos of the summary report at the Fukutake Learning Theater will
be available on our school website from the end of this April.

1

Fiscal 2014 Main Activities of Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School SGH
4/9

Wed. Guidance on integrated study

4/16

Wed. Guidance on Advisory Groups

4/30

Wed. Advisory Groups 1

5/14

Wed. Advisory Groups 2

5/26

Mon. Reiwa Seminar "A Vocalist who Sings Abroad" (Chikusa Tomita：a baritone singer)

6/4

Wed. Advisory Groups 3

6/18

Wed. Advisory Groups 4

6/25

Wed.

7/2

Wed. Visit to The University of Tokyo

7/7

Mon. Summer School Program at University of Michigan (～July 18)

7/8

Tue.

Seminar on developing global human resources (Naoya Okamoto：Cambridge)

7/10

Thu.

The Boeing Higher Education Program (Developing English presentation skills)

7/11

Fri.

Advisory Groups 6

7/23

Wed.

7/25

Fri.

Basic lecture class on English Debate

7/27

Sun.

Aspen Classics Seminars (～Aug. 2) three times

8/25

Mon.

9/1

Mon.

9/10

Wed.

9/13

Sat.

9/24

Wed. Seminar for students sent to Whitgift School 1

9/29

Mon, Reiwa Seminar "Listen Your Heart" (Mitsuru Murai：the chairman of J.League )10/1

Wed. Advisory Groups 8

10/7

Tue.

10/8

Wed. Guidance on Advisory Groups (the second term)

10/17

Fri.

Short-term foreign students comes from Whitgift School (～Oct. 25)

10/21

Tue.

Lecture about deciding one's future (Atsushi Amano：Prof. atJuntendo Univ.)

Advisory Groups 5
Reiwa Seminar "Brain Surgery and Brain Chemistry" (Hiroyuki Kamiguchi：RIKEN)The Boeing Higher Education Program(Presentation, cross-cultural communication )The principal visits Whitgift(～August 29)
SGH Joint meeting(University of London・University of Cambridge・Whitgift School)
English Assistant Mr. Siam visits Urawa H. S. (～Sep. 26)
Forign student Mr. Sergej visits Urawa H. S.(～present)
Steering and Orientation Committee
Advisory Groups 7
School Festival, Whitgift School photo exhibition (～Sep.14)

Education minister of Queensland, Australia visits Urawa H. S.
(Lecture meeting・questions and answers)2

10/22 Wed. Advisory Groups 1
10/27 Mon. Reiwa Seminar "Who is in Great Demand? (Minoru Nakazato：University of Tokyo)
10/29 Wed. Advisory Groups 2
11/1

Sat.

Prefectural tournament of English debate (thrid place)

11/6

Thu.

Seminar for students going to Whitgift School (part 2)

11/17 Mon. Asahi Lecture by the Univ. of Tokyo "Ages of Environmental Governance" (Jin Sato)
11/19 Wed. Advisory Groups 3
Advisory Groups 4
Lecture by the Univ. of Tokyo "Medical Ethics"(Prof. Kazuo Yamamoto)11/26 Wed.

SGH Seminar "Invitation to Glycobiology"(Mr. Yamamoto)Reiwa Seminar "Seeking after the Dark Mater in Space"(Shingo Kazama：High Energy Accelerator Research Organization )The workshop on parliamentary debate ( Tomohiro Nakagawa)Advisory Groups 5

12/3

Wed.

12/4

Thu.

Selection of students who would attend Whitgift School for one year

12/12

Fri.

The Univ. of Tokyo: PEAK foreign students' session

12/13

Sat.

Lecture by the Univ. of Tokyo "Are there aliens?" (Kentaro Nakamura)

Participation in the All Japan High School English Debate Tournament (-Dec.14)
Exchange meeting of parliamentary debate with metropolitan high schools
Embassdor Kennedy visits Urawa H. S. (Speech・Discussion)

12/15 Mon. Asahi Lecture by the Univ. of Tokyo "Bringing out the Best of yourself through
Daily Conversation" (Mihoko Otake)
12/16

Tue.

Advisory Groups 6

1/14

Wed. Advisory Groups 7

1/26

Mon.

1/28

Wed. Advisory Groups 8

2/2

Mon.

2/4

Wed. Management and Guidance Committee

2/13

Fri.

Student selection for the next year's summer seminar abroad

3/24

Tue.

Short-term students sent to Whitgift School (-Mar.31)

3/30

Mon. The Boeing Higher Education Program (information engineering)Asahi Lecture by the Univ. of Tokyo"Fostering a society of cooperation"(Hidekki Koizumi))
Asahi Lecture by the Univ. of Tokyo"Living together in a Global Community" (Tadashi Mori)

3

Fiscal 2015 Main Activities of Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School SGH
4/7

Tue.

Advisor of international interaction (Tom Kiford) comes to Urawa H.S. (-June 31)

4/7

Tue.

The Workshop for nurturing global leaders (NGO Blue Dolphins)

4/15

Wed. Guidance on Integrated Study

4/22

Wed. The first SGH lecture meeting "Living in the Global Age" (Yutaka Kase: Sojitz)

4/22

Wed. Registration of Advisory Groups

5/7

Wed. Advisory Groups 1

5/22

Wed. Advisory Groups 2

6/2

Tue.

6/3

Wed. Advisory Groups 3

6/14

Sun.

6/17

Wed. Advisory Groups 4

6/24

Wed. Advisory Groups 5

7/8

Wed. Advisory Groups 6

7/6

Mon. Summer School at the Univ. of Michigan 1 ( - July 17)

7/11

Sat.

7/11

Sat.

Sergej, AFS foreign student leaves for home.

7/19

Sun.

Summer School at the Univ. of Michigan 2 ( - July 31)

7/19

Sun.

Whitgift Summer Program 1 (- August 2 )

7/26

Sun.

Whitgift Summer Program 2 (- August 9 )8/3

Mon. Aspen Classics Seminar ( - August 13) three times

8/20

Sat.

8/26

Wed.

Reiwa Seminar "What I can do as an administrative officer"(Hiroyuki Suehiro, the head of Kanto Regional Agricultural Administration Office
NFLJ Oita Debate Champion・qualified for American Tournament

Project of Advisory groups Japanese Archery with Foreign Exchange Students of PEAK
at the Univ. of Tokyo

The Boeing Higher Education Program (aerospace engineering)
Advisory Group Project
Brief session of the efforts by Volunteering for ciber-crime prevention
Long-term student delegates leave for Whitgift School ( - July, 2016)
AFS annual student delegates leave for Mexico ( - July, 2016)

9/1

Tue.

Jacob, foreign student from Denmark visits Urawa High School.

9/9

Wed. Advisory Groups 7 (Submission of the paper)

9/11

Fri.

The preliminary meeting forthe second SGH delegation (Whitgift School and WHO)

9/12

Sat.

School Festival, the exhibition of photographs by students who went to Whitgift

9/13

Sat.

School Festival, mid-term reporting of SGH, the first meeting of the Management andGuidance Committee
4

9/18

Fri.

The second guidance of SGH delegation (Whitgift School and WHO)

9/30

Wed.

10/7

Wed. Advisory Groups 8 (Presentation・Evaluation)

10/9

Fri.

Reiwa Seminar "Subject Undecided" (Hiroshi Nobe：Keio University Law School)

10/13

Tue.

Exchange students from Whitgift School visits Urawa High School ( - July, 2016)

10/14

Wed. Resislation for the second-term Advisory Groups

10/23

Fri.

10/28

Wed. Advisory Groups 1

11/6

Fri.

11/4

Wed. Advisory Groups 2

11/18

Wed. Lecture on future course (Kosuke Motani: Demographic Challenges)

11/18

Wed. Advisory Groups 3

11/25

Wed. Advisory Groups 4

12/2

Wed. Advisory Groups 5

12/15

Tue.

1/3

Wed. Advisory Groups 7 (Submission of the paper)

1/8

Fri.

1/27

Wed. Advisory Groups 8 (presentation・Evaluatuion)

2/3

Wed. Advisory Groups

2/8

Mon. Reiwa Seminar (Goro Abe: Nintendo Software Planning & Development)

2/10

Wed.

2/10

Wed. Screening students for the next overseas summer seminar

2/13

Sat.

Fiscal 2015 SGH Summary Report

2/16

Tue.

the second meeting of the Management and Guidance Committee

3/17

Wed. Short-term delegation to Whitgift Schoo and WHO ( - March 26)

Reiwa Seminar "Consider the qualifications for the elite"(Masaru Sato：writer・a former analyst of the Ministry of Foreign Affaires )Guidance on the long-term delegation to Whitgift School
Reiwa Seminar (Masakatsu Shibata:the director of Institute of Microbial Chemistry )Advisory Groups 6
SGH Workshop (the 1st-grade students)
distribution of collection of papers

SGH intramural presentation (the 1st and 2nd grade students)
Advisory Groups, distribution of the collection of papers)

5

School Year 2015
No
1

2

Teacher
H. KOBAYASHI

TAKADA

List of Advisory Groups in the First Term

Name of the Course
Urawa High School-Its History and FutureThe First Step inLearning German

3

NAKAGOSHIThe film “Ben-Hur”

4

E. NAKAMURA

Military Arts

5

FUJI

High School through learning about its 120-year
history.
We are going to learn the basics of German,
especially its grammar, comparing it with English,
which is one of the Germanic languages.
We are going to think about ancient Rome andChristianity through watching the film.
We are going to examine people and the history
concerning military arts.
We are going to read English texts. You need to

the Works by Charlie

prepare hard for the class. I hope we will

Comparative Reading
MINAGAWAWe are going to consider the future of Urawa

Intensive Reading of
Chaplin6

Summaryof “The Little Prince” inFrench and in English

sometimes watch movies.
You will learn the basics of French. Then you cancompare the French text and the English text of“The Little Prince”. Through this activity, you will
do a research paper.
I welcome those who are good at English. You will

7

Koji AOKI

Reading TIME

read articles from TIME, finding a theme based on
those articles and writing a report in English.
I was delegated from Fukui as a teacher to thisNurturing Global
Leaders from Fukui
8

IWAMOTO

Prefecture who canContribute to theDevelopment andProsperity in East Asia

school this year. Fukui prefecture is a small
prefecture located on the sea of Japan. It is
comfortable to live in, has close relations with
East Asian Countries, and has high-level on the
Happy Index. In this course I want you to learn
more about Fukui and propose the way students
in Fukui can contribute to the development of
East Asian countries.
We are going to read as many newspaper articles

9

OURA

Consideration into theas possible. You will do a research paper on

Situations in the Worldsocial, welfare, medical, or international topic. As
you read, you will find a theme to write a paper
6

on.
We are going to participate in the game for high10

R. TAKAHASHI

Stock Prices andschool students to learn about stocks held by

the World Economy

Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. We will learn about
economic systems and social movements.
Almost everyone is familiar with the concept ofcyber-crimes. You probably learned about themin elementary or junior high school, as perhaps
you had classes which dealt with them. In spite ofmany teachers’ efforts, the number ofcyber-crimes and other online incidents has been

11

NAGASAWA

Preventing Children

increasing year by year. Why is this happening?

from Getting Involved

This course will investigate and analyze what is

in Cyber-Crimes

needed for children to protect themselves fromcyber-crimes. You will also give a trial lesson on
cyber-crime at an elementary or junior highschool. I want you to plan a creative Internet
lesson that includes movies, short plays, quizzes,
and games. You will also conduct negotiations
about necessary adjustments at schools.
We are going to investigate the efforts in offices,

12

HIRUNUMA

Gender-Equal Society

local areas, and houses regarding a gender-equal
society.

13

14

15

S. NARANOZAKI
HARADAYAMANAKA

Research on travel with
Seishun 18 tickets
International
Interaction by Using
the Internet

Using 18 train tickets, we will travel to areas ofdifferent cultures.
We are going to interact with students at the
University of Dhaka and specialists at JICA in
Bangladesh through a tele-seminar system incooperation with international NGO and JICA. We
welcome those who are interested ininternational understanding.
We are going to consider the merits of increasing

How to Increase thethe number of foreign tourist to Japan andNumber of Foreign

examine the ways do so. We will also propose

Tourists

effective and concrete plans to encourage foreign
tourists to visit Japan again.
7

16

Investigation into

We analyze advantages and problems of nuclear

Power Problems in

power plants and renewable energy from the

NAGASEJapan

viewpoints of science, politics, economics, and

OKADA“Consider the Future ofhistory, trying to propose a policy for 2030 for

Nuclear Power Plants

Japan. This is a major problem facing yourand Renewable Energy” generation.
Biological Evolution
17

IGUCHIandthe Theory of Evolution

We are going to analyze the history of biologicalevolution and the theory of evolution.
We are going to examine Japanese mathematics,

18

SASAKI

Japanese Mathematics

which was developed mainly in Edo period. At
first, you will research the backgrounds of thedevelopment and make a mid-term presentation.

19

TSUBURAYA

Matrix (inMathematics)

We are going to deal with the teaching unit
“Matrix”, which is now not included in the courseof study of mathematics at high school.
Are there any living things outside the earth? Are

Are There any Alien
20

NAOI

Beings from Another
Planet?

there intelligent lives in space (alien beings)? You
will examine the possibility through analyzing
research on biology and astronomy, and then you
will need to write a paper based on what you
read.
Each student writes a report on one of the various

21

MORIZUMI

Medical Ethics

themes in medical ethics, and makes apresentation where opinions are exchanged andreviewed by your peers.
We are going to learn the history and the rules of

22

AKIYAMA

The World of Tennis

soft tennis, which originated in Japan, have funwith it, and consider how it should be advancedin the future. We will also practice tennis.

Sport Morphology
23

ONODERA-Investigation into
Gymnastics-

24

NAKAYAWe are going to investigate the theory and thepractice of gymnastics.

Consider Tactics Using

We are going to examine table tennis in terms ofTable Tennis as antactics, How can we play advantageously? We will

Exampledo some research in order to seek answers to that8

question.
25

MATSUMURA

Mental Training
in Sports
Japanese Archery Class

26

MUTO

with Foreign Exchange
Students

We are going to consider how you should domental training in daily training and mental
control in competitions.
We’d like to rediscover Japan’s own values
through learning the culture of Japanese archery,
which not only is a sport but also contains thespirit of with foreign students.
You will watch DVDs of national competitions in

27

MORITA

Analysis of Movements

the kendo hall. Then we will investigate

in Kendo

differences between your movements andmovements of best players in Japan.

28

KIKUCHI

Methodology of

We are going to examine the methods of training

Swimming Racefor swimming races.
Para-sports originally come from sport
rehabilitation and they now have a wide variety of

29

IIDA

Para-Sports andSocial Problems

forms, such as competitive sports represented by
the Paralympics and lifelong sports intending tohelp maintain your health or enhance your qualityof life. You will learn the features of para-sports
and discuss the social issues concerning them.
According to a recent study, the average student

30

KIDO

Consideration into thedependence on IT

uses a smart phone for over 2 hours a day. We
are going to delve into “IT Fasting” and aim toreconsider our relationship with IT, especially cell
phones.

31

IWASAKI

Science of Lightand Color

We are going to learn about phenomenon
concerning light and color through experiments.
We are going to explore the attractions of Italy

32

ONOSE

Exploration into theincluding the art, history, geography, food, andBeauty of Italy

language, searching for the basic elements of thebeauty of Italy.
We are going to examine Modern jazz, especially

33

SAITO

Study on Jazz

bebop and hard bop between 1940s – 1960s. We
will also learn the culture and the historical9

backgrounds of these two musical trends.
This course will analyze the theory of rakugo
34

M. TAKAHASHI

Study on Relieving
Tension“Relieving Tension” proposed by Shijaku throughhis rakugo. We are not going to analyze laughterin theory, but discuss it with each other after
reading books about “Relieving Tension”.

35

T. NARA

Exploration ofEnglish Subtitles

We are going to analyze ways of adding
explanatory titles to foreign languages andexperience the world of subtiles.
We are going to consider how Japanese culture

36

HASE

English Jokes

and set of values are different from those of the
U.K. through English jokes.
We are going to make a bar by melting silver, and37

HARASHIMA

Fire, Metal, andHuman Beingsbeat it repeatedly, producing a teaspoon．Of
course you will write a paper after that. You willneed to pay about 1,500 yen (the current price)for silver metal.

10School Year 2015№

Teacher

List of Advisory Groups in the Second Term

Name of the Course

Summary
You are going to think about the culture and

1

NAKAGOSHIThe film “Amadeus”

customs of absolute monarchy in the Western
Europe through watching the film.
We are going to examine closely folktales and

2

OURA

Messages from
Folktales

grasp their universal messages which modern
society also has to learn. We will read “The Taleof the Bamboo Cutter”, Otogizoshi, and otherwritings.

3

FUJI

Intensive Reading ofWe are going to read English texts. You need to

the Works by Charlie

prepare hard for the class. We will sometimes

Chaplinwatch movies.
You are going to learn the basics of French.

4

MINAGAWA

Comparative Reading

Then you can compare the French text and theof “The Little Prince” inEnglish text of “The Little Prince”. Through thisFrench and in English

activity, you do some research based on yourown theme.

5

6

S. NARAAKIYAMA

Research on travel with
Seishun 18 tickets
Reconsideration into
the Japanese Language

Using 18 train tickets, we will travel to areas ofdifferent cultures.
We are going to examine the Japanese
language, which we regard as a merecommunication tool in your daily life.
We are going to consider global views, and therequired skills to live in multicultural societies.

7

SETOYAMA

Living in
Multicultural Societies

You will write a report through discussing things
such as countries which have promoted
multiculturalism or in which research on
multiculturalism has progressed.
I welcome those who are good at English. You

8

AOKI

Reading Timewill read articles from TIME, finding a theme
based on those articles and writing a report inEnglish.

11

I was delegated from Fukui as a teacher to thisNurturing Global
Leaders from Fukui
9

IWAMOTO

Prefecture who canContribute to theDevelopment andProsperity in East Asia

school this year. Fukui prefecture is a small
prefecture located on the sea of Japan. It is
comfortable to live in, has close relations with
East Asian Countries, and has high-level on the
Happy Index. In this course I want you to learn
more about Fukui and propose the way students
in Fukui can contribute to the development of
East Asian countries.
We are going to perform statistical processing,

10

SAITO

Analysis on Local Areasand try to make arguments based on it. We aim
to find local problems of towns or villages in
Saitama prefecture.
There are several types of definitions forminorities. For example, there are the LGBT,
Japanese diaspora, “halfs” (the term in Japanesefor Japanese who have one non-Japaneseparent), “quarters” (the term in Japanese forJapanese who have one foreign grandparent),

11

KANEDA

Minorities

and many other types. We are going to conduct
behavioral analyses of minorities from multiand counter-cultural points of view. This course
aims to help students gain a broader
perspective on minorities, identify new
minorities, clarify each minority’s way of thinking
and living, and enable students to look at
Japan’s current social biases in regards to eachminority.
We are going to understand the rules andfeatures of para-sports, by experiencing them

12

IIDA

Parasport Interaction

with other members. I hope you will all gain
firsthand knowledge and insight aboutminorities in cooperation with NPOs.

13

HIRUNUMA

Marginal Village(Genkai Shuraku)

In the TV drama “The Village of Napoleon”,
various ideas are put into practice to revitalize
the village. By thinking about such ideas, we are12going to propose ways to prevent thedisappearance of regions.
We are going to examine interactive
communication by interacting with young
14

NOZAKI

Interactive

HARADA

Communication

people abroad through Skype, and listening topeople involved in TEDxTokyo. We’d like toexplore the possibility of ICT devises, so you can
use the school’s iPad during this seminar.
This course will consider what open-mindedness
means and get a better understanding of what

15

YAMANAKA

What isOpen-Mindedness?

needs to be done to create a barrier-free society
through learning sign language. We are going
to learn the basics of sign language with thehelp of a teacher from the Saitama Hearing-loss
Association.

16

17

H. KOBAYASHI

T. NARA“PHYSICS FOR SENIORSTUDENTS”
Visual Basic forApplications (VBA)

We are going to discuss the similarities anddifferences between physics textbook of Japanand that of Australia by reading both of them.
We are going to learn the advantages and usage
of VBA through programming.
This course is arranged for those who take the2-credit physics course and will take the 4-credit
course in the year three. We are going to

18

IWASAKI

Physics Experiments

conduct experiments which we do not deal within regular classes. Those who are interested canalso participate regardless of their selection ofcourses.
We deal with the teaching unit “Matrix”, which is
now not included in the course of study ofmathematics at high school. Textbooks will be
prepared for you. You have to study before each

19

TSUBURAYA

Matrix (in mathematics) class. You are supposed to make questions at
the end of the course. This is a full-year course
but you can participate in the second course
only if you a willing to do the what we coveredon your own in the first half.
13

Are there any living things outside the earth?
Are There any Alien
20

NAOI

Beings from Another
Planet?

Are there intelligent lives in space (alien beings)?
You will examine the possibility throughanalyzing research on biology and astronomy,
and then you will need to write a paper basedon what you read.
This course will examine brain death, how it is21

IGUCHI

Brain Death andOrgan Transplant

determined and the symptoms before and afterorgan transplant. Based on theseunderstandings, we will examine the problems
involved.

Investing Power
22

NAGASE
OKADA

Problems in Japan“Consider the Future of
Nuclear Power Plants
and Renewable Energy”
Sport Morphology

23

ONODERA“Investigation into
Gymnastics II”

We analyze advantages and problems of nuclear
power plants and renewable energy from theviewpoints of science, politics, economics, andhistory, trying to propose a policy for 2030 for
Japan. This is a major problem facing yourgeneration.
This course is a two-course group. Both the firstand second courses must be taken together.
This course aims to rediscover Japan’s own
values through learning Japan’s own culture ofJapanese archery, which not only is a sport but

Japanese Archery Class
24

MUTO

with Foreign Exchange
Students

also contains Zen spirit with foreign students.
(Students with experience are welcomed.)
Reference books: Vol.1 and Vol.2 of Japanesearchery textbook, “Japanese Archery”(Eugan
Herrigal)
Evaluation: I consider your paper, practice, etc.
comprehensively.

25

MATSUMURA

Mental Training inSports26

MORITA

History of kendo

27

NAKAMURA

Military Arts

This course will examine how you to do mental
training in your daily training routines and forcompetitions.
We are going to learn the history of kendo,
increase our knowledge of this martial art.
This course deals with military arts in general.
14

In four-stance theory, there are inherent physical28

R. TAKAHASHI

Four-Stance Theory

features, and we will try to categorize them into
four types, examining each “stance”. This course
deals with this theory.
We are going to produce card games dealing

29

KIDO

Let’s produce
Card Games.

with dependence on IT and Internet issues.
During the course, we will reconsider our
relationship with IT, and discover how we canmake the best use of IT.
This course aims to experience the world of go,

30

SASAKI

The World of Go

in which you are required to have skills forlogical thinking, and the ability to focus narrowly
as well as broadly.
We are going to explore the attractions of Italy

31

ONOSE

Exploration into theincluding the art, history, geography, food, andBeauty of Italy

language, searching for the basic elements ofthe beauty of Italy.
This course will analyze the theory of rakugo

32

M. TAKAHASHI

Study on Relieving
Tension“Relieving Tension” proposed by Shijaku
through his rakugo. We are not going to analyze
laughter in theory, but discuss it with each otherafter reading books about “Relieving Tension”.
Almost everyone is familiar with the concept ofcyber-crimes. You probably learned about themin elementary or junior high school, as perhaps
you had classes which dealt with them. In spiteof many teachers’ efforts, the number of

33

NAGASAWA

Preventing Children

cyber-crimes and other online incidents hasfrom Getting Involved

been increasing year by year. Why is thisin Cyber-Crimes

happening?
This course will investigate and analyze what isneeded for children to protect themselves fromcyber-crimes. You will also give a trial lesson on
cyber-crime at an elementary or junior highschool. I want you to plan a creative Internet
lesson that includes movies, short plays, quizzes,
15and games. You will also conduct negotiations
about necessary adjustments at schools.
We are going to consider how Japanese culture
34

HASE

English Jokes

and set of values are different from those of the
U.K. through English jokes.
We are going to make a bar by melting silver,

35

HARASIMA

Fire, Metal, andHuman Beingsand beat it repeatedly, producing a teaspoon．
Of course you will write a paper after that. You
will need to pay about 1,500 yen (the current
price) for silver metal.

16Beneficial Energy Integration for Humans― Energy supplies suitable for the future of Japan―
Keywords
energy integration, renewable energy, sustainable society
In Cooperation with:- Takeo KIKKAWA, Ph.D., Tokyo University of Science- Kinya SAKANISHI, Ph.D., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science andTechnology- Hiroshi KIMURA, Ph.D., Public Outreach, Non-Profit
Summary:
Although resources and energy are indispensable for our lives, theirconsumption increases the burden on our environment. In recent years,
environmental degradation has become a global problem, exemplified by global
warming and the transportation and movement of hazardous waste.
The ability to inform the world about the development of energy
resources and their uses, based on evidential knowledge and insight is essential
for global leaders. After experiencing the Great East Japan Earthquake and thefollowing Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, it could be said Japan
has a duty to tell the world about energy integration.
There are many controversies surrounding energy problems, especially
how we should generate electricity – the electricity which forms the basis of
economic activities, decides our lifestyles, constitutes the basis of diplomacy,
sparks technological innovation, and directly influences global environmental
problems.
Activities:
 Study about different energy resources Do fieldwork (National Museum of Nature and Science, Yokohama-Isogo

Coal-Fired Power Plant)
Plan and hold seminars by experts

Goals:
 Gain scientific knowledge on the distinctive features of various ways togenerate electricity
 Be able to suggest the best ways to supply suitable energy for Japan17

Experiencing the World of Go― Consider the world we live in, as well as the world of Go. ―Keywords
Broad perspective, logical thinking, East Asia, Japanese cultureWith the cooperation of:
Toshifumi MIZUMA (The Nihon Ki-in Tokyo Senior Pope)
Summary:
Go comes from China, and it has been enjoyed in Japan for over 1,000
years. Now there are about 40 million Go players around the world. It is nolonger just played in one or two countries. It has become an international game,especially in East Asia. Through playing Go, Japanese people can forge aconnection with other countries’ people in East Asia. Countries in East Asia havea long history of contentious relationships. If they can get along with each othervia playing Go, it could lead to peace in East Asia or even the whole world.
Also, as mentioned in the title, the world of Go requires a unique view, abroad perspective, which refers to the ability to judge the situation without
being misdirected by small movements around you. This same view is necessary
for us to play an active part in the world.
Finally, to promote internationalization, Japanese people tend to learn
English and Western cultures, but being aware of our own culture and sharing itwith the world is also important. Only those who can do both will become global
leaders.
Activities:
 Learn the basic rules of Go Investigate how to diffuse Go in the worldConsider the comparison of Go and Shogi

Goals:
 Play Go Be able to teach foreigners how to play Go and enjoy it

18Forming a Global Problem-Solving Network―Talking with foreign students about global social problems via the Internet―
Keywords
values, multicultural society, ICT, discussion, problem solving
In Cooperation with:
Glocal Academy (NPO), e-Education (NPO), students and staff at The Universityof Dhaka (Bangladesh), and specialists at JICA (Bangladesh Computer Council)
Summary:
In today’s globalized world we must try to solve problems throughexchanging opinions and ideas with those who have different cultures, histories,
and values. When confronting a problem that seems impossible to solve, it isnecessary to discuss it with people who are different from us, to share theproblems with them, and to seek the best solution together.
Ergo, it is important for the future of Japan to put its students and thosefrom differing backgrounds and values together, in order to develop the ability
to facilitate discussion and seek solutions together.
On various problems in today’s society, we need to create chances todevelop our skills on combating social problems as well as to broaden students’
outlooks through experiences discussing “global social problems” with highschool and university students in developing countries.
Activities:
 In cooperation with Japan’s international NGO, which give assistance todeveloping countries, we worked with the University of Dhaka through atele-seminar system and had a chance to discuss “global social problems”.
 We listened to presentations by students at the University of Dhaka on theircountry’s social problems in real time via the Internet.
Goals:
 Learn about Bengali social problems
 Listen to the Bengali presentations in English and conduct a Q&A

19

Japanese Archery with Foreign Exchange Students―Transmitting Japanese values to promote international understanding―
Keywords
Japanese archery, international understanding, Japanese values, Zen spirit"Die Ritterliche Kunst des Bogenschiessen” by Eugan Herriget
In Cooperation With:
Foreign exchange students studying at universities in Japan
Summary:Thanks to globalization, people are paying close attention to which
values are being transmitted throughout the world, particularly Western values.
On the other hand, the effort to transmit Japanese values to promoteinternational understanding is still small. Foreign students coming to Japangenerally only learn about Japanese culture through events, like festivals, or food,
like kaiseki-ryori (tea ceremony dishes, which is a traditional Japanese meal
brought in courses).
There are many other parts to Japanese culture which go unnoticed, like
Japanese archery. Japanese archery is not only a sport but also a chance to feeland understand the Zen spirit. Through studying with foreign students, we aim
to rediscover Japan’s own values and transmit them (in this case, mainly
Japanese archery) to exhibit their meaning to the world at the grassroots level.
Activities:
Hold a Japanese archery class with foreign students, and learn about Japanesearchery and its background.
Goals:
Practice creating and encouraging international understanding
Explain the Zen spirit through Japanese archery to foreign students
Learn to present and transmit the meanings of our activities logically,
objectively, and clearly

20

Minorities― Discovering social biases towards and identifying new minorities. ―Keywords:
minority, socially vulnerable, critical thinking
In Cooperation with:
Tadayoshi AONO (a former officer at Mitsubishi Bank of Brazil)
Mafumi OYAMA (freelance writer)
Summary:
There are over seven billion people in the world. We unknowingly
separate the minority from the majority. It is almost inevitable for us to think weare normal and others are not.
There are several types of definitions for minorities. For example, there
are the LGBT, Japanese diaspora, “halfs” (the term in Japanese for Japanese whohave one non-Japanese parent), “quarters” (the term in Japanese for Japanese
who have one foreign grandparent), and many other types. But it is not always
an easy matter of classification and we need to have a wider view.
As globalization gains speed, we have more and more chances toencounter different minorities. We will talk, work, and live with them. Therefore,
we must try to understand their nature and feelings. Global leaders must becompassionate, positive, and able to learn from them.
This course aims to help students gain a broader perspective on
minorities, identify new minorities, clarify each minority’s way of thinking andliving, and enable students to look at Japan’s current social biases in regards toeach minority.
Activities:Conduct behavioral analyses of minorities from multi- and counter-cultural
points of view
Discuss current social biases and critically examine them21Not Depending on, but Taking Advantage of IT― Reconsidering our relationship with IT. ―Keywords
dependence, IT, digital age
Summary:
Today, it’s hard to imagine life without IT (Information Technology). IT
includes cell phones, computers, and many other materials. They enrich our lives,of course, but they can also control them.
According to a recent study, the average student uses a smart phone forover 2 hours a day. This was not the case 10 - 20 years ago. Devices havebecome more useful, which has led to people using them longer. It could be said
that IT controls us now.
Then should we still use IT? The answer is not so simple. In thisglobalized world, the role of IT is growing larger and larger. Globalization has
also occurred largely due to IT.
So what should we do? To become global leaders in this age, we have to
be more aware of the good and bad effects of IT. We aim to reconsider our
relationship with IT, and discover how we can make the best use of IT.
Activities:
 Engage in “IT Fasting” for a day, then discuss your experience with otherstudents
 Watch a movie with futuristic technology, then discuss how IT will be a partof our future Talk about dependence on IT after looking at various foreigner’s views
toward IT.
 Talk about the way children should use IT looking at parents’ opinions.
Goals:
 Learn about the problems of IT devices, such as smart phones
 Be able to transmit our own opinions via IT
 Be able to operate IT devices by ourselves

22

Parasports― Learn about disabled sports aiming to get a better understanding of them―
Keywords
disabled sports, parasports, Paralympics, purpose in life, lifelong sports
In Cooperation with:
NOSiDE (a private organization)
An employee at Saitama Social Activities Center
Summary:
What impressions do you have about parasports? In fact, they originallycome from sport rehabilitation and they now have a wide variety of forms, suchas competitive sports represented by the Paralympics and lifelong sports
intending to help maintain your health or enhance your quality of life.
What are the features of parasports? Most people know that they exist,
but they don’t know much about them. Disabled sports are, as with many otherthings, supported by society. Are there any issues concerning this? If so, weshould think about the solutions.
As with all sports, parasports are also a tool for interacting with people
around the world. In today’s globalized world, we should be more receptive toother people’s points of view and conditions. Better understanding of parasports
can enable students to gain a wider view of the world and to be morecompassionate towards other people.
Activities:
 Learn the features of parasports
 Discuss the social issues of parasports
Goals:
 Gain a more complete understanding of parasports
 Form your own opinions on social issues regarding parasports

23

Preventing Children from Getting Involved in Cyber-Crimes― A suggestion of lessons for teaching children about cyber-crimes. ―Keywords
information ethics, cyber-crime, information technology
In Cooperation with:
Kita-Urawa Junior High School
Cybercrime Division, Saitama Prefectural Police
Summary:
Almost everyone is familiar with the concept of cyber-crimes. You
probably learned about them in elementary or junior high school, as perhaps
you had classes which dealt with them. In spite of many teachers’ efforts, thenumber of cyber-crimes and other online incidents has been increasing year by
year. Why is this happening?
As information technology has developed over the years, IT itself has
advanced. But we have not developed along with it. Using IT is like driving a car.
It’s very useful, but it’s also accompanied by accidents or even crime. We must
know how to both prevent them and protect ourselves, especially in today’shigh-tech society.
Today, the Internet has become an essential part of our daily lives. In
order to live in a globalized world, we must understand enough to use
technology safely. Global leaders, most of all, should be required to have such askill set, and will need to be able to impart it to younger generations.
Activities:
 Investigate and analyze what is needed for childrenPlan a creative internet
lesson that includes movies, short plays, quizzes, etc.
Give a trial lesson on cyber-crime at an elementary or junior high school

Goals:
 Obtain a solid grounding about cyber-crimes
 Be able to explain and teach about them to others

24What is Open-Mindedness?
― Achieving open-mindedness and acceptance through sign language―
Keywords
normalization, barrier-free society, friendly, gesture, sign language
In Cooperation with:
Saitama Hearing-loss Association
Summary:
Being normal is not a simple matter. Who is normal? What is normal? No
one doubts that “normal” is a major keyword today. It’s well-known that many
people choose what they should be based on what it means to be normal intheir society.
In our highly globalized era, with a wide variety of people in every fieldof study, being normal generally means treating others as equals. It means
believing that another person can do whatever I can. This notion is the basis of
open-mindedness and acceptance, but it’s not that simple.
This course will consider what open-mindedness means from a global
perspective, and what we can do to promote it. As the world becomes moreglobalized, the barriers between countries are disappearing, but what about thecultural, economic, or political barriers between people?
Activities:
 Learn the basics of sign language with the help of a teacher from the
Saitama Hearing-loss Association
 Discuss and write a report on normalization, including what still remains to
be done, and the best way to achieve a world-wide, barrier-free society.
Goals:
 Learn to use some simple sign language
 Understand what needs to be done to create a barrier-free society Form our own opinions on normalization and being barrier-free, and begin
spreading it to the world

25

Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School
Annual SGH Summary ReportFebruary 13, 2016
13:00-15:00
FUKUTAKE Learning Theater,
The University of Tokyo
26

Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School
Annual SGH Summary ReportFebruary 13 (Sat.), 2016 13:00-15:00
FUKUTAKE Learning Theater, the University of Tokyo
12:30

Check-in

13:00

Opening Speech from Principal

13:05

Opening Ceremony

13:10

Brief Introduction to Urako’s SGH Program

13:25

Advisory Group Report I“Sharing Japanese Intrinsic Values through Japanese Archery”

13:35

Student’s Speech“What I learned from my experience abroad”

13:45

Demonstration of Debate
Short Break

14:00

Advisory Group Report II“Prevent Children from Getting Involved in Cyber-crime”

14:20

Advisory Group Report III“Problems of IT Dependence We Face”

14:30

Advisory Group Report IV“What is Open-mindedness?”

14:35

Advisory Group Report V“Think from Para-Sports”

14:40

Advisory Group Report VI“Power Problems in Japan”

15:00

Q; A Session (Coffee; Snacks Provided)27

Brief Introduction to Urako’s SGH Program
2323 Kyohei TAKAOKA
You were surprised, weren’t you? How does our cheerleading club relate
to the nurture of global leaders today? We’ll soon reveal the fact, so please wait
for just a bit longer.
I am Kyohei Takaoka. Now I’ll be giving you the SGH report of Saitama
Prefectural Urawa High School. First of all, I’d like to talk about the secrets of theeducation of Urawa High School – it should help you understand our style ofglobal education.
Urawa High School has 120 years of history, and it has already produced
a lot of global leaders.
One good example is Koichi Wakata, an astronaut. No one doubts he is aman of action with brilliant abilities for leadership and cooperation. He sent a
letter to us via Caroline Kennedy, the incumbent United States Ambassador to
Japan. You can see a copy of the letter in today’s leaflet.
Another is Atsushi Amano, a physician. He performed a coronary artery
bypass operation on of the Emperor. He’s very famous, and I’m sure you know
him. He is one of the leaders of coronary artery bypass grafting in the world.
Mitsuru Murai, the chairman of the J. league is also a graduate of Urawa
High School. He gave a lecture for one of our Reiwa Seminars, or SGH Seminar,
last year. He handled the racial discrimination affair concerning the Urawa Reds
with speed and efficiency. He is quite a decisive man with a great capacity for
judgment. From this, we can say he is also well-qualified to be called a global
leader.
Last September, Masaru Sato gave an SGH Seminar. I believe everyone
knows him. He is a former diplomat.
Next, I’d like to talk about the school events at Urawa High School. We
have the welcoming marathon soon after the entrance of the new students. We
run a 10-kilometer, hilly route.
In July, we have the seaside school on Yumigahama beach, Izu Peninsula.
We swim two kilometers, and it takes more than 40 minutes. Of course the sea is
too deep to stand in and has many strong waves.
28

In September we have our Koga marathon. We run all the way, morethan 50 kilometers, from our school to Koga in Ibaraki. Over 80 percent ofstudents reach the goal within the limited time of seven hours. Have you everrun for seven hours continuously?
I’d like to introduce one more event that has nothing to do with physicalactivities: our School Festival. Here are pictures of the gates to welcome visitors.
The executive committee of school festival has a “gate unit”, and members of it
start preparing 10 months before the festival. They draw some blueprints, makesome physical models, and do many other things to complete the work.
There are about 50 students in the executive committee of the school
festival, and its budget is about more than one million yen in total. By controlling
1,000 students, we welcome 10,000 visitors. I think adults who have experienced
management of projects with such large people and money are far and few
between.
The important point is that every student experiences each event equally.
Masaaki Horio is an announcer. Yukihide Takekawa is a singer of Godaigo.
Katsuya Watanabe is an oboist in Deutsche Oper Berlin. Chikusa Tomita is aballiton singer who sang at Wiener Staatsoper. These graduates also ran in Koga
Marathon.
Akira Furusawa succeeded in quantum teleportation when he was at the
California Institute of Technology, and now he is a professor at the University ofTokyo. Yasuhiro Kato is also a professor at the University of Tokyo, and he istrying to evolve Japan’s world strategy with rare earth in the sea. They are SGH
lecturers, and experienced all the same programs at Urawa High School,
including the school festival.
With the SGH program, our cooperation with the University of Tokyo has
been strengthened, and there are more and more opportunities to interact with
global leaders in person. I’d like to emphasize this as our special strength.
Now let me change subjects and talk about foreign exchange. Our sisterschool relationship with Whitgift School, a British public school has continued formore than 20 years. Every year one student goes to Whitgift School for along-term study, and 20 students visit it for a short-term study of ten days. SGH
has enriched our program by including project studies. The members of this year
will soon be leaving Japan this March.
A part of the study theme is “How to approach global problems”. We are29

planning not only to visit Whitgift School and carry out field research but also tovisit the WHO, the United Nations Office at Geneva, or an office of the Red Cross
Society in cooperation with Ikushi Onozaki, our alumni who is a specialist on
public hygiene.
Many of the students who study in Whitgift School for one year go on to
universities in the U.K. The latest case is Koyo Harada. He goes to the Universityof Cambridge. Students studying abroad write back to us, and you can see someof them in your leaflet.
There are several other activities dealing with international exchange at
Urawa High School. Eight students a year study at the summer school of Whitgift
School. Six students study at the summer school of Michigan University in U.S.A.
Some students go abroad independently. One example is Ko Harada,and he is studying in Mexico on the AFS Program. Jimpachi Masuda studied in
the U.S. for a short term on the AIU Program, and he will make a speech on it
later. In Urawa High School, about 40 students study abroad, short or long every
year.
Urawa High School is actively accepting foreign exchange students aswell as sending our students abroad. Until last July for one year, Sergei Kevinfrom Uzbekistan was studying at Urawa High School. Of course he also
participated in the Koga Marathon. You can see his message in your leaflet.
This year, Dominic Orben from Whitgift School and Jacob Pedersen from
Denmark are studying at Urawa High School. Dominic even participates in theclass of Japanese classics, and he has been admitted to enter the Japanese
Department at Oxford University this fall.
International exchange at Urawa High School is financially supported
thanks to SGH programs. Also, the main points of international exchange isgiving different viewpoints to educate global leaders, and applying that to otheractivities of Urawa High School with a broader view. These are the key points.
So, now, I want to talk about students now playing active roles. One of
the most nationally successful clubs is the English club. They won the national
championship in the debate tournament of NFLJ. Last month the club wasinvited to Korea and participated in the competition. Next year they will
participate in the world championships in the U.S. They will perform their debate
later today.
30

The glee club got the silver award in the national contest. The go club
got the bronze medal. The Shogi club also got the bronze medal. The math clubhas a ticket to participate in the national competition. You probably watched the
All Japan High School Quiz Championship on TV. Urawa High School won thechampionship, didn’t it?
In this way, the students are achieving considerable success in arts andculture fields. I’d like you to keep this in mind. Of course all these students
experience the Koga marathon and the seaside school, and take part in the
sports festival.
Our sports clubs are also achieving great success. The rugby club went
on to the national tournament the year before last. This year, Junya Tozawa inthe swimming club won the championship in the National Sports Festival ofJapan. He is swimming now in the pool where Kosuke Kitajima swims. Wataru
Muragishi in the basketball club also performed well in international games
against China and Korea as a national player under 18.
What I’d like to emphasize is that such athletes also study math,
Japanese classics, physics, art, and other subjects.
Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is well-known, isn’t it? It is a classical Japaneseanthology compiled by Fujiwara no Teika in the Heian Period. Every Urawa HighSchool students learn all 100 waka. In Urawa High School, competitions of arts
such as kanji competition and speech contest are as popular as sportcompetitions. The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu contest is also an importantcompetition.
Urawa High School students have to study the Tale of Genji, the world’s
first novel. Even if a student’s major is science, he still has to read all 54 stories.
The students in the science course have to write 30 physics reports intotal, and we call it the initiation of science education. Even in January, the 3rdyears have physics experiments, and the students have to write a report andsubmit it. Students try to explore physical phenomena through group work anddiscussions. Physics reports are the proof that Urawa High School puts weight onlearning real things.
You probably know of debates on the tax system in contemporarysociety because it was taken up in TV introduction and in newspapers. Debates
and cooking practice in home economics are scheduled also right before theuniversity entrance examinations, too.
31

Please look at this. This was made by Atsushi Ikeda, one of our mostrecent graduates. Although it is made of wood, it feels like a spring mattress. He
completed this work with Japanese traditional wood working tools all by hand.
He got the runner-up prize in the 54th Japanese Craft Exhibition.
One feature of crafts production is that students don’t use machines in
the present age of technologies. Crafts production class is very popular, eventhough some of the students have to struggle to complete their works until nineo’clock every evening.
In Urawa High School, Mitsuo Masuda, a human national treasure once
taught crafts production. Urawa High School has a spirit of cherishing traditions.
We come together and learn based on such special spirits at Urawa High School.
As you can see at this point, Urawa High School students don’t learn fora short-term gain or based on trends. They go forward based on the intrinsic
nature of themselves at Urawa High School.
Our education is sometimes said be unreasonable. It is definitely
unreasonable for those who have no experience at Urawa High School, but once
you have experience, you can find the reasonable features of our school, whichthose outside can’t see.
“Experience” is another key word for you to understand Urawa HighSchool. You can’t understand the value without direct experiences of things suchas the Koga marathon, physics reports, crafts production, school festival, club
activities, and SGH seminars.
The efforts of SGH, which will be reported today, have a prior history ofover 25 years and have been known as advisory groups. The activities of advisorygroups have evolved dramatically by SGH programs. Each of Urawa HighSchool’s students choose from around 40 unique courses, explore based on theirinterest, manage projects, create relationships within society, and propose newvalues for the future world.
Urawa High School provides a place for “educating and nurturing global
leaders who will positively influence the world wherever they are throughinnovation and compassion”
This concludes my introduction of the SGH programs at Urawa HighSchool.

32

Sharing Japanese Intrinsic Values through Japanese ArcheryThat was the motion of Japanese archery called Shaho-Hassetsu, theEight Stages of Shooting.Bows made in Japan are different in shape from thoseof foreign countries. Bows in foreign countries are shorter, while Japanese bows
are very long. But the essential difference is not the shape of the bows. Also
when doing Japanese archery, your mentality is just as important as yourphysical strength. From the Western viewpoint, it is natural to think analyzing theprocess of releasing the arrow is enough for you hit the target by bending thebow the same way.
Various factors, however, influence your performance. For example, yourdesire to hit the target makes you strain, focusing too much on one point makes
you lose balance. Thus bending the bow the same way is difficult, and yourmentality plays an important role in this regard.
Also, one of the features of Japanese archery is Shaho-Hassetsu. It refers to eightstages of the process of releasing an arrow. You may think these eight stages are
combined into the arrow release. But it is rather a series of flow, like the joints ofa bamboo.
As I have explained so far, Japanese archery is quite a unique cultural
thing of Japan, which has values greatly different from the Western values.
Mutual understanding of different cultures is indispensable in this global society.
The spirit of Japanese archery reflects the spirit of Japanese people, and sharing
the world of Japanese archery means sharing the viewpoints of Japanese people.
We did two activities to share Japanese archery with the world.
The first activity was that we explained about Japanese archery toforeign exchange students both in Japanese and in English, and we practiced it
together. Through this experience, we learned the difficulty of explain about
Japanese archery in English, and have started to think about how we can do thatwell. The other activity was making a movie containing English explanations of
Shaho-Hassetsu, which we performed at the beginning of the talk.
So, now, we are going to give explanations of Shaho-Hassetsu to you
with our personal movie and our live performance.
Movie
The first step is called Ashibumi. This step is the motion to set your foot33

placement. Look at the target and take a step toward it with your left foot. Thenadjust your right foot.
The second step is called Dozukari. This step is very important whenshooting. Store power in your stomach and extend the back of your legs.
This step is called Yugamae. Put your arms in front of you and make acircle as if you were holding a big tree. Then look at the target.
The next step is called Uchiokoshi. Raise your arms up slowly to an angle of 45
degrees.
This step is Daisan. Turn your left arm to the target.
This step is Hikiwake. Push outward with your left arm and draw the rightarm back until the arrow rests against the edge of your mouth. At this time, be
careful of keeping the arrow on the level.
The next step is called Kai. It looks like the complete form of the
Hikiwake. In this step you must aim at the target with both of your eyes. The
other important thing is to stretch by pushing out your chest from the center ofyour body line.
The next step is Hanare. Hanare is when you shoot the arrow. The arrowshould be released by your spirit. Hanare is not just releasing. You don’t release,
it must be released. It must be a natural releasing. This is the final stage of the 8stages of shooting, but there are still 2 more after shooting.
This first step after is called Zanshin. It is a form used after Hanare. You
watch the flight of your arrow and think back to your shooting style.
The final step is called Yudaoshi. You lower both your arms to the areaaround your waist. You face forward, and close your opened stance from theright. Then you make the same form, from beginning to end.
This is only the beginning of our efforts. By doing things like these, weare trying to share Japanese archery with more foreign people.

34

What I learned from my experience abroad
3030 Jimpachi MASUDA
I have been abroad 3 times. My first experience was in Sydney, Australia.
I was in the second year of junior high. My host family was Indian, vegetarian.
There were no Japanese, and also no white people around the family. I only met
Indians. I think they talked in Hindi, so I couldn't understand at all. I didn't have alarge English vocabulary, so I only could ask my host brother what we weregoing to do next. After school, we went home, he cooked me a light dinner. It
was salad with cream cheese, and Nacho chips. Eating them, we watched an
Indian drama.
My second chance was an exchange program with Whitgift School. The
staple foods of the UK are potatoes and bread. My favorites were hash browns
and cinnamon rolls in the school dining. On the other hand, when my hostbrother came to Japan, he tried to eat many kinds of Japanese food. Rice, miso
soup, gyoza, okonomiyaki… I heard that some other British exchange students
could eat Japanese food a little, so he might be doing his best, I was very glad tosee him eat some Japanese food with a smile. However, it seemed that hecouldn’t eat as much as in his home. So my mother changed the menu for him
sometimes. From these experiences, I think that Japanese have flexibility inaccepting foreign cultures, because we have many choices of food in daily life.
Last summer, I went to the US as my third challenge abroad throughthe program called AIU High School Diplomats. The schedule of last year was
like this. Washington tour, homestay, New York tour, and exchange program at
Princeton University. During the tour, we visited so many sights, met IMF andWorld Bank Japanese staff, and had discussions about various topics. For
example, In 9.11 memorial, we talked about terrorism. In the pentagon, we talked
about the Japanese collective defense bill.
In Princeton, we stayed in a dorm with American roommates. In themorning, we had a class about each culture. After that, we enjoyed some
activities following a daily theme, like “independence day extravaganza”,“Halloween”, “Japanese day” and “Thanksgiving Day”. On Japanese day, somestudents and I had a presentation about Japanese regional characteristics and
SHODO performance.
Unlike Australia, I ate a lot of meats. But I ate vegetables and fruit much
more than my vegetarian roommate. When I came back to Japan, I had lost a few
kilograms. It was very surprising to me. I had imagined American food as
35

unhealthy, oily and high-calories. But I had many chances to eat vegetables, andevery restaurant has a vegan menu. We could choose them to rest our stomach.
The biggest feature of the program is that ex-participant who went to
the US with the same program joined to manage the whole program. With theirhelp, I learned a lot. I have to try to see the world without bias, and recognize
how I think, and look back at my actions objectively and critically. I got thesepoints through these programs. The point is making up your mind. However wecan be an adult through only studying in japan now. But I can't believe that sucha person can have a good influence on others. So I want to share my experience
with someone. But I'm going to graduate next month, and I have not sharedenough! That's why I am standing here.
At last, I would like to propose an idea for the next program. That is
peer support by ex-participants. After the program, students should make aspeech at the school assembly. I wrote a report and made a poster. However,some students didn’t even notice. I think that more information sharing among
students is important. With peer support before and after the program, theywould be able to share their experience more easily, and learn something moredeeply. Actually, these chances connect students to their next step like me, or
Koh Harada, who went to Mexico with AFS for one year. Also many students go
abroad in college. It is because of many teachers' understanding and effort. I
want to thank them all.
I want to be involved in the field of program management in the future,but my schedule after April has not been decided yet. Two weeks after, I have theentrance exam. So I'll be back home soon, and study hard as much as I can.
Thank you for listening.

36

Preventing Children from Getting Involved in Cyber-Crimes
We did dome activities as volunteers for protecting children fromcyber-crimes. We arranged lessons on information morality and gave them at
Kita-Urawa elementary school. Today we are going to tell you about what wehave learned. Our presentation includes: the reasons why we started this activity,
what we did in detail, a live report from the elementary school, the results of ouractivities, and future tasks.
First, we are going to introduce the reasons for our activity. There are
more and more junior high, senior high and even elementary school students
who own a smart phone. You probably can’t go anywhere without seeing
children using a smart phone. In response to this, teachers and police officers
have begun to give lectures on information morality. Of course I remember
taking one. So have we seen a decrease in cyber-crimes? What do you think?
Recently, even in the case of adults, personal information leaks haveoccurred through the social networking service called, Line which led to someterrible results. If an elementary school student is involved in such an accident,
there will probably be even worse cases in the future. For these reasons, wethought we should give a lecture on information morality. What do you think ishappening here? Actually, this student is putting sand on his desk because hethinks his class is boring. We aimed to give interesting lessons so that things likethis will not happen.
Next, we are going to show you what our lessons were like. This is a
picture of our lessons. As you can see, we gave a lesson in front of about one
hundred elementary school students in the gymnasium. In order to keep thestudents interested, we not only stood and talked but also tried to make ourlesson more exciting in various ways.
Our lecture went like this. First we gave a lecture, and then we did some
activities. Our lecture was not just one-way, but included skits and video showsof our experiences. In the second half, we tried to let the students learn thebasics of information morality by playing karuta. This is our personal karuta. It
was a big success. I’d like to show you a video of us playing karuta in action.
Finally at the end of our lesson, we proposed our own slogan to make our lesson
leave an impression on the students.
Then we are going to connect Kita-Urawa elementary school with us online. Let’s listen to the students’ voices.
37

Up next, we are going to report the results of our activities and futuretasks. We also carried out a questionnaire survey for the elementary school
students after the lesson. 93 percent of the students answered “It was very
educational.” to the question “How educational was it?” The rest 7 percents
answered that it was educational. Another question was “How interesting was it?”This question shows how much we could make our lesson interesting. To thisquestion many of the students answered that it was very interesting. From theseresults we can say that the students’ information morality was enhanced throughour lesson. This lesson was also a good opportunity for us to reconsider
information morality. Take an example of texting on your smart phone while
walking. We used do this with a light heart, but we have come to take it seriously
and try to avoid such behaviors. This ultimately comes from the responsibility
generated from teaching. I believe teaching is the best way to learn.
We are going to talk about the results of our activities and future tasks.
First we have to improve the quality of our lesson. We have to improve thecontents of our lesson so that the students can enhance their information
morality with enjoyment. Next, we have to examine how much the students haveenhanced their information morality, in terms of not only their attitudes but also
their actions. We need to seek for the method to learn such things. Furthermore,
we can diffuse our activities in other schools around Japan as well as Urawa HighSchool, which helps information morality in Japan is enhanced. We can also
spread our activities in the world. In addition to that sort of horizontal
connection with other high school students, we will try to pass our activities on
to our juniors, which will make vertical connection between generations.
Through this activity, we felt strongly that it is we that create our future.
To change our future starts with changing things around us. To change our nearaffairs is a key factor of volunteering. Why don’t you join volunteer activities andcreate our future with us? And to the students at Kita-Urawa elementary school,
you are also the creators of the future. Let’s keep doing volunteer activities with
us to enhance our information morality for the future.

38

Problems of IT Dependence We Face
Hello, everyone. First, let me ask you a few questions. Have you everseen someone using a smartphone or listening to music on the train, or do you
often pull out your smartphone and check it as soon as class is over?
You would probably feel uncomfortable without your smartphone, or
you probably reach to check it a lot. We describe such situations as IT
dependence.
These days, thanks to dramatic advances in Information Technology, we
use many IT devices in our daily life. The most typical example is the smartphone.
Unlike personal computers, smartphones are useful tools which you can use
anywhere and anytime.
On the other hand, we are facing problems with IT dependence,
especially children. Why is this happening?
Mechanisms of dependence have much to do with it. When you use yoursmartphone and surf the internet, dopamines, a chemical which causes you tofeel pleasure, are released in your brain. Smoking, in fact, has the same effect.
The problem is that dopamines can change your brain structure and cause you
to become more interested in one thing and less interested in others. If thisstarts at a young age, the effect could cause incaluculable damage.
So let’s take a look at the situations concerning IT devices in the world
now. According to a poll in the U.S., at least 63 percent of smarphone users
check their smarphones a hourly, and nine percent of them every few minutes. It
also says, 66 percent suffer from fear of being without their phone.
Psychiatrists in the U.S. have three criteria for diagnosing dependence:
whether you cannot quit on your own, if it is causing problems, and if you
continue even after you know its bad influence.
In the U.S. it is reported that there are more and more accidents withtexting while walking. Another report says people in South Korea use theirsmartphones over four hours a day, and 18 percent of teenagers are addicted totheir smartphones. To deal with this, the Korean government is woking on
countermeasures such as cutting off online gaming at midnight for children.
Professor Kawashima at the University of Tohoku conducted an
intriguing research on IT dependence with junior high school students in Sendai
City. Please look at the screen. This graph shows the relation between the use ofsocial networking sites and scores on a math test. As you see, the longer the time39

spent using smartphones, the lower the scores. Even if the study hours are thesame, using a smarphone has such a negative effect on their achievement.
In this way, data explicitely shows the negative effects of IT devices onlearning. Also in order to analyze IT dependence objectively, we tried IT fasting
firsthand, in which we didn’t use IT devices for an entire day. This helped
examine the IT dependence of other people as well as ourselves.
Please take another look at our slide show. This is one of the reports of IT
fasting. Please pay attention to that red circle. Many of us found that IT fasting
helped us learn the smartphone use of other people. Based on the research in
the first term, we made a card game in the second term to solve the problems ofIT dependence. By playing this card game, you can have a simulated experienceof using IT devices.
In this game players are required to consider the problems of IT
dependence. You can remember your own ideas more easily than things said byothers, right? We’d be happy if you played this game, and understand thedanger and importance of information technology.
Sadly, today we don’t have enough time for futher explanations.
If you have any question about the card game, please feel free to come ask us
later. We’ll be happy to share the game with you.
Finally, the purpose of this game is not for fun. We want you to learn
more about IT through this game. We included some blank cards so that players
can write wtahever they want, and think even more about IT. We think more
improvements are needed, so we’ll keep looking.
IT devices can be dangerous,but they are essential tools for ouf life. It is
important for us to use them moderately, to sometimes try IT fasting, and look at
our life objectively. We should aim not to exclude them entirely but insead learn
to coexist with them. We believe our card game will help contribute to finding
the solution for the problems of IT dependence.
This concludes our presentation. Thank you.

40

What is Open-mindedness?
I am a member of the seminar of “What is open-mindedness?”, and we
studied about how to build a barrier-free society. Today I want to tell you thesummary of my report.
We invited an aurally-challenged lecturer to our seminar six times, taking
lessons on sign language, and communicating with her via sign language. Also
we visited a school for the aurally-challenged in Omiya last December, andcommunicated with the high school students there.
I learned three main things from that visit. First, the aurally-challenged
are better at communication than I. Second, there are various levels of
disabilities, so Labeling someone as the aurally-challenged, or not, ismeaningless. Third, face-to-face communication is important for learning.
Aurally-challenged people use sign language as a communication tool.
When using sign language, listening to someone means looking someone in theface. So they have to watch each other’s eyes. On the contrary, whencommunicating with the sound of voice only, you can communicate withsomeone without looking at their face.
I think aurally challenged people are more active and considerate thannon-challenged people in terms of communication attitude. In addition, they
have better skills in non-verbal communication such as gestures and facial
expressions. I believe everyone should learn from them, reconsider what
communication is, and try to improve their own communication skills.
High school students at the school for the aurally challenged varied intheir disabilities. There were those who used only sign language, those who used
sign language and partial hearing, and those who were hardly challenged at all
except for wearing a hearing aid.
We tend to conceptualize or label people, things like physicallychallenged and non-challenged, man and woman, or Japanese and American. I
found through this activity that such concepts are useless in communication. We
should understand the importance of facing each person instead of labelingthem with words.
The most impressive thing during my experience at the school was thatthe students were just the same as us. What I found through interaction withthem was that they don’t feel embarrassed about their aural disabilities. By
talking with them I found that they are trying their best to enjoy their life, just41

like everyone else.
Before meeting and talking with aurally-challenged people, I always
thought about people’s differences. But by interacting with them, I have come tolook at the things we have in common.
I want more people to understand the following idea: Face to facecommunication enables you to overcome cultural barriers, find that we all havesomething in common, and accept differences. I believe this idea is a key part insolving various problems in our global society.
Thank you very much for listening.

42Think from Para-Sports
Hello, everyone. We are the second-year students at Saitama Prefectural
Urawa High School: Segami and Owada. Our presentation will be about
Para-sports especially what we have learned and thought about Para-sports
through talking with those who are involved in the sport in our SGH seminar. The
most important thing we’ve learned is that we should consider people’s
disabilities as part of their personality and should interact with them as we wouldwith anyone else rather than distinguish between the physically challenged ornot. But in the first place, we question how the word “disability” to be used. Here
we are using word physically challenged to express our ideas, So please listen to
us based on this usage.
One of the guest speakers was Mr. Shimakawa. He is the head of a privateorganization “NOSiDE” and he is making great efforts to support and develop
wheelchair rugby. No-side means that there is no line between friend and foe
and players are all friends when the rugby game is over. Mr. Shimakawa andother members are doing activities based on the concept of removing the ideaof the physically-challenged or non-challenged and enriching our society
through this. We had a chance to learn about Mr. Shimakawa’s experiencethrough the activities.
Mr. Shimakawa says, “Wheelchair rugby and ordinary rugby are different intheir appearance, rules, and balls, but they are the same in that players work
hard in the sport. Take the example of one member from the Fukuoka Dandelion
team. His name is Takeda and the strength of his left arm is much weaker thanthat of his right. To overcome this, Mr. Takeda makes it a rule to do muscle
strength exercises for his left arm. In addition, he is trying to change his
disadvantage into an advantage such as trying to make use of the gap of muscle
strength during games. As Mr. Tanaka has tried to overcome his weak points,
both the physically challenged and the non-challenged of us should reflect on
our challenges and try to overcome our difficulties. There are no differences
between them. We could argue that the challenged have stronger passion than
the non-challenged because the challenged have overcome the despair of theirdisabilities and sports have become their motivation in life. We think this issimilar to our passion toward club activities in our one-time only high school life.
We think we should show respect rather than compassion toward
Para-sports players. “We tend to think Para-sports players are playing actively in43

spite of their disabilities” says Mr. Shimakawa, “We should look at them as
nothing special instead of treating them as special. This is very important.” Inother words, we are required to regard them as one player, not a challenged
person. For example, wheelchair basketball players shoot the ball accurately onlywith the movement of their upper body and the strength of their arms.
Para-swimmers swim only with their one foot keeping their body in balance. We
have to focus more on the greatness of the results of their efforts like these. But
not all things can be evaluated in the same way as non-challenged athletes. For
instance, the techniques and speed of challenged athletes can be seen as inferior
to those of non-challenged athletes. The method of evaluation is what we needto change in the future.
Then, how many people know Para-sports? We think many people know
wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, and blind soccer, which have been
adapted from popular sports so that the challenged can join. On the other hand,
we think few people have heard of sports such as boccia, which are made only
for the challenged. Also many of you probably don’t know the rules concerning
the rankings based on one’s severity of disability. While there are only one
challenged player for every 17 non-challenged, the number become even more
drastic when it comes to sports center. There is one sports center used bychallenged players for every 460 centers used by the non-challenged. Even if
people find no conscious difference between the challenged and thenon-challenged in terms of sports, there remains a big difference in terms offacilities.
As we mentioned earlier, sports can become a source of inspiration for thechallenged. It is natural for players to hope that they want to be seen during thegame. Also we want more challenged people to find inspiration through sports.
To that end, it is necessary to raise the profile of Para-sports so that more people
will watch Para-sports. We think the first step is building more Para-sports
centers. In addition, we believe more centers where the challenged and thenon-challenged play together will lead to more interactions with one anotherand more sport events, which will lead to a better world.
And so we have planned to hold a Para-sports social event by inviting thechallenged to play wheelchair rugby with us. The purpose is to interact and enjoy
wheelchair rugby. This will help raise the profile of Para-sports and deepen our
understanding of them.
So far we have talked about sports, but let us change subjects a bit. At the44

beginning of our SGH seminar, we posed the question of what sorts of people
are challenging people. Some may think that challenged people are those who
cannot lead an ordinary life.
Having finished the SGH seminar, we have a different answer. Are those
who have limbs, eyesight, hearing ears ordinary? This is not correct. Each person
has their own ordinary condition, and for the challenged, life with disabilities isordinary. Therefore, we believe it is good to think that the challenged have their
weak points called disabilities, just as the non-challenged have their weaknesses.
In conclusion, by regarding disabilities as not “disabilities” but “personalities”,
there will be no sides of the challenged and the non-challenged, which will leadto interactions on a level playing field.

45

Power Problems in Japan
Hello, everyone. After one year of repeated discussions about the issueof electricity in Japan, we’d like to share our findings with you and give you our
specific, realistic and positive suggestions for future energy policies.
First of all, why do we think about this problem now?
It is because energy issues are greatly concerned with the young generations likeus.
The massive nuclear accident of Fukushima in 2011 has many graveconsequences on policies not only in Japan but in the world over. The question is,is nuclear energy still useful and safe? Is coal a dirty source of energy? Can wedepend on renewable energy?
Last summer the government showed us its energy policy for the year
2030. In 2030, our generation will be the driving force of society. So we believethat our generation has the responsibility to take energy issues more seriously,
considering that Japan experienced the Fukushima disaster.
We have worked on various activities to think deeply about this issue.
We invited three experts on energy problems. From their lectures, we learned a
lot about renewable energy, nuclear energy and thermal power. Also, we visitedadvanced coal-fired power plants in Yokohama. This is one of the cleanest coal
power plants in the world. Of course, throughout the year we did a lot of
research on energy problems of Japan and the world, had many discussions, andwrote many papers. Now, we are going to tell you what’s going on about energy,
and make specific, realistic and positive proposals for future energy policies. First,
we’ll tell you about thermal power.
When you hear about thermal power, what do you think? Possibly, youhave a bad impression of it because it is not a sustainable andenvironmentally-friendly with a lot of CO2 emissions. But this negative image is
not true. Now I’ll tell you why coal-fired power plants will be essential for our
future energy policy. Please look at this pie chart. This chart shows thepercentage of each source in the global power generation. Thermal power,
including coal, oil and natural gas, accounts for almost seventy percent. I mean,
the biggest part of electricity comes from thermal power, especially coal. Now,
coal-fired power generation plays a vital role in the world’s electricity supply.
Next, let’s compare power sources for thermal power generation. We
have coal, oil, and natural gas. Each of these fuels has different features. Look at46

this chart. Coal is the cheapest fuel of the three.
But it is not environmentally-friendly because it emits large amounts ofcarbon dioxide and other toxic gases. Coal is mostly used in developing
countries such as China, and India. In contrast, oil and natural gas are moreenvironmentally-friendly. But their cost is higher than coal. And the supply of oil
is not stable because its supply depends on the Middle East. Advanced countries
mainly use natural gas. As you can see, each country combines the use of thesefuels depending on its economic situation.
What we propose today is we should use coal-fired power plants inpositive ways. This may sound like a stupid idea for most of you, but We have
two main reasons for this proposal. First, Japanese coal-fired power plants are
the most advanced in the world, and can make a lot of electricity. Furthermore,compared with other countries such as the US and UK. AS shown in this graph,
Japan is at the top of the world in the field of the coal power plant.
Second,Japanesecoal-fired
power
plantsareextremelyenvironmentally-friendly. We visited Yokohama-ISOGO coal-fired power station,
to see one of the most advanced and cleanest coal-fired plants in the world now.
What we found is that almost all toxic substances are removed by the modern
system. It doesn’t damage the environment of nearby areas. Japanese coal-fired
power plants like this are the most efficient and eco-friendly in the world.
Well, what can Japanese coal-fired plants do to contribute to lowering
CO2 emissions all over the world? It’s not enough to use the latest eco-friendly
coal-fired plants only in Japan, because the problem of CO2 emissions is not
limited only to Japan, but it’s a global problem with no national boarder. So, inorder to reduce the emissions at a global scale, using more Japanese coal-fired
plants in other countries is in our best interest. So our specific proposal is, weshould export more Japanese high-performance coal-fired power plants to theworld. According to Dr. Takeo Kikkawa, Professor of Tokyo University of Science,
Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions per year are about 14 billion tons per year.
However, if we export more Japanese coal-fired power plants to the US, China,
and India, we can cut down over 15 billion tons! By exporting them abroad,
Japan would be able to greatly contribute to reducing CO2 emissions in theworld.
We would like to emphasize that Japan should expand Japanese
high-tech coal-fired power plants to the world! This is a realistic, but positive
solution to generate electricity in stable ways and to prevent global warming at47

the same time.
Now I’ll talk about nuclear power. I propose a realistic and positive
solution to the matter of nuclear power plants in Japan. What I propose is that
we will gradually decrease the number of nuclear power plants, and totallyabolish them by 2050, 35 years from now. I’ll explain to you how to realize thisgoal. First I’ll tell you the reason why nuclear power plants should be reduced.
Nuclear power plants involve a big problem called “Back End Problem”.
What’s the Back End problem? The back end problem is about difficulties with
nuclear waste. As you know, in generating electricity from nuclear energy , ahuge amount of radioactive waste is produced , and this waste is so dangerous
not only to human beings but to the whole ecosystem that we have to dispose of
it properly and safely. The problem is where to dispose this toxic material. As ofnow, there is no place for this in Japan. If that place were near your house, what
would you think?
Of course, almost all of you would feel uneasy, and would say “Not in myback yard “. That is called the NIMBY problem. NIMBY stands for “not in my backyard” and this is the very reason a disposal area cannot be found. Therefore, it’s
nonsense to continue to use nuclear energy, unless this problem is solved.
Secondly, let me talk about how to decrease nuclear power plants
gradually. Actually, this is very simple. The number of nuclear power plants will
decrease by itself. According to the new regulations, nuclear power plants are
permitted to run for 40 years . The oldest plant in Japan is Takahama No.1
reactor, which was built in 1974. And the newest one is Tomari No.3 reactor,
which was built in 2009. That is to say, in 2050, the number of nuclear power
plants will be zero if no new ones are built. Some people might say,” Electriccompanies will want to extend the 40-year rule or build new plants, won’t they?”
However, this is almost impossible in the present situation.
According to the survey by Dr. Hiroshi Kimura, former associate
professor of the University of Tokyo, the public opinion is still strongly against
nuclear power plants. He also says it will take nearly 100 years to completely takecare of Fukushima Daiichi. With Fukushima problems unsolved for another 100
years, would people accept a new nuclear plant? The answer would No.
Therefore, even if we don’t struggle to reduce them, extinction of nuclear plants
is inevitable.
Considering these situations, the role of nuclear plants in the next 40
years is to just buy time to develop more stable renewable energy. In other48

words, it might be true that we’ll need to rely on nuclear energy for some time,
but nuclear energy will eventually be replaced by green energy sources in the
future. Again, in Japan by 2050 nuclear power plants will be brought to an end.
Do you know it isn’t good enough just to save electricity at random
when you try to reduce the total consumption in the country? You should save it
when the consumption reaches the peak during the day. The difference of theconsumption pattern in a day is so big that the electricity is not used efficiently.
This is wasteful. In order to solve this, what we need is to cut the use of electricity
around the peak time of three pm. Individual efforts in daily lives are very
important. It is not so difficult for us to turn off unused lights, air conditioners or
PCs around three pm, is it? With reasonable measures like this, we will certainly
be able to reduce the use of electricity more effectively at the national level.
So, what should we do to cut 17% of current consumption which thegovernment is aiming for? First of all, we should understand the energy issues inJapan, and in the world. Many people in the world know next to nothing about
the electricity they use. And so, they use too much. As a result, current energy
consumption at home is so bigger than before. It is said that we can reduce 2%of Japan’s consumption if we pay more attention to disconnecting plugs. You
can say the world is filled with wasteful habits. If we stop our current habits anddo “the peak cut”, reducing the 17% will be possible. I want you all to rememberthat in the summer after the great earthquake in 2011, we actually saved about
25% at peak times. This fact shows us we can do it. We must do it to achieve ourgoal.
We’re going to talk about Renewable energy. Now let’s start with its
good points & bad points.
There are two good points. First, renewable energy such as sunlight will
not dry up for years to come. Please look at this graph. Fossil fuels and uranium
will dry up in 120 years. However, renewable energy won‘t dry up as long as theearth exists. Second, renewable energy power plants are smaller and cheaper
than thermal and nuclear power plants, so building them is easier than theothers.
Then, I’ll tell you two bad points. First is its unstable energy output.
These graphs indicate the energy output of solar power plant and wind power
plant, and you can see that the energy output of the former is affected by theweather, and those of the second is affected by the force of wind. This is a very
serious problem because the unstable electric power supply can cause big
49interruptions. Second is its low energy density. This is the amount of electricity it
can produce in a specific area. In short, watt per square meter. That of thenuclear power plant is 24.5, however that of solar power plant is only 1kw per
square meter. That of geothermal is 0.9.That of wind power is from 0 to 0.1.
These are the bad points.
So now, you might say “Yes I understood there are good points and bad
points, but what should we do?” The answer is this. Firstly having a clear vision
for renewable energy, and secondly making investments in promising companies
which have the strong will and advanced technology. You find that the Japanese
government actually practiced these two things in the postwar period.
After WWⅡ, Japanese government determined to develop the domestic
industries such as car industry with a strong will and support. This was exactly aclear vision. And then, it put a lot of money into these industries. So thecompanies like TOYOTA or HONDA could rapidly developed their technology
and finally became the key industries of our country. This was exactly an effective
investment. Thanks to these efforts, Japan became one of the leading industrial
powers in the world. Now the question is “What’s next?” So, let’s move on more
concrete content.
The most important decision for us to make is if we will stop renewables
or promote renewables. But it is clear that we must choose the way to promote.
There are two reasons. First, as you know, a depletion of fossil fuels. This graphshows the amount of fossil fuels we used in the past and we’ll be able to use in
the future, and we are here now. We have to accept the fact that fossil fuels are
not eternal because they are made from ancient plants. Second reason is
because promoting renewables is an inevitable world trend. IEA, theinternational energy agency, predicts that the percentage of renewables in theworld energy supply will increase from 15% to about 30% by 2040. So you willrealize that the promotion of renewables is an inevitable world trend.
And, I said we should invest in promising renewable-energy companies.
This is because they have the strong potential and advanced technology while
they don’t have enough money to support their business. Today, I will introduce
the most remarkable and cutting-edge technology of a Japanese company,
Kawasaki heavy industries. The company has developed many technologies
using hydrogen.
Machinery to produce hydrogen, Ships to transport it, Tanks to store it,
and gas turbines to use it.
50

There is even a project to transport hydrogen made in deserts by special
ship. What is important is hydrogen energy can make up for renewables’ badpoints. I said solar power and wind power are unstable… But this problem can besolved by storing extra energy as hydrogen. We can transform it into electricity
any time we need. In addition, there are few CO2 emissions, there are little
self-discharge. Excellent. So Again, what we should do is simple. Having a clear
vision and making investments in promising companies. Why don’t we carry out
these proposals right now?
We have worked on various activities to think deeply about this issue.
We invited three experts on energy problems. From their lectures, we learned a
lot about renewable energy, nuclear energy and thermal power. Also, we visitedadvanced coal-fired power plants in Yokohama. This is one of the cleanest coal
power plants in the world. Of course, throughout the year we did a lot of
research on energy problems of Japan and the world, had many discussions, andwrote many papers. Now, we are going to tell you what’s going on about energy,
and make specific, realistic and positive proposals for future energy policies. First,
we’ll tell you about thermal power.
Thank you for listening.

51

School Year 2015 Mid-term Report of SGH
Date & Time：September 13, 2015 (Mon.) 10:00-11:00
Place：the physics lecture room, Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School
Program■10:00-11:00■
Reports by the group which went GB as an SGH in school year 2014
“Comparison of Japanese and British Railways and Ideas for Future Public
Transportation System”■10:10-10:50■
School year 2015 the mid-term report of advisory groups
1 “Investigation into Power Problems in Japan”-Consider Nuclear Power Plants and Renewable Energy for Future Energy Needs*One representative made a presentation with PowerPoint and no manuscripts.
2 “Japanese Archery Class with Foreign Students”*The presentation was made with a prepared movie using Japanese subtitles.
3 “Forming a Global Problem-Solving Network”*One representative made a speech.
4 “IT Addiction”* One representative made a presentation with PowerPoint and no manuscripts.
The themes and contents of the presentations were mostly satisfactory.
One of the remaining issues was the quality of the presentations.
 Skills such as the loudness of voice, speaking speed, and the use ofmovies The use of microphones, acoustic devices, and computers The need of more rehearsal time with teachers’ help
This was a good opportunity to find the most needed areas of improvementfor February 13 presentation.
52

Forming a Global Problem-Solving Network
2323 Shunnosuke NAITO
Good morning. How are you?
So, you have heard Mr. Arif Khan’s success story. It was great, wasn't it? It
was amazing that Arif studied every day for 15 hours on average.
You would have been overwhelmed? Completely beaten? He was great in other
ways.
There is no electricity in most of Bangladesh homes. Students can’t study
in their own houses. So they study out in the road under the street lights with nodesks of course.
And they are not allowed to concentrate only on studying. Many familiesof Bangladesh are farmers. So, students must help their fathers and mothers on
farms doing such work as planting, watering, harvesting, etc. without going toschool.
Furthermore, people are very poor. It’s often the case with them thatthey have no money for taking entrance exams, travelling to the University of
Dhaka and paying their tuitions.
If you were in such adverse conditions, it would be natural that you giveup going to University. No one would blame you. But in fact Arif studied manydays for 18 hours in his preparation and entered the University of Dhaka. It’s thebest University of Bangladesh.
He wrote me an email, “I did nothing, except eating, bathroom andsleeping. No gossip, no family activities, no friends. Only study, study and study
was my main job.”
Can poverty motivate us and promote our studies?
Now I’d like to turn our eyes on Urako students. Many of Urako students’families have electricity, of course. We have our own desks, plenty of teachers
and reference books. Sometimes too many.
We need not farm. No work. No cooking, no doing the laundry, no
washing dishes. So, what are you doing every day? Just eating, using thebathroom and sleeping? Are you remembering to breath?
We Urako students are in a much better condition than students in
Bangladesh. We have the best environment for study. We can concentrate only53

on our study enthusiastically and even can come to love our enormous amountof homework.
But is there anyone whose main job is studying here? Is there anyone
who studies for 15 hours per day?
Does being rich inhibit our studies and hinder our motivation?
How can we understand this contradiction between Bangladesh andJapan? Is it that Japanese students can’t surpass Bangladesh’s in terms of
motivation for study?
No! We can! We must. Because it’s a problem of our own will.
Let me put two questions before you to solve the contradiction. The firstis “for whom do we study?” Arif has studied to overcome poverty through an
extraordinarily effort. He entered an excellent University and is now promised abright future. He and his family have achieved success. So will Arif quit studying?
Has he been studying only for himself or only for his family?
The second question is “for what do we study?” Arif was born in
Bangladesh, but I was born in Japan. The conditions which have been given toboth of us are completely different from each other. Our countries, our richness
and poverty, our systems of schools, etc.
But we share values such as the right to liberty, the pursuit of happiness,
freedom of thought and conscience, equality, etc. And admitting, spreading andprotecting those values are is important not only in Bangladesh, but also inJapan.
First, the values I mentioned above inherently contain a liberal way ofthought. If we accept those values, then we can’t ignore the people who are nottreated equally.
Second. Those values aren’t absolutes in the sense of logic. They are
relative. That's why we must also trust that the values are true or valid in all
circumstances and persuade people to join us in our beliefs.
And therefore we should never quit studying. It’s even our duty toprotect the universal principle of mankind. Urako students should never beinferior to anybody. No, mustn’t be inferior to anybody in motivation forstudying.

54

Should Japan accept immigrants?
21R Masanori Kobayashi
1 Prologue
This paper aims to show that the acceptance of immigrants will help
Japan to solve problems caused by its aging society and decrease of its working
age population.
At first, let’s look at the present situation of Japan’s aging society, andthen analyze the effect of accepting immigrants. I would also like to try andrefute some negative arguments,
2 Present situations
According to the Cabinet Office, as of October 2014, Japan’s population
is about 127 million people. 24.1% of Japanese are older than 65 years old, andthe number of working age people is 62.9 %. The aging of Japan’s society is also
predicted to continue growing.
The aging society and decrease of the working age population causes
many problems. The national economy declines because of less domestic
demand. In order to support elderly people’s lives, the fewer number of workers
have to pay more money placing a heavy burden on the youth of Japan. Rural
districts, many of which are underpopulated even now, become uninhabited, its
farmlands are abandoned, and the district’s culture is lost forever.
Especially the problem of rou-rou kaigo (elder to elder nursing) is very serious.
Nursing elderly people is a very taxing work even for young people, let alone for
elderly people.
There are terrible cases caused by this pain. I would like to give an
example. On July 11, 2013, a 79 year old man strangled his 75 year old wife. She
could not walk well and was suffering from depression and was asking him to killherself. He had been nursing her for a long time, but they both reached theirlimit. After he strangled her, he tried to commit suicide in Nihonbashi, which was
the memorial place for the couple, but he was rescued and arrested for murder.
So, if the aging of society continues growing, such terrible cases will also
increase.
To change this situation, the government is trying to increase thebirthrate, but of course we cannot improve this situation immediately by55

increasing birthrate.However, what is Japan’s attitude toward immigrants?
Currently people from other countries can enter Japan, but they cannot enter
Japan to settle down easily. The qualification of permanent residence is given tovery few people who already live in Japan.
3 Effects
So what will happen if we accept immigrants? First of all, according toJunichi Goto, a professor of Keio University, the economic effect on Japan for theacceptance will be 8 trillion yen (more than 5 times than what the London
Olympics brought to the U.K.). Japan’s stagnant economy will start to recoverwith the acceptance.
Secondly, many declining industry will revive. Some industries in rural
areas such as agriculture are dealing with the poverty of workers and theirsuccessors. If immigrants work in such industries, we can stop their decline andrural areas will be revived by the increase of its population. Look at this chart.

This chart indicates that the number of trainees from other countries isincreasing. Therefore if we accept immigrants, more than a few of them will
surely join in agriculture. Though I took just 2 examples, we can surely expect
even more benefits from the accepting foreigners.
4 Negative opinions
As it is, many Japanese people are against accepting immigrants forsome reason. However most of their arguments are groundless. I would like torefute 3 main opinions against this idea.
Firstly they argue that immigrants take the opportunities to get jobs
from young Japanese people. However their arguments are unfounded. As
stated above, some industries are facing serious poverty of workers because
most young Japanese people are not interested in them. Immigrants will not56

take all the opportunities from them.
Secondly, they argue that the number of crimes will increase. Certainly
the number of crimes by foreigners has increased. However, even more rapidly,
the number of foreigners coming into Japan has increased. So we cannot judge
that immigrants raise the percentage of criminals. Furthermore they also insist of
the danger of illegal immigrants using the example of the U.S.A., but we need
not worry about it so much: Japan is an island, so they cannot enter Japan as
easily.
Thirdly, they argue that there will be cultural friction and Japaneseculture will be destroyed by people from other countries. That is also baseless.
Japanese culture will not be destroyed. On the contrary, it will be saved byimmigrants. Now some local Japanese cultures, such as matsuri and traditional
manufacturing, are in danger of ceasing to exist in many rural areas. That’s
because those who would continue them are decreasing in number. Why can’t
immigrants also help them? Whoever shoulders the responsibility, the cultures
themselves will still remain.
Moreover cultural friction is not all bad. It may cause some conflicts
among people, but such conflicts may create and strengthen new Japaneseculture. From ancient times, Japanese culture has progressed through contacts
with different cultures. This new Japanese culture will attract even more andmore people from around the world.
5 Conclusion
In this report, I insisted we should accept immigrants to change Japan’s
aging society. The acceptance will bring a huge economic effect, and will save
Japanese rural areas. There are some negative opinions, but many aremeaningless. I strongly believe we should accept more immigrants for the futureof Japan.
6 References
Omitted57

58

Report 2
Foreign Exchange

Another main part of our SGH program is foreign exchange. We aresending many students abroad in various ways such as participating the summer
seminar at Michigan University, studying at Harvard University through theprefectural overseas program, as well as maintaining our relationship with
Whitgift School, our sister school in England.
Our alumni association has recently founded the “Public ScholarshipFoundation of Urawa High School’s Alumni Association”. It has helped pupils andgraduates of our school who are planning to study abroad long term byproviding them with a subsidy, which is enriching our overseas activities. Suchaction is encouraging the students to go abroad hand in hand with the SGH
program. You can learn more by reading the manuscript of the presentation by
one of our students who studied abroad (included in Report 1).
In this report, you can read the three papers which our latest short-term
exchange student wrote last spring, the activity report of our English debate
team, and the articles written by Tom Kilford who is our former advisor ofInternational Interaction.
You can learn about the overall perspective of our foreign exchange inthe following chapter “Summary of our Activities” and in the report “Yuhi-sen
2015-2016” which will appear shortly.
59

Conditions for Railway Development as Observed through the Lens of the
UK’s Railway Exports
H. Nakamura, Y. Otsuka, M. Sinagawa,
K. Nojima, D. Izutsu, K. Kawashima
Chapter 1: Prolog
In the 19th century, the U.K. increased their national power via the
Industrial Revolution, and reigned over the world due to their productivity andthe military power. The role the United Kingdom played in the modernization of
the world was quite large, and it is a well-known fact that the railway was also
invented in the U.K. A railway construction boom happened in the U.K. after both
Stockton and Darlington Railway began operations in 1825, and it is said that a
railway system was completed in almost the whole country by around 1850. The
railway spread rapidly not only in the U.K., but also in the western great powers.
On the other hand, a lot of railways were also constructed in Asian and Africancountries that were frontier places in the second half of the 19th century. Our
country Japan was also one of them. Japan imported railways from the Westbecause it is nearly impossible to make railways without help, so the U.K. waschosen. Japanese railways started using the U.K. as a model, and railway
construction and technology were being handed down by the employedforeigners from generation to generation. Railways were also constructed one
after another by the suzerain United Kingdom in the colonies the U.K. possessed
all over the world, then.
This paper tries to find the requirements of railway development via
studying which countries and areas received which exports specifically, and howeach was undergoing development thanks to the UK’s exports.
To do this, first, we picked a country where British railway system parts
were exported to and gather the national, geographical circumstances, and also
the social circumstances (Chapter 2). Second, we gathered information on how
the respective railroads were developing (Chapter 3). Third, we found common
points of railway development from Chapters I and II, and drew our own
conclusions for requirements (Chapter 4). Finally, we extrapolated how we canprepare now, when advanced railway countries export their railways to the worldfrom today forward (Chapter 5).
Chapter 2: Outline of Countries where the UK Exported Railroads
British railways were exported to China, Japan, and several other old
60

colonies. 6 different countries were chosen for further examination. They include:
Uganda, India, Malaysia, China, Japan and Australia. Next, we would like to write
some basic information on each country.
1 Republic of Uganda(a) British → Democratic Republic(b) Population: 34,758,809 (2013)(c) Ethnic groups: Baganda, Masaba, Soga, Ankole, Nyoro, Kiga,
Karamojong, Teso, Persons of Indian Origin, Abayudaya, etc

Lango, Acholi,(d) Capital: Kampala(e) Uganda is a circled landlocked country bordering Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda,
Congo Democratic Republic, and South Sudan.
2 Republic of India(a) British colony → Democratic Republic(b) Population: 1,210,000,000 (2011)(c) Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan peoples, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic languages,
Sino-Tibetan languages, etc(d) Capital: New Delhi(e) India is located in South Asia and is part of the Indian subcontinent. India
borders Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indonesia on the sea, and Pakistan,
China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar on land.
3 Malaysia(a) British colony → Federal constitutional monarchy nation(b) Population: 29,330,000 (2012)(c) Ethnic groups: Malay , Chinese, etc(d) Capital: Kuala Lumpur(e) The Malay Peninsula and Borneo Island are part of its territory. It borders
Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei on land, and Singapore and the Philippines
on the sea.
4 People's Republic of China(a) Qing dynasty → Democratic Republic → Socialist republic(b) Population: 1,341,330,000 (2012)(c) Ethnic groups: Han Chinese, etc
61

(d) Capital: Beijing(e) China is located in East Asia and touches the Pacific west coast. China
borders Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadzhikistan,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam,
Korea, Japan, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
5 Japan(a) Constitutional monarchy → Democracy(b) Population: 126,530,000 (2012)(c) Ethnic group: Japanese(d) Capital: Tokyo(e) Japan is an island country located in East Asia and consists of 4 main islands(The four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu), theNansei islands and Ogasawara Islands.
6 Commonwealth of Australia(a) British colony → Commonwealth realm(b) Population: 21,293,000 (2008)(c) Ethnic groups: European, etc(d) Capital: Canberra(e) Australia consists of continent of Australia, Tasmania and other many small
islands.
Chapter 3: Development of a railway of each country
1 Uganda(a)
Total length: 259km(b)Presence of high speed railway: There is a construction project.
(c)Standardization of gauges: all narrow-gauge
Uganda became part of Britain in 1894 due to the Herugorando Zanzibar
treaty in 1890. Before the U.K. colonized East Africa, many explorers and miners
came to look for sources in the Nile and Uganda was called the "African pearl". In
1895, a committee to build a railroad for Uganda was formed and the Ugandan
Railway was established. In 1896, the construction started in Mombasa. In 1901,
it reached Kisumu and in 1931 reached all the way to Kampala. In 1948, control
was transferred to the Eastern African Railroad, but in 1977, the Ugandan Railway
was established because of the Eastern African Railroad’s dissolution. In 1997,62

passenger service was suspended. In 2004, a direct freight train from Mombasa
to Kisumu started.
In 1910, thanks to the Ugandan Railway which extended from Mombasa
on the coast of the Indian Ocean to Kisumu on the eastern coast of Lake Victoria,
cotton cultivation developed rapidly and was an important export. Cultivation ofcoffee also spread rapidly.
2 India(a) Total length: 64,215km (2011)(b) Volume of passengers transported: 8,38billion・km (2009)(c) Volume of cargo transported: 5,51billion t・km (2009）(d) Presence of high speed railway: There is a construction project(e) Are a vehicles and infrastructure imports or domestic? Mainly imported fromthe U.K.
(f) Electrification rate: 29.6% (2008)(g) Standardization of gauges: Trunk line is the standardized 1676mm.
In this section, I will discuss the creation of railways in India, changes in thetype transport, and the current situation.
The first line in India was about 40km long, between Bombay and Thane. It was
built in 1853, earlier than Japan’s in 1872, which was also the first in Asia. At thattime, India was a colony of Britain. The line was laid because Britain planned totransport of cotton, coal, and tea leaves.
At the time of their beginning, almost all lines went from the coast to theinland, because Britain had laid them for their own reasons. It was more efficientfor transporting agricultural products for Britain. It also made it easier totransport products of the British industry to the inland areas of India. In India,
railways continued to be laid, and India became one of the foremost “railway
countries” in the world. Now, hwoever, medium to long distance trains go
between major cities, as well as the suburban trains running in major cities. They
are national, convenient, and chronically crowded. India also wants to lay
high-speed trains in future. As for their economy, India became wealthy in the
1990s, and is still continuing to develop. Their GDP is 113,550.7 billion Indianrupees. Some economists say India will become the third biggest economic
country in the world, next to the U.S. and China, in the future.
Thus, economies require developing railways to improve. This is how we came tothe conclusion that the spread of railways is a key part of a developing economy.
63

3 Malaysia(a) Total length: 1699km(b) Volume of passengers transported: 38,760,000 (2006)(c) Volume of cargo transported: 4,470,000t (2006)(d) On time: There are often substantial delays.
(e) Safety: An overturn and derailment occurs approximately once a month.
(f) Presence of high speed railway: None (Construction fromKuala Lumpur toSingapore will begin around the fiscal year 2020.)(g) Electrification rate: Less than 30%(h) Standardization of gauges: Everything is narrow-gauge
A lode of a tin was found at Malaysia Perak state in the 19th century, and themost advanced industrial city in Malaysia was built. Many Chinese emigrants
gathered as laborers there, but difficulties occurred and the problems havecontinued. The United Kingdom made Malaysia into a colony at the end of the
19th century, and began to govern there to prevent China from seizing control.
After that the United Kingdom had began to construct a narrow-gauge railroad
track in Malaysia in 1885. This is the origin of the Malaysian railroad. At first it
was used for the transportation of tin, and the railroad was also used during
World War II for the transportation of goods. After the war, it was useful for thetransportation of resources and people. Malaysia in recent years has been
fast-growing, and is known in Southeast Asia for being an outstanding, great
economic nation. Ever since connections and travel between Thailand andSingapore has increased, railroads have been developing as a method oftransport for travelers, but practical use of freight trains has been decreasing
with the spread of cars.
4 China(a) Total length: 91,000km (2010）(b) Volume of passengers transported: 1.5billion(c) Volume of cargo transported: 3.3billion t (the highest in the world)(d) Safety: Accidents sometimes happen.
(e) Presence of high speed railway: Yes.
(f) Level of service: High-speed trains are high service.
(g) Electrification rate: 46％ (2010）(h) Standardization of gauges: All standard gauge.
The first railway in China was Woosung Road. It was built in 1876 by Jardine,64Matheson, & Company, a British firm. Gabriel James Morrison, a British engineer,
led it. But several years later, Woosung Road was removed by the Qing
government because they had not permitted it.
In 1881, the Tang-Xu Railway was built to carry coal. After that, most of therailways in China were built, about 21,810 kilometers, by the great powers(including the UK) until World War II was over. When the PRC was founded in1949, railways were regarded as their own industry, and have continued to bebuilt rapidly under the leadership of the PRC government. It is said that thelength of railways in China was about 91,000 kilometers in 2010 and the second
longest in the world next to the US.
The annual freight transportation volume of 2013 was about 3,970,000,000
tons and 2,917,390,000,000 ton-kilometers. The annual passenger transportation
volume of 2013 was about 2,110,000,000 people and 1,059,560,000,000
passenger-kilometers. Both their freight and passengers have more
long-distance users than short-distance users.
Also, a large number of extra trains run to accommodate the approximately
200,000,000 people for about 45 days in January and February during Chinese
New Year. If they were to shut down for some reason, passengers would get very
confused all over China. Therefore, railways are necessary for China and havehelped China develop.
5 Japan(a) The total length: 27,754.5km(b) Volume of passengers transported: 21billion (2004)(c) Volume of cargo transported: 52,000,000t (2004)(d) On time: Almost always(e) Safety: High(f) Presence of high speed railway: Yes.
(g) Are a vehicles and infrastructure imports or domestic? Almost all aredomestic.
(h) Level of service: The Shinkansen and Green Car are high service.
(i) Electrification rate: 60.4％ (2005)(j) Standardization of gauges: the old line is 1067mm, the Shinkansen is
1435mm, and private railways differ.
It was just after the Meiji restoration that construction of Japanese railways
started.
65

However, it was impossible to make it without help. So Japan asked the Westto support them, and the U.K. was chosen because of their technology and as therailway’s country of origin. The first line was opened to passengers between
Shimbashi and Yokohama in 1872. Construction was guided by a British engineer.
After that, the railway system spread throughout the whole country.
Only Hokkaido’s tracks were constructed with American technology. Almost
all trunk lines were finished by the early Showa era and most local railways wereconstructed by the late Showa era. Independence from Western technology was
also taking place. Simple carriages and freight cars were domestically developed,
and Japan also succeeded in the domestic development of a steam locomotivein the second half of the Meiji era. Furthermore, most vehicles and facilities weremade in Japan by the early Showa era.
The Japanese railways were greatly impacted by WW2 and affected by car
shortages and aging, but recovered rapidly with postwar reconstruction.
Electrification and smoke-free cars began in the 1950s, and high- performanceelectric trains and diesel cars were introduced into all parts of Japan. As a result,steam locomotives had disappeared by 1974.
Additionally, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen that opened in 1964 was the fastest
high speed train in the world at that time, and had great success. The Shinkansen
expanded its network into various parts of Japan after that. Its high speed,
reliability, and safety were recognized at home and abroad. Today, the linear
motor car, which runs at 500 kilometers per hour, has also been constructed.
Japan’s railways have been serviced by Japanese National Railways (JNR) since
the Meiji era, except for local private railways, but JNR was in the red in thesecond year of the Showa era, so JNR was privatized into 7 companies of theJapan Railways (JR) group in 1987.
Japan is one of the countries with the most developed railway systems in theworld. In Japan, JR’s railway system spans the whole country, and there are big
and small private railways everywhere. The demand for railways in urban areas ishigh, and Japan accounts for 40 percent of the railway share in the world.
Railway technology and punctuality are the highest in the world, but on theother hand, there are still many problems. For example, the management of local
railways is difficult because of the development of motorization.
Japan’s transportation changed completely with the opening of its railways.
A railway could carry a great deal of people or goods at once, and travel became
remarkably fast. Certainly, railway weren't the only factor of Japan’s financial
66

development, but its contribution is immeasurable.
Therefore, we can say railways are necessary and play an important role in Japan.
6 Australia(a) Total length: 33,819km(b) Volume of passengers transported: Mainly cars.
(c) Volume of cargo transported: Mainly trains, but just over 20%(d) Presence of high speed railway: Construction planned.
(e) Electrification rate: 7%(f) Standardization of gauges: Different from all prior colonies.
Although the fact that the Commonwealth of Australia was once a Britishcolony is well known, before that it was several completely separate colonies forexiles in the 19th century. Therefore, the train services that gradually began tooperate all over Australia in the middle of the 19th century adopted their own
standards in each colony. Now that Australia is one nation, this difference ingauges between each colony is a big problem. That's why, in Australia, it iscommon for train services to only operate within each state, and they are still
unable to standardize all their gauges. Also, Australia has a very extensive road
network extending for a little over 9,000,000 kilometers, and Australia’s vehicles
per capita is the eighth largest in the world. This may be why there is a high levelof reliance on automobiles for people who live in Australia, and one of thereasons why train services which do not use standardized gauges will neverachieve great success.
Chapter 4: Conditions for Railway Development
We wrote about the change in railways and their current state for 6
countries in chapter 3. From this, we'll discover the conditions necessary for
railway development.
First, in a colony, convenience for the suzerain state is the top priority. Of
course how to lay the tracks, freight transportation, and military transportation
are also priorities. So passenger transportation is not taken into consideration.
Thus, it is necessary to be an independent country to properly develop
passenger railways. In the same way, communist countries and military countries
with too much state power also tend to control the process too much. It can besaid that democracy and capitalism tend to lead to excellent railway systems.
Accordingly, when railways aren’t abundant in a country, the demand for67

railroads will remain low. Countries that have developed railways and have ahigh demand for them have also achieved economic development, such as
Japan.
China is a socialist country, but it has achieved economic developmentby opening the market. So Chinese railways are fairly developed. Railways willdevelop in the countries where the economy is growing. But there is also anegative effect. In a large country with a lot of territory, it instead will increase
the demand for airplanes, and railway passenger services will decrease.
Standardization is also a big problem. Standard differences are a huge problem
for railway services like Australia’s. Countries must unify their standards for their
entire network.
But, this is not this case for the Shinkansen, so when it is a new line which
can run independently, there should be no problem. But even if the trains are
standardized throughout the entire country, there will still be differences
between their trains and other countries’. This is a necessary evil of thedevelopment of railways. Thus, we can say that island countries are more capableof unification of the standard.
So, to summarize the above mentioned points:(a) Independent country(b) Democracy(c) Capitalism(d) Financial development has been achieved.
(e) Territory isn't too large.
(f) Standardization of the entire country’s network.
Chapter 5: Summary
We have now discovered the conditions for railway development byobserving 6 countries with different geographical features in this paper.
The transportation capacity a railroad has and its energy conservation
are being reconsidered, worldwide, and railways are growing and changing, one
after another. Countries with developed railways, such as the West and Japan,
are aggressive in exporting railway cars and infrastructure. We would behonored if this study is consulted when these countries export railways all over
the world in the future.

68

The Future of Railroads Judging From the Advantages and Disadvantagesof Electrification and Non-Electrification in Japan and the United Kingdom
1. Introduction
In Japan, most of major railways are electrified, and most local railways
are not electrified, presently. In the UK, it is also important to consider the
method of electrifying suburban railways, such as whether or not to use a third
rail. And what of the rest of the world? The purpose of this paper is to examine
whether it is better to use electrification or not, for future railways, by examining
the status quo. Additionally, should companies that are associated with railways
invest in electric-trains or diesel-trains? We think the answers to these questions
are significant for everyone.
2. The Problems of Electrification and Non-electrification
There are several advantages to electrification. For example, it can
improve energy efficiency and enable faster train speeds more easily.
Electrification is primarily seen in cities where the amount and frequency of use islarge, because in such sections, the more electrification there is, the cheaper thecost of use will be.
(A) Japan
In Japan, the rate of electrification is about 50% at present. However, theamount is different between regions. JR Central has a rate of electrification of
75.7% (March in 2014), and the number is larger than that of any other region.
However, there are some prefectures where electrification is low. For example,
Kouchi Prefecture has no electrified JR sections. Tottori city in Tottori Prefecture
has no electrified sections, even though it is the prefectural capital. Tokushima
Prefecture also has no electrified sections yet. Moreover, they have never had anelectrified section there.
These prefectures all have something in common: they have small
populations, and are struggling with depopulation. These are some reasons why
the rate of electrification in Japan remains around 50%.
Of course there are other reasons, too. Electrification can influenceobservation, and headline wires cannot be installed in pre-existing tunnels. For
example, in the region around Kakioka Magnetic Observatory of Japan
Meteorological Agency, DC-electrification would prevent precise observation of69

terrestrial magnetism. So, the AC-electrified sections would cost too much andtherefore are not electrified.
(B) The UK
In the UK, the electrification rate is only about 33% (in 2005). Given thatthe electrification rate of the major countries in Europe is more than 50%, it’seasy to notice that railway electrification has been delayed in the UK. In the
United Kingdom, diesel cars are often still used. High-speed railways have notdeveloped, and there are many old tracks and facilities, with overhead wires that
spoil beautiful scenery. This is why the electrification rate in the UK is lower
compared to that in other countries in Europe.
3. Problems of Electrification and Non-electrification
Electrification has two major problems. First, its installation cost is more
expensive. In order to drive an electric train, it needs various facilities such as
substations and overhead wires to turn on the power. Building them requires a
lot of money.
Second, the facilities cause environmental pollution along the railway
line. The overhead wires and their poles may also spoil the scenery, so they are
not suitable for picturesque areas. Besides, pantographs, which collect electricity
from the wires, give off noise when they move at high speed, so they may also
cause noise pollution.
Non-electrification has three major problems. First, diesel trains, which
are a good example of non-electrification, produce nitrogen oxide (NOx) andparticulate matter (particulates). NOx is known to cause acid rain, and it is amajor cause of environmental disruption. Particulates often occur when oil isburned, and are harmful to humans.
Second, its power cost and cost of maintenance are higher than those ofelectric trains. The reason why the power cost is expensive is that it is fueled bylight oil. The expenses add up quickly. Besides, the cost of maintenance for diesel
trains is higher because their construction is more complicated.
Finally, the efficiency of power transmission for a diesel train is lower than forelectric trains. It’s more than 90% for electric trains, while diesel trains are only
about 85%. These are the main problems for using non-electrification.
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4. Future perspectives in Electrification/Non-Electrification
Next, we’ll consider the changes in facilities for electrified railways,
implementing electrification on non-electrified railways, and then look to the
future.
i) Artery lines
Once electrification forms a main artery line, it influences not only thecommunity whose sections it goes through, but also the country as a whole.
Concretely, we thought it influences financial policies because it helps control
economic stagnation and inflation.
AC electromechanical systems in AT types, which is used the most in
main artery lines nowadays, has removed all of the disadvantages former
systems had. However, such devices cost a lot to install. We think it is necessary
to consider if we can lower the costs of these devices.
ii) Suburban lines
The modernization of trams, also known as street cars or ultra-low-floor
trains, and light rails has been remarkable in Japan and European countries, andits good points are becoming more attractive. If their performance and speed
can be improved and technology can progress from now on, more and more
people will want to use them. Besides, we might not need to use extra energy ifrail tram structures are built on level land which is suitable for building trains. It
might even be used to improve infrastructure in developing countries.
From the viewpoint of consumers, we could improve income on alonger-term scale. Let’s look at the San-yo main line that underwent
electrification in 1958.
In Kakogawa city near Himeji, because the operation interval was
shortened from 1 hour to around 20 minutes, it became possible to travel in amuch shorter time. Due to this, some people began commuting from Kakogawa
to Osaka for better work. However, many customers in the To-ban Area began
going to the Kobe-Himeji Area, and the shopping arcade in Kakogawa started to
decline. On the other hand, towns like Kamigo-ri succeeded in the revitalizationof their town thanks to invitation campaigns. Regardless, it became easier for
consumers to go shopping in Himeji, which was once troublesome, and the local
retailers made an effort to improve their services. So, it can be said that theelectrification of the San-yo main line had a great impact on Kakogawa.
71iii) Rural lines
In Britain, some areas still use railcars in order to preserve the view. In
Japan, some lines switch from electric trains to railcars by declining thefrequency of use it due to depopulation. If we use railcars, researching
institutions, railway factories, and railway companies should cooperate inresearch and development in order to use fuels which won’t be a burden theenvironment as much as possible and improve its consumption efficiency. We
believe that the same can be said for vehicles. Thus, hybrid railcars have been
appearing recently.
In fact, there aren’t any railways in very remote areas, and somedeveloping countries. If railways were built in such areas, we could expect anincrease in population thanks to faster transportation, an influx of capital andgoods to these remote regions, and an increase in employment.
5. Conclusion
We found that electrification (electric trains) and non-electrification(diesel trains) both have advantages and disadvantages.
Electric trains are better than diesel trains from an environmental
perspective. However, the cost of installing electric trains is much higher than for
railcars. Therefore, developed countries with more funding are likely to adopt
electric trains.
Diesel trains have the advantage of cheaper equipment costs thanelectric trains, so they will likely be adopted in developing countries.
In addition, developed countries should aid developing countries in laying
railways because it can help contribute to their development.
Our outlook on the future is that railway technology know-how will belearned by developing countries, and that they will come to manage anddevelop their own railways.

72

Future of Railway Exports of Japan
Seen from the High-Speed Railway Exports of Hitachi LTD.
Yousuke Inoue, Wataru Hamamoto,
Daisuke Miyazaki, Kazuki Ogata,
Iori Asahina, and Masato Uemoto
1.

Introduction
It is generally said that railroad cars can be used for thirty to forty years,

and afterward we have to upgrade or replace them. So railroad cars will always
have a certain amount of demand even if no new lines are constructed.
For railroad car manufacturers, however, it is preferable to improve theirprofitability by manufacturing more cars. However, there are neither signs of
new railroad construction projects nor signs that the demand will increase forthe time being in Japan, where the population is thought to be decreasing. So
Japanese manufacturers are all seeking to expand overseas, but their share of
the world’s railroad car market is less than 10 percent. Their present situation
does not look good.
However, in 2005, a Japanese manufacturer succeeded in exporting
railroad cars to the U.K., the origin of trains. Its name is Hitachi, Ltd. The
manufacturer accepted the order, defeating other world-famous manufacturers.
Needless to say, its reputation grew immensely as a result.
Furthermore, the manufacturer signed a contract to deliver 497 cars for
IEP and maintenance of the railroads for twenty-seven and a half years. Thanks
to this success, Hitachi has firmly planted itself in the U.K.
How could the manufacturer make such a great achievement? It is all too
easy to assume that Hitachi was superior to other manufacturer in price andtechnology. However, it is not unusual at all that these factors are called forwhen we sell industrial products under the market economy. Our ultimate goal is
to make the future direction of export of railroad and Japan's industrial
productions clear through Hitachi's success. In order to reach this goal, we aregoing to find practical solutions from this example, Hitachi's success, and seek away to apply them to various other industries. First, we want to describe thepresent situation of railroad exports worldwide. Second, we will examine theeffect of cooperation between the government and the private sectors in termsof sales activity.
73

2.

Making Systems to Cope with Globalization
If Japanese companies which make coaches want to acquire profits
overseas, those companies need to make coaches which are able to travel
around the world, coaches that people in that area want, and they must sell all
the systems that will allow the coaches to operate without any problems.
There was a time when Japanese companies started to try to acquire
profits overseas, but the 3 companies named "Bombardier, Alstom, andSiemens", called the "BIG 3", have had a high market share since a long time ago.
At first, the company in Canada named "Bombardier" made things
related to transportation, for example airplanes, railways, snowmobiles, etc. In
1974 the company started to make coaches much later than many othercompanies, but it made the kinds and quantities of the products increase
because they we able to sell all the systems that the coaches needed in order tooperate together. Companies’ systems to supply electrical power to the coaches,
hard carts, and the signal systems are all very diverse, and vome from different
companies. Alstom and Siemens were unable to sell those systems. It will give
you an edge over the competition if you are able to sell all the systems yourcoaches need during negotiations about starting new railways and the necessary
budget. However, in Japan, all the big companies make only coaches. The
companies which handle the electronics include Mitsubishi Electric Corporation,
Toshiba Corporation, etc. make only the electronic parts, and The Nippon Signal
Co., Ltd is the main company which makes the traffic lights and facilities.
The companies in Europe generally select their coaches from a set ofbasic coaches that coach companies have already designed. These are called"Ready-Made". In short, the companies which make the coaches have to design
them to travel everywhere, without problems. For example, first, Siemens soldwell in China because the number of people who are able to ride theirhigh-speed trains is higher, because Siemens’s high-speed train called the"Siemens Velaro" is much wider than normal.
The second example is the "TRAXX". Bombardier made a locomotive
powered by electricity called the "TRAXX". They have also made coaches which
are powered by Diesel engines, too. However, in Japan, the companies whichmake the coaches make them how the railway asks them to, which is called"Order-Made". So Hitachi Ltd. Made an "A train" which is more like
"Ready-made" trains. Its production capacity was able to increase by making theparts standard and making everything similar. For example, they sell coaches
74named "CTRL" to England. All the systems involved are electronic, which is thesame as in England, and was made in Japan with new technology applied to theexisting technology. We can think that this company had an advantage because
it could apply the technology it had without changing the old technology.
Hitachi, Ltd went on to negotiate about buying the Italian company namedFinmeccanica Sep. in order to be able to provide the signals, because Hitachi wasafraid that it couldn’t provide all the systems necessary for the railways. We think
Hitachi has tried to gain the same amount of strength the "BIG 3" have.
3.

Motivating Companies to Work Together
The Japanese companies have certain things that they can make very
well and should try to export around the world, but many Japanese companies
have never tried to export their products before. However, companies like JR,
Hitachi, Ltd., and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., etc. started a partnership called
the "International High-speed Train Association" in April 2014 in order tocompete with the "BIG 3", because the companies need to be able to cooperate
well when they try to export their products.
The coaches made by Hitachi could travel without the problems, but thecoaches made in England broke down when it snowed terribly in England.
Hitachi, Ltd. made their high-speed trains use the same developments thatJapan's Bullet Train use in Japan by treasuring "safety first". This includes a "cover
to repel snow" which Japan's Bullet Train in the northeast has, and "construction
to prevent intrusion of water around the trains". As a result, the coaches made inJapan can travel everywhere, which developed trust and helped the businessearn new clients. Hitachi, Ltd. Also knew that Japan's Bullet Train is made ofaluminum, and developed the ability used by many companies now, earlier thanthe other companies did. This caused an increase in the number of coaches
made of aluminum. However, there would be no new technology for the railways
in Japan, if the only Japanese company was Hitachi.
First, the "Tokyu Car Corporation" which was named "Japan Transport
Engineering Company", has been sharing the technology with companies in
America since a long time ago. This company can export their coaches to many
companies in many countries which are related to the railway because thiscompany could make coaches made of stainless steel. This company’s brandname was "Sustina", and has been trying to expand their brand around the world
as the best stainless steel company after it changed its old name to the "Japan75

Transport Engineering Company".
Second "Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company" is also
famous because they exported high-speed trains to Taiwan and China, etc. byusing the Japanese technology used on Japan's Bullet Trains. However, thiscompany has spent little time monitoring the things it has exported, which
helped China apply for a patent for the technology. Nevertheless, the fact it wasbasically Japan's Bullet Train was advertised around the world.
Third, trams with low floors, named "LRT" which stands for "Light Rail
Train" and are made by "Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company"
have been bought by many countries and companies.
4.

Government and Companies Cooperation.
Hitachi, Ltd. also decided to try to get the contract for "IEP business",which stands for "Intercity Express Program", so it could replace even morecoaches more than before, which is based on matter named "Class 395". Only
Hitachi, Ltd. earned the rights to negotiate about it, but the economy around
Europe worsened, and many politicians in England were replaced, which madenegotiations take a very long time, since the prime minister, the cabinet member
who closely affiliated with them, and the embassy staff in England had theEnglish government continue with the negotiations. The special bank named the"Japan Bank for International Cooperation", that the Japanese government put
all the money into, promised to give money to the business when the moneythat the business had decreased, because many banks in Europe didn’t put
money into the business. The Japanese trade insurance company, which is anindependent corporate body from the government that the Ministry of Financemade into a private enterprise, in order to form a relationship to easily buy
insurance for private enterprises related to the Ministry of Finance. This system isvery important for export businesses which the state economy and government
in the area are deeply involved in, because this system allows the government
and the private companies to discuss the matter together and helped make the"IEP business" matter a success.
5.

Conclusion
We found that there are two important things in the field of production:
having economic efficiency via standardization and meeting local people's
conditions, and preparing to deliver all of the systems for a railway in one
76package. Also, in the field of marketing, that has the potential to create ties
between companies, the "All Japan posture" public-private integral was also
found to be very important. With the continuing rise of Asian countries, thecompetitiveness of Japanese products decreases day by day, particularly in the
consumer electronics field. We need to devise better ways of manufacturing
products in order to beat out the export competition and add to the Japanese
productions' share of the world market. For instance, in exporting infrastructures
such as nuclear power plants, strength in sales wars is also necessary in order to
not waste Japan's technological advantages. It is not better technology, but our
attitude, that will resolve the present situation where Japan, which is known for
its technological advances, is disadvantaged in exporting its products. Our hopeis that various kinds of Japanese manufacturers will find the key to success whenexporting products through learning lessons from Hitachi, which won a difficult
sales war in the country of the origin of trains.
6.

Bibliography
Omitted77

Achievements of English Debate
in Relation with Global Issues
Prefectural Urawa High School has been participating in High School English
Debate, or HEnDA style, since 2008. We have won two 2nd places, and one 4thplace, which entitled us to a spot in the National Competition. In the HEnDa style,there are restrictions to entry if the students have lived abroad or use English athome every day. As a Super Global High School, we would like to help these‘restricted’ students do their best as well. This year, therefore, we participatedand performed well in alternate styles of debate which have brought us newchallenges and opportunities.
I.

Public Forum(1) Oita tournament
There were 29 teams that entered the Oita tournament, and among themwere International Schools and also several schools which regularly participate at
the HEnDA National Competition. There were also many students who have lived
abroad or who used English at home every day. We were not sure if we would be
able to win even once.
The topic was “On balance, Artificial Intelligence is beneficial to humanity.”
Most affirmative arguments talked about the benefits from various
AI-related technologies, and we further developed our argument to include
AI-assisted body movement for disabled people, as well as helping withhousehold chores for single mothers. This concept of inclusiveness was not
merely a minor benefit for a few people, and it allowed us to win our hardest
round, the third round against Ritsumeikan Uji High School.
Our negative arguments pointed out that AI will bring about unemployment
in both blue-collared and white-collared jobs, and that overreliance will also
weaken human intuition, like the navigation skills of pilots due to GPSs. This
argument was strong against teams who argued for the easier, the better. On thenegative side, we won three times, including the final match against Fukuoka
prefectural Syuyukan High School, which earned us first place with 4 wins and nolosses.
All the teams that participated had strong arguments and excellent English
speakers, but our team probably had more experience, specifically theexperience of losing, and so our students had a deep understanding of how to78carry on believing in their argument.
We have now been given the opportunity to participate in the 2016 NSDA
debate competition in the U.S.A.
Here were our arguments, though they changed along the way.
POSITIVE/AFFIRMATIVE
Our topic today is “On balance, artificial intelligence is beneficial for humansociety”
Definitions = Use As Needed
AI, according to Oxford University, is the theory and development of computer
systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as
visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between
languages.
Practically, AI is used for:１ Patterns
２ Planning
３ Diagnosis
４ Robots and( Pattern Recognition )( Strategic Planning )( Diagnosis )( Robotics )５ Looking through data
( Data mining )We define on balance as:- the use of AI in many areas- while still having full control over AI,- and the ability to co-exist by working alongside AI.
We define human society as:- any significant group of people,- but particularly those in Japan.
Our main points are AI’s ability to solve problems, and innovation thanks to AI.
POINT 1 : Solving Problems
Our first benefit is AI’s ability to solve problems.
Example 1
Elderly people
According to Japan Times News in 2014, the number of people older
than 65 rose to 31.9 million, or 25% of the population. Basic AI can do dailychores which are difficult for the elderly. According to Tech Times, iRobot’s
79

Roomba can sweep floors for three hours on a single charge with just one click.
This robot can help with cleaning, which is hard for older people. They will also
have more free time to use in constructive ways to increase their quality of life.
Example 2
Women
In addition, robots like Roomba could free women to pursue jobs
outside their own homes as they help do some of the cleaning or help care for
their family. Single mothers would greatly benefit, and the average householdincome would increase across Japan.
Example 3
Hazardous Jobs
It is safer for AI to work in dangerous environments, like:- Nuclear Power Plants,- Mines, or- Washing windows on tall buildings.
These jobs should definitely be taken over by robotic AI. This reduces thedanger to humans working in such environments, like disease or death. These AI
would also be able to work 24 hours a day, without rest. They can maintain safety
at all times, and warn humans about risks ahead of time. The US has had AI
products for over 30 years that reduce the burden on reactor operators during
both normal and abnormal operations, according to Robert Uhrig, the head of
his Nuclear Department.
Example 4
Disabled People
Computers can repeat the same exact movements, so they are moreaccurate and safer than even the best humans. Robotic AI connected with brain
signals, already in development, will help people with disabilities to once again
stand up, sit down, and eat on their own. This will also help small nurses if thepatients are quite large. The AI robotics will help the patient be able to movearoundExample 5
Jobless People
In addition, AI could be used in data mining to help the unemployedsearch for new jobs. Please don’t forget AI can also be used to support the poor!
POINT 2 : Innovation
80

If we stop improving AI, we are throwing away a huge, innovative, and anincreasingly popular area of study among today’s youth. AI is pushing theboundaries of human abilities, allowing us to grow and progress into a new eraof learning and understanding.
Example 1
Fewer Accidents
Innovation in automatic driving will result in much fewer accidents. Elon
Musk, CEO of Tesla, said the evidence is “overwhelming” that autonomous cars
will be safer, though he will still have to convince governments and regulatory
authorities this is true. Also, flight crew error has been implicated in about half ofall fatal airline accidents. The innovation of automated driving will lead to fewer
accidents (and money saved).
Example 2
Increased Globalization
Translation through AI could allow easier travel, aiding tourism agencies,
and allowing people to have a wider view of the world we live in. Already, AItranslation has shown its use with Stephen Hawking, allowing him to continue toshare his insights with the world.
Example 3
Business Opportunities
AI can also help with global trading, communication, and partnership
through translation and data mining, which would lead to more business
opportunities, and greater potential for economic gains.
Increased competition will also lead to better products at lower prices
for buyers around the world. Small SME companies will finally have an evenplaying field with larger companies, because they will be able to market and sell
their products with the same ease and access to information as large companies.
NEGATIVE SIDE CONSTRUCTIONS
Our topic today is “On balance, artificial intelligence is beneficial for humansociety”
Definitions = Use As Needed
AI, according to Oxford University, is the theory and development of computer
systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as
visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between
81languages.
We define human society as:- any significantly large group of people.
Our main disadvantages are job loss and hidden dangers.
POINT 1: Loss of Jobs
Our first downside is that workers in all fields will lose jobs.
Example 1

AI will be controlled by the rich

People who can make, afford, or control AI will always be on top andthey will always have a job. But almost every other job can be replaced by AI. AI
will naturally begin to replace human labor since it can be made stronger, faster,
more accurate, and safer. According to bigstory.org in 2013, an analyst said “atthe end of this century, the jobless rate in America will be 75%” solely due to AI.
This unemployment rate is too huge for America to deal with and it will have a
big effect on America’s economy.
CEOs will have a simple decision: pay people monthly salaries who needbreaks and make mistakes, and provide their families with health care and help
pay for their retirement, or hire robots that can work 24 hours a day, 7 days aweek, without breaks. AI that will perfectly obey whatever you tell them to do,
and never argue, get tired, sick, drunk, or arrested.
The answer is simple: They will choose AI every single time, because they
are far more productive and cost-efficient in the long run. Soon, only those withenough money to buy and control AI will be able to make a profit, and everyone
else will lack jobs.
We invite our opponents to think of a job that AI definitely cannot do,
and to tell the judge what it is. We are convinced that they will not be able tothink of one, except perhaps jobs related to religion, philosophy, art, or
professional sports. Everything else can eventually be automated. Everything.
That is a scary thought. How will people be able to make money?
Example 2Blue collar jobs will be lostBlue collar jobs will easily be taken over by robots as they continue todevelop. They are faster, smarter, more durable, and stronger in every way. You
won’t have to worry about their health, and they can work under any conditions.
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Example 3
White collar jobs will be lostNot only blue, but even white-collar jobs will also be replaced with AI.
According to ida.dk in 2014, in the past, law students used to help lawyers with
their small cases, but now they can be replaced since AI can do the job faster,
more accurately and for a lower cost. Law students will not be needed or wanted,
and will lose valuable chances to gain experience. New lawyers will have difficultyfinding work or excelling with less experience, thanks to AI. Then AI will simply
replace all lawyers.
Also according to New York Times in 2014 and Mobile Health Global in2015, they already have devices that can check someone’s health or decide thebest way to do diagnosis or treatment. This means nurses who give patientscheckups won’t be needed. These are just a few examples of the many high-level,
technical jobs that will also be lost thanks to AI.
Example 4
Loss of job fields
The main problem is not a loss of some jobs, but the loss of an entire
type or field of jobs to AI. Many people, including students have dedicated yearsof their lives to their job or profession. If all computer jobs are replaced by AI,
those people will not have training for work in any field other than the ones thatno longer exist, or become super-competitive. They will be forced to take a job
they have no training in, but those types of jobs will also already be filled by AI.
These people will essentially be poor for life, which will cause a need for a raise intaxes to support them.
Point 2: Hidden Dangers
Our second downside is that the dangers of AI are subtle and hidden, which willlead to larger and more damaging problems when there is an error.
Example 1

Weather

Many people think AI can function in all situations, but that’s not true.
What about automated cars? When it snows, the sensors on automated cars getcovered, and they lose their ability to see. This means driving in snow is very
dangerous. With everything looking white, visual images are far more difficult tounderstand, assuming the car can even see anything at all. Even when parking,snow sets off the sensors, causing the car to think it’s already close to something,making any assistance impossible.
83

Example 2
Humans make errors, and humans make AI
The Pro side is quick to say AI is better, but AI will always make mistakes.
Why? They can only be better at things they are already programmed for. AI
canot think for themselves. Watson can answer any question you give it, but it
cannot ask one. It:s not programmed to. When AI encounters something it’s notprogrammed for, it will make mistakes. If humans make a mistake in the
programming, they will also make errors. No matter how you look at it, there will
always be a “human fingerprint” on AI. As long as we can anticipate everything,then AI will be fine, but we are human, and there are always many things wecannot predict.
AI used to diagnose illnesses could encounter a new strain of the flu andmisdiagnose it because how can it know what it is if it’s never existed before?
Example 3
The scale of errors will be infinitely larger
As humans, if we make a mistake, only 1 person makes the mistake – us.
However, with robots, they will all be programmed the same. That 1 error will be
multiplied by the number of AI robots that have been produced. If you make 1
million smart cars with an error, they will ALL make that error. The scale anddamage will increase greatly when an error occurs with AI, and we may notrecognize it until it’s too late.
Example 4
Many humans will become spoiled and lose their ability
when needed
If humans keep relying on AI like this, we will not be able to think as
before. According to Wall Street Journal in 2010, 75% of the pilots in America
said that their skill of manual flying declined after auto-navigation was
introduced, even though the technology brings a lot of benefits to the company.
This shows that if you rely too much on AI, your thinking process will slow down
and your skill will dull as well. If you use AI a lot and don’t use your brain toremember places and navigate, the part of the brain for memory – theHippocampus – will shrink, which lead to dementia. This will cause the younger
generation to have a higher probability of suffering from dementia.
Example 5
Hackers
Recently, wars have become even scarier because terrorist cell groups
are small and difficult to recognize until it’s too late. We cannot easily see the84problem, and it becomes difficult to stop or catch these “invisible threats.”
Hackers are much the same – able to attack from anywhere, unseen, and to strikeand cause huge security problems. Data can be stolen or programs could bechanged. How can we prevent these kinds of attacks when the internet connects
everyone in the world to everything else if you know what you’re doing?
(2) Korean tournament
Prefectural Urawa, Ritsumeikan Uji, and Okayama Joto represented Japan in
the NSDA Korean tournament. In the preliminary round, we were matchedagainst 3 Korean teams and 2 Japanese teams. We won three times, but lost
twice to the top Korean team, and we earned a spot in the show-case matchagainst the top Korean team on the final day of the tournament. We wereawarded 2nd place.
The topic was: “On balance, intergovernmental emission trading isbeneficial”. It was a theoretical and multi-dimensional topic. The arguments ofthe top Korean team were strong, and they had wide-ranged vocabulary andsplendid debate skills. We now know what to aim for and we will do our best to
catch up with them.
Here were our arguments:
Pro side
After the Kyoto Protocol, international effort has been made in order to meetcarbon emission goals. The most effective framework has been the EU’s carbon
emission trade system (ETS). It has been effective because
1) Its flexibility makes it the best financial option for companies.
2) The ETS can definitely reduce the amount of emissions, thanks to its caps.
3) It improves international cooperation and accountability.
We believe we should join the ETS in order to take full advantage of it.
We have two reasons.
Reason 1: Sustainable Development increases Regional Cooperation.
Reason 2: Sustainable Development will support Research and Development.
Please allow me explain the process and importance of Reason 1, and my partner
to explain the process and importance of Reason 2.
(124 words)
85

Reason 1: Sustainable Development increases Regional Cooperation.
Status quo
Even after the Kyoto protocol, some countries have not cooperated to reducecarbon emissions. This is a global problem, so if this situation continues, thegreenhouse effect will worsen for everyone and climate change will seriously
impact our future. (ex. South Korea’s average temperature has already risen
degrees more than the rest of the world because of its greenhouse gases.)
EffectBy introducing intergovernmental emissions trading, the amount of emissions
from each country will be more visible, providing accountability and the ability tocooperate in order to protect our futures.
Importance
Developing countries such as Laos, Nepal, or Butane can further their country’s
development by selling extra emissions quotas. Emerging nations such as India,
China, or Vietnam, can become more involved, without slowing down theireconomies, by buying extra emissions quotas. Finally, developed countries suchas the U.S.A., South Korea, and Japan can lead regional cooperation for
Sustainable Development through balancing and reducing their emissions
quotas, and buying and selling as necessary.
If Asia joins and follows the EU’s effort, we can set a model for South Americaand Africa as they continue to develop, helping them easily incorporate into theETS.
(203 words)
Reason 2: Sustainable
Development.

Development

will

supportResearchand

Status quo
Businesses are selfish and greedy, always seeking to improve profits andavoiding change – it’s expensive. They also seek to protect and improve their
public image. These are the real ethics of business. Additionally, Research &Development (R&D) is expensive and can take years to produce anything, so it isalways small-scale and receives very little money.
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Effect
The EU’s emissions trading system can leverage what is best for all parties,
turning business ethics into a positive via R&D, since R&D donations counttoward a company’s emissions reductions. In turn, better R&D will benefit
everyone, worldwide.
ImportanceCompanies will surely donate more. They will kill 4 birds with one stone:
1) Companies can resist change by funding R&D instead of actually decreasing
quotas at first2) The company’s public image will improve for donating to R&D
3) Companies can save money, since funding R&D is less expensive than thefees for not meeting quotas
4) More R&D funding will allow larger-scale efforts, which will result in more
and better inventions for reducing emissions, which will increase company
profits and also be more sustainable. Companies can then sell theirinventions worldwide, increasing their profits even more. Take the Lithium
Ion battery, for example. Thanks to Sony’s R&D, we now have longer-lasting,better batteries, worldwide.
We simply need to let the market take control, and then let it do what it does
best. We just need to place companies inside the right framework, inside the ETS,
so their selfishness can become a positive influence for the world.
(265 words)
Con side
Our topic today is “On balance, intergovernmental emissions trading isbeneficial”
Definitions = Use As Needed
Emissions trading, according to business dictionary.com, is a tradable-permit
system in which a greenhouse gases emitter can buy/sell permission to emit acertain amount of emissions to/from other emitters. This is different from anemissions tax.
To make it easy, we define this topic as “is the emissions trading system (ETS)
beneficial or not.”87Our main disadvantages are:1. Not Solving the Main Problem
2. Corruption and Inequality.
(85 words)
POINT1: Not Solving the Main Problem
Our first disadvantage is that this solution does not really solve the main
problem, which is reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
Example 1
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is when a developed country has another country, often adeveloping country, make something and then imports it from the developing
country. This actually makes the problem worse. First of all, it appears that theemissions have decreased for the developed country, but the emissions have notdecreased at all when you look at the world’s emissions. In fact, they might haveincreased.
This process benefits the importer, because they will not have to worry
about the greenhouse gases which will be emitted for production. This importer
will essentially have a much higher cap because they are having other countries
produce their goods, and the cap and the ETS only looks at the producing
country. This does not solving the main problem of reducing greenhouse gas
emissions to zero.
Example 2
Reforestation is not Actually a Reduction in Emissions
A company who cannot stay under their cap has an option of planting
more trees in order to virtually reduce their emissions. However, again, thisprocess does not help solve the underlying problem. Planting more trees does
not actually reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, it’s only a virtual reduction,and since it’s allowed, many companies and countries will just plant trees to emit
more, because they can make more profit by planting trees to emit more so they
can produce more.
(251 words)
POINT2: Corruption and Inequality
Our second disadvantage is that the ETS promotes corruption andinequality, making it harmful and unable to accomplish its goals.
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Example 1
Outsourcing
Again, outsourcing becomes a huge problem for the same reasons wementioned earlier. Rich countries take advantage of poor countries, making therich richer, and polluting the poor countries in exchange for a small profit for
their country. Also, rich countries could charge more for extra permits so that
only other rich countries can reasonably afford them. Also, rich countries could
simply outsource to a country which doesn’t take part in the ETS, allowing themto produce however much they want for essentially no penalty.
Example 2
Bribes and Deceit
Bribes and deceit are another issue that can affect the ETS in many areas.
Officials that set the cap for each country’s emissions could be bribed, inspectors
could be bribed, emissions data could be falsified, countries could falsify reports,
companies could inflate their base outputs to gain more permits, and the list
goes on and on. With so many new checks being put in place, and most things
being self-regulated, it would be very easy to lie about something or bribe an
official. This, in fact, has already happened. For example,(209 words)(3) Winter Cup in Chiba
The Winter Cup Tournament has a 10-year history, and this year both theHEnDA and Public Forum competition styles were held. We entered both, and we
did quite well at the HEnDA style as well, but since this report is about our new
challenges, we will focus on the Public Forum competition. In the Public Forumcompetition, 36 teams from 14 schools entered participated, and among themwere some of the top debaters in the Kanto area, including some international
schools.
Our topic was “In the face of current crisis, a government should prioritize
humanitarian needs over national interests.” It was a current, on-going social
issue, so there were many news articles on websites and in magazines to read.
We thoroughly researched the topic, and debated well.
We finished the preliminary rounds with 4 wins and no losses, and went on
to win the final match as well. This victory has given us confidence in proceeding
to the NSDA U.S.A. tournament next year.
Here is our Constructive Speech script with our arguments:
89

First Speaker Con.
Observation of Status Quo
Our observation is that the current crisis is getting worse because of too
much emphasis on humanitarian need, rather than a lack of it. Therefore, we
support stronger governmental control on the issue. Please let us explain why wethink our concerns are more important.
Contention 1: Border Control Problems
If more refugees come into the EU, countries will tighten their borders tostop them.
Right now, some countries are already trying to intensify their bordercontrol to stop refugees from coming in. For example Hungary, Denmark,Sweden is closing their borders by ignoring the Schengen deal. These moves willcause the Schengen deal to fall apart even more.
We have to focus on the border control outside the EU because total
mobility will drop if Schengen deal collapses. This will damage total economic
activity of Europe and surrounding countries, because imports and exports,
cooperation between companies in different countries, daily commuters, andtourism will be affected. According to Reuters in 2016, if Schengen treaty have tobe reconsidered, it will lead to a decline in trade of 10-20%, which is equivalent
to a loss of 13.6 trillion yen.
In addition, Over-emphasis on humanitarian needs will put pressure on
the border control to be less strict, leading to simpler procedures (for example:
not requiring a birth certificate) This will allow more terrorists to come into EU. In
order to prevent this, good border control between the EU and the rest of theworld is required.
Therefore we should focus on border control.
Contention

2: Cost of refugees.

We all care about the refugees; however, the level of care needed tomeet the demand for the increasing number of refugees makes it impossible torealistically help them. According to the U.N. in 2015, there are about 11.6
million total Syrian refugees, with 7.6 million still waiting to leave.
To help these refugees, food, water, shelter, and medical care should be
supplied instantly, On top of that, long-term support is needed for job training
and education. First, let’s look at the cost of education, because it’s a key factor
90

for long-term integration. According to Mainichi newspaper in 2015, Germany
will have to spend 430 billion yen on 460 thousand refugees to teach themGerman so they can enter the work place. This money is expected to rise as morerefugees are accepted.
In fact the cost is so high that in Denmark, the government has,essentially, begun asking wealthy refugees to use their own money to help otherrefugees. More and more governments will have to do the same, because
governments cannot keep giving within their limited budgets. They have toconsider the humanitarian needs of their own citizens as well.
Statistics show the cost of 1 refugee is about 1.7 million yen, meaning it
will cost 19.7 trillion yen for them all, which is the same as 10% of the German
National budget each year, to help the 11.6 million refugees. That number is also
expected to rise if humanitarian needs are further prioritized.
To sum up, We are not saying that we shouldn’t help refugees, but
asking the opponents and judges to consider that over-emphasis on
humanitarian needs will set the matters off balance, doing more harm than good,
due to problems with border control and the lack of funds. Realistic
measurement of the cost will allow every government to continue helping the
refugees, as well as trying to help them integrate into their new environment toensure their humanitarian rights.
First Speaker For
Observation of Status Quo
Our observation is that current crisis is increasing due to the lack ofconsideration for humanitarian needs. In the face of the current crisis,
governments from near and remote should cooperate to solve the main problem,
rather than thinking solely about its own people.
Prioritize means, according to the Oxford Dictionary, to “Designate ortreat something as more important than other things,
Contention 1 Emergency Aid
Even if it’s not legal, many Syrians are desperate to get to the EU. They
often use dangerous, illegal ways to enter the EU. According to UNHCR, the UN
refugee department, in 2015, there are still 11.6 million Syrian refugees waiting
to leave Syria. This is the largest number of refugees since World War 2. But sofar, only 200 have been offered resettlement. According to CNN in 2016, already,91

over 3,771 refugees have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in rubber
rafts overflowing with refugees.
Refugees desperately need food, water, shelter, and a place they can livein peace. These are basic human rights. But there are not enough funds, because
most refugees come with nothing, and caring for them means providing medicalcare, education, work, housing, and food. In fact, in 2015, the World Food
Program’s financial shortage caused them to cut aid for Syrian refugees in half,
only allowing them to provide 50 yen a day for food.
If every EU country split the remaining refugees proportionally, their
populations would only increase by 2%. And with that sacrifice, the EU could
help all the refugees.
With just a little international governmental cooperation, 11.6 million
refugees’ lives could be saved or greatly improved. Legally entering a country ismuch better as well, since refugees can receive healthcare, which will also savemore lives.
According to Medicine Without Borders,Contention 2: Stronger Economy
According to (), Germany’s population will shrink by 9 million within
45 years. The ratio of non-working members to working members is currently 40
to 100, and without refugees or migrants, it will rise to 78 to 100 by 2050
because of the aging society and small number of children. According to (),
85% of German companies want ().
Refugees are those who led an ordinary life, just like us, but were forced
to leave their country because of reasons like war. So once their basic needs aremet, they can definitely contribute to society. According to BB News in 2015,78% of Syrians have a high level of education. According to the Wall Street
Journal in 2016, once refugees start working, the EU’s GDP will rise by 0.25% by
2020. According to Reuters in 2015, HSBC estimates that taking in more refugees
could result in a profit of 39.1 trillion yen by 2025. Initial costs will be paid off,
and in the long run, as our data clearly shows, refugees will contribute to theeconomy.
Therefore, we believe humanitarian needs should be prioritized overnational interests in the face of the current crises, because the former strengthen
the latter in the long run. Thank you.
92

II. Impromptu Debate(1) Tokyo tournament
The second type of debate that we started was Impromptu Debate. Unlike
the other styles, this one does not let participants know the topic beforehand.
Each round has a new topic, and after the topic is announced, only 15 minutes ofpreparation time is given.
Ms. Nakagawa, the organizer of the debate association, came to our schoolwith some college students and ran a workshop, after she did the same withseveral other high schools in the Tokyo area. All such schools interested in thedebate got together in a tournament style, mainly to enjoy debating together at
Tokyo Metropolitan Nishi High School.
The topics they gave us on that day varied from the “boy meets girl” type of
topics to social issues. Perhaps we had a slight advantage already knowing about
the world Peace Keeping Operation, because it was the previous HEnDA debate
topic which marked the final topic of the day. We walked out with splendid result
as follows.
Team A: Roma Gorman and Keita Shirabe– 2nd place
Team B: Yuto Haba and Takuto Miyamae– 3rd place
Team C: Kohei Okamura, Hikaru Negishi, and Jacob Pedersen – 1st place
Exhibition debater: Yuto Haba
Best debater awards: Kohei Okamura and Roma Gorman(2) Osaka tournament
In Osaka, the topics required wider background knowledge, such as aboutnewspapers being exempted from the compensation tax increase. Some schools
said they learned Impromptu English Debate in their English classes, and thedebaters from such schools seemed to be more comfortable and confident intheir debating.
We thought it was a great idea to implement debate into our regular English
classes, and after talking to all the English teachers, they agreed! Next year, we
will do our best at even more debates and hopefully be able to participate ineven more championships!
III. ALT’s Comments
Allow me to focus my comments on the Public Forum Oita Tournament.
My job was to grasp the differences between HEnDA and Public Forum93debate. The main difference is that HEnDA only allows 2 impacts (reasons) for
support, while Public Forum has no limit. So during our only practice matches, I
paid careful attention to opponents’ arguments’ structures, as well as how
judges perceived them. Many arguments were broad, with multiple impacts withvaried focuses. Probability of occurrence was foregone to increase their impacts’values, because “more was better”. Students struggled to understand how toeffectively debate using multiple impacts, and judges struggled to understandthe arguments’ flows.
So, I proposed that we rethink our structure and make it easier tounderstand. Impacts would be treated just like evidence in the HEnDA format,
and all our impacts would be tied together via a common theme. This would
help judges follow our reasoning and logic. It also forced our opponents to focus
their arguments, increasing actual debate, and allowing us to restrict and predict
those attacks, prepare defenses, and reduce overall necessary preparation to a
manageable level. We needed to take what we already had learned from HEnDA,
and transform it to fit into Public Forum style so we could leverage our strengths,
instead of trying to start from scratch.
It was also fortunate that I had taken classes on AI in college. When ourstudents asked difficult questions, I had answers and could give themconfidently and clearly. This, in turn, gave our students confidence to challenge
and defeat opponents who thought the same as they once had. One of the mostimportant things when speaking English is confidence. I believe I was able toprovide students with confidence by equipping them with both a structure fordebate they could feel familiar with, as well as sufficient knowledge about the
topic. This confidence helped them appear to show a deeper understanding of
the topic than their opponents, which can win close matches. In debate, it’s notjust about what you say, but also how you present it.
I’m extremely proud of our students, because we must always rememberthat at the end of the day, they are ones debating. They earn those wins. Our job
is to support them and provide them with the ability to earn that win – if theywant it. This year, I’m proud to say our boys wanted it, and I was able to play asmall part in helping them earn it.

94

Tom's Tales************************************************************************************
2015/04/27
First Impressions
Dear Students,
First of all, for those of you who have not met me yet, my name is Tom Kilford. I
am a 22 year old Modern Languages (Spanish and German) graduate from
London and will be teaching here until the end of June. I will mostly be working
with Scott teaching the first grade but, if you are lucky, I may also go to otherclasses. My British English might sound slightly strange at first but please comeand talk to me, I do not bite! Please ask me any questions you have about
England, Whitgift School or just questions about me.
Although I have travelled to many countries and visited Asia before, this is myfirst time in Japan. Japan really is completely different to any other country I haveever been to, but this is what makes it so amazing. Even after just a few days
spent in Saitama and Tokyo I had my first impressions of the country. Delicious
food, crowded but clean streets, big cartoon characters everywhere, extremely
polite people, a love for crazy toilets – these were some of the first things I
noticed. The first Japanese toilet I saw automatically opened as I entered theroom… this does not happen in the UK so I was very shocked! I told my family
back in England and they also were amazed. Our toilets are so boring!
After a few days spent exploring Tokyo I headed for Urawa to meet the fellow
teachers and introduce myself. Mrs. Ogawa has been looking after me since day
one and made sure to help me get to Urako – I am very bad with directions!
Everyone was extremely friendly and polite, making me feel very welcome fromthe first day. I spoke with the Principal and Vice Principal and was given a tour ofthe school. Urako is nearly as big as my school in England, but very different. For
example, I can’t believe you play rugby and football on sand pitches. It must hurtvery much if you ever fall over.
So, what do I think about the students here at Urako? Are they polite? Are theyfriendly? Are they hard working? Do they occasionally sleep in class? The answer
to every question is yes!! I look forward to getting to know you all a bit better95

over the coming months, however if you sleep in my class, your head may justmake friends with my book!
Good luck with me!
Tom************************************************************************************
2015/05/11
New Places and Experiences
Dear students,
A couple of weeks ago I had two friends from England come to visit me.
Squeezing all three of us into my very small share house room was a bit of aproblem but we managed to do it - my bedroom was one giant futon for nearly
two weeks! My friends told me they came to Japan to see me, but I think they
just wanted to use me as a tour guide! I planned many activities for their trip, but
my favourite was a long weekend spent in Kyoto.
I have been in Japan over a month now and am getting used to the lively life ofTokyo, however I heard many good things about Kyoto and was keen to visit
myself. I spoke with Scott, did some research online and planned the trip. We
were very lucky as the weather was perfect throughout the whole weekend. We
got on the Shinkansen at Tokyo station and had a perfect view of Mount Fuji on
the way to Kyoto! The Shinkansen was a bit expensive but a great experience
nonetheless.
I did not know much about Kyoto before visiting, but it is now one of myfavourite cities in the world. I have never seen such a beautiful city with so muchto offer. I loved everything except the monkey park in Arashiyama. One of themonkeys looked evil and I thought he wanted to kill me!! My favourite temple in
Kyoto was probably the Silver Temple (Ginkakuchi). It is not as grand as theGolden Temple (Kinkakuchi) but the garden is beautiful and there are far lesstourists like me! At some temples Japanese people even asked to take photos
with me and my friends because we were Westerners. I felt famous!
96

The style and layout of Kyoto make it very different to Tokyo/Saitama and it
really is an interesting place to visit. We also went to Osaka for one night, which
was great. I tried okonomiyaki for the first time and really enjoyed it. I normally
have chocolate on my pancakes, not fish and vegetables! It was definitely a newexperience. Osaka is much more like London – very modern with bright lights
and full of people.
The second trip of the week was to Hakone. My friends wanted to go to an
onsen before going back to England. My friends loved the onsen so much thatthey stayed in there too long – I think they nearly cooked themselves!
Travelling is a great way of learning new things and meeting new people. It helps
you appreciate your own country and also see things from other peoples’
perspective. No two places are the same. If you ever get to travel around Japan,
or even abroad, please do. Maybe one day some of you will come to the UK and
we can go out for some fish and chips!
Tom************************************************************************************
2015/05/25
New Sights, New Sports
Dear Students,
Since last week I have had quite an adventure. As some of you might have seen, I
attempted to play soft ball last Friday, which I’m sure was very funny to watch. I
was able to hit the ball quite well, but, as we don’t have baseball or softball in
England, I had no idea when to stop running. It was still good fun, even if I
couldn’t completely understand! I apologise to my team mates for my mistakes –I am English!
Mrs. Ogawa kindly offered to take me on a trip to Nikko on the weekend to showme some of the famous temples and natural landmarks. Before this we went to agreat Izakaya in Urawa – Japanese food is delicious and I love everything except
natto! I was very inquisitive (curious) throughout the trip and asked about one
million questions about the temples and the Shogun in Japan, so I’m sure Mrs.
97

Ogawa was glad when we got home!!
On Tuesday this week I turned 23 (still young!) and spent my birthday at thesumo wrestling in Tokyo. I was amazed by the experience and am now
considering becoming a sumo myself... Only joking! I went to the tournament
with other foreigners and cheered for my favourite sumos. I could not believethat one weighed 207KG – he was enormous. That’s three of me!! What do they
eat!? The event was very exciting and the Grand Champion was overthrown (helost) at the end. Everyone cheered and started throwing their cushions towards
the centre of the stage.
So I have now experienced baseball, softball and sumo. Next week – judo… At
this rate I might even become Japanese!
I know that some of the students are thinking about applying to study at
Whitgift, so next week I will talk a bit about the school, what makes it so special
and why I decided to go there. It’s a great school so please apply!
Tom************************************************************************************
2015/06/04
Whitgift School
Dear Students,
When I was 10 years old I was faced with a very difficult decision – I was due toleave my primary (elementary) school and had to choose where to spend thenext 8 years of my life. I was accepted into two private secondary schools (highschools); Trinity and Whitgift. Both schools were founded by the Archbishop of
Canterbury John Whitgift in the 17th Century. Trinity is a very good school andcloser to my home, but there was really only one choice; I knew where I wanted
to go! So in September 2002 I became a 10 year old Whitgift student with abackpack bigger than my body. I was scared but very excited.
I chose to go to Whitgift for a number of reasons. The school itself is very
impressive. It is a very big school with both modern and traditional aspects, the98facilities are amazing and there are even some strange animals walking around!
Whilst I was at the school they built a brand new multi million sports hall with astate of the art gym and swimming pool, they have also since built a boarding
house for students, where Urako students will live. Like at Urako, there are manyclubs for students to join. Whether you like sports, drama or music, there issomething for you. I played rugby and hockey at Whitgift and had a great time.
One of the main reasons I chose to go to Whitgift was the languages department.
Whitgift is an excellent school for languages, offering French, German, Spanish,
Italian, Japanese and Chinese as subjects. I was fascinated by Japanese and knew
I wanted to study it – it is thanks to Whitgift that I am here now! I studied
German, Spanish and Japanese and later went on to study German and Spanishat university. Since then I have lived in 5 countries, including Japan.
Going to Whitgift was one of the best decisions of my life. I have many
unforgettable memories and great friends thanks to my time there. I really
recommend studying at Whitgift School and would be happy to answer any
questions you have about the school or my time there. Just come and find me!
Tom************************************************************************************
2015/06/17
Victory
Dear Students,
This week I am writing about the success of you Urako students and will beconcentrating on the recent efforts of two students in particular. One thing I
noticed straight away when arriving in Japan was the fantastic work ethic of thestudents. I admire not only how hard you work at school but also how you
commit yourselves to your clubs nearly every day of the week. It doesn’t matter
whether you are in the soccer team, attend the photography club, or if you arepreparing for a school festival, you all give it your best. This is maybe why someof you are so tired in my classes! Some of the sports festival events were crazy
but still impressive and I enjoyed the effort you all put in.
99

This exceptional level of hard work does not go unrewarded. Two second year
students Roma Gorman and Yuto Haba recently entered the NFL (National
Forensic League) English Debate competition. The topic of the debate wasartificial intelligence (AI). Mrs. Ogawa and I met up with the boys to discuss theirideas on the topic and I was very impressed. They did their research, practiced
with Scott and Mrs. Ogawa, and attended the competition last weekend. Thisdebate on artificial intelligence (robots) was not easy but the two boys preparedvery well and their efforts paid off. After 4 successive wins the boys werecrowned victors! 28 teams from various schools took place in the competition in
Oita, and it was the Urako pair who got the most points.
Both Roma and Yuto will now travel to the United States next year to participate
in a further competition in Salt Lake City. Fantastic news! Please congratulate theboys if you see them at school. They may even bring back some souvenirs! Bestof luck boys, I’m sure you will do great.
Tom************************************************************************************
2015/06/29

Challenges

Dear Students,
I’m afraid I tried to post this last week but must have pressed the wrong button
as it did not go online! Now you have two posts to read :)Last week I talked about the success of Urako students. This week I want to talkabout some of the challenges Urako students have faced and will face in the
future.
The first boy I would like to talk about is Jun Takeuchi. Jun has been chosen as
the next Urako student to study at Whitgift School (my school in England). Jun
has chosen to study the IB (International Baccalaureate) and will spend 2 years
studying 6 subjects in England. Moving to a foreign country on your own can bedifficult and quite scary but I know Jun will be fine and have a great time. He will
live in the new boarding house at Whitgift School and hopefully play football –100

but only if his shoulder is ok! Whitgift is a great school and he will return
speaking beautiful British English!
The second student moving abroad is Jinpachi Masuda, who is taking part in the
AIU program this summer. He will be spending 3 weeks travelling to various
campuses on the East Coast of America, attending various lectures and classes.
He will even visit the Security of Defense, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, theUN and IMF, among other sites. Other students from Urako and Saitama will also
travel to the United States at a later date.
A student travelling to Japan is Dominic Oben. Some of you may have met
Dominic during the exchange program with Whitgift. Dominic will be spending
the next year studying at Urako. Please help him settle in and make sure helearns how to speak perfect Japanese!
The last student I want to mention is Sergey Khvan. Sergey has done incredibly
well during his time in Japan and is a true linguist. The amount he has learnt in
his short time here is outstanding. Sergey is now looking to study in England or
America and is preparing his applications for university. I know that he will be
successful wherever he goes… but he will have more fun in England! Good luck
Sergey.
There are plenty of other Urako students heading to Whitgift and Michigan
University for summer courses and I’m sure they will all have a great time. I wish
all of you the best of luck. Enjoy yourselves!
Tom

101

102

Report 3
Reiwa Seminars

Many of our educational activities have been strengthened in terms ofeducating global leaders thanks to the SGH program.
Reiwa Seminars have been held by inviting five or six members a year
out of our 30,000 graduates, aiming to provide the students with opportunities
to have a broader perspective and deeper insight. After the designation as an
SGH, these seminars have been one of the biggest and strongest programs of
our SGH program.
In this report, you can learn that our school has a long history ofnurturing global leaders with great success, and that we are supported by these
global leaders so current students can get interested in social issues, gain a goodeducation, have international viewpoints, and prepare for becoming future
global leader.
103

Reiwa Seminar************************************************************************************
Title: A Vocalist who sings Abroad
Lecturer: Chikusa TOMITA (a 19th graduate, a baritone singer)
Date: May 26, 2014
Summary of the lecture
The first Reiwa Seminar of fiscal 2014 was held on May 26. The lecturer
was Chikusa Tomita, a baritone singer living in Vienna.
He started with a solo of a Canzone “Non Ti Scordar Di Me‬” (Don’t
Forget Me). The students were overwhelmed by and wholly engrossed inlistening to the powerful singing voice of the baritone singer.
First, he talked about his Urawa High School’ days. He said he didn’t
intend to become a musician at that time. He chose craft skills for the art subject,
and wanted to be taught by Mr. Masuda, a Living National Treasure. He bought a
guitar. He sang and played folk songs. He loved Peter, Paul and Mary, and would
often listen to their songs. He went to the concert in Sinjuku Welfare Pension
Hall and overwhelmed by first-hand experience of hearing the powerful singing
voice, which inspired him to sing like them. Accordingly, he went to a teacher ofclassic vocalization, and began to learn about it. As he kept practicing there, hecame to want to become a musician. Then he started to aim at music universities.
That was when he was on the third-year student. But there was one problem. The
problem was that he had to play the piano with prepared programs in theentrance examinations for colleges of music. Even the easiest piece was a sonata
by Beethoven. Not having taken any piano lessons, he arranged a plan to learn
the piano for two years from when he was a third-year student.
He studied at a college of music and graduated with excellent grades. He
was selected as the player for the Emperor and the Empress at the Imperial
Palace. Although he had decided to become a teacher after graduation, he
studied in Vienna for a year with his mother’s permission. The fact that he had
been interested in German Lied and studying Germany at college helped him alot. He said to the students in his lecture that nothing is more important thanlanguage skills when you study abroad, and you have to acquire English skills atleast.
He went to Germany on May, and unexpectedly passed the examinationof University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. He said to his mother that hehad passed the exam and he couldn’t go home for a while. Then she disowned
104

him. He became unable to get living expenses from her and had to do apart-time job to continue studying music.
After graduation, he started to work as a singer at theaters. There are
120 theaters in Germany. Musicians who work at theaters are public servants andare treated well. The country secures enough budgets for the arts. That’s
because European people are more aware of protecting their own traditions. The
main role of colleges of music is to cultivate professionals who work at theaters,
which is different from Japan.
Second, he talked about vocalization. He said it is no good way to mimic
famous singers. Vocalization differs person to person, and your voice is one andonly voice in the world. He has pursued the way to make 100-percent use of thepitch extent, volume, and ring of his voice, which he was born with.
Thankfully he taught method of diaphragmatic breathing and otherthings to students. Since many of glee-club members participated, they had achance to sing in front of him and got some guidance and advice from him
firsthand.
He said to the members of the glee club, “I want you to cherish the ring
matching your voice. You don’t sing a song only for competitions. The results ofcompetitions depend more or less on the tastes of judges. You should aim foryour own goals.”
He strongly said that he wanted Japanese young people to produce
music which matches Japanese cultural climate. Arias by Mozart or Beethoven
are composed in harmony with singers around them. Therefore these songs
don’t correspond to Japanese climate. In Europe, the music traditions originate
from its own climate. On the other hand, Japanese music traditions were broughtfrom Europe after Meiji Era. Even then, you don’t have to sing like Europeans.
Japan has its own great values. He said we Japanese shouldn’t break theJapanese values by mimicking Europeans.
Last, he showed us the townscape of Vienna, where he lives in. He sang asong at a theater in the Schönbrunn Palace of Habsburg monarch for the firsttime in Vienna. He got an audition at the Vienna State Opera and became a
research student there, where he worked with Karajan and Bernstein. He said tothe students, “I’ll be happy if you visit Vienna some day.”
After questions and answers, everyone sang the school song. We felt
how attractive going abroad is and how fantastic singing is in the two-hour
lecture.
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************************************************************************************
Title: Brain Surgery and Brain Chemistry
Lecturer: Hiroyuki KAMIGUCHI (a 35th graduate, the Senior Team Leader ofRiken Brain Science Institute)
Date: June 25, 2014
Summary of the lecture
The second Reiwa Seminar of fiscal 2014 was held on June 25. The
lecturer was Hiroyuki Kamiguch, the Senior Team Leader of Riken Brain Science
Institute. More than 50 students participatedFirst, he talked about brain surgery. Subarachnoid hemorrhage is caused
by cerebral aneurysm rupture. One treatment is to clip ruptured vessel, but you
have to go through the crevice in order not to damage the brain. Then he talked
about brain tumors. Although meningioma is removable with surgery, glioma isunable to be removed with surgery. That is because meningioma arising fromthe meninges, while glioma is made inside the brain. As you can see from this,we cannot reach out to the important area of the brain. Brain surgery is surgicaltreatment to vessels or membranes of the brain. It is impossible to reconstruct
the important areas or the brain itself.
The attraction of neurosurgery is that the target is the brain, the nature of humanbeings. There are various medical conditions and special aspects of surgery.
Function reconstruction of the central nervous system is difficult, but there is a
future possibility, which attracts us.
You may think that we can reconstruct neurons with stem cells (ES cells,
iPS cells). Nevertheless, it’s useless to replenish cells when it comes to the brain.
Once a nerve circuit is broken, you cannot reconstruct it by replenishing cells.
Even if nerve circuit is broken, an axon starts to grow, which is however blocked
by injured area. Why does this happen? To learn why this happens, we have toinvestigate how the growth corn of an axon, which is located at the tip of anaxon, goes forward.
The growth corn goes forward just as a caterpillar band go around. The
axon goes forward and grows just like the way an ameba moves.
There is a phenomenon called dystrophic endball: a neuron circuit which isdamaged and broken, becoming unable to grow straight and ending up curingin the shape of a pole. What makes this happen? That is because glial scars arisein the injured area, which make growth corns unable to go over theconcentration gradient of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan. A growth corn,
106which moves like a caterpillar band, becomes unable to move as its clutch, as it
were, is fastened. By conducting experiments of injecting various chemical
agents into a growth corn with its clutch fastened, it has finally become able togo over the concentration gradient. This is the result of the chemical agent’s
affecting paxillin, a clutch molecule so that it phosphorylates. Phosphoric acid
paxillin enables an axon to extend.
An axon has not only to go over the injured area but also to be induced
appropriately. Inducement of axons’ extension relies on the concentration
gradient of NGF (nerve growth factor). The fact that the concentration gradientof NGF curls the movements of a growth corn indicates that the condition inside
the growth corn is asymmetrical. The situation is that IP3, which conveys theinformation of NGF, acts inside the growth corn, making the condition of calcium
ion asymmetrical. Uneven distribution of the IP3’s action makes it possible tosteer the growth corn.
Second, he talked about basic medicine and clinical medicine. Basic
medicine is “the creation for the future” and clinical medicine is “the service
activity at present”. No matter which path you choose, it’s important to proceed
in the path that interests you.
Study on basic medicine requires “curiosity”, “originality”, and “logicality”.
Originality is produced by “unique ideas”, “technological development”, and“integration of different fields”. For instance, one example of technologicaldevelopment is to invent a device to detect substances which were undetectablein the past. Research on such device can easily be original. Integration ofdifferent fields is to integrate the expertise of each field in the interdisciplinary
field of various academic fields, and the integration makes it possible to invent
new things. Getting unique ideas is the most difficult of the three. It is to make a
mew discovery in the fields in which people around the world are interested byoverthrowing the conventional wisdom
Today many people become a clinician. In the past five-ten out of 100
research students went on to basic medicine. There are less and less researchers
on basic medicine because many of graduates from universities have to work as
clinical training physicians, going on to clinicians accordingly. The current clinicalmedicine relies on basic medicine. There are no problems in particular for now,
but we cannot be sure whether clinical medicine will be able to rely on basic
medicine. Basic medicine is an important field in terms of developing clinicalmedicine.
107

Last, we did question-and-answer session. When asked what his
motivation for research was, he answered that it was challenge to the unknown.
He said, “I want to discover things known to nobody by myself. Combination of
new discoveries will lead to the treatment of intractable diseases.
************************************************************************************
Title: Listen to Your Heart
Lecturer: Mitsuru MURAI (a 30th graduate, the chairperson of J. League)
Date: September 29, 2014
Summary of the lecture
The third Reiwa Seminar of fiscal 2014 was held on September 29. The
lecturer was Mitsuru Murai, the chairperson of J. League. More than 60 students
participated.
1. Urawa High School Days and Falling in Love with a GirlHe was born in Kawagoe, and belonged to the basketball club at juniorhigh school. He become interested in playing soccer under the influence of“Akakichi no Eleven” and wanted to play soccer in Urawa High School. He joined
the soccer club as a goalkeeper though he couldn’t do soccer-ball juggling eventen times. Although he became a regular player in the second year, he wasjudged as misconduct when he touched the ball outside the penalty area in agame,
At that time there was a bus stop of Urawa Akenohoshi Girls’ Senior HighSchool in the west side of Kita-Urawa Station, and in the course of looking at thehigh school’s girls going to school, he came across the soul mate. The girl he wasstaring at for one year has turned out to be his current wife. His school grade
was 403rd in 405 students in those days.
2. Adventurous Days in Waseda University
Since he had been planning to enter a national university, he had
difficulty getting used to the life in Waseda. It was the aftermath of the Cultural
Revolution and he was also influenced by the NHK special TV program “Silk
Road”, so he decided to travel across China, which is about 6,000-kimometer
long. He did various things such as visiting the companies where graduates ofWaseda were working and making presentations there, eventually gathering
millions of yen. He was overwhelmed by the ability of the true elite at Peking
University including Japanese proficiency. The farewell greeting was “Let’s meetat the Great Hall of the People”. From the experiences in China, he found that he108

could earn a lot of money by doing things ordinary people did.
He decided to do unparalleled things. He didn’t buy the compendium of lawseven though he enrolled in the faculty of law.
3. Difficult Time in Recruit
He entered the company; in the meantime, Recruit scandal occurred. The
image of the company became worse and it was in the aftermath of theeconomic bubble burst. These factors put the company in financial crisis. He
tried to turn around the company as a human resource officer. In spite of thesituation that the company was not trusted at all, financially bad, and losing its
main business (magazine media), it didn’t go bankrupt. You can attribute this tothe human resources. In 1995, when it was said that print media would disappear
ten years later, he tried to have a connection with companies that stood for theInternet even it was abroad and he let his workers get on-the-job training there.
If you have ambitions, ideas, and gathered mates in earnest, your company won’t
go bankrupt. “To have your own opinion or not” is an important question. He
hired those who had their own opinions.
4. Challenging Career in J. League
He was involved in the reemployment of retired J. League player.
Because of this connection, he became an outside executive director of J. League
in 2008. Meanwhile, he was asked to become the chairperson by the thenchairperson, My Ohigashi. Since he was getting excited, he agreed on the spot.
He has learned in his life that those who are serious about their life get excitedwhen making an important decision. When you are excited, you should choose
the one that makes you more nervous. That way you can grow enormously.
Right after he became the chairperson, the JAPANESE ONLY affair
occurred. He learned the affair on March 9 and four days later, he announced
that the next game is forced to be behind closed doors. He was able to decideon the spot because he had the principle of J. League. J. League is based on
three fair actions (on the pitch, socially, and financially) and open-mindedness(we accept anything such as men and women of all ages, the challenged, andforeigners.)
Currently he is launching various efforts such as three promises with the
manager of each team, digital tracking, maintenance of football stadiums,
arranging the nurturing system, expansion to other Asian countries.
Although maintaining football stadiums seems an inordinate desire, he isactive enough to visit the mayor, the governor and other key persons to talk109

about the vitalization of the town. You must not give up from the beginning andshould take action. When you nurture players, communication skills arenecessary as well as soccer skills. Players have to watch your fellow players
carefully, communicate with them, and fight in a game, building a consensus
among them. For that, they have much to learn outside the pitch in their daily
lives.
I think money in Asia is often taken to Europe in the world-wide
perspective. There are about 400 Class S coaches, who can become a coach ofteams in the J. League or the national team. I want to educate younger players inAsia and introduce them to the J. League by using Class S coaches. My dream is
to make the movements of fund in Asia more active.
************************************************************************************
Title: Who is in Great Demand?
Lecturer: Minoru NAKAZATO (a 26th graduate, a professor at the University ofTokyo, the chairman of the Gov.’s tax system study council)
Date: October 27, 2014
Summary of the Lecture
The fourth Reiwa Seminar of fiscal 2014 was held on October 27. The
lecturer was Minoru Nakazato, the chairman of the Gov.’s tax system study
council. More than 80 students participated.
First, he talked about the history of study. At universities in the Medieval
Europe, departments of “laws”, “medicine”, and “theology” were places to train
specialists. Also, currently law and medicine are practical learning, and those whohave studied them is likely to work as a specialist. In the medieval period, thedepartment of philosophy was a place to train teachers. Those who studied
philosophy became a private teacher of the nobility. Currently if you studied
philosophy, the most eminent occupation you get is a professor at universities. It
is difficult for you to make your living by doing your own business withphilosophy. In the same way, you can enjoy exploring into physics or math, but it
is hard for you to make them your profession.
When considering your job, you have to consider whether you can earn
your living, whether you like it or not, and whether you can contribute to thesociety. It is not easy to find a job that satisfies all these factors. So you should
prepare carefully from your earlier years in order to find one.
Although it is good for you to follow your heart and try to become a110mathematician, it’s necessary to have viewpoints of whether you can makemoney and whether you can contribute to the society. Unemployed PhD holdersof science are in a harsh condition. Even some of PhD holders can’t get a job. In
the course of arts, there are quite a few cases that 40-year PhD holders can’t finda job. Even an excellent person is forced to earn money and give up on theirgoals.
You should also know the fun of working in the society. Mr. Kimura, thechairman of Mitsubishi Estate is quite a successful person in the alumnus of
Urawa High School students. Mitsubishi Estate has the entire land of Otemachi.
He can do exciting things as a job. He can lead a thrilling life by using his skills.
Working as an official and working for a company are both interesting.
Affluence means you have various paths to choose. If you study in thecourse of arts, you can choose from many kinds of jobs. In particular, studying
laws help you get various kinds of jobs. You have many choices other than the
University of Tokyo. For example, Hitotsubashi University, Keio University,
Waseda University, Chuo University, and many other universities have their own
advantages. There are paths for low-achievers as well as paths for high-achievers,
if you are eager to find one. To play an active role in the society, you have tochoose an appropriate path. I want you to choose carefully and live successfully.
He also talked about the significance of studying abroad. Of course his
English was improved, but English is simply a tool. He said he had broadened his
perspectives by studying abroad. Before studying abroad, he was always thinking
his ranking in school and which university to choose. He’s got many otherimportant viewpoints..
He studied at Harvard Law School and was invited to UCLA one year later.
He became a visiting scholar in his early 30s. It was a great experience for him togain confidence.
He said to the students, “You should study abroad whenever you can.
Skills in reading and writing are more important than skills in speaking andlistening. Ability to read and write is required, especially when you study abroad.
That’s because you have to read enormous amount of text.”
Last, he talked on who is in great demand in the society. First andforemost, it’s important to have a wide variety of knowledge. Studying science at
Urawa High School helped him a lot. When he studied economics at theuniversity, knowledge of math and science was useful for him. So it is important
to study something even if it seems useless for now. That way you can enrich111

your culture.
Body strength is also important. He remembers running in the Koga
Marathon vividly. What you can depend on in a harsh condition is your oldmemories. Katsu Kaishu got over the difficult time at the end of the Edo period
when he was in danger of being killed. The reason for this is that he had amemory of being loved by his father as a child. In this case his father’s love gave
him the hope for the future. In Mr. Nakazato’s case, the memory of running in
the Koga Marathon has supported him.
He spent three years at Urawa High School doing various things andachieving mastery of them. He is proud of such alma mater. It’s not the pride inbeing good at studying. Some students do only necessary things for the exam.
He thinks pursuing efficiency is not good, and such students are likely to ruinthemselves.
In question and answer session, students asked him questions about
their future. When asked about how to develop a network of contacts, headvised the students to have contact with affable people. Amiable, credible men
are of course likely to be successful. He continued answering to students’questions one hour after the seminar.
************************************************************************************
Title: Seeking after the Dark Mater in Space
Lecturer: Shingo KAZAMA (a 56th graduate, a research scientist at the HighEnergy Accelerator Organization)
Date: December 26, 2014
Summary of the Lecture
The fifth Reiwa Seminar of fiscal 2014 was held on November 26. The
lecturer was Shingo Kazama, a researcher at the High Energy Accelerator
Organization. More than 60 students participated.
What is space composed of? Water is separated into oxygen andhydrogen. They can be separated into nucleuses and electrons. A nucleus iscomposed of neutrons and protons. They are also made of quarks. In this way, asubstance is made of various elementary particles.
These particles need to be connected. “Forces” are also produced by theinteractions of elementary particles. For example, photons are particles that carryelectromagnetic force. Gluons are the strong force between quarks, acting as
glue that produces neutrons and protons. Weak bosons are the weak force
112acting on the reaction of nucleus, changing the type of particles. Graviton is aparticle that transmits the gravity, which is yet to be discovered.
Elementary particles composing a substance and elementary particles as mediaof their forces form the basis of “Standard Model” in theoretical particle physics.
When Higgs boson was discovered in 2012, which has become popular thanks to
the Nobel Prize, he also examined the particle as a researcher around the clock,checking whether it was genuine in every way possible
Space is composed of 72 percent of dark energy, 23 percent of dark
matter, and 5 percent of ordinary matter. “Dark” means being imperceptive withlight. Thus humans know only five percent of the space.
Why do you understand things we cannot see? This is because ofindirect evidence. We can take “cluster of galaxies” for example. We cannot
explain the mass that maintain it only with the visible mass. Therefore we canpresume invisible mass. “Revolving speed of galaxies” is a similar example. The
big difference between the prediction and the observation implies the existenceof dark matter. Also we cannot explain the large-scale structure of space without
dark matter. We can suppose that the gravity of dark matter has produced stars,
formed the galaxies, and created human beings.
His goal is to shed light on dark matter, which we know indirectly. How
should we search dark matter? One method is to measure mutual reaction ofdark matter and ordinary matter. We are measuring it from “Kamiokannde”,
which was built deep under the ground to prevent the influence of cosmic ray, orobserving it in space in order to receive signals, which are decreased in theatmosphere. Another method is to produce dark material by ourselves. It is
probably feasible with a particle accelerator. An accelerator is a machine toaccelerate and make particles collide one another, examining how they aredamaged. LHC, the biggest accelerator in the world, is 27 kilometers around,almost as long as the Yamanote line. It can accelerate the speed of protons to
99,999997 percent of the speed of light. The size of its detector is 22 meters × 44
meters. It has about 1 readout channels. It is hard to control such a big machineaccurately.
Making protons collide one another produces dark material. We havedata of over two quadrillion collisions in the LHC so far. We have to look for
information of dark material from the data. This is the origin of big data analysis.
There sometimes appear unbalanced phenomena, which are against theconservation law of energy. These cases are the evidence that dark material,
113which has weak reaction with the detector, has been produced. We are seeking
for such cases in big data.
At the beginning of experiments in JHC, it was believed that they would
soon identify dark matter. However, we haven’t even understood part of its
existence. Dark matter is perhaps something that everyone has never thought of.
Thus anyone has a chance to find it. Prestigious professors, novice researchers,
and students are all standing at the same start line. This is an interesting point.
He is always considering how to make the discovery. He is often asked howelementary particle physics contribute to our society. Adventurers climb themountain because a mountain is there.
This idea holds true for my case. Pure curiosity is the motive of my research work.
He thinks he was not an outstanding student in his school days. He got
interested in physics thanks to a teacher when he met while he was studying at a
preparatory school. Physics is based on calculus. Newtonian Equation of motion,
the law of conservation of momentum, and the principle of conservation of
mechanical energy are equivalent, but he came to distinguish principles frommathematically obvious facts, which made his understanding clear. That was his
starting point for learning physics.
It is important to study hard during your undergraduate years to
become a researcher. Finding a friend to study with is a key factor when you are
an undergraduate. If you go on to the graduate school, it is important to study
under leading researchers of a field. The University of Tokyo is a absolutely
wonderful place. When he was an undergraduate, he tried hard to find a friend
to study with. In the University of Tokyo, there were many hard workers.
Doing research requires hard work, especially patience rather than talent.
While distinguished talent is needed to be a theorist, such talent isn’t needed to
be a researcher. Researchers need to have good communication skills because
they have lots of opportunities to make presentations both domestically andinternationally.
He has a desire to know the basic structure of the world. He wants tofind something any theorists haven’t even come up with. He is seeking for dark
matter as a physicist. He wants the students to find what interests them. He
wants them to start something they want to do, not being limited by studying at
school. This will help you consider what you really want do in your life.

114

Summary of Activities

This chapter includes materials which explain our SGH program. ”Super
Global High School Program” is a briefing summary of our SGH program, whichis posted on our school website. “Super Global High School News vol.3” is anarticle in which a student interviewed the principal about our SGH program. It
clearly shows what our principal thinks about our SGH program.
“School Year Reports and Plans of SGH (International Exchange)”
includes reports and plans on our foreign exchange programs. “The Schedule ofIntegrated Study for Year 2” contains material of a staff meeting, which may help
you understand how we are sharing information and promoting our SGH
program. “New Ideas for Advisory Groups as a SGH” is more material from a staff
meeting, which shows how the activities of advisory groups have been changing
in our SGH program． ”Minutes from the 5th SGH Committee Meeting” is anexcerpt from the minutes of a meeting of the Research and Development Boardof SGH, which shows how our SGH committee members at school are promoting
our SGH program. It will help you get a better idea of how the teachers are
discussing and arranging projects at school.
“Notes from the Management and Guidance Committee” is the minutes
from meetings of the Management and Guidance Committee, which show theadvice from the committee and how we have reacted to them.
”Overview of Conceptual Plans of Super Global High Schools for the2014 School Year” is a document every super global high school in Japan wrote,
under the order from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology.
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Super Global High School Program
Program Goal:
Educating and nurturing global leaders who will positively influence
the world wherever they are through innovation and compassion.
Program Explanation:
We believe successful leaders in today’s global environment must be
both strong and compassionate. Globalization has led to intensecompetition, requiring strength of mind, body, and ethics from ourchildren. This has also led to a general increase in income disparity. In
order to combat said disparity, our global leaders will be expected towork efficiently and compassionately.
There is a proverb that says if you try to chase 2 hares at the sametime, you will catch neither due to your divided attention; however, we
believe with the right strategy you can. Our students find inspiration in our
school’s slogan: “Run after at least three hares”. If you want to realize
your goal, you must aim even further than your intended mark. Thus,
aiming for three hares will, one day, result in catching two. Urawa HighSchool students study hard and support one another, growing beyond
their preconceived limits. Together they believe they can reach evenfurther. Our goal is for them to become the world’s first-choicecandidates in whatever field they pursue.
Innovation will be the lifeline for the future of Japan and the world.
When Steve Jobs said, "Think different", he was not telling us to seek
different answers or settle for less when things become difficult, but topursue worthwhile answers by finding new routes to them.
In today’s world, where big changes are happening every day,people can only survive by creating new, inventive products andbusiness models with no preexisting frameworks. However, as before,
future leaders should be nurtured to unite humankind and reduce thosedifferences which encourage unfair treatment through creating newconcepts which transcend traditional concepts of freedom and equality.
116

Defining a Super Global High School:
What does becoming a Super Global High School mean? What does
it look like? We are defining a “Super Global High School” as a school
which not only offers students the basic opportunities all schools do, butalso additional chances to test, mature, and refine their leadership skills inboth local and global contexts through various opportunities. To achievethis, Urawa High School has two areas of concentration for its SGH
Program:
1. International Exchange
Urawa High School has a rich track record of international exchange.
For example, we have a sister school relationship with Whitgift School in
the UK and send over 20 students every school year on short term
exchange trips.
There are many other opportunities for Urawa High School students tostudy abroad, such as the Michigan Math and Science Scholars summer
enrichment programs, the MIT program, and Harvard program. Throughour SGH program, we aim to send more and more students to foreigncountries and broaden our educational activities for the development of
global leaders.
2. Research in Advisory Groups
Urawa High School has a tradition of outstanding attainment thanks
to our Period for Integrated Studies, or Advisory Groups. These groups giveour students the freedom to explore anything they desire and then handin a paper with their formulated answer.
Our SGH program uses this research time specifically to cultivate
global leaders. This is accomplished through asking students to focus theirpapers on one of 3 primary categories: how it relates to the enrichment ofsociety, how it produces a sustainable global environment, or how it
reflects the universal values of humanity.

117Super Global High school News vol.3

Date of Issue: March 19, 2015
KAJIYAMA Yukihiro(21R)

Hello, everyone. This is the third issue of “Super Global High school
News”, which is the public relations magazine of the 2nd-grade advisory group“SGH PR Unit”. We hope you can read this and learn more about Urawa HighSchool’s efforts.
We were fortunate enough to interview Mr. Sugiyama, the principal of
our school the other day. In this article, you can learn what he thinks Urawa HighSchool hopes to achieve as an SGH: future activities, motives of application, andso on.
Date of Interview: March 13, 2015
Q1. Why did you apply for SGH?
A. I have three reasons.
First, we aim to equip Urawa High School students to become global
leaders. Students should always try to overcome the difficulties they face. With
this in mind I want our students, who are expected to play an important role in
the world, to strengthen themselves by nurturing more global views andinteracting with various kinds of people.
Second, we want to share our approach to education with the world.
There are 56 high schools designated as SGHs in Japan, and we want to share
our approach with these other schools. Also, the designation as an SGH has
increased the number of visitors to our school. I believe transmitting theapproach of our school’s all-around education to others will have a positiveeffect on the future direction of education in Japan.
Third, I think being an SGH will augment the education of our school. If
you already think that your education is satisfactory, there is little room for
improvement. From now on, by receiving feedback from other SGH schools, wewill be able to enhance the education of Urawa High School.

Q2. Please describe the goals of SGH.
A. The research and development project of Urawa High School is “Educating
and nurturing global leaders who will positively influence the world wherever118

they are through innovation and compassion”.
The typical example is our class period for Integrated Studies or Advisory
Groups in year two. Every student joins this project, which leads to moreadvanced study. In addition, we are going to invite more specialists with moneyfrom a grant and even more students will be exposed to the real deal ascompared to this year, when there are few such cases.
Another example is our exchanges with Whitgift School and the
University of Michigan. Although only selected students join these programs fornow, by using a grant, more students will be able to participate, which willdefinitely be a precious experience for students. Additionally, our alumni
association has established the “Scholarship Fund for the Public Benefit”. I hope
this is beneficial to the people involved.
We are also cooperating with the University of Tokyo, the Boeing
Company in the U.S., and many other organizations around the world.

Q3. How are Urawa High School students expected to change with thedesignation as an SGH?
A. I want the students to use every single chance to step outside of school, suchas going abroad, whether for a short time or for a long time, with great ambition
and wider views.
Through the inspiration and motivation they get from various people,
including professionals, the students are able to develop the toughness andcompassion they have been cultivating at Urawa High School into excellence as a
global leader.
Our school has to evolve into being a globally recognized high school. I
hope students will become individuals who contribute to the prosperity andpeace not only in Japan, but also in the world, which is facing many serious
problems.

Thank you very much for making time in your busy schedule!

119

School Year 2014-2015 Reports and Plans of SGH (International Exchange)
1. Sister School Developments(1) Results of the principal’s visit
 Strengthened the relationship with Whitgift School Possible plans for cooperation with the University of London and the
University of Cambridge(2) Plans for an assistant teacher (school year 2014) and international exchange
advisor (school year 2015)
 Whitgift School helped in selecting candidates to become an advisor
School Year 2015, April - July, Tom Kilford(3) Two year study abroad program, one student each, includes one year after
graduating from Urawa High School
School Year 2013 - 2015
School Year 2014 - 2016
School Year 2015 - 2017(4) Short-term programs as an SGH
School Year 2014 (spring 2015), first group as an SGH (seven students)
Study theme: “Comparison of Railways in the U.K. and Japan, and Public
Transportation of the Future”
1. Hitachi Exports High Speed Railway, Example of Japan’s Strength inTechnology
2. U.K. Exports Its Railway
3. Train Electrification in Development of British railway system
School Year 2015 (spring 2016) second group with SGH (about twenty
students)
Study theme: “Contributions of Japanese in the International Organization:
WHO”(We met with Mr. Onozaki, an alumnus of Urawa High School lastNovember.)120

(5) Summer Seminar
New project with Whitgift School for School Year 2015 (have sent 8 year one
students)(6) Acceptance of short term foreign students
School Year 2014: 20 students; Saitama Television made DVD
2. Summer Seminar in the U.S.
School Year 2014: Sent 3 students to the summer school at the University ofMichigan.
School Year 2015: Will send 6 year two students.
3. AFS Intercultural Programs
One student came from Uzbekistan (Sept. 2013 - July 2014)
One student went to San Luis Portosi, Mexico (August, 2014―)
4. Improvement of English Proficiency
 Parliamentary English debate (Exchange Program of metropolitan
schools in “English Expression”class)

Academic debate (advisory groups, club activities)
Writing a thesis in English (advisory groups, SGH short-term dispatch
training)
English presentations (The Boeing Higher Education Program, SGH
short-term dispatch training)
Movies made in English during “English Expression” class121

School Year 2015-2016 Reports and Plans of SGH (International Exchange)
1. Expanding projects with our sister school(1) New advisor of International Interaction (April 7 ― June 31)
New advisor of International Interaction: Tom Kilford
Duty: Assistance of English education and teaching foreign students,
articles on the school website(2) New Whitgift Summer Program
July 19 ― August 2: Four year two students participated
July 26 ― August 9: Four year two students participated
Activities: Students participated in the Whitgift Summer School. They
lived in a dormitory with students from Asia or Europe, learning English
and interacting with them.
(3) New reports from Short-term program (students of the Railway Club andPhotography Club)
September 12 and 13: Exhibition and Presentation at School Festival(4) New reports from Short-term program
School year 2013 – 2015 Student Mitsuharu Harada, is at Cambridge
University (IB score 44/45)
School year 2014 – 2016 Student Yuki Hayashi, who received second
place in NFLJ National Tournament, and proceeded to the American
tournament
School year 2015 – 2017 Student Jun Takeuchi, currently at Whitgift
School year 2016 – 2018 screening process occurs in November
2. Foreign students at Urawa High School(1) AFS Program
September, 2014 – July, 2015 (Uzbekistan)(2) Rotary Program
September, 2015 – July, 2016 (Denmark)(3) Sister School Exchange October, 2015 – June, 2016 (Whitgift, UK)
3. Expanding short-term programs (Plan) Spring, 2016: students on the SGH project will study and visit the WHO
in Switzerland after their home stay in the UK Summer, 2016: The Summer Program at the University of Michigan and
Whitgift School Spring, 2017: Urawa High School athletic club will go to the UK
122







(language program in cooperation with Blue Dolphins)
Summer, 2017: Summer Program, SGH project in Singapore (willcontinue based on outcome)Spring, 2018: SGH project in the U.K.
Summer, 2018: Summer Program (if outcome successful will go to
Singapore every year or every other year)
Spring, 2019: Urawa High School culture club, on SGH project in U.K.
Summer, 2019: Summer Program in Singapore

4. Expanding Summer Program at the University of Michigan (MMSS)(from four to six members) July 6 – July 17: year three students participated July 19 – July 31: year three students participatedContents: Students participated in the program held the University ofMichigan; students took part in seminars.

5. Continuing The Boeing Higher Education Program August 20 Participants: three year three, four year two, and three year
one students

Lecturer: Shinji Suzuki, professor of Department of Aeronautics andAstronautics ,The University of Tokyo, School of Engineering
Activities: Students talked with the researchers at The Boeing Company
via satellite Internet link and had Q&A session.

6. Workshops for budding global leaders (twice a year)
 April 7 Participants: Six year two students, eight year one students
 Lecturer: Blue Dolphins (NGO founded by a graduate of the University ofCambridge)
 Contents: Practice talking about future dreams in interview format.
7. Relevant activities in English
 Participated in NFLJ Pre – Tournament of English Debate (result:champion). Will participate in a Parliamentary English Debate
Tournament.
 Use Jigsaw learning in class to help students learn actively.
123

March 23, 2015
SGH Research and Development
Committee

School Year 2015

The Schedule of Integrated Study for Year 2

１ Three main activities(1) Career Guidance
Through active consideration on one’s future course and proper selection ofsubjects based on one’s future hopes and interests, students aim to achieve
their own goals with enriching learning activities(2) Studying
Students first grasp their studying situation and then go on to find better
studying habits through efforts such as personal interviews(3) Research Paper for Advisory Groups
Students set a theme based on their future hope and interest and write apaper based on their research.
２ Research Paper in Advisory Groups(1) Summary
Students further explore their field of interest in year one and engage in
integrated studies that goes beyond the subjects they learn in classthrough writing a paper based on their future hopes and interests.
(2) Contents and method
 Students join an Advisory Group and write a paper under the guidanceof the leader (a teacher) We divide the school year into a first-half and second-half as a generalrule and students belong to two groups in a year.
 The leader in each group decides the theme and length of the paper, but
students have to find and write about their own area of investigation
instead of only writing a report.
 We gather excellent papers and share them in a collection.

124

3 Annual Implementation Plan (Proposed)
The first term
4/15(Wed)

Guidance

4/22(Wed)

Registration for Advisory Groups

5/ 7(Thu)

Advisory Groups 1

5/13(Wed)

The 1st briefing for choosing subjects (assembly)

5/22(Fri)

Advisory Groups 2

5/27(Wed)

The 1st briefing for choosing subjects (classroom)

6/ 3(Wed)

Advisory Groups 3

6/10(Wed)

Preliminary study for the lecture on human rights

6/17(Wed)

Advisory Groups 4

6/24(Wed)

Advisory Groups 5

7/ 8(Wed)

Advisory Groups 6

9/ 9(Wed)

Advisory Groups 7, submission of papers

9/12(Sat)

School Festival

9/30(Wed)

The 2nd briefing for choosing subjects (classroom)

10/ 7(Wed)Advisory Groups 8, Presentation and Evaluation

The second term
10/14(Wed)Registration

10/28(Wed)Advisory Groups 1

11/ 4(Wed)Advisory Groups 2

11/18(Wed)Advisory Groups 3

11/25(Wed)Advisory Groups 4

12/ 2(Wed)Advisory Groups 5

12/15(Tue)Advisory Groups 6

1/13(Tue)

Advisory Groups 7, submission of papers

1/20(Wed)

Trial of National Center Test for University Admissions

1/27(Wed)

Advisory Groups 8, Presentation・Evaluation

2/ 3(Wed)

Advisory Groups

2/10(Wed)

Screening students for the next overseas summer seminar

2/13(Sat)

Fiscal 2015 SGH Summary Report

2/16(Wed)the second meeting of the Management and Guidance Committee

distribution of collection of papers

125March 23, 2015
SGH Research and Development Committee

School year 2015

New Ideas for Advisory Groups as a SGH

1. Presenting the titles of advisory groups to the public
SGH is required to share the activities to the public. Thus we are presenting
the activities including the titles on the school web page.

2. The contents of Advisory Groups
SGH of Urawa High School deals with the three items below as the contents
of project studies. We hope you consider these when thinking of the contents ofcourses.
(a) Enrichment of Society(b) Sustaining a global environment(c) Universal values of humanity

3. Report of Research Making a collection of excellent papers
 Holding a advisory group conference (at or outside of school) Putting the results of the groups on the school web page (PDF file,moving picture data file)

4. Project Types (improving on existing projects)
In the previous advisory groups, students acted mainly at school. From now
on, we are going to plan and promote projects such as volunteering, in which
students go to local communities and conduct some research on how to solve
126local problems. The example cases are as follows: Volunteer to teach swimming during the Summer Vacation
 Japanese archery class for foreign students and other countries of theworld

5. Core courses
We promote some studies as core courses, which are project studies mostsuitable to embody the aim of SGH. Only core courses are held throughout theyear with two or more teachers. Example cases are as follows: Enrichment of Society: Cross-cultural understanding by creating
opportunities with the community at large
 Sustaining a global environment: Exploration of energy integration
 Universal values of humanity: How to prevent Cyber-crimes: be a volunteer
to help other in the community know more about what they can do.

6. Miscellaneous
If you invite a lecturer to the school, we can provide a small stipend. (ex.
15,000 yen for a university professor) Please inform us if needed. Also feel free topropose any new project ideas.

127

Minutes from the 5th SGH Committee meetingmembers：Suzuki, Yamazaki, Ogawa, Aoki, Utsugi, Nagasawa, Higashi,
Morizumi, Nishimura, Matsumoto, Nozaki, Sasaki, Harada, Saito Please try to explain CORE5 in a way that can be easily imagined byteachers and give model examples. In that way, teachers can come up withideas based on those models.
 Teachers should be able to come up with a theme based on what their clubor committee is doing.
 For year two students, they can use the events they experience such as
student council committees, clubs, human rights education seminars,
teaching elementary school students, and their school trip to Kyoto as
starting points for themes.
 Telling year one students about the details of those themes is a bit
premature. We propose that teachers have a common understanding andinform students after March. →We will head forward in this manner.
 Perhaps you could show the year one students what the railway fan cluband the photograph club did during their trip to Whitgift and how that ties
into SGH. →We will consider our schedule and see if that is feasible or not.
 Perhaps you should reconsider how students are asked to join the advisorygroups. Some teachers have a prepared theme, and some students join
advisory groups based on their club or student council committee.
 In advisory groups, teachers can deal with subjects that cannot be taught inregular classes; students can meet teachers they normally would not beable to. With different levels of difficulty varying from course to course,
each course has its own appeal and teachers value this type of diversity andflexibility.
 Without sufficient explanation, teachers may be at a loss when trying tochoose a theme for their course within the new categories. For example,
you can use this year’s courses and put them into the new three parts (a, b,c), and give some examples of the rewritten titles. →We will show how

current courses fit into the new categories.
 Teachers who are now teaching year one students need to have a detailed
explanation of what is expected of them for next year’s advisory groups.
With that framework, they will be able to discuss and propose their ideas
128

for a smooth transition of next year’s advisory groups.
 If I were in charge, it would be overwhelmed. For example, just getting intouch with a university to set up a program would be rather time
consuming. If there were any drastic changes in how things are done now,
the teacher in charge of integrated studies would become overburdened.
We all understand the current situation where teachers already have torecruit and select students, as well as reserve rooms. →We strive to workwithin the current framework.
 We are still unsure how to translate the current report written in Japanese
into English.
 We understand how cooperating with the University of Tokyo and the
University of Oxford helps English teachers; however, linking regular year
three classes with those institutions could further aid teachers.
 By focusing on only two of the CORE ideas, you could assign just two
teachers, allow them more time in their teaching schedules and then allow
them to further work on the CORE ideals.
 Before going all English, why not first try using the CORE curriculum inEnglish only? →In terms of using English, we will limit ourselves with the

CORE curriculum.

129September 10, 2014
Research and Development Board of SGH
School Year 2014
Notes from the Management and Guidance Committee
Mr. Arai Should organize according to abilities and evaluate appropriately?
 We selected a few important abilities and grouped them accordingly.
 How do we link different subjects together?
 Our school did not change its curriculum to conform with the SGH program,but we try to foster presentation skills in our IT classes and in year two wehave special small group sessions for students to study areas which interest
them; for year three students, we encourage them to take English writing
courses for writing essays.
 Why not share your unique educational activities over the Internet?
 We have had group discussions with students from Bangladesh introduced
to us from JICA via a Skype link. Likewise, we have made similar Internet
discussions with students at Oxford University.
Mr. Egashira What are you doing to improve English proficiency?
 We do not make students take a certain test as an SGH, but we think writing
reports and making presentations in English fosters students’ English
proficiency. We have also participated in the All Japan High School English
Tournament.
As was recommended in the “Forum for Better English Education”, we think it
is natural to begin the new course of study ahead of time.
 What plans do you have to further experiences of studying abroad?
 We are thinking of effective ways of giving students at school assembles
such experiences through presentation of students who have gone abroad,and photo exhibitions at our school festival.
 How is ICT being advanced?
 In 2014, we arranged teacher’s training. We plan to actively explore otherpossible usages of ICT.
130

Mr. Nakamoto
 How are you reducing the risk of studying abroad?
 We are looking into various ways to reduce risk by screening students,
providing guidance and making sure that they get the best health insurance.
 What are the origins of the three pillars of student centered study projects?
 We have extracted some of the themes used in the integrated study projects
from what we have learned over the years. Rather than students focusing
narrowly on one subject, they are encouraged to explore global problems ina more holistic manner.
 Do overseas alumni help in your efforts?
 With alumni who are still students, there is the problem of coping with bothalumnus’s own study and our projects. With alumni that the school has
supported after graduation, we plan to reach out to them for their support.
With alumni already working in society, we plan to send a group of students
to Switzerland to visit Mr. Onozaki who is working at WHO during our
exchange with our sister school in the UK.
Mr. Negishi
 You should be encouraging students to challenge themselves more.
 For next year’s interdisciplinary studies, students will take the lead by asking
experts in the field to help them with their projects. This may lead todifficulties, but will be valuable experiences for our students.
 You need more active learning activities.
 For next year’s projects, we hope to have more outside involvement, actively
encourage presentations that take place outside of the school, and make our
projects more accessible to those outside of the school.
 You need more programs that have global views.
 We plan to propose projects that include local problems such as locallygrown, locally consumed foods, child rearing, and use of local humanresources, and then think of these problems on a global scale.
 You need to look not only at western countries but at more Asian ones.
 The project in cooperation with JICA is about Bangladesh. In addition, weplan to cooperate with China and South Korea in the group called “Go and
the Global Society”, a survey of how the game Go is played and seen in Asia.
There are also many Asian students in PEAK, at the University of Tokyo,
which cooperates with Urawa High School.
131In addition to these efforts, Mr. Onozaki at WHO, who is coordinating ourvisit in Switerland, specializes in the hygiene of South-Eastern Asia. This will
be part of what the students will study about before leaving on their trip nextyear.
We are also in contact with Mr. Yano who is working in Singapore and plan
to have projects involved with him.
 You need to make Urawa High School more super-global.
 Since our alumni established a scholarship program, we have sent anincreasing number of students abroad and this is consistent with our efforts
for more global education. We plan to continue in our effort to provide more
opportunities to make our school as global as possible.
Mr. Yahaba Please tell me the situation of accepting foreign students.
 Currently one student from Uzbekistan is studying at Urawa High School. As
one of the projects as an SGH, we have invited one alumnus of Whitgift
School (our sister school) as an international exchange adviser.
 I want Urawa High School to actively accept foreign students and have themplay an active role in making the school more international.
 Urawa High School wants to accept more foreign students. Foreign students
thus far have gotten along well with their host families. We plan to continue
short-term acceptance of foreign students and by doing so, this will help in
our efforts of providing more interaction with students from different
countries.

132

School Year 2014 SGH Management and Guidance Committee Report
Second Meeting
February 4, 2015 10:00 - 12:00
Meeting room of Reiwa hall at Urawa High School
Facilitator: Hironobu Suzuki, assistant principal
Note-taker: Masayoshi Yamazaki , assistant principal
１ Opening
２ Greetings
 Naoyoshi Takada (manager at the Prefectural office of Education’s highschool education division

Takeshi Sugiyama (principal)

３ Explanation of today’s procedure
４ Agenda(1) Report on the efforts of school year 2014 and the plans for school year 2015
(i)










On the integrated study (Ryota Nozaki, head of SGH committee)
Document 1
At the beginning of the school year, we arranged our advisory groups as
in the past. In the second half of the year, we started to coordinate
projects with the University of Tokyo.
Issues concerning university students sparing enough time.
Document 4
We plan to arrange 40 courses of advisory groups for school year 2015.
We will categorize them into three main themes: a: Enrichment ofSociety, b: Sustaining a global environment, c: Universal values ofhumanity, and then subsets under each main theme.
In project-type advisory-groups, students go to local areas, discovermodern problems, and conduct research on how to solve them.
CORE (two or three research projects) project studies that embody themain aims of SGH.
Enrichment of Society: Energy Integration with Benefits for Humans.
Sustaining a global environment: Highways for Bicycles in Saitama, to
133

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



make Saitama a “Bicycle Heaven”.
Universal values of humanity: Ways to Foster more Community
Interaction through Festivals.
Japanese students need to interact more with foreign students at PEAK,
from the University of Tokyo. We need to express the positive points ofJapan and Urawa High School. We need to do this through the contentsof our club activities.
Reports on Research: We plan to invite university professors so that they
can listen to our students’ presentations in English at an auditorium off
school grounds. We then plan to have their presentations available asvideos on the school web.

(ii) Report on the international exchange (Sonoko Ogawa, Research andDevelopment Committee)








Document 3
Some members of the committee said that our target countries lean
toward Western countries, but I am proud that Urawa high School has
had the same sister school for over 20 years. This year, the principal
himself visited the school, which has strengthened our relationship.
We are now in talks to have an exchange with the University of London
and the University of Cambridge.
Up until now, we have only visited the sister school and interacted withher students, but after being designated as a Super Global High School,
we have developed new projects, which are more educationally-effective.
(Students have already finished writing three long research papers)
We plan to add Asian countries to our list within the next five years.
With respect to fostering English proficiency, students are working hardon parliamentary English debates and academic debates.

(2) Additional Reports, Q&A(i)

Report on guidance and advice from Mr. Yahaba by Mochida(Secretariat)(ii) Supplementary explanation by Mr. Nakamoto (the chairperson)

It is important to train how to write a paper based on the contents andarguments of books without inserting your own ideas. I hope you all dothis. Even graduate students tend to jump to conclusion and present
134

weak arguments in their papers. Research on previous studies is so
important that students in the West are trained to do this.
(iii) Questions from the Management and Guidance Committee
Mr. Egashira:Q1. You now have the possibility of coordinating activities with the
University of London and the University of Cambridge. Who was
responsible for this?
A1. Naoya Okamoto. He gave a lecture of Global Human Resources on
July 4 and then asked a friend to help him out.
Mr. Nakamoto:Q2. Is the CORE project “Ways to interact with local community throughfestivals” really feasible?
A2. It is a chance for Urawa High School students to interact with thelocal community. We want students to be thankful for the support ofthe community and the research ways to give back in a meaningfulway.
Mr. Arai:Q3. Which campus do you cooperate with when dealing with the
University of Tokyo, Komaba, which arranges Social Cooperation
Lectures, or Hongo ?
A3. We are asking professors who have graduated from Urawa HighSchool.
(iv) Advice by the Management and Guidance Committee
Mr. Arai: Teaching deepens your learning; How about arranging chances forstudents who studied abroad to go to junior high schools and teachEnglish to students there?
 How about including sessions concerning ESD, or economics?
 What kind of skills do you expect for students to gain in the process ofactive learning? How we evaluate the experience is also important.
 The principal said in today’s greeting that you are approaching theactivities of SGH as realistically as possible. Please remember torecognize the strengths of Urawa High School.
Mr. Nakamoto:135 It is necessary to set specific goals for CORE Research.
 Are students of PEAK at the University of Tokyo short-term exchange
students?
Mr. Egashira I agree with Mr. Arai. It is important to clarify the goals.
 By setting an evaluation system based on a rubric, feedback fromstudents can be used more effectively. The process is just as importantas the outcomes and this will motivate students.
 How many students will participate in the Boeing Higher Education
Program? →20 students.
Mr. Yazima (the vice chairperson): You said professors at the University of Tokyo have difficulty arranging
schedules for seminars. How about considering cooperation with
Saitama University through Mr. Nakamoto? I hear the president of
Saitama University is an alumnus of Urawa High School.
 How about considering cooperation with local projects that Saitama
Prefecture is proposing?
 Saitama is a sister prefecture of the state of Mexico. There may be an
opportunity for more students to study there.
 It is important to consider the risks of sending students abroadsystematically. You need to cooperate with the prefectural board ofeducation.
 It is important to actively follow up with students who have studied
abroad. You should not only arrange a briefing session but also
consider how to make use of such their experiences for other students.
(v)

Answers from Urawa High School
 Students already teach English at junior high school in advisory groups.
 It is important to clarify the skills students can gain from CORE andother research like syllabuses of universities.
 We admit not using a rubric is our weak point, so we are going toconsider its implementation.
 We hope to cooperate with Saitama Prefecture in connection withstudents from Mexico.

(vi) Questions from Urawa High School136 Are the things we’ve done with our sister school seen as SGH projects?
 How much should we report as SGH projects? We have implemented
advisory groups for years. We have many well-written papers from theadvisory groups with us. We attribute their excellence to the work donein regular Japanese classes.
(vii) Advice by the Members of the Committee Various viewpoints of what to do have been discussed and it is now up
to Urawa High School to decide what with that advice.
 Urawa High School was designated as an SGH because of worthy
efforts achieved thus far. You are required to show that this school is amodel for nurturing global leaders and will need to explain that to therest of the community.
 Other schools will want to imitate Urawa High School when they see
what you are doing. You should show what has been done at Urawa
High School and what makes it strong. You have to work on ways topresent those strengths.
 It is important to evaluate the process as much as the achievement ineach subject.
５ Closing137

School Year 2015 First Meetingof Management and Guidance Committee
September 13, 2015
The music room, Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School
List of the members of SGH Management and Guidance Committee
Name
Kenichi ARAI

Affiliation

Official title

Benesse Educational Research and Development
Institute

ChairmanYasuzi
EGASHIRACRS Supervisory Department, Intel Cooperation

Manager

Shinichi
NAKAMOTO

International Department, Saitama University

Head
Professor

Yoko KOIKE

Division of International Exchange
Cooperation, Saitama Prefecture

Takashi YAHABA

andInternational Exchange Center・Faculty of Foreign
Languages, Dokkyo University

Manager
Chief
Professor

Mr. Arai The mid-term report was interesting. The reasons theme selection andself-evaluation are important.
 It is important to look back on the process for the presentation and problem
solving as well as to consider how and what you thought processes wereused. These considerations will lead to the definition and evaluation ofqualities required to be a global leader.
 I want all of Urawa High School students to understand the importance ofthe process for creating presentations before they graduate.
 How have the abilities of students improved? What are the criteria forevaluation?
Mr. Egashira I was left with impression that the students chose global related topics. I
think, however, that they didn’t fully explain how they were going to tackle
their selected topics.
 The ideal language in which you make a presentation is English. I find the
138




students not used to speaking English in public.
It is good for students to have opportunities to use English in their daily life. I
want the school curriculum to give such opportunities to them.
I hope students will have more opportunities of international exchange. They
can also interact with workers at our company.

Mr. Yahaba I think highly of the integration of arts and sciences.
 It is good that students look not only at foreign problems but also at their

own country.
I advise students to make more presentations in either English or Japanese.
They should practice relating their ideas in public settings.
Although only a few of the students go abroad, you should think more about
how to make use of the students’ special experiences for the benefit of thewhole student body.

Ms. Koike I felt the presentations in English were weaker than in Japanese.
 If you ask some questions to the audience in a presentation such as“Japanese Archery Class”, interactive communication will ensue.
Why don’t you put students who are good at Japanese and students who aregood at English into one group, and let them conduct research?

Mr. Nakamoto
 The contents of the presentations were good. I was impressed that they wereconducted by high school student. I would advise students to practice theirpresentations with more awareness of the audience.
 A presentation is a process of communication. It is not a one-way street andthe audience is not the enemy. You should think that presentations areactive and two-way interactions rather than presentations which have only
presenters and evaluators. This idea will lead you to the next step of one’s
research.
Students should remember that there are various people in the audience
when they make their presentations at meeting such as these.

139

Overview of conceptual plans of Super Global High Schools
for the 2014 School Year

Designation Period: 2014-2019

1. School: Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School
2. Location:

Saitama Prefecture

3. Targeted Discipline:

ordinary course

4. Number of Targeted Students
First-year

Second-year

Third-year

406

365

367

5. School Scale:

Fourth-year

Total
1138

1138 students in the ordinary course

6. Project:
Educating and nurturing global leaders who will positively influence theworld wherever they are through innovation and compassion

7. Outline of the Project
By examining global problems facing today’s world comprehensively, we
will develop curriculums to educate and nurture global leaders who have a wide
range of knowledge and deep insight with well-balanced strength of mind, body,and ethics. We are trying to nurture human resources who will create new,inventive values by strengthening and enriching the cooperation with
universities, institutions, the sister school, etc, which we have been linked with.

140

8. Contents of the project8.1. Overall summary
8.1.1. Purpose / Goal
We are going to develop curriculums to nurture global leaders who havewell-balanced strength of mind, body, and ethics and will positively influence theworld wherever they are. We will cultivate “the skills to sympathize”, “challenging
spirit”, and “creativity” required to take a leadership in global fields.
8.1.2. Analysis on the Currents Situation and Theory on Research andDevelopment
Our students have gained qualities to lead the next generation by working
hard on studying, school events, and club activities together under one of ourschool mottoes “Sho-bun, Sho-bu”. To further nurture global leaders, we have to
set project studies aiming to solve global problems and increase opportunities
for students to go out to domestic or overseas universities. By doing so, we areable to cultivate human resources who have a wide range and high level ofknowledge, can understand divergent people, and will create new values.
8.1.3. Diffusion of the Achievements
 Diffusion via school homepage (including its English page) Diffusion through public relations of universities or overseas sister schools
with which our school is in cooperation.
 Diffusion through the media
 Diffusion through networks of Society for Metropolitan High-Level HighSchools (Hibiya, Nishi, Prefectural Chiba, Shonan, Urawa)
 Diffusion through briefing session of achievements
1418.2. Project Studies
8.2.1. Contents of Project Studies
We are going to study on social issues in the world concerning (a)“Enrichment of Society”, (b) “Sustaining a Global Environment”, and (c) “Universal
Values of Humanity” through concrete themes such as “Global Warming”,“Natural / Alternative Energy”, “Urban Design in the Future”,“Energy Security”, “Diplomatic Security”, “North-South Divide”, “Festivals ofInternational Peace”, “Exploration into the Universal Value in Classics and Designof Future Societies”, and “Democracy and Justice”.
8.2.2. Implementation and Evaluation(1) We are going to conduct project studies in small groups like university
seminars, write papers, make a collection of excellent papers, give a
presentation, get guidance and advice from professors at universities
cooperating with our school, and use peer support from alumnus enrolled atdomestic or overseas universities. We will also create new values anddevelop methods to solve problems through collaboration with specialists atinternational institutions.
Implementation in detail Project study using peer support by the alumnus enrolled at thelaboratory with the same research theme as ours under the entire
cooperation of the University of Tokyo (a), (b), (c) Study making use of tutoring by Cambridge students through ICT (a), (b) Study on urban engineering and environmental engineering byparticipating in the education program of Boeing Company in142cooperation with the University of Tokyo (a), (b) Study on development education in cooperation with the chairman of
JICA (Akihiko Tanaka, an alumnus of our school) and workers at our
school who are dispatched as Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers(a), (b) Exploration into the universal values of humanity through the study of“classics” the Aspen Institute Japan (a), (b)(2) Intellectual exploration with activities, constructions, and interactive
dialogues through collaborative learning during classes of each subject aswell as research and development of problem-solving programs, both ofwhich are in cooperation with the University of Tokyo (c)(3) Research and development of intellectual exploration programs based on
the educational idea of the International Baccalaureate through humanexchanges with Whitgift School, the overseas sister school (a), (b), (c)(4) Fieldwork on project studies and short-term dispatch to Whitgift School with
its study and training (a), (b), (c)(5) We are going to participate in the Summer Seminar of the University ofMichigan; we will appreciate various values and create new values byexchanging opinions with overseas students through attending lectures
relating to our project studies, conducting fieldwork, joining discussions, andmaking presentations. (a), (b), (c)8.2.3. Necessary Special Case of Curriculums
We do not need any special cases.
8.3. Others
1438.3.1. Contents, Implementation, Evaluation of Research and Development
other than Project Studies
 We are going to educate and nurture humans with well-balanced strength ofmind, body, and ethics who will challenge difficulties through group actions
such as daily classes, events, club activities . We will also their skills inreasoning, expression, problem-solving.
 We are going to provide opportunities such as lecture meetings by thealumni who is playing an active role either in Japan or overseas to learn from“familiar models of career paths”
 We are going to cultivate broad perspective, high aspirations, and dreams
through lecture meetings, questioning, exchange with global leaders whoare playing active roles in the world.
 We are going to inspect and evaluate the consciousness changes of thestudents through questionnaires and other ways .

8.3.2. Necessary Special Case of Curriculums other than the implementationof project studies
We do not need any special cases.
8.3.3. Environmental Maintenance and the Implementation for Cultivating
Global Leaders Enrichment of long-term dispatch to Whitgift School, the public school in
the U.K., which is our sister with human exchange conducive to thereinforcement of our relationship.
 We are going to nourish the students’ culture with broad perspectives by144

letting them experience various values in sports, cultures, arts and otherareas through short-term dispatch to Whitgift School of each club. In
addition, we accept about 20 students of Whitgift School in autumn every
other year, providing the students with opportunities to experience various
values.
 Maintenance and improvement of IT devices such as tablet computers inorder to develop academic skills for the 21st century.
 We will participate in “National Competition in Scientific Skills” and tried to
go on to “Science Olympiad”
 We will participate in the “Debate Contest for high School Students held by
Saitama Senior High School English Education & Research Association.
 We will participate in “Student Presentation on International Issues” held by
Saitama City.

9. Other Special Reports
Our alumni association has founded “Public Scholarship Foundation of
Urawa High School’s Alumni Association”. It has launched an unparalleled plan
to help pupils and graduates of our school who are planning to study abroad fora long term by giving them subsidy that has no repayment obligation.

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