Produced by OCHANOMIZU UNIVERSITY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

U & MESTUDENT EDITION, NOVENBER 2020

What Isis the Ideal
ideal Shelter
shelter for Women?
women?

In the event of evacuations
caused by disasters, womenare more likely to be in vulnerable situations. Hence, we haveplanned a new model of evacuation shelter for women, with adjusted area of personal spaces,
increased number of toilets andthe installation of multi-purpose
spaces. We hope to urge more
women to be involved in the
management of evacuation shelters with this new model.
In The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, it was reported that morethan half of shelters positioned
for evacuations had neither fitting rooms nor nursing rooms
for women, and had scarce supply of women’s relief goods.
Such factors along with the lackof women’s viewpoints only advance women’s vulnerability.
Therefore, we propose a new
evacuation model designed inside a gym (fig. ① ). In accordance to the Humanitarian Charterand Minimum Standards in Humanitarian
Response(The
Sphere Standard), the space perperson over the age of 6 is set to
3.5m2 (2m×1.75m), 1.75m2 for②State of the toilet in the ideal shelter model①Floor plan of the ideal shelter model2

children aged 3 to 5 and 0m for
0 to 2-year-olds. In addition, weplaced additional portable toilets
in restrooms and temporary toilets including multi-purpose toilets in the school yard. The number of men's and women's toilets
is set to the ratio of 3:1 (fig.②),
following the address of the Cabinet Office Gender Equality Bureau. We also set consultation

Crｅated by Sumi Midorikawa

rooms nearby women’s restrooms which both women andmen can use. Lastly, we stationed
multi-purpose spaces with movable partition to secure as much
evacuation area as possible. This
space is separated into fitting,nursing and powder rooms.
Why was the new model designed in such a way? Mr. A,
who volunteered in Kesennuma,
Miyagi Prefecture within 1month after the Great East Japan
Earthquake, said “People weregathered in very small spaces
and others’ conversations were
easily heard; privacy didn’t exist”. Hearing this comment, we
focused on creating more spaceand passageways so that people
can access necessary goods moreeasily. Also, Takahashi Atsuko

Created by Moeka Beppu

NOTICE TO READERS
This newspaper, U&ME, aspires toaddressworld
issuesthat
Ochanomizu High School Grade 3
Class of Ume has drawn attention toin the previous year.
The contained research consists ofa variety of different topics thathave been passionately explored byeach of the students. It is an alternative way for us to showcase ourfindings in consideration of theyear-end school symposium being
cancelled due to the pandemic.
Covid-19 has spread to every corners of the earth, and we are stillknee-deep in the crisis with billions
affected. We now stand in an unprecedented situation, living in aworld that is different from anything
we have seen in history. We havecome to an utter realization that welive in a global society, and morethan ever, we need each other. As
world citizens, we have the obligation to come together to resolve obstacles that come our way: Anyone
from various walks of life may be
associated with them in some shapeor form.
Through the connection of “U” and“ME”, we hope to share and encourage you to consider the presented issues as your own.

from Disaster Prevention Network Suwa said “Men often are
in charge of information exchange. As a result, women tend
to have more difficulties receiving information.” For this reason,
we decided to place consulting
rooms.
Finally, if this model was applied in real evacuations, notonly women but men will be able
to live a little more comfortably.
However, it is not only the municipal staffs that undertake themanagement of evacuation centers. We are also required to actively participate for better shelter management.
-------------------------------------By Misaki Fujita, Mai Watanabe,
HarukaNagahara,
Moeka
Beppu, Sumi Midorikawa--------------------------------------

 Take a lookat our web
page online!
Have you ever imagined having toevacuate? Women are more likely to
be in vulnerable situations in thosetimes.
Let’s think about adequate evacuation shelters with us where everyone
would feel comfortable.

2

U & MESTUDENT EDITION, NOVENBER 2020

AGROCHEMICALS / PLASTIC

W

Doubt Your Views of Agrochemicals

hat are your thoughts on
agrochemicals? Some people may think they are dangerous.
We conducted a questionnaire
about the impressions of agrochemicals, which showed 80% of
the respondents had negative images. Do we even need agrochemicals?
We think the answer is “YES”.
The main purpose of using themis to increase harvest. The bar
graph below indicates the amountof harvest with and without theuse of agrochemicals (graph).
It shows that when we do not use
agrochemicals, less crops are produced. To secure the supply of

products, agrochemicals are a necessity.
Next, let’s take a look at thesafety of agrochemicals. Social
problems caused by agrochemicals had been an issue in the past.
For instance, PCP, though cheap
and popular, was highly toxic andwas difficult to be decomposed.
To make the matters worse, in
1961, it had spilled out into theocean, threatening marine life.
However, agrochemicals have improved since then. The list on theright indicates that while past agrochemicals took a few years to be
decomposed, it now only takes nomore than a few months (list).
From our research, we believe

The Rate of Profitability Organic Farming

Source: Hideo Fukuda (2000) Misunderstanding and Prejudges for Agrochemicals

Source: AJINOMOTO CO. INC (1996-2020)

that agrochemicals should be used.
To make more people understandthe reality of agrochemicals, weneed to introduce its necessity toconsumers and advance the traceability system. This enables theconsumers to know the movementof food, with producers notifying
information about products (e.g.
types and amount of fertilizers andagrochemicals used) to consumers.
If and when complications occur,
it is easier to determine which
stage of the distribution was problematic.
However, the number of producers who keep records is only a few.

The reasons for it involve the difficulties of data collection, and thenecessity of it not being widespread. Establishing better processes of the traceability system
and management of products byboth producers and consumers remain a central issue.
What’s important is to pay attention to what you consider safe or
dangerous. Having the rightknowledge helps us improve foodsafety.
---------------------------------------By Erika Sakurai, Rin Oishi, Nao
Kudo, and Maya Kurokawa----------------------------------------

Listen to the Heartrending Cry of Our Sea

I

n recent years, plastic has become an essential part of ourlives. Global production is increasing year by year, reaching
400 million tons in 2018, 200
times higher than that of 1950.
Currently, 8 million tons of plastic
flows into the sea every year
worldwide, and most of themcome from developing countries.
Why is this a serious global issue?
This has association with decomposition of the material.

Source: Our World in Data plastic pollution

Since most plastic is made frompetroleum, they will not decompose naturally and exist semi-permanently, while natural organic
materials such as wood can be
broken down into carbon dioxide
and water with the presence of microorganisms. Plastic, made up ofhigh molecular compounds, isvery durable. This characteristic,
though advantageous to products,
will be a major obstacle when it
becomes garbage. Hence, weshould reduce the amount of plastic that flows into the sea.
However, it is difficult to reducethem from developing countries:
They tend to lack the technology
for garbage disposals and are notaccustomed to throwing away garbage appropriately, which is why
developing countries require economic assistance from developed
countries. However, it is unlikelythat each of us in developed countries can participate at such a large
scale.
Then what can we do? One of thewidespread solutions is disposable paper bags. Compared tochemical shopping bags that keep
floating once they are out into thesea, they may protect more sea
creatures with its ability to returnto nature. However, the overproduction of disposable paper bags
may cause another problem; deforestation. This affects not only
ecosystems, but also our surrounding environment. Therefore,
the more effective approach is to“use our own bags”. By doing so,

we can reuse bags and won’t produce garbage. Why don’t you start
your contribution to plastic reduction by using your own bag andsaying, “Don’t worry about theplastic bag!”

A member picking up garbage
Photo by THE SEA BEAUTIFICATION
SOCIETY---------------------------------------By Kaho Maita, Izumi Ou, Mao
Omori, Nako Tsuyuki----------------------------------------

STUDENT EDITION, NOVENBER 2020

3

U & MESTATISTICS / SURVIVAL GAME

Relation Between Divorce and Childcare

Divorce rate [‰]2.430303174

1.259404304

Divorce rate in each prefectureW

hy do divorces occur? We
used statistical methods toexamine the causes of divorce,and found that "solo parenting”(parenting without any help fromone’s spouse) is presumably oneof the factors.
To determine the “number of divorces” and “causes of divorce”,
we excluded differences between
each prefecture’s population
which will affect the correlation.
We hypothesized that the difficulty of raising children would
cause troubles, leading couples todivorce. Such difficulties, andnowadays frequent occurrences ofdivorce, may have stemmed fromthe shortages of nursery schools.
Therefore, we calculated the partial correlation coefficient between the number of divorces andthe number of children on thewaiting lists for nurseries in eachprefecture. Contrary to our expectations, the correlation was -0.03,
however, since the values of Tokyo and Osaka were found to be

Created by Haruka Takeuchi

outliers, we calculated once again
excluding the two prefectures.
The result was 0.36, which implies that the two factors are related to a positive correlation.
After such result, we decided tobring forth the second hypothesis:
the more difficult the environmentis to take childcare leave, the moreincrease will be visible in the divorce coefficient.
However, the correlation turned
out to be negative. Therefore, oursecond hypothesis was revealed tobe wrong.
Then, we hypothesized that theadvancement of women in society
might affect the rates of divorce.
To put this to the test, we considered the number of female workers. It was expected that a positive
correlation would be obtained
from the number of divorces withprefectures and the number of female workers. When the partial
correlation coefficient was calculated, the result showed a negative
correlation of -0.36, which wasdifferent from the hypothesis.
Currently in Japan, men tend to
take less childcare leave than
women. Therefore, we predictedthat a situation in which only
women are in charge of housework would cause childcare problems.
Later on, we examined the correlation between the divorce rate
and the percentage of men of ineach prefecture who believe that itis desirable for husbands to go towork and wives to focus on housework. The result was 0.43. Thisshows that two factors are related
to a positive correlation.
The stereotype that women withsmall children should not work
could be one of the reasons why
women decide to take maternity
leave or to raise children on theirown.
Therefore, we hypothesized that
there is a correlation between the
divorce rate and the number ofmen who have the such stereotypes for women.

The partial correlation coefficient was 0.29, but since the valueof Okinawa was found to be an
outlier, we excluded the prefecture and calculated once more.
The result was 0.43; a positive
correlation which supports the hypothesis.
It is understandable that there isa negative correlation between thenumber of divorces and the number of women employed (hypothesis 2-3), as it becomes difficult
for women to work when they
have to raise children on their own.
In conclusion, these statistics
corroborate the fact that solo parenting is one of the causes of divorce.
---------------------------------------By Haruka Takeuchi, Hikaru
Otsuka, Hana Kawanishi, Toko
Koie, Ayuru Nagai, Kyoko Murata,
Mizuki Yokoyama---------------------------------------Created by Haruka Takeuchi

The Way to Survive Learning from a GameC

an you survive when natural
disasters occur? When General Research Co., Ltd. surveyed
1,200 Japanese people whether
they have prepared for disasters,
more than 70 percent of the participants said they have not. Japan is
an earthquake-prone country. Being on the constant lookout forsuch situations may affect our crisis-response capabilities. However, we believe many people are
too lazy to set them up.
To help solve this issue, we madea game software which teaches us
how to cope with disasters when
we are at school. We referenced
reasonable items to put into use
during evacuation, such as using
newspapers instead of beds, utilizing plastic bags to treat injuries,
and creating fire with oil andclothes. The game pushes us tosurvive for a week by puttingthese methods into use.
This game software allows us tolearn survival skills for disasters
while having fun. Pictures in thegame help users understand andimagine ways of survival.
We hope to create more games
specialized for disasters such as
typhoon and flooding in the future.
---------------------------------------By Wakana Yoshihara, Sakiko
Itahashi, Myu Sasaki, Yoshika
Hosonuma, Kaya Moribe---------------------------------------Sample of the game software
Created by Wakana Yoshihara

4

U & MESTUDENT EDITION, NOVENBER 2020

WE LOVE JIZOOoooooOO! / STEP FOR FUTURE BY SDGs×NUDGE

Jizo AtsumeJ

izo is one of the statues worshipped by Japanese civilians,
which was believed to relieve people of suffering such as sickness at
a time when clean environments
and medical supplies were scarce.
Jizo has various characteristics
connected to local customs ofwhich it was made.
Throughout our research, we
found that Jizo existed independently in various parts of thecountry, and that the approximate
number of Jizo in regions had little difference. This led us to theconcepts of our app "Jizo Atsume",which aims to attract foreigners tovisit rural areas of Japan.
Now, let us give you an overview
of “Jizo Atsume”.
“Jizo Atsume” is an app that goesaround Jizo in various parts of Japan and collects Jizo photos taken
by users themselves.
By collecting Jizo photos, various regions of Japan will be spotlighted, and the app will promote

regional revitalization.
There are three major functions
on the app.
The first is the automatic pixel
art convention function, which automatically converts Jizo photos
into pixel art within the app when
you take pictures of them. We
tried to make our app unique fromother collection-type apps and devised a way to give warmth to thescreen. In addition, not only photographs but also maps are madeinto pixel art to give a sense ofunity to the screen.
The second is the "Jizo Points"
which can be earned by playing"Jizo Atsume". You can earnpoints by 1) travelling around Japan, taking pictures of Jizo, andcollecting Jizo, and 2) "Offering"to the collected Jizo (explained indetail below).
There are two main ways to use
the "Jizo Points". In the real world,
they can be exchanged for store
coupons that use location infor mation system of a smartphone topick up stores around the user's location, and display exchangeable
coupons. With this function, tourists, first-timers and foreigners
alike, will be able to use coupons
to efficiently go to stores and increase the chances of experiencing the characteristics of each region. This way, it can be expectedthat the tourists’ interests toward
regions will activate the economic
cycle in different parts of Japan,
which will lead to further development of regions.
“Jizo Points” can be used to upgrade the function of the “JizoAtsume” app.
The last function to be introduced is the "Offering". This is afunction to offer the collected Jizo
to another Jizo by enshrining it in
the app. You can get more "Jizo
Points" by making the "Offering".
In addition, there are grades in theoffering: The higher the grade, thelower the chance is to acquire it.

We hope to encourage you to contribute to regional revitalizationby playing “Jizo Atsume”.

Jizo at a student’s grave
Photo by Miko Saigusa---------------------------------------By Yuka Kondo, Miko Saigusa,
Yuka Sato, Kyoka Terazawa----------------------------------------You Wanna Change the World? SDGs×NUDGE(credit)Photo by 〇〇(caption)aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

SDGs×NUDGE circulationM

any of us feel that we wantto contribute to society insome way. In fact, the consciousness of social issues and problems
are getting higher and higher,
thanks to the increasing recognition of SDGs. SDGs, which stands
for Sustainable Development
Goals, is “the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable
Development”
adopted by the United Nation in
2015. Institutions such as governments, companies, schools are all
striving to contribute to it. However, these goals are not completely acknowledged in society,especially in Japan. It’s because
many of us feel the scales of SDGs
are too large. How can we solve

Created by Emika Funakoshi

this problem? Let us introduce
you to NUDGE.
NUDGE is “any aspect of the
choice architecture that alters peoples’ behavior in a predictable
way without forbidding any options or significantly changing
their economic incentives”, remarked by Richard H. Thaler,winner of the Nobel Prize in economics.
In short, NUDGE means ‘leading
people to make a particular choiceby small actions’. Utilizing thistheory, we propose the “SDGs ×
NUDGE circulation”; the new
way of promoting SDGs by making an economical circulation insociety. The circulation starts

from companies acting as suppliers. The concept is as follows:[SDGs×NUDGE cycle]
1.Companies provide services andproducts associated with SDGs(ex] a bag which is made from recycled bottles), and advertise theirproducts to consumers (ex] putting SDGs labels on their products).
2.Investors support these projects
indirectly through investments.
3.Consumers pay attention tocompanies’ PRs, and purchasegoods and services related to
SDGs.
In such fashion, companies workon SDGs directly through theirproduction, and investors do so indirectly by investing, and consumers by shopping. By repeatingthese activities, we can make a social cycle, and contribute to theachievement of SDGs.
[Three advantages]
1.Companies would be able tocontinue making contributions tosociety full of complicated issues,
while gaining money both frominvestors and consumers.
2.Consumers can contribute tosolving social problems throughshopping.
3.Investors as well as consumers

can contribute through investments.
We can make our society betterand better without relying on certain individuals, so we can expect
sustainability.
--------------------------------------By Aino Suzuki, Manaka Seki, Miu
Sakai, Atsumi Sawamoto, Saya
Tanaka, Yui Futawatari---------------------------------------

U＆ME
Published by a group of 41 studentsof Ochanomizu University SeniorHigh School, a national high school,
in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, Japan.
Publisher: Ochanomizu University
Senior High School
Project Supervisor: Mayumi Abe
Editor: Rio Fuseya
Assistant Editor: Chihiro Shintani,
Rina Ando, Rina Noguchi, Sayako
Fuchigami, Yuiko Ueno
Staff Writers: 3U
Contact: 2-1-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo,
Tokyo, Japan 112-8610
URL: http://www.fz.ocha.ac.jp/fk/