Produced by Global JUNIOR HIGH AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL and GEICRAN RUN TIMESPROFESSIONAL EDITION, NOVEMBER 2019

Time to increase our heatstroke IQ

O

ne effective measure for decreasing
the number of heatstroke patients inJapan is WBGT (Wet Bulb GlobeTemperature), which shows the risk ofheatstroke.
It incorporates humidity, solar radiationand temperature. When WBGT exceeds 31
degrees, it warns of high risk of heatstroke
and recommends refraining from exercise.
In recent years, the number of heatstroke
patients in Japan is on the rise. Heatstroke
has become a significant social issue,
as Japan has more casualties from thecondition than any other country. On May 1,
2019, the day Japan ushered in the Reiwa
era, many of those who visited the Imperial
Palace to celebrate the crown prince
acceding to the throne were transported
to hospital by ambulance because ofheatstroke symptoms.
Cases of heatstroke start in May. At thistime of the year, though the temperature
is not high, WBGT shows a high risk ofheatstroke. This fact shows that temperaturealone is not an indicator of the risk ofheatstroke.
To verify the effectiveness of WBGT,
Ochanomizu University Sen ior H igh
School students conducted a survey. They
studied the correlation among the numberof heatstroke patients and the following
three elements: temperature, humidity andWBGT.
Comparing these correlation coefficients,
the temperature and humidity values varydepending on the region. WBGT shows
consistent correlation regardless of theclimatic condition, making it superior totemperature and humidity.
According to Figures 1 and 2, Japan has
high temperature and humidity for half ofthe year. WBGT, which considers variousfactors, is an applicable indicator. However,there are few countries which have sucha climate, and as a result, about 70% offoreign visitors to Japan have experienced

The average temperature in the warmest month(Figure 1)

(℃)
30
28
26
24222018

Based on: Official site of Chronological Scientific Tables 2018
Statistics period: 1981-2010

Missingvalue

The average humidity in the warmest month(Figure 2)(g/m2)
8642

Based on: Official site of Chronological Scientific Tables 2018
Statistics period: 1961-1990

symptoms of heatstroke.
Using WBGT, people could grasp therisk of heatstroke at a glance. In this way,
WBGT is an effective indicator in Japan, yet
its overall recognition is low. Only 8 percentof Japanese know about and are able toexplain WBGT, while 65 percent Japanese
are unaware of it. As a result, such people
don’t have the means of accurately knowing
the risk of heatstroke.

Missingvalue

To decrease the number of heatstroke
patients, it is necessary to raise awareness ofWBGT. Heightened visibility of WBGT willlead to a decreased number of heatstrokepatients.
By Natsumi Hara, Nonoka Ishii, Yumi
Orikawa, Nana Kiyo­ta, Rena Suganuma andMayu Takano

ABOUT USWe are from class Ran in thethird year at Ochanomizu University Senior High School. Ourschool is in Bunkyo Ward where
many schools are concentrated.

Our school is designated a SGH(Super Global High School) by
the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology.
SGH aims to foster leaders whowill be able to play active roles
on the international stage. Asa part of SGH, we take a classcalled “exploring.” In the class,each of us focuses on a social

issue and explores a solution.
The results of our activities are
introduced in this paper. Please
read our paper and learn more
about current social issues.

2RAN RUN TIMESNOVEMBER 2019

FUTURE PLANS

A streamlined support system for disaster victims
CompanyTechnique

Asia

PersonNecessarymaterials

Volunteer

RegisterLocal
government

Disaster

Register

Web site
DemandSupport

NoticeManagement

Aggregation

Figure by: Miki TanakaThere is a large numberof disasters in Asia.
According to “theranking of cities having high riskof disaster,” 75 percent of thetop 100 are in Asia. This part of
the world thus requires extensive
support. However, disasterstricken areas have faced many
problems with regard to support.
One of them is confusioncaused by using SNS. For
example, in the Great East Japan
Earthquake in 2011, there weresome areas that had to throw away
excessive provisions because of
information that wasn’t up to date.
Based on such facts, a groupbelonging to Ochanomizu
University Senior High School
proposes a new community of
support during disasters using
the Internet. Through such anetwork, relief supplies could be
provided to match demand.
The system for such a
community is not complicated.
Companies, local governments
and volunteers would registerwith the service, and if a disasteroccurs, local governments
suffering from damage cansend data about necessities andconditions of damage to thecommunity. Companies andvolunteers that can support theSource: Natural Hazard Risk Atlas 2015

government and organizers of thisnetwork would then coordinate
these demands and supplies.
The benefit for companies tojoin this system is that they canpromote their products throughthe support they provide. For
example, when children wereconfined in an underwater cavein Thailand last year, a submarinethat Elon Musk tried to use tohelp with their rescue drew
public attention. In his case, heis famous as an entrepreneur.
However, the technology that hiscompany had wasn’t well known,
so he drew public attention
through this incident.

Unknown companies withsimilarly high-level technology
could also become well-known.
Such a network would also makeit possible to send necessitiese ff i c i e n t l y b y m e e t i n g t h eneeds of victims. The group
comprising students atOchanomizu University SeniorHigh School thus believe thatsuch a system would help withrebuilding after a major disaster.
By Miki Tanaka, TomomiOsawa, Chiharu Kawano, Ayaka
Kimura, Jody Aya Nagasawa
and Moeka Yoshida

Minpaku offer both rest and glimpse into local life
Minpaku refers to staying inhouses whose owners rent themto visitors. In this article, we
explore minpaku in the form ofstaying with the owner as a way
learn about and experience thelocal way of life.
Minpaku has received publicattention in recent years as
one means of coping with theshortage of accommodations
amid a growing number offoreign tourists in preparation
for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
and Paralympics. In June 2018,a new law regulating private
lodging businesses took effect,
allowing anyone to lease aroom for up to 180 days a year
if they register with their local
government in advance. On
the other hand, it gives rise toPictures by: Yurika

Left: Playing the "sanshin" Right: Beautiful scenery of Island Ie

various problems. We sent aquestionnaire to high school
seniors who have experienced
minpaku to investigate the realsituation.
In the survey, about 95
percent of students said
their image of Okinawa haschanged thanks to minpaku.
One student said that she
previously thought U.S. forces

in Japan only have an adverse
effect on local people. Aftermaking contact with residents,
she found that there are also
advantages, such as the use offunds from hosting U.S. bases
to equip hospitals with CT
scan equipment, among others.
Also, by listening to people
who have experienced war, they
were able to learn many lessons,

including the responsibility tobe aware of such matters andthe shortage of people who canpass on their stories.
Also, 74 percent of thestudents said they want to use
minpaku again. At present,
the Japanese government has
introduced legislation on private
minpaku to make them safer.
As minpaku offer theadvantage of learning about
the local area and people, theyshould be promoted further
among both Japanese andforeign visitors.
By Manami Furukawa,
Yurika Kozawa, Haruka Nakayama, Natsumi Mori and YuiYamamoto

NOVEMBER 2019

RAN RUN TIMES

3INNER LIFE

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands

These days, about a halfof Japanese feel stressed,
according to the “SpecialSurvey on Industrial Safetyand Health” conducted by the
Ministry of Health, Labour andWelfare in 2017.
Stress is a state of tension
felt from stimulation, demands
or external threats. There are
four types of stress factors:
environmental, physical,psychological and social.
As stimulus can be felt fromenvironmental changes, it can beassumed that what makes people
feel happy can also be a causeof stress. If people continue tolive with unaddressed stress,
eventually they may suﬀer from
more serious conditions such as
depression (which is a commonand serious medical illness thatnegatively aﬀects how you feel,the way you think and how youact) and PTSD (post-traumaticstress disorder, a mental
How to domuscle relaxation

How effective are the ways to reduce stress? (Graph 2)

Do you feel stress?

70No
4%

(XXX)

60
50

Yes
96%

40
30

Based on a survey covering
221 high school students

20

health condition triggeredby a terrifying event, either
experiencing it or witnessing it).
A group of students at
Ochanomizu University seniorhigh school conducted a researchstudy on the stress of high school
students, covering 221 students.
According to the results, 96
percent feel stressed (Graph 1).
The study also showed that 85
percent of them have their own
way to reduce stress.
The group then chose someof the ways to reduce stressfrom the questionnaires and did
an experiment to see whether
they are effective. Some of thechoices included facing a mirror
and saying “I’m happy,” muscle
relaxation (for your reference,100beforeafter

face the mirrror and say I’m happy 1
meditation 1

muscle relaxation 1
break the paper 1

sing the song 1

call out 1
muscle relaxation 2

face the mirrror and say I’m happy 2
meditation 2

break the paper 2
call out 2

sing the song 2

we put a QR code of the video
that shows how to do muscle
relaxation), meditation, tearing
paper, singing songs and callingout. They used an application(PUMSCO) to measure theamount of stress before and after
the experiment and compared them(Graph 2). This graph shows thatthe effect depends on individual,
so it is important to ﬁnd one’s own
way to reduce stress.
By Moena Arai, Yuzuki Akahoshi, Sayako Takei, Akemi
Fukuzumi, Chisa Mori and MaoYamada

Does media program our unconscious biases?
These days, diversity is essential.
Ochanomizu University high school
students think closing gender gap is thekey to realizing diversity. Compared withother countries, however, the gap between
men and women in the fields of politics,
education and employment is still big inJapan. According to “The Global GenderGap report 2018,” Japan ranked 110th out of
144 countries.
The students believe that unconscious
bias is one of the reasons behind the gendergap. They also believe that it comes frommedia such as TV, SNS, advertisements, andso on. They created a guideline to improveawareness of TV audiences, in the hopethat such people view TV programs andcommercials in a critical manner.
There is a big gender gap in the media
field in Japan. According to research
conducted by the students, 81 percentof the actors who did the laundry in TV
commercials for laundry detergent broadcast
in 2018 were women. Moreover, 48 percent

Who is in charge of laundry?
An animecharacter (girl)
Men

4%

19%
Women playing
the role of mother
Women not playing
the role of mother

48%

29%

of the actors played the role of a mother inthe commercials. However, there were nomen shown playing the role of a father.
Such TV commercials can instill inlarge audiences the idea that it is naturalfor women to do housework. The students
believe advertisements that can be associatedwith gender roles contribute to unconscious
bias.

On the other hand, some companiesactively tackle gender biases. The students
chose ten companies that broadcast
TV commercials from Japanese listedcompanies.
The students then sent the companies
questionnaires. According to the survey
results, nine of them tried not to make agender discriminatory commercial. In thefuture, the current state of advertisements
may change favorably.
Following these results, the students
appealed to audiences using the media
to reform their awareness. It is importantto gain media literacy in order to reduce
unconscious bias. To build a diverse society,
it is necessary for both the sender ofinformation and the receiver to think about
the best way to present it.
By Narumi Onoda, Nozomi Aoki,
Yuka Kashima, Kana Shigyo and Kisaki
Nakamura

4RAN RUN TIMESNOVEMBER 2019

IMPROVING LIVES

3D-printed structures could save lives in disasterTechnology for building
houses by using 3D
printers is making
great advances. It has not been
introduced in Japan yet, butvarious buildings are being
constructed around the world.
For example, in 2015, a fivestory apartment was built in
China through such technology.
Also, in 2016, an office was built
using a 3D printer in the United
Arab Emirates.
3D printers are different fromordinary printers. Following 3D
CG data, they can be used tomake solid pieces with resin andconcrete.
3D printers have a variety ofapplications; for example, for themost part, in the manufacturingindustry, the medical field, theaerospace industry and advancedresearch. Building a house using a
3D printer requires a large printerthat can be moved around to andfrom construction sites. Such a
printer can be used to build a wallby draining layered concrete.

Picture by: Tabi Cafe

Picture by: WIREDConstruction site of a building made by 3D printer

3D-printed buildings havesome remarkable benefits.
Among them, the costs andconstruction time are reduced.
According to the website of NGO
New Story, it costs approximately$6,000 and it takes 24 hours forone home to be built using a 3D
printer. If we think of building
normal housing, it costs at least$100,000 and takes several
months to build one home. As we
can save resources, it is good forenvironmental protection, too.
Because of Japan’s geo­graphical conditions, serious
disasters such as major

Building a wall by draining layered concrete

earthquakes and typhoons occur
frequently. Japan is said to bea very disaster-prone country.
In the case of a serious disaster,
there tends to be a shortageof temporary housing. In theGreat East Japan Earthquake
on March 11, 2011, there weremany people who had to stay intheir car because of insufficient
temporary housing. Such
conditions can lead to economy
class syndrome, which can cause
blood clots. The problem would
be solved if we used 3D printers
to build as many temporary
houses as possible.

However, according to theBuilding Standards Law ofJapan, constructing buildings
using 3D printers has not been
permitted yet. As sufficient
shelter and temporary housing
can prevent poor healthconditions and even death fromspending nights in cramped
environments like cars, Japan
should introduce 3D printers forbuilding such structures as soon
as possible.
By Mika Kodera, Moe Saito
and Hikaru Taniguchi‘Spectrum’ as an approach to gender
In order to realize a com­
fortable society for transgender,
the notion of “spectrum” shouldbe spread all over the world.
“Spectrum” is the idea that people
have anatomical gender and a selfidentify gender. People whose
anatomical gender correspondswith their self-identify gender
are called “cisgender,” while
those for whom there is nosuch correspondence are called“transgender.”The figure at right shows
an example of a person whose
self-identify gender is male andanatomical gender is female.
“Coming out” means inform­ing others that one is transgender,
however, a number of people are
reluctant to come out because
cisgender account for about
90 percent of people (researchon LGBT in 2018 by Dentsu)
and there is still discrimination
against transgender. Mainly
because of distinctions between
cisgender and transgender,transgender are pushed to decide

which gender is their preference.
There are two examples that
illustrate this circumstance.
First, transgender tend torefrain from using restrooms
because the use of multipurpose
restrooms for people withphysical disabilities and LGBT
people can lead to an unexpected
coming out.
Second, school uniforms
are used at almost all schools.
However, transgender feelincongruous when they wear
a uniform corresponding with
their anatomical gender. They
are also worried that they are
looked down on by others.
Recently, awareness oftransgender is expanding (in theDentsu study, people who arefamiliar with the term LGBTaccount for 70 percent), but it isdifficult to realize a society thatis comfortable with all genders.
Therefore it is necessary tospread the notion of “spectrum.”
In other words, it is essential
to understand that there are notTransgender’s spectrum
MaleFemale
Self-identify gender

MaleFemale
Anatomical gender
Picture by Narumi Okazaki

only two genders, male andfemale, but a variety of them,including transgender.
There are differences between
anatomical gender and selfidentified gender, which apply toall people, including cisgender.
Understanding that all people
have a gender reduces theweight of the term LGBT, as
well as discrimination against
such people.
By Hinako Karino, Narumi
Okazaki, Kazusa Kameoka andNatsumi Takagi

RAN RUN TIMES
Published by a group of 40
students of Ochanomizu UniversitySenior High School, public highschool, Otsuka, Bunkyo Ward,Tokyo, Japan, in cooperation with
the not-for-profit Global Education
Information Center (GEIC) .
Publisher: Ochanomizu
University high school
Project Supervisor: Takayuki
Tsukui, an English teacher
Editor: Sayaka Kaneko
Assistant Editor: Momoka Uno
Contributing Editor: Ayano
UsukuraStaff Writers: 3R
Contact: 112-8610 Otsuka,Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan 2-1-1
URL: http://www.fz.ocha.ac.jp/fk/access/index.html