A 13-minute speech on July 6, 2006 to school observers visiting here in Osaka under the auspices of North Central College in Illinois. Starts with assumptions underlying democracy that differ from the U.S., resulting in some surprising manifestations in education. Philosophies of multiculturalism vs. assimilation are discussed. My sons have been going through Japanese public schools, and I try to show the system from their viewpoint and that of my Japanese wife. Doing homework, for example, is a struggle against human nature. My wife tells them what they need to do to reach their goals, but, with so many gadgets to enjoy, they have to get into what anthropologists call a mood of willing.

After a regular presentation on “Japanese People and Society” (check out the earlier podcast) for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), participants from India, Vietnam and Guatemala had questions on the role of women and religion in Japan, past and present. The 28-minute discussion was recorded with an MP3 format digital voice recorder (smaller than an iPod Shuffle).

This is an interview with Donna Fujimoto, a colleague at Osaka Jogakuin College, who has been researching Japanese-Americans in Japan. The Japancasting host is also a University of Hawaii graduate, for whom encounters with Japanese-Americans were a factor in becoming interested in specializing in Japan.

This is an interview with Professor Eiko Kato, a colleague who initiated the distribution of iPods loaded with English listening materials to all incoming students at Osaka Jogakuin College since April 2004. This was about a half year before Duke University, which is often called the first to do this. She is a Harvard PhD and a Mac user for 15 years. She discusses how the idea originated, before iPods became popular in Japan, and how iPods are being used effectively in the second year here. We also discuss podcasting with iTunes as further steps in providing foreign language listening content, class lectures and special events. For related information and links, see other podcasts at this site.

An earlier podcast recorded a presentation on “Japanese People and Society” at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) branch in Osaka. This time the Q&A session is offered, with questions from South America, Syria, and Asian countries including Pakistan and Vietnam. Again you can listen to their self-introductions as well. Actually it got off to a rocky start when I was asked about the “Emperator”—you heard it first here because it’s not a word! After figuring it out I couldn’t recall the difference between an Emperor and a King. At times Japan had an empire, but “Emperor” is somewhat of an arbitrary translation from the Japanese. After that the session went smoothly (^_*;;

Traveling to the southwestern island of Shikoku where the earlier podcast on reincarnation and the pilgrimage took place, the author taught an intensive course on translation between Japanese and English at Matsuyama Shinonome College. Two professors there join in a discussion about how the Japanese language formed from thousands of years ago to the classical period (7th-11th Centuries). Then we discuss how Japanese people have confronted various foreign languages, translation issues, and why they have such difficulties in acquiring English.

42 minutes of a presentation for the government (JICA - Japan International Cooperation Agency) to civil engineering trainees from various developing countries. They introduce themselves at first so listeners can learn the true pronunciation of country names like Iraq. Recorded with an MP3 format digital voice recorder. Another time it would be interesting to record the Q&A session because the time it is taking for democracy to take root in Japan was of acute interest to Iraqi, Egyptian, East Timorese and African participants. The history of the Imperial family, which differs from official accounts, was also presented. The Djiboutian's question about the origins of the Japanese is taken up at the beginning. To read the presentation outline or PowerPoint slides while listening, click here.

The photo on the right side above is the author's half-Japanese son with his cousin.