Category Archives: City Theme Activities

City Life, City Theme Activities, Omura City

Visiting the Mayor of Omura, Nagasaki

[inspic=958,right,fullscreen,400]I am from New York and never have met or seen any of the mayors in my city. They are almost untouchable to me and I only get to see and hear about them on television.

Today I was lucky enough to be able to meet and talk to the mayor of Omura, Nagasaki. His name is Takashi Matsumoto. As the group and I waited in the lobby to see him I was quite nervous because I thought he would be a very serious person.

To my surprise he was really friendly. Mayor Matsumoto was very curious about each of our countries. He wanted to know what we were proud of when it came to our home towns. To answer his question I told him about the diversity of people that can be found in New York. There is an opportunity to experience and learn about every culture in New York.

The superintendant of the elementary schools was also participating in our discussion. He told us how in the elementary schools the food for lunch gets delivered to the schools and is prepared for the students at the school. Most of our countries have similar systems except for Austria. David, who is a student from Austria told us that the elementary children have a 2 hour lunch. During that time they go home and eat lunch there. Then they return to school when they are finished. The mayor liked this idea for lunch.

Mayor Matsumoto also told us some history about Nagasaki, like how it was the only city open to foreigners during Japan’s isolation period. The time with him ended when the mayor gave us his business card. I feel very honored that I got to meet the Mayor of Omura city.

(Hasiyna Gibson, USA)

Arao City, City Life, City Theme Activities, Community Partners, Our participants

Supporting Arao LOC at Charity Bazaar

[inspic=950,left,fullscreen,275][inspic=949,rigth,fullscreen,400][inspic=948,right,fullscreen,400]Today, World Campus International staff members along with the purple-adorned Arao LOC (local organizing committee) participated in the Charity Bazaar at the Arao City Mall. As a group of gaijins (foreigners in Japanese), we attracted much attention to our booth! There were hand-crafted goodies galore, including scarves, tissue boxes, and flower arrangements, all of which were donated by the generous LOC. We also took this opportunity to promote and share about World Campus – Japan with the local community of Arao! Funds raised by the event will go towards helping host future participants.

City Life, City Theme Activities, Kumamoto City

Minamata Disease – A City Changed Forever

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[inspic=824,,fullscreen,400][inspic=823,right,fullscreen,400]Hello again, this is Burcu and today I am going to tell you about Minamata disease.

It is a kind of poisoning, caused by methyl-mercury contamination in the sea. In Minamata, there was a factory operated by the Chisso Corporation which was sending their used water to the sea. In 1926, fishermen noticed the first anomalies in the ecosystem but they didn’t take this seriously. In 1950, the contamination started to affect the jellyfish and fish around Minamata. They were coming directly to the surface and it was easy to collect them, so people didn’t worry much about the cause. In 1953, the first person got sick because they ate the contaminated fish. But it was not until 1956, they officially discovered the cause was Minamata disease.

The disease affects the neural system and brain directly. The damage to the neural system cannot be repaired, so there was no way to help the people who suffered from the disease.

Actually until the volume of methyl-mercury is over 25ppm, it is not dangerous to humans. So the government started a cleaning project and today in Minamata city, the volume is under that limit. They actually filled in a part of the sea that was polluted and an Eco Park was created in its place. But it is still dangerous because in case of an earthquake or tsunami, the mercury may contaminate the sea again. So there is an institute to check the water and water products in Minamata city.

Right now Minamata city is like an eco-land. People learned from their mistakes and they are now protecting nature. They even separate the trash into 22 different categories! But there was also the effect of the mercury on the fishing industry, which is so important in Japan. In Minamata, all fisheries were prohibited from April 1st 1975 to March 31st 1990. One thing I learned is that our mistakes affect lives, directly or indirectly, even if we are not aware of it.

Many thanks to the head of the Minamata Museum for his patience, our tour guide, and our translators!

Burcu Tepik (Turkey)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Guest Speakers, Kumamoto City

Stork’s Cradle – Delivering Hope

[inspic=822,,fullscreen,400][inspic=821,right,fullscreen,400]The emotions you experience through the activities in WCI are very broad. Some days are all about having fun, but other days you have to open your mind to more serious issues, like the day we visited the Jikei hospital.

The hospital is special because it is the only place in Japan where you can anonymously leave unwanted babies. This is called “Stork’s Cradle”.

In the morning of that day we had a discussion about ethical questions relating to teenage pregnancies, parental responsibility and science vs. religion. It was very interesting because we were in groups with people from all around the world. We learned about the rules and how things work in each country, but also about the similarities, which I think is much greater.

In the afternoon we went to the hospital and had a guided tour and a Q&A session with the founder of Stork’s Cradle. It was very interesting to hear his story and intentions with Stork’s Cradle, since there are a lot of opinions around whether this is a good thing or not.

He felt so heartbroken every time he saw news of a baby being abandoned alone somewhere, and so he established the Stock’s Cradle in 2007 after a similar system in Germany. It is meant to be a last resort when parents just have no other options. He strongly encourages them to raise the child on their own, and offers many consultations both before and after the baby has been delivered to the hospital. In the end I think that Stork’s Cradle is there to save lives and do good for both parents and children.

Amanda Roland (Norway)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Omura City

Touching Lives – The Fureai Event

[inspic=817,,fullscreen,400][inspic=816,,fullscreen,400][inspic=815,right,fullscreen,400]There is always something new and interesting from joining the World Campus – Japan program. And I had one day so special and memorable in Omura, Nagasaki. It was called the “Fureai” event.

The “Fureai” event is held annually here in Omura city, Nagasaki. Basically, it is held for handicapped people. People who are physically or emotionally handicapped or have mental disorders. So nearly 650 handicapped people attended this event.

All the participants of the WCJ program participated. We performed our show like we usually do in the “Arigato Evento” hoping to entertain and share our happiness with them. We believe that through music, there is no barrier. Music unites people. Everyone can enjoy all the melody and rhythm together.

Then we played some simple games, exchanged our name cards, and sang and danced together. We were accompanied by the magnificent Omura Jazz Orchestra. Wow…such an incredible experience.

One thing we can learn is that doing something simple can be extraordinary for other people. I felt so happy when seeing all the handicapped people smile…

Yohanes Siem (Indonesia)