Group Report:

Producing Mirage Members: S. T S. S T. A A. K

A mirage cannot be formed without a boundary

layer which is found between two layers which have

different density. Generally speaking, the density of

cold air is higher than that of hot air. The trail of

light can be changed by their difference of the air’s

density. Actually, mirages are formed by the

difference. For example, the light goes as the left

slide shows.

This machine makes a boundary layer where light

is refracted by using the difference of temperature

between the room air and the hot air released from a

hair dryer.

We could observe a reverse image and an extended

image, but could not observe an erect image. We

thought that the reason for our failure was that we

could not adjust the boundary layer exactly.

In Toyama, we can see a lot of natural

phenomena and most characteristic of them is

the “mirage”. A mirage is a phenomenon in

which an object that is located far away is seen

differently. Nobody has succeeded in producing

a complete mirage but our seniors tried it for a

long time. So, we decided to continue their work

and began studying how to produce it.

What Lies Behind the Creation of the Emoji?

Group 5 : N. K, H. T, H. S, K. I

Emojis are so widely used in the world these days. It is a new

visual language for mobile phones created by Japanese.

On the other hand, on SNS there is a phenomenon called ‘enjo’,

or flaming. ‘Enjo’ occurs when someone makes an inappropriate

remark and many people respond with very rude remarks as well.

Mostly Japanese people are reluctant to give their opinions and try

to avoid argument when they talk with someone face-to-face since

they are trying to be considerate of others. In contrast, on SNS,

Japanese people use such offensive words because you can send

any message without giving your name.

Today, many Japanese people use SNS, such as Facebook,

Twitter, LINE and so on. We usually use emoji on SNS, and

facial emoji in particular.

For our research, we asked Japanese high school students

what their motives were in using emoji. In our research, many

high school students answered that they use emoji to express

their emotions or put the other party at ease.

According to these results, we find the following things. First,

from the motive for using emoji, Japanese young people tend to be

considerate of others when making a remark. Second, from the

phenomenon called ‘enjo’, Japanese young people tend to convey

their opinions clearly in anonymous situations. As ‘enjo’ shows,

Japanese people are not good at conveying their opposing

opinions clearly when talking face-to-face. Therefore even when

we want to express disagreement, we tend to remain silent. We

think this is a problem for Japanese people in expressing

themselves to others.

What Should We Do to Balance Work and Childcare?

Members: R. H, R. Y, M. O, A. K

What should we do to balance work and childcare?

“My child failed to enter the nursery! Go to hell Japan!”

A Japanese housewife said that on the Internet and this

comment became big news throughout Japan. In fact, it

became one of the most famous buzzwords in 2016.

Now, in a big city such as Tokyo, there are many children on the waiting list for nursery.

Usually, women take parental leave for a year after they give birth to a baby to raise their child at

home. Later, they want to return to work but most of them can’t, since their child can’t enter a

nursery. It is because of a shortage of nurseries especially in an overpopulated city such as Tokyo.

This limits Japanese women’s advancement in society.

So the Japanese government started

trying to solve the problem of waitlisted

children. Look at the pictures on the right

side. In March 2016, the blog post was

written. In July, the 24th election of The

Upper House was held with campaign

promises that support services relating to

child care would increase. In August, the

Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of

Japan promoted a reservation system for

nurseries, and the government considered a

tax reduction for families with small children and clarified the definition of waitlisted children. In

September, a measure for continuous child care was released.

Furthermore, due to the stereotype that women must do

housework and raise children, women have a heavy burden.

In order to see if this stereotype really exists, we asked our

fellow high school students what they think about child care.

As a result, out of 267 students, 30% of both boys and girls

answered that mainly women must do housework and raise

children. From this result, we could see that this old

fashioned idea still remains in Japan, even among younger generations in the twenty-first century.

Please look at this picture.

What is this?

Yes!! That’s right!

This is a picture of a dead bird. This bird couldn’t eat

food because he ate so much plastic by mistake.

Recently, plastics, especially micro-plastics, are

causing a lot of environmental issues.

Here, let me explain about micro-plastics.

Micro-plastics come from larger plastic being broken

by ultraviolet rays and ocean waves, and also from

micro-beads in facial cleansers.

This plastic has a large risk because it may absorb

chemicals in polluted areas and release them over

time.

Wow, what a beautiful view!

Well, ... is this a bird?

Sadly, this is also a beach we have in our city. The

seashore is polluted with so much garbage.

Why do you think there comes to be such a difference

in the amount of garbage? In Toyama, some parts

of the seashore are easy for garbage to accumulate

on because of the ocean current.

This is one of the most beautiful views we have in

our city. Let’s look at another part of the beach.

Oh, this is so dirty…

Save Our Ocean Member: A. I, C. K, S. N, A. T, K. H

Our hometown Toyama is rich in nature with its beautiful sea. We talked about the problems of

ocean garbage and what we can do about it.

.

ＣＵＲＩＥ ＥＮＧＩＮＥ

E. T, K. R, K. S, M. H

What kinds of eco-friendly engines do you know, such

as hydrogen engine? Have you ever heard of the curie

engine? The engine doesn’t emit exhaust gasses but

uses exhaust heats to run so we can contribute for our

society. However, it can’t generate high power so it

hasn’t been practical use.

Recently, we have many chances to consider eco. What

are you doing for the environment?

We will explain the principle of running of the engine. The

engine uses the properties of the strong magnetic substances.

Strong magnetic substances are attracted by magnets, such as

iron, cobalt and nickel. Strong magnetic substances each lose

their magnetism when they reach a specific temperature. For

example, iron loses its magnetism when it reaches at 1418゜F.

And then, the substances get their magnetism again when they

get cool. The engine runs by repeating of this phenomenon.

So, we made the second engine. We put nickel plate

between wooden boards. Look at figure of this engine.

This engine has the same principle as the first one.

However, this engine didn’t run. We suspected that this is

too heavy to run, this friction between the shaft of rotation

is high and neodymium magnets lose their magnetism by

fire because neodymium magnets are strong magnetic

substances.

The first machine consists of Y-shaped iron wire,

neodymium magnet, and candle. Look at figure of this

engine. This part is heated by fire. So, this point loses its

magnetism. Another part is attracted by magnet because

another part still has its magnetism. The engine

generates power by repeating this movement. Although

we succeeded in this experiment, we weren’t able to get a

high power.

＃１

＃２

(figure1)

Welcome to Our Hometown

Member: H. K, K. K, Y. H, Y. T

.

Toyama faces the sea and has high mountains. Toyama

has four distinct seasons, so we can always see beautiful

scenery in Toyama. In spring, we enjoy about 1,800 cherry

trees in a park near our high school. In summer, we enjoy

the majestic view of Mt. Tate looming 3000m above Toyama

Bay. It is breathtakingly beautiful. In fall, we see beautiful

red leaves in mountainous areas. In winter, it snows in

Toyama a lot just like Boston. There are very traditional

houses near the mountains. They are strong houses for

heavy snow. I’m sure you can enjoy a lot of beautiful scenery

in Toyama.

Boston is famous for lobsters, and Toyama also has various nice

seafoods, which are caught in Toyama Bay. For example, Shiroebi has

very sweet flavor, and because of its beautiful appearance, it is often

referred to as "Jewel of Toyama Bay." Hotaruika is called firefly

squid in English. They come to Toyama Bay between March and June,

and flash beautifully from underneath the water. Buri, yellowtail, is

very delicious in winter and loved by people around Japan as well as

local people. In Toyama, you can enjoy the blessing of rich nature.

Why don’t you come to Toyama?

Takaoka is now very famous for its traditional crafts and

animation.

Takaoka has statue made of copper, the Great Buddha

of Takaoka. The copperware industry has prospered in

Takaoka. Doraemon is one of the most famous comics in

Japan and read around the world. English versions are

sold, and Doraemon animation is shown in America.

Doraemon’s creator, Fujiko F. Fujio, was born in Takaoka.

When we walk in Takaoka, we can see Doraemon in many

places. Furthermore, Takaoka has world heritage. This is

“mikurumayama festival.” This festival has been held for

more than 400 years. We love Takaoka City!

Takaoka High School is located in Takaoka City, Toyama

Prefecture. Many high schools in Japan have school uniforms. In

our school, girls wear sailor uniforms and boys wear “gakuran.”

We have summer version and winter version. We have many

events. We’ll tell you about two of them. First, about the sports

festival. It is held in June. It’s a very exciting event. We enjoy

various games. Students in each grade compete with other

classes, so the bond of the classmates becomes stronger. Our

classmates are our teammates. We make efforts to win first prize

in the three sections; Competition, Cheering, and Decoration.

Second, about midwinter training. It is practice in the early

morning of the coldest month. Boys practice Judo or Kendo.

Girls play creative dances. This training is very hard. However,

the training in the harsh environment enables us to strengthen

not only our bodies but also our minds.

Takaoka High School has a lot of charms. We are enjoying

our school life.

Eye contact

Pause, Stress, Loud voice,

Slowly, Simple words

Gesture

Confidence, Passion

Memorize points

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