“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

Like people everywhere I have been trying to find ways to keep safe, healthy and fit, stay productive, and also entertain myself during this period of self isolation and limited contact with the outside world due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In general, I have kept my attitude positive by adhering to the golf/life maxim to “play them as they lie!” I now treat every day as a gift, a new adventure in living my very unexpected life.

In the search to find things to do however I unfortunately got caught in the great “binge” trap. Without much thought I was soon over eating and drinking, gaining weight and finding ways to “relax.” With some effort, I was able to course correct and get back to a better place.

Being extremely curious but easily bored I decided to focus on reading books as my preferred entertainment and learning activity for the duration of the virus crisis. In the past six months, I have read an eclectic mix of 55 fictional and non-fiction books, my daily newspaper subscriptions to the English-language Japan Times and the international edition of the New York Times, and a host of online newsletters and other interesting and helpful information sources.

One of my favorite literature genres is mysteries, particularly those involving interesting detectives and I decided to embark upon a “binge” reading project involving the books of two of my favorite mystery authors that involve fictional detective characters –– Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Georges Simenon’s Inspector Jules Maigret. [Note: I have previously done this with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Ian Fleming’s 007 James Bond series as well as a number of other authors with interesting fictional characters.]

Poirot is a Belgian private detective best known for his iconic mustaches and using his “little grey cells” to solve the most puzzling cases often accompanied by Captain Arthur Hastings, who acts as the Watson to his Holmes.

Maigret is a gruff, but patient and fair, French police detective who serves as a commissaire of the Police Judiciaire de Paris.

Christie wrote 37 Poirot book titles plus a collection of 50 short stories. Simenon’s Inspector Maigret series includes 75 book titles and 28 short stories. My goal is to read every Kindle edition of these books in the order of publication (including re-reading a number I had previously purchased as paperback or Kindle editions).

To date, I have read 19 Poirot books and 8 with Maigret and completed nearly all the short stories.

While I have tried to manage my binge reading, I take naps during the day to makeup for the loss of sleep due to reading at night.

Over the year I have enjoyed drinking very good Japanese whiskey both in the United States and in Japan.  With increasing popularity I had noticed significantly higher prices.  In fact, since moving to Tokyo last fall I have purchased my preferred premium brands of imported single-malt scotch finding them a far better value than the Japanese product.  I was also uncertain of the many varieties of Japanese whiskies available here since even with Keiko’s translation assistance, the bottles didn’t offer much information about the product.

Happy with the reasonably priced availability of my long-time favorites I didn’t give much thought to the local market and planned to but a top Japanese product for a future birthday gift.

You can imagine my surprise when I came across an article in the New York Times International Edition that claimed there was a serious problem with Japanese whiskies.  The article cites authoritative sources saying “There are a lot of situations where you call it Japanese whisky, but they’re using imported Scotch or Canadian whisky.”

Lacking any regulatory regimen, there are few rules for what those bottles should contain.  In fact, apparently some companies buy spirits in bulk from abroad, bottle and label it “Japanese whisky” both for sale in the local market and re-export to the United States and other countries.

Read the article:http://www.paulmyer.com/wp-content/uploads/Fake-Japanese-Whiskey.pdf

“To sin by silence, when we should protest makes cowards out of men.”

The opening lines of a piercing poem titled “Protest” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850–October 30, 1919), from her 1914 book Poems of Problems written at the peak of the Women’s Suffrage movement and just as WWI was about to erupt.

PROTEST
To sin by silence, when we should protest,
Makes cowards out of men. The human race
Has climbed on protest. Had no voice been raised
Against injustice, ignorance, and lust,
The inquisition yet would serve the law,
And guillotines decide our least disputes.

The few who dare, must speak and speak again
To right the wrongs of many. Speech, thank God,
No vested power in this great day and land
Can gag or throttle. Press and voice may cry
Loud disapproval of existing ills;
May criticise oppression and condemn
The lawlessness of wealth-protecting laws
That let the children and childbearers toil
To purchase ease for idle millionaires.

Therefore I do protest against the boast
Of independence in this mighty land.
Call no chain strong, which holds one rusted link.
Call no land free, that holds one fettered slave.
Until the manacled slim wrists of babes
Are loosed to toss in childish sport and glee,
Until the mother bears no burden, save
The precious one beneath her heart, until
God’s soil is rescued from the clutch of greed
And given back to labor, let no man
Call this the land of freedom.

In early summer, most parts of Japan get visited by the so called Tsuyu, a rainy season.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the rainy season is caused by the collision of cold northerly and warm southerly air masses, which results in a relatively stable bad weather front over the Japanese archipelago for several weeks. In Tokyo the 2020 rainy season is estimated to last from June 8 through July 20.

Fortunately it does not rain every day in Tokyo and the JMA provides some interesting probability data. The chance of rain on any given day is 45% while the probability of sunny weather is 27%. On the rainy days, half see only light rain, while the other half see more substantial amounts of precipitation.

The rainy season is generally not considered the most ideal time to tour Japan. However, with the smaller crowds and fewer tourists it does have its advantages. In particular many of the temples, parks and gardens are very attractive in the rain. So, as a resident it is a great opportunity to grab your umbrella and go explore the city!

Of my many wonderful memories of early visits to Japan, one involved my first experience at an open air hit spring, called an onsen, on a rainy day. For me, there is nothing more relaxing than sitting in an onsen and listening to the patter of the light rain.

Obviously, the Covid-19 pandemic may limit some rainy season enjoyment. But, overall, I am grateful for the opportunity to be living in Tokyo!

I have been coming to Japan for business and pleasure for over twenty years. For much of 2000-2002, I lived and worked in Japan as a senior executive of a global technology business. I have been married to a Japanese citizen for sixteen years and in October 2019 I declared Tokyo as my legal residence.

Over that time, I have developed a deep understanding of and respect for Japanese culture. I have adapted to the Japanese life-style and observance of traditions, customs and social rules. I enjoy Japanese cuisine. I have studied Japanese history, its political system and business practices.

Sadly, my Japanese language proficiency is near zero. Not that I have not tried to learn to speak the language but frankly I only half jokingly tell friends that I still have trouble with the English language! I clearly have a language learning deficiency.

That said, I am most comfortable in my adopted home, effectively using my limited linguistic knowledge, some translation technology and the ability to understand more than I can speak the language due in part to the non-verbal nature of much that is being communicated.

Similarly, most Japanese understand and speak little English. I’ve often wondered why that is so and I’ve heard a number of reasons. Four often advanced are (1) the fact that English is based on a totally different phonetic system; (2) because the schools focus on teaching grammar and limited conversation skill development; (3) because most Japanese rarely get a chance to learn through interacting with English-speaking people; and (4) there is little incentive to speak English or indeed any other “foreign” language.

I believe the lack of incentive the most troubling and was surprised to see a featured article in a recent issue of The Japan Times headlined: “Bad English In Japan –– A Conspiracy Theory.” While the article does not support the view that the Japanese bureaucracy and political leadership have engaged in a conspiracy, it does raise an interesting issue related to Japan’s troubled socio-economic-demographic future:

Perhaps their thinking is that the loss of multitudes of Japanese in their prime working years to more opportunity-rich countries overseas could quickly turn a severe (but manageable) demographic decline into a death spiral.

Driven by a fear of mass emigration and brain drain, is the bureaucracy engaged in a conspiracy to keep English down? Probably not. But, whether by design, ambivalence or ineptitude, government reforms to English-language instruction will forever be too little and too late.

The takeaway for Japanese who want to learn English well: You are on your own.

Read the article here: http://www.paulmyer.com/wp-content/uploads/Bad-English-In-Japan-A-Conspiracy-Theory-1-1.pdf