One good thing about the COVID-19 is the sharp decrease of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emission due to static of the economy. However, as you may know, it will be temporal and not for long.We must work on for the global warming countermeasure together with sustainable economic growth. It is an energy policy. It is the shortest way of global warming countermeasure heading for “decarbonized society”, that we decrease consumption of coal and fuel oil and accelerate alternative renewal energies.  People agreed to “keep rise in average temperature of the whole earth lower than 2 degrees on the AC and keep １.５ degrees lower comparing with the time of Industrial Revolution” in the Paris Agreement in 2015.Many countries are moving for the direction of “carbon-free”. “Carbon-free” starts from decreasing and stoppage of usage of coal. Discharge of CO2 at coal-fired power plant is double of LNG power station.The advanced nations have declared stoppage of coal-fired power generation. In case of U.K. they will stop by 2025, France by 2021 and Canada by 2030.  And those nations organized PPCA (Powering Past Coal Alliance) in 2016 and 33 nations and ２９　Governments have already joined.  Then, what about Japan? There are 140 coal-fired power plants already. And Japanese company is building a huge coal-fired power plant, which will start operating from 2024, at Vung-ang, Vietnam. Among so-called “G7”, Japan is only nation which is building coal-fired power plants in overseas and is getting sever criticism from other membership countries of the Paris Agreement saying that Japan is not so positive in decarbonation, despite Japan is targeting to decrease greenhouse gas by 23% as compared to the year 2013, and, by the year 2030. Japan has received the disgrace “Fossil award” from “Climate Action Network (CAN)” at UN Climate Action Summit COP25 in December 2019. It was second award in a row.  Ministry of Environment, Mr. Koizumi pledged at COP25 that “we have committed ourselves already in decarbonization and we will fulfill it”.  After COP25 last December, Japanese policy for coal-fired power plant is changing. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced on July 3, 2020 that about a hundred of coal-fired power plants out of 140 plants, which are old type and volume of CO2 discharge is large, shall be stopped in operation and disposed by 2030. At the same time, Japan decided to make their export assistance condition of coal-fired power station stern.We can say this may be the first big step to “decarbonization”, but it is not complete stoppage of using carbon.  Why cannot Japan stop using carbon? There are two main reasons domestically and across. In domestic, almost all the nuclear power plants had to stop operating after “3.11” (Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011) and the number of coal-fired power station (running cost is lower) increased gradually without any debate. Japan cannot abolish coal fired power stations easily, because coal-fired electricity occupies 30% of total electricity in Japan. Developing countries in South East Asia, they are still developing coal-fired power stations. If Japan would stop involvement in such markets, China and/or India will definitely enter in  business.  And Japan may lose such broad market.    Beside such reasons mentioned above, re-recognition of renewable energy will be necessary to get out of so-called “coal addiction” as Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres pointed out,It has been told that cost of coal-fired electricity is cheap and cost of electricity by renewable energy is high. Such understandings, however, are not correct anymore. During these ten years since 2011, the cost by solar power generation has gone down by 80%.According to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, renewable energy cost by solar power and wind power will become lower than that of coal-fired electricity by 2030.  As for the overseas market, economic profit from export of renewable energy technology is higher than export of coal-fired power station plant itself. And it will be appreciated highly by international societies.  To attain the carbon-free societies, prevalence of renewable energy is essential. The government is targeting the share of renewal energy will rise to 22～24% by 2030 and coal-fired electricity will be decreased by only a few percent and upto 26%. This target figure should be reconsidered.For example, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives insists the share of renewable energy shall be 40% in 2030. The Renewable Energy Institute, established by SON Masayoshi after “3.11”, advocates the target figure shall be 45%. If the Japanese Government would aim seriously at situation where renewable electricity is main electricity, they should introduce renewable energy more brazenly.And if they can do it, “carbon-free society” is not far from materialization.   SGRA Kawaraban 649 in Japanese (Original)  XIE Zhihai / Associate Professor, Kyoai Gakuen International University    Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Sabina Koirala

 Recently, Pew Research Center, American research firm, announced an interesting report. They asked 14 countries question、it was “Do you recognize pandemic of infectious diseases as a strong menace?” (research period: June – August) Which country do they understand it as “strong menace”?  South Korea was the first and the figure was 89%. Their answers were “Yes, it is a strong menace”.  The second was Japan and the figure was 88%. When we compare the differences between two countries, we can say that both countries feel “menace” equally. Whereas, the other countries, U.S.A. 78%, England 74% and Germany 55% (the lowest). Sweden, which took lax measures, scored 56%.  When we see the news by mass media and glaring correspondence against coronavirus by the Government in South Korea, we can easily understand their strong menace feelings. But it was unexpected that strong menace feeling in Japan was too high. Mass media reports about the coronavirus were restrained and correspondence by the central and local Government were lax in Japan.  It became distinct that the measures against coronavirus in Japan depend on the efforts by individuals who felt strong threat. Movement of people has decreased sharply and all the Japanese Railway companies fall into the biggest red despite of no compulsory measures. If there would be “Japanese model”, it will be a thoroughness of behavior modification by individuals. (I have a doubt for calling “Japanese model”, because it will be not easy to imitate.)  At SGRA café this time、 under the title “Japanese measures against the new coronavirus from international viewpoints”, I had a feeling of differences in the meaning between the reports from various countries and Japanese cases. Five countries (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India and the Philippines), except Vietnam, are democratic system countries and have tracking technique using systems for mobility limitation and personal information management. Violation of human rights is allowed partly for the purpose of “repressing spread of coronavirus”. Such limitation of movement which bring penalty paying, mandatory of face masks, limitation of business suspension have been introduced already in the countries in Europe and the America. We cannot deny the fact that failures in the past were effective as a kind of “social vaccinations” in South Korea and Taiwan and regulatory measures, as social consensus, were applied. In the Philippines which consist of many islands, and India which has big land and population, had to decide to apply strong limitation of movement.  Japan did not take a hard line. But there was no “pandemic” in Japan like Europe and America. Under the COVID-19, I am carefully watching the gathering of denialists against face masks for the coronavirus. (Anti-Government denialists at anti-lockdown demonstration) Participants of such gatherings are so-called “anti-intellectualism” and we can say that, it reflects the values which have been cherished in Europe and the America.   The tone of the considerable press in Japan about the infection control measures in Korea has been “totalitarianism”. I trust “Korea as a democratic country” and have been looking that if control measures constrained, there will be a backlash. It was the “anti-Governmental demonstration” on August 15. I thought it was quite foolish for the participants to demonstrate. But it was certified that Korea is a democratic country despite being different from the America and Europe.  When we think in this way, Japanese case was exceptional. There was no authoritarian control measures and people’s backlash was not so strong despite a public-opinion poll showed that more than half of people were dissatisfied with the measures taken by the Government. There was “No-mask Event (Shibuya Cluster Festival)”. But it was dilapidated if we compare with Korea, America and Europe. “Voluntary restriction of movement” under the words “self-restraint” was pursued and use of Shinkansen at Obon holidays decreased significantly. It was “Japanese characteristics” which is different from the America and Europe where personal freedom is emphasized, and different from South Korea and Taiwan where authoritarianism remains, and different from China and Vietnam under authoritarianism itself.  It may be possible to say that individual taken measures have led anti-coronavirus measures in Japan. So-called “self-restraint policeman”, which is interpreted negatively, may be a part of “Japanese model”.  We cannot overlook the case in Toshima Ward Office in Tokyo.  Staff member of Toshima Ward Office were arrested threatened eating house having changed to “self-restraint policeman”.  In other countries, the role of “self-restraint policeman”　is performed by real policeman and we can see the particularity of Japan clearly there. (Of course, we cannot encourage self-restraint policeman because personal sanctions are not allowed by the penal law in Japan) We may be able to say KINDAICHI Kosuke (a detective) solve the case before policemen. (For your information, I am a fan of YOKOMIZO Masashi(novelist))    We must consider, however, the fact that Japanese lax regulations hindered economic recession. In the busy shopping districts in KUNITACHI city where I am living and our neighboring city TACHIKAWA, a lot of shops and restaurants were closed. A venerable stationery shop (established 81 years ago) and a steak house (established 30 years ago) closed. It will be difficult to pick up the economy without squelching a menace of the coronavirus to a certain degree.  Reports at SGRA café have made it clear that consistency of economy and epidemic preventions is not easy.  The lesson, which we learned from the war against the coronavirus during this half year, is that “it is quite difficult to have consistency in both economy and epidemic prevention”. That will not change until we find clear evidence of attenuation of the coronavirus or vaccine development. Most probably there will be no change next year in “repetition of control and expansion” as this year. Since our “wishful thinking” have been betrayed one after another, we must think in this way. It may be the most effective that we take measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus assuming the worst possible cases.  Photos of the Day  Questionnaire total result  Recording of the Day   SGRA Kawaraban 647 in Japanese (Original)  Jaeun_YUN / 2020 Raccoon,  Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Sabina Koirala

 I was recently asked by the people around me very often about my schedule after graduation because we will be graduating soon. Especially, in the case of postgraduate students, who have studied several years, they are asked about jobs or works after graduation. Being asked about jobs, they are even asked about marriages or marital status especially if a woman unmarried.   Since I have majored in Japanese literature, I came to Japan in September 2011 to get doctoral degree. And I have obtained doctoral degree last month i.e. March 2020 basing on my doctoral thesis which I completed on last December 2019 taking tenure of eight years. It may be quite natural to be asked about jobs or life after my return to Syria. Among a lot of queries done to me, last year, the one was concerns and surprises.  It was a question about “proposing” which precede marriage. “Proposing” has been conversed very often so far but has not been discusses concretely.  Several times I was asked by Japanese acquaintances or friends who are of my age saying “how do I propose?” or “how were Nahed-san proposed?” I understood that Japanese young men worry about words, places and timing of proposal. When Japanese young men propose, they spend a lot of money on gift and luxury hotel or restaurant.I was surprised, why they worry about such things and spend so much money? I asked reason and I came to know there are obligation in Japan that young men should follow. For women who are proposed, they are given with good topics for discuss and heat up their chat. As there is a big difference in meaning of a word “proposal” between Syria and Japan, I searched for a keyword “proposal” on Google and could hit so many links unexpectedly. I was disappointed with so many pages which suggest how, when(timing) and where they should propose. In my case, I had been attached with him for two years before I came to Japan, and I do not remember how he proposed. To begin with, I do not remember well whether he used a word “proposal” clearly. It is not so important for Syrian girls. In Syria or other neighboring countries, when men or women become aware of being compatible or like with each other, they will keep staying near to each other intentionally. And they try to communicate more on school hours and stay longer. I think friendship between men and women start like this in many countries. In Syria, men are more positive than women of course. They become lovers eventually and are tied to knots after being acquainted with each other.   To get married, suitor talks each other and decide. Then, girl tells her mother and finally discussed with the man of the house.  After that she conveys parents’ consent to him, determine the timing of their parents for their engagement. After both the family meets, the boy’s father says “it is my great honor to welcome your daughter to be our daughter-in-law”. Then girl’s father says “it’s my privilege too to be one family when our daughter and your son will marry”. Their engagement is admitted among their families and they will have an engagement party accordance by two fathers. It will take a few weeks or months for the preparation of wedding ceremony and finally the wedding is held. It is a procedure in Syria and other neighboring countries. Initiated relationship through their fathers are welcomed by the women. Before engagement, man usually buys gifts and takes woman to fancy restaurants. At the beginning stage, he gives flowers often. The flowers may not be expensive.  It may be a roses or jasmine which are found easily. Eventually they get into serious relationship, and man starts gifting her with presents like watches and bags.  However, women would not be pleased if the stage will not go to proposal initiated through father and involving parents from both sides. Proposing place is fixed at her family’s house. Men visits her family’s house with his parents bringing fruits or cakes and they will leave the rest to their fathers. I noticed wonderful way of proposal in Japan, which young couples are playing leading part and thought that men’s burden would be heavy. It is a big difference from Syria. You may think Syrian way of proposal is too traditional and boring. But it is much more wonderful for me, born in Syria, to be proposed being supported and watched by parents. Especially, I think it doubtful that internet or SNS suggest men side words, places and timings of proposal.  It is quite natural that proposal style varies in countries and generations.When I see, on the Internet, a lot of suggestions about proposal which should be an important step to make a family, I had a feeling, frankly speaking, that individual spontaneity or positiveness would be shrouded in darkness without realizing. Women side would have a high acceptance for proposal, men side may lose confidences and miss chances to make proposal. Present society or SNS inflame modern style of proposal. But it is a natural course of proposal style that lead to realistic marriage which might not be ideal. It is already nine years I am in Japan and the people around ask me many questions. “Proposal” is one of them and my opinion is mentioned above.  SGRA Kawaraban 645 in Japanese (Original)  Nahed_ALMAREE / 2019 Raccoon Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Sabina Koirala  

 April 4 is a Qingming Festival in China. At 10 o’clock, this day, the government prayed, for three minutes, for doctors and other medical workers and the dead by the new coronavirus in China which occurred on January 23 in Wuhan. They fought for about two months.  The prayers by the government were the symbol of elementary victory against COVID-19.  In China, COVID-19 converged temporarily. But it spread all over the world in April and Japan was no exception. The number of infected persons in Japan is not so big compared to Europe and America. The Japanese government declared a state of emergency in April and May and could put COVID-19 under their control. But, when the Japanese government released such declarations at the end of May, infection clusters out broke. In Tokyo, the number of infections increased day by day. It was the second wave of coronavirus.  The second wave of coronavirus in Japan brought us brutal facts as follows: At least, in a predictable future, we must live together with corona which would leave influential traces in our daily lives.  We dreamed optimistically that we would be able to get back to normal lives after standing suffering in a short period. But this dream was broken. We must rebuild our new attitude in COVID-19. We have to have strong and tenacious guts of prolonged war against coronavirus and, at the same time, we have to do our best in our defensive measures against COVID-19 paying attention in all our movement of our actual daily lives. I think it corrects attitude to survive in the “WITH-CORONA” societies.  There is one story which I have read before. This story explains how an individual or one organization succeeded in coping with and overcame over prolonging difficulties. The answer, which the writer gave us, is “recuperative power”. Then how is “recuperative power” composed?  The writer of this article has interviewed a survivor of the Nazi concentration camp. According to a survivor, he had never had an illusion that he would be rescued soon. It differed from other inmates.On the contrary, he was prepared seriously to predict that he might not get out of the camp forever.  The only thing he has been thinking in the camp, in which people would reach the limit of life or death, is that he had to expose everything which he had experienced there in the world if he would be able to get out of the camp alive.  He was strongly saying in his heart that he would inform the world about the tragedies in the camp and such tragedies should not be repeated.  Based on such belief, he has collected every material for the winter in the camp and could get over finally such difficult situation which is far beyond our imagination.    Such experience by this survivor shows us clearly that there are three factors that consist of “recuperative power”. Namely, courage which faces actuality, a pursuit for meaning of being alive and flexible correspondence to the situation. I think those three factors are the “theses” which can maximize our real worth in the circumstance that we would confront COVID-19 on a long-term basis.  The COVID-19 pandemics on a global scale brought the people all over the world not only serious disasters but various difficulties like the menace of latent virus, inconvenient and restricted livings, stagnant of consumer lives and losing sense of accomplishment by unemployment etc.I think, however, those difficulties gave us again good chances to reconsider and determine the purpose of lives and positive attitude to our lives.  There will be a big possibility which influence of COVID-19 become a trigger to the sudden change in global situations. But I think we should consider COVID-19, which we encountered unfortunately in the year 2020, as good news, not as bad news. Let’s create infinite possibilities by ourselves in our limited livings which may continue a long period.  SGRA Kawaraban 644 in Japanese (Original)  Xie_Suhang / 2019 Raccoon,  Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Sabina Koirala   

 We had nearly a hundred participants at SGRA Café this time.The reasons、 why we could gather such a big number of participants, are :1)  Timely selection of the theme “East Asia in the Post-Corona Era”2) Attractive lecturers as Mr. Lim Chuan-Tiong and othersand 3) “Virtual style” Café     The Café started with Mr. Lim Chuan-Tiong’s lecture at the first section.Though we had a get-together meeting after the lecture and comments, I like to explain Mr. Lim’s lecture mainly in this report. As to a get-together meeting, I like to ask Mr. Lim to report in a separate report.  Mr. Lim started his lecture from his view on the world, namely the end of globalization of the world. As a concrete example, he pointed out breaking-off of global supply chains and recurring of the companies in their home countries, suspension of personnel exchange and upsurge of nationalism etc. He reported also that many countries have developed their feelings of distrust against China in their initial response against coronavirus and establishment and enforcement of the “Hong Kong National Security Act”.  Following such report, he expressed the change of the relationship among the East Asian countries in the “New Cold War” between the United States and China. Between Japan and South Korea, the biggest issue is how to keep their balance with the United States and China. China is trying to break up the relations of Japan and South Korea with the United States in the atmosphere that frictions between Japan and South Korea are getting worse. He insisted also that relations between Japan and China were shifted from “quasi-honeymoon” to “hot-China and cool-Japan” during these two years.  At first, China took leadership for Japan-China friendship relationships. However, the Chinese image in Japan is tarnishing day by day and Xi’s visiting Japan as a national guest is uncertain now. It is said that China took the initiative in China-South Korea relationships also and Mr. Lim pointed out that South Korea’s diplomacy did not take their independence. If so, and when the COVID19 would calm down, will Chinese influence become stronger at once? Firstly, in Hong Kong, the Chinese Government will make Hong Kong shift to an authoritarian regime ignoring antipathy or criticism of the United States and European countries. (Before the year 1997, Hong Kong was initiated by local government and half-colonized.)  On the other hand, China began to consider, for Taiwan, it would not be bad to keep distance between Main-Land China and Taiwan. It was an unexpected effect of COVID19. We can say it is an opposite effect against such radical policies like “Merger of Cross-Strait Relations” and “Preferential Treatment 31 agendum(恵台３１カ条)“. Chinese control policy of Hong Kong made Taiwan to be under pressure. As a result of loosing of Hong Kong as a buffer zone, Taiwan’s reliance on the United States is increasing.  Mr. Lim concluded his lecture saying that “the Post-Corona Era” is the coming of “New Cold War”. Hong Kong and Taiwan will be the place of “hard-fought battle”. Though we must pay attention to the presidential election of the United States in November this year, we cannot avoid “New Cold War”, because consensus on Chinese policy was already made in the United States. Shall the world be divided into two major blocks, the United States and China?What Japan will be asked to behave hereafter is their independent activities and leadership.  Following Mr. Lim’s lecturer, we had a few comments.Firstly, Mr. SHIMOKOJI Shuji (ex-diplomat) commented as follows.The New Coronavirus issue brought about a lot of issues to international societies.  Mutual trust is a part of such issues. He pointed out, however, that we are now in the stage how to cope with our common enemy “coronavirus”.  As to an improvement of relations between Japan and China, it is desirable. But it is not important which side shall take the initiative. What is important now is how to lead international orders to constructive direction and big powers must discuss each other especially.    Professor NAM Ki-Jeong commented as follows:  When we think about international order of “Post-Corona Era” as “New-Order”, we must overcome a framework of “theory of realism” in the international politics. It became clear that we have to get rid of “identity-politics” and it is necessary to build the politics which should be put in a center of people’s lives. If we would stick to “identity-politics”, the relations between Japan and South Korea will be failed. However, when we look at political viewpoints which focus on people’s living like the COVID19, we will not be able to solves such issue if we appeal to only nationalism. The COVID19 taught politicians that identities or nationalismwould not lead to the votes. Politicians should consider how they shall leave their political legacy behind. Professor Nam concluded his comment saying that he hopes middle powered nations like Japan and Korea to establish such political legacies.  We finished the lecture and comment section after one hour and 45 minutes. As my personal impression, there were a lot of subjects which we would like to discuss taking more time and it was an interesting cafe as a researcher. And it was a thoughtful lecture for me how I, as a citizen, will develop an international order and how I will act for it. As been pointed out at a get-together meeting, personal power is limited and “identities” cannot be overcome easily by an individual. Needless to say, bad feelings or prejudice are easier to be established, if we will be in negative histories in political situations or restriction of information. Is it OK to give up at this stage? For this half year in 2020, I had a locked up feeling or thought pessimistic in the atmosphere of avoiding going out and meeting.But I believe there would be positive factors which I overlooked in such bias.  SGRA Cafe Report in Japanese (Original) Photos of the Day  Li Yanming / Specially-appointed lecturer at the University of Tokyo         Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Sabina Koirala