カテゴリー: Essays in English

An International Student from Indonesia Becomes a Professor at His Alma Mater

We have received news that for the second consecutive generation, Dr. Sutomo has been appointed as a professor of pediatrics at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The inauguration ceremony was held on the 18th, and as it was also accessible via Zoom, I had the opportunity to attend. All attendees at the venue wore academic dress, complete with mortarboards, following the traditional European academic attire, making the event a highly solemn occasion. It was fascinating to witness the fusion of Indonesian and European cultures.

Developmental, Behavioral, and Social Pediatrics

It is exciting to see that he specializes in Developmental, Behavioral, and Social Pediatrics, one of the most socially needed fields in pediatric medicine worldwide. I look forward to his contributions as a leader in this field, not only in Indonesia but also on the global stage, including developed countries.

Kobe University School and Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM)

The relationship between the Kobe University School of Medicine and the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) School of Medicine runs deep, dating back to the 1970s.

During my active years, I had the opportunity to study alongside four international students—Prof. Surjono, Prof. Boutiman, Prof. Purnomo, and Prof. Sunartini—who all earned their Doctor of Medicine degrees at Kobe University and went on to play central roles in the advancement of medicine in their home country.

Unfortunately, they have all passed away. I sincerely hope that Prof. Sutomo will carry on their legacy and continue their contributions to the field.

2025.2.20.

Attending a Wedding Ceremony in Nepal

On December 3, I departed Kansai Airport with my daughter, Mayuko. After spending two nights in Bangkok, we finally arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal. There is a time difference of 3 hours and 15 minutes. I was able to attend the wedding ceremony of the son of my close Nepali friend, Professor Pokharel. After an 8-day trip, I safely returned to chilly Japan on the morning of December 10.

Nepali weddings are held over three days.

The first day is hosted by the groom’s side, the second day by the bride’s side, and the third day is the main event hosted jointly by both families.

Each family has over 100 members, and including acquaintances like us, there were over 500 attendees, making it a truly grand celebration. From Japan, there were six participants: Professor Hideki Yamamoto and his wife from AMDA Japan, who contributed to the establishment of a children’s hospital in Nepal, and two members of Mr. Pokharel’s host family from his time studying in Japan.

On the first day, the ceremony was held at the Pokharel residence and was attended only by the groom’s side. Around the numerous gifts from the bride’s side, children joyfully danced, and everyone ate heartily and enjoyed lively conversations.

The second day was hosted by the bride’s side and took place at a hotel. In the garden, a band played Nepali folk music, while various rituals continued endlessly from morning to night. One particularly interesting ritual involved washing the bride’s feet, where relatives took turns sprinkling water over her feet. It seemed to symbolize the bride leaving her parental home and moving into her husband’s household.

The third-day ceremony took place in the evening in a hotel garden, attended by many guests. Later in the evening, a banquet was held in a large hall with round tables, similar to Japanese weddings. However, unlike Japanese receptions where speeches are made on stage with a microphone, here everything was conducted face-to-face in a more personal manner, which made the event quite lengthy. Despite being the main ceremony, the groom and bride had already been introduced earlier, making the atmosphere relaxed and lively.

This tradition of celebrating weddings with such large gatherings shows that the family system is still deeply rooted in Nepali society. That said, the bride and groom, both studying in the United States, were set to return there just two days after the wedding. In 10 years, Nepali wedding customs might change significantly.

December 11, 2024

‘Child support’, not ‘Child-rearing support’

Japan ratified the International Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, which established four rights for children: the right to life, the right to grow, the right to protection, and the right to participate. However, there has been a lack of interest in this convention within Japan, and children have long been treated as ‘children’ and have struggled to become the ‘main actors’ in society.

‘Child support’, not ‘Child-rearing support’

My Expectations for the Child and Family Agency Starting from April, the ‘Basic Act on Children’ was newly enforced, explicitly guaranteeing the ‘rights of children,’ and the Child and Family Agency was established. This law aims to create a child-friendly society and is considered one of the top priorities of the current administration, giving rise to high expectations.

In our country so far, when it comes to child policies, it seems that they have been addressed as part of measures for an ultra-aging society and as economic measures to secure the workforce. Even with the enactment of the Basic Act on Children, if it continues to be treated as part of measures to combat declining birthrates, it cannot be called a truly child-centered society.

Personally, I hope that policies focusing on ‘child support’ rather than ‘child-rearing support’ will be implemented.

April 9, 2023.

Struggles with ChatGPT: Part 3

Why does the text generated by ChatGPT feel natural, like human writing?

The text generated by ChatGPT often feels natural, resembling human writing rather than something explicitly produced by a computer.

Since the emergence of AI, I have been aware that deep learning, a model based on neural networks, is employed. However, AI responses have typically felt very much like computer-generated answers.

I was curious about the mechanism behind the naturalness of the text generated by ChatGPT and wanted to learn more. While out and about, I stopped by a bookstore and noticed a stack of introductory books on ChatGPT.

Flipping through the pages, I came across a chapter titled, “Why does the text feel natural, like human writing?” Here’s an excerpt from that chapter:

A model called “fine-tuning”

The reason behind this is said to be the incorporation of a model called “fine-tuning” in ChatGPT. By fine-tuning the conversational data between users and AI, it has become capable of producing more natural conversations.

The text generated by ChatGPT is not structured in the same way as human thinking. It simply processes a vast amount of training data to probabilistically generate “plausible answers.”

The text created by ChatGPT is not guaranteed to be correct.

If there is insufficient information in its database or if it is bombarded with a large amount of misinformation, it can generate incorrect sentences, leading to confusion in the world.

We, as humans, must continue our intellectual training to ensure that we do not fall behind computers.
May 31, 2023.

Struggles with ChatGPT: Part 2

I attempted to translate the recent ten or so articles in my blog, using ChatGPT. When it comes to coherent arguments, it instantly translates and delivers concise English.

Sometimes, the text can exceed 1,000 characters. In such cases, it may take a few minutes to translate or it may not provide an answer. However, if the argument of the text remains consistent, it can successfully translate longer passages into English.

It feels more like receiving a check on my Japanese rather than a translation.

Occasionally, I find myself putting down thoughts as they come to mind. While there may be some relevance, I end up addressing two topics in a single sentence. When I write, I intend for it to be the “turning point” in the composition’s structure, but if it goes too far, it can become difficult for readers to understand.

After considering it for some time, the AI determines the excessive part as unnecessary in the “turning point” and removes it, leaving behind a clear and polished text.

From now on, I will be more mindful of refining my Japanese writing.

2023.5.28.

 

Having a dream of becoming a pilot

In the astronaut selection test conducted by JAXA on March 5, 2023, two individuals were chosen from over 4,000 applicants. One of them is Ayu Yoneda, a 28-year-old surgeon, who has the possibility of becoming the first Japanese to set foot on the moon. It’s truly envy-inducing.

Having a dream of becoming a pilot

After the war, civilian aircraft operations resumed at Itami Airport when I was in fifth grade. As I looked up at the sky from the grassy field near the airport, I felt a thrilling sensation as the planes landed with a thunderous roar, as if my whole body was being drawn in. My home is over two hours’ walk from the airport, but sometimes I would hitch a ride on a cart and spend the entire day from morning to dusk, never getting tired of watching. At that time, I had a dream of becoming a pilot in the future, but I never even considered becoming an astronaut.

Date: April 26, 2023.

 

Voyager, an unmanned probe, travels leisurely.

NASA’s unmanned probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, were launched in the autumn of 1977 and have been on a journey to the edge of the universe for the past 45 years.

At the dawn of the space boom

The world’s first artificial satellite was a lightweight one launched by the Soviet Union in October 1957, weighing only 83.6 kilograms. The beginning of manned space activities was marked by the Soviet Union’s first manned spacecraft, Vostok 1, on April 12, 1961. Yuri Gagarin, an Air Force pilot, successfully orbited the Earth in 108 minutes and reached an altitude of 300 km, captivating people around the world with his expression, “The Earth is blue.

The first human lunar landing

On July 16, 1969, the American spacecraft Apollo 11 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center and became the first mission to land humans on the Moon and successfully bring back lunar samples to Earth. I still vividly remember the exhibition of the “Moon Rock” at the 1970 Osaka Expo, where many people gathered.

Voyager’s successive visits to Jupiter and Saturn

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched in the autumn of 1977, eight years after the Apollo 11 lunar landing. After the launch, they visited Jupiter in about two years and then visited Saturn one year later.
Originally, the mission was to explore these two planets.The plan did not include visiting Uranus and Neptune due to the excessive cost. However, when Voyager 2 arrived at Saturn, its instruments were functioning sufficiently, leading to a decision to head towards the exploration of Uranus.

The two Voyagers, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, passed by Jupiter (Photos 1 and 2) and Saturn (Photos 5 and 6), capturing close-up photographs for the first time (quoted from Nikkei Science, January 2023 issue).

I had memories of the beautiful photos sent back by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 during their exploration of Jupiter and Saturn, but there hasn’t been much news about their journey since then, and it was somewhat forgotten.

Currently, Voyagers are peacefully traveling unknown world through interstellar space

Subsequently, Voyager 2 made a visit to Uranus in January 1986 and Neptune in August 1989. Currently, both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have left the heliosphere and are peacefully traveling through interstellar space, controlled by their instruments, over a distance of 20 billion kilometers, aiming for even more distant unknown worlds.

It’s incredibly romantic and astonishing. I look forward to hearing more from the edge of the universe.

March 20, 2023.

Let’s get along forever in space.

Countless artificial satellites dart through space.

Humanity has launched numerous artificial objects into space, such as satellites, space probes, and space stations. The first satellite ever launched was the famous Sputnik 1 in 1957. As of December 2021, there were over 12,000 registered artificial satellites, and in recent years, it is said that over 1,000 new satellites are added each year.

The International Space Station: A Joint Project of Five Countries

The International Space Station is the largest artificial satellite orbiting the Earth in low orbit. Its average altitude is about 400 km, and it takes less than 4 hours to travel from Earth to the satellite. It completes approximately 15.5 orbits around the Earth in a day and can sometimes be seen as a slow-moving point among the stars, even with the naked eye.

This inhabitable artificial satellite, the International Space Station, is a joint project involving the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe, and Canada. While conflicts between nations persist on Earth, it seems that they get along well in space.

In recent years, there has been much discussion about space stations on the Moon, and it is also desirable for cooperation to take place there.

Date: April 26, 2023.

 

At the dawn of the space age

The world’s first artificial satellite was a lightweight one launched by the Soviet Union in October 1957, weighing only 83.6 kilograms.

The beginning of manned space activities was marked by the Soviet Union’s first manned spacecraft, Vostok 1, on April 12, 1961. Yuri Gagarin, an Air Force pilot, successfully orbited the Earth in 108 minutes and reached an altitude of 300 km, captivating people around the world with his expression, “The Earth is blue.

The first human lunar landing

On July 16, 1969, the American spacecraft Apollo 11 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center and became the first mission to land humans on the Moon and successfully bring back lunar samples to Earth.

I still vividly remember the exhibition of the “Moon Rock” at the 1970 Osaka Expo, where many people gathered.

2023.3.20.

 

The happiness ranking of Japan is 47th out of 137 countries.

On March 20th, the 2023 edition of the “World Happiness Report,” published on the occasion of “International Day of Happiness,” was released. This report has been published annually since 2012 and is based on opinion polls conducted by Gallup, a US-based company.
It measures the happiness levels of each country by asking approximately 1,000 individuals in each country how satisfied they are with their recent lives on a scale of 0 (completely dissatisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied).

Japan ranks 47th out of 137 countries.

In the country rankings of happiness levels, Japan ranked 47th out of 137 countries, showing an improvement from the previous year’s ranking of 54th out of 146 countries. Finland took the first place, with several European countries prominently featured in the top rankings, particularly the five Nordic countries up to the 7th position.
Here are the rankings of some major countries along with their happiness scores (0-10): 1st – Finland:, 2nd – Denmark, 3rd – Iceland:, 4th – Israel, 5th – Netherlands, 6th – Sweden, 7th – Norway, 47th – Japan, 57th – South Korea, 64th – China

Perception of happiness affects the scores.

The assessment of happiness levels involves six variables: 1) per capita GDP, 2) social support, 3) healthy life expectancy, 4) freedom to make life choices, 5) generosity, and 6) absence of corruption.
When comparing Japan with the top-ranking countries, Japan surpasses them in healthy life expectancy and its per capita GDP does not show a significant difference. However, Japan’s scores are lower in subjective evaluation criteria such as freedom to make life choices and generosity.
In Eastern countries like Japan (47th), South Korea (57th), and China (64th), the perception of happiness is subjective, and their societies and cultures differ significantly from the Western countries, which imposes certain limitations on quantification and ranking.

How Japan can enhance happiness levels.

As a country facing challenges like aging and declining birth rates ahead of the rest of the world, Japan’s task is to establish and implement approaches that achieve both prosperity and sustainability, enabling each individual to experience happiness. To achieve this, it is necessary for Japan to establish and implement its unique approach at an early stage.

2023.3.25.