Tokyo Weekender August 2017

Society
TOKYO’S LONGEST RUNNING SOCIAL COLUMN WITH BILL HERSEY
I
really hope it’s cooled down by the time you read this, but
I don’t have my hopes up too high. If you’ve lived here any
time at all, you know that it can be hot and humid well into
September. We can’t really complain though, as Tokyo has
more than its share of air-conditioned public transportation,
shopping malls, museums, restaurants, coffee shops, convenience
stores, and more. Anyway, it’ll be autumn, a really nice season here in
Japan, before we know it.
With lots of people traveling abroad, always busy Tokyo has
slowed down a bit. Even so, there are always all kinds of happenings
all over Japan. For me, these included an American production of one
of my all-time favorite Broadway musicals, West Side Story, as well as
the super Drum Tao show.
Unfortunately, schedule mix ups
and other commitments kept me
from several important events. These
included the 119th anniversary celebration
for the Philippines, a country
I love, which was hosted by new Ambassador
Jose C. Laurel and his wife
Milagros. The reception and fashion
show was held in the Fuji Room at
the Imperial Hotel. From all reports it
was a very exciting, colorful celebration.
I was out of Tokyo on July 15, so
I didn’t get to the Makuhari Messe
Convention Center for the Abu Dhabi
Grand Slam Jiu Jitsu World Tour Tokyo
2017. My thanks to United Arab
Emirates Ambassador Khaled Omran
Alamen for the invitation to this very
special sports event. Kudos to the
many who participated in what had to
be a great international sports event.
Sorry to say I’m not traveling as much
as I used to, but it seems like our crazy
old world with its terrorism, travel
bans, rules, regulations and occasional
flaky passengers make traveling
more difficult and often more expensive
than before. Hopefully this will
all get better in the future.
TOKYO FLASHBACK
Bill and cinematic bad boy Johnny Depp
In closing this part of the column – how about helping our friends
at the Franciscan Chapel help others? Here’s information Father
Grimm gave me on some of the chapel’s current projects: Have you
noticed that though shopping centers may be crowded, relatively few
people are carrying shopping bags? It’s a sign that all is not well with
the economy.
Another sign is the recent declaration by the welfare ministry that
the situation of poor children has “improved” so that now only one
in every seven kids lives below the poverty level in a household that
struggles to make ends meet.
To help struggling families, the Second Harvest Japan food bank
gathers surplus food from retailers, manufacturers and individuals
and makes it available to those in need. If you want to learn more or
help with contributions of food, money or time as a volunteer, see the
Second Harvest website at 2hj.org/english/. Now let’s move on to the
many happenings around Old Edo
OPENING FESTIVAL – SAISEIKAI’S NEW BUILDING
Time as we all know really flies. It’s been three years and four months
since I had to spend six weeks in Saiseikai Hospital. I really thank my
doctor Kempei Matsuoka. He’s the man who recommended the hospital,
and one of the many staff there who helped me through what
could have been some rough times.
In May, I had the privilege of joining him, his wife Yasue, his
daughter Sachiko, who’s also a diabetes specialist, and her two daughters
Sakura and Aoi at the opening
festival of the hospital’s new big super
modern facilities.
In 1911, Emperor Meiji donated
¥1.5 million for the establishment
of a public medical institution.
Now they have 41 branch offices (hospitals,
clinics, etc.) in 37 prefectures.
This includes a clinic ship, the Saisei
Maru, which visits 68 islands in the
Japanese Inland Sea. I don’t have the
space or technical knowhow to list
all their hospitals, clinics, schools for
nursing welfare and everything, but
all together they total 331 with a staff
of about 35,000.
The new building behind
Tokyo Tower has the latest medical
equipment from all over the world
and the nurses’ stations, the operating
rooms, and doctors’ consultation
rooms are really the ultimate in
high tech. They’ve also gone all out to
make it as pleasant and comfortable
for patients, and for their visitors as
possible. The hospital staff look great
in their new uniforms and go all out
to make their patients’ stay as comfortable
as a hospital stay can be.
Language can be a problem, but with
more and more foreign patients and
the Olympics coming up, more of the
staff are learning basic English. Most of the doctors studied abroad
as well as here, and many do speak English. If you need any more information
on Saiseikai, call 03-3451-8211 and ask for Yoshihara-san.
She really knows her work. I should add she was the interpreter for
Donald Trump when he visited Japan about 35 years ago.
ISRAEL’S INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION
Israeli Ambassador Ruth Kahanoff hosted a big reception for her
country’s Independence Day celebration at the New Otani Hotel. The
program opened with a very informative speech by Ruth emphasizing
Israel’s long and good relationship with Japan. This was followed by
a group of beautiful kids from Tohoku who sang several Israeli songs.
They really put their hearts and voices into their performance.
42 | AUGUST 2017 | TOKYO WEEKENDER