- Friday 24th of September -

 (12pm) 

- Gender/race quotas -

 

Some companies and even governments have been implementing the idea of a gender quota or even a race quota. This is the idea that there should be a certain amount of men and a certain amount of woman at a company or in a government cabinet. Of course, a race quota is the same idea but about having a certain number of people of a certain race.

 

How do you feel about this idea? Do you think it is a good idea? Does it help with gender discrimination or racism? Does it help with getting more of a certain group of people into a company or government?

Can you see any problems with this idea?

 

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

 

Let's discuss this!

 

- Friday the 24th of September -

(8pm) 

 

- Mental health in Japan -

 

If you live in a world of stress, or you're constantly bullied, or you have anxiety in your life, it's important that you look at what you can do to keep your mental health in check. In Japan theres the issue we've talked about before, where people work too much, and end up killing themselves. This is not only an issue of being overworked, but an issue of mental health too. The people that kill themselves are not doing it because their body gives up on them, no, it's because they are no longer able to mentally support themselves.

 

But this mental health issue is much broader than just what I've mentioned earlier, there are a range of things that can cause severe mental health problems. Being bullied in school, being harassed at work, having too many responsibilities (at home, work, school, or multiple!), having no outlet for your stress, having no one to listen to your problems and to talk with you about them, having no time for yourself, having no time for friends, and the list just goes on!

 

But my questions for you are:

Do services exist to help Japanese people with their mental health?

Are they easily accessible?

Are they expensive?

Are they kind of taboo?

Are they available for young people as well as adults?

How is mental health viewed in Japan?

Do you personally think mental health is important?

 

Let's discuss this!

- Saturday the 25th of September -

 (2pm) 

- Was the past better than the present? -

 

Ah the good old days. Kids used to play in the streets, not on their phones and video games all day. People didn't need 2 incomes to support a family, and more people could afford to own a home.

 

But was it really as good as we think/remember? Why do you think people yearn for the past and dislike the present? Is this a healthy way to think (that the past was great and the present is terrible)? 

 

An important question is: which past? What time was better. If you are 50 years old now, you problem remember your childhood fondly. But at that time, did people who were 50 years then also say that their childhood was better...so when was better? My mother always says her childhood was better than kids now...but her mother (my grandmother) also says the same thing about her childhood.

 

What about levels of happiness? Is society as a whole getting happier over time? Or is happiness declining? Are there certain groups whose happiness is increasing or decreasing while others' does something different?

 

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Let's discuss this!

 

 - Sunday 26th of September -

 

- Princess Mako's Marriage -

 

I think we might have discussed this before, but that's ok, things have changed throughout the years, where the details of certain issues have been made known, and it looks like the marriage is going to go ahead in the near future.

 

I don't know a lot about this, but I'm sure you all have a lot to say about this. So, I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about this topic.

 

Let's discuss this!