Date：1 June 2009
Name and URL：
IN THE NEWS / Iranian writer finds her voice in Japanese
www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090531TDY03101.htm
Text:
OSAKA--Shirin Nezammafi, a 29-year-old Iranian, recently won the 108th Bungakukai Shinjinsho--an award for new writers run by Bungakukai, a monthly literature magazine.
"I won't be able to think of myself as a writer until I write a piece of work I'm satisfied with," Nezammafi said after scooping the renowned literary award for budding authors.
Nezammafi's award-winning work, titled "Shiroi Kami" (White Paper), is set in Iran during the 1980s. It depicts a romance between high school students during the Iran-Iraq War.
The war ended when Nezammafi was 8 years old. She remembers returning home from an air raid evacuation shelter to find the windows of her home shattered by bombs.
"Wars are normal in Iran. But I thought it would put a fresh slant [on the issue] by writing about it in Japanese," Nezammafi said.
After graduating from a Tehran high school, she was drawn to Japan by the country's science and technology.
While a third-year student at Kobe University, an "interesting topics" event was held at the university. When Nezammafi showed her friend what she had written in Japanese on two A4-sized sheets of paper, her friend found it interesting enough to turn her writing into a comic.
Nezammafi gained confidence writing in Japanese, and in 2007 she won a literary award for foreign students for "Salam," a story based on her experiences with refugees she met during her part-time work as an interpreter.
"Writing is very normal for me," Nezammafi said. "I was blessed to meet friends, teachers, and superiors in Japan. From now on, I'd like to work hard at filling in my own 'white paper.'"
Nezammafi works at Panasonic Corp. as a systems engineer.
Summary:
大阪の29歳のイタリア人女性Shirin Nezammafiさんが、第108回文学新人賞を受賞した。
受賞作品の題名は「白い紙」で、1980年代のイランの話である。
イランイラク戦争の間の高校生の恋愛を描写したものだ。
テフラン高校を卒業した後、彼女は日本の科学技術を描いた。
彼女は日本で、執筆の信頼を得て、
2007年に彼女が通訳者としてのパートタイムの仕事で出会った難民との経験を土台にした物語「Salam」という作品で文学の賞を受賞した。
「書くことは私にとって普通のことです。」と彼女は言う。
彼女はパナソニックでシステムエンジニアとして働いている。
What I find interesting:
出身国での戦争など、様々な困難を乗り越えたからこそ、
すばらしい作品ができたんだと思いました。
自分の経験を、良いもの悪いものに限らず、生かしていくことができるのは
とても素晴らしいことだと思います。
New words/expressions I learn:
refugee 難民
literary 文芸の
depict 描写する
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Saturday, 30 May 2009
Reading diary 3
Date：31 May 2009
Name and URL：
Parties to extend Diet session to August
www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200905300070.html
Text:
Ruling coalition executives agreed Friday to extend the current Diet session for at least 60 days, which would ensure passage of important bills and likely delay the next Lower House election until August or September.
Prime Minister Taro Aso of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Akihiro Ota, leader of junior ruling coalition partner New Komeito, will make a formal decision Monday, two days before the scheduled end of the ordinary Diet session.
While the prime minister has the power to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election at any time, the coalition parties want to pass a number of bills in the Diet before an election is called.
The Lower House, where the ruling parties have a solid majority, has already passed or will soon pass legislation related to the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget, including the tax system revision bill and the bill to revise the law on privatizing the Development Bank of Japan.
Other important bills, including one on anti-piracy measures, are certain to pass the Diet by late June.
The lengthy extension of the Diet session is intended to negate any delay tactics from the opposition-controlled Upper House.
If the opposition parties vote against bills that have already cleared the Lower House, the lower chamber of the Diet can hold a second vote on the bills and pass them into law with a two-thirds majority.
If the Upper House refuses to vote on a bill within 60 days after receiving it from the Lower House, the bill will be viewed as rejected, and the Lower House can pass it in a second vote.
Since an ordinary Diet session can be extended only once, the ruling coalition and government have decided to give the current session a long extension until early August to ensure passage of the legislation.
However, views are strong within the ruling parties that Aso should dissolve the Lower House for a snap election if a favorable situation presents itself.
Because of this, ruling coalition members feel that the Lower House election will come in August after the July 12 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election.
To leave open the option of further delaying the next Lower House election, the idea of extending the Diet session even beyond early August has been floated within the coalition parties.
Summary:
主な党は国会の会期を60日間延長することに賛成した。
衆議院は2009年の補正予算をすでに通過、またはすぐに通過させる。
他の海賊対処法案を含んだ重要な法案も、6月後半までには通過することが確かだ。
もし参議院が衆議院から法案を受け取ってから60日間、投票を拒絶したら、
その法案は否決となり、また衆議院は2度目の投票でそれを通過させることができる。
通常国会は、1度しか延長できないので、8月前半までの長い延長を決めた。
What I find interesting:
国会での会議は重要なものだから、最善の結果を出すために延長することはいいことだと思う。
60日ルールがあるから、8月上旬までの60日間という大幅な延期は不可欠だったんだろうなと思った。
国会は1度しか延長できないというのは初めて知りました。
New words/expressions I learn:
ruling 主な
coalition 連合、党
anti-piracy measures 海賊対処法案
legislation 法律制定
supplementary budget 補正予算
ruling party 与党
Name and URL：
Parties to extend Diet session to August
www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200905300070.html
Text:
Ruling coalition executives agreed Friday to extend the current Diet session for at least 60 days, which would ensure passage of important bills and likely delay the next Lower House election until August or September.
Prime Minister Taro Aso of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Akihiro Ota, leader of junior ruling coalition partner New Komeito, will make a formal decision Monday, two days before the scheduled end of the ordinary Diet session.
While the prime minister has the power to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election at any time, the coalition parties want to pass a number of bills in the Diet before an election is called.
The Lower House, where the ruling parties have a solid majority, has already passed or will soon pass legislation related to the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget, including the tax system revision bill and the bill to revise the law on privatizing the Development Bank of Japan.
Other important bills, including one on anti-piracy measures, are certain to pass the Diet by late June.
The lengthy extension of the Diet session is intended to negate any delay tactics from the opposition-controlled Upper House.
If the opposition parties vote against bills that have already cleared the Lower House, the lower chamber of the Diet can hold a second vote on the bills and pass them into law with a two-thirds majority.
If the Upper House refuses to vote on a bill within 60 days after receiving it from the Lower House, the bill will be viewed as rejected, and the Lower House can pass it in a second vote.
Since an ordinary Diet session can be extended only once, the ruling coalition and government have decided to give the current session a long extension until early August to ensure passage of the legislation.
However, views are strong within the ruling parties that Aso should dissolve the Lower House for a snap election if a favorable situation presents itself.
Because of this, ruling coalition members feel that the Lower House election will come in August after the July 12 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election.
To leave open the option of further delaying the next Lower House election, the idea of extending the Diet session even beyond early August has been floated within the coalition parties.
Summary:
主な党は国会の会期を60日間延長することに賛成した。
衆議院は2009年の補正予算をすでに通過、またはすぐに通過させる。
他の海賊対処法案を含んだ重要な法案も、6月後半までには通過することが確かだ。
もし参議院が衆議院から法案を受け取ってから60日間、投票を拒絶したら、
その法案は否決となり、また衆議院は2度目の投票でそれを通過させることができる。
通常国会は、1度しか延長できないので、8月前半までの長い延長を決めた。
What I find interesting:
国会での会議は重要なものだから、最善の結果を出すために延長することはいいことだと思う。
60日ルールがあるから、8月上旬までの60日間という大幅な延期は不可欠だったんだろうなと思った。
国会は1度しか延長できないというのは初めて知りました。
New words/expressions I learn:
ruling 主な
coalition 連合、党
anti-piracy measures 海賊対処法案
legislation 法律制定
supplementary budget 補正予算
ruling party 与党
Reading diary 2
Date：31 May 2009
Name and URL：
Job offer ratio ties worst level
www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200905300076.html
Text:
The ratio of job offers to job seekers in April slid to 0.46, down 0.06 point from the previous month, to tie all-time worst levels posted in May and June 1999, according to labor ministry statistics released Friday.
Moreover, April's unemployment rate rose 0.2 point from March to a seasonally adjusted 5 percent, according to the internal affairs ministry. It is the first time in nearly five and a half years that the rate has risen to 5 percent.
The latest job offer rate indicates that only 46 jobs were available for every 100 job seekers.
For regular, full-time jobs, the ratio was especially low, registering 0.27, a drop of 0.27 point from April 2008.
It is the worst ratio posted since the government began tracking such statistics for full-time positions in November 2004.
New job offers, a key indicator in economic forecasting, plunged 26.5 percent from April 2008, marking its 28th consecutive month of decline.
Job availability in the manufacturing industry was particularly glum, with new offers tumbling 55.6 percent from April 2008.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate grew by a combined 0.9 point over the last three months, with internal affairs ministry officials describing the situation as "an unprecedented rapid decline."
For men, the unemployment rate rose 0.4 point in April from the previous month to 5.3 percent, while for women, the ratio fell 0.1 point to 4.6 percent.
The number of jobless people totaled 3.46 million in April, up 710,000 from April 2008, the largest margin of growth on record.
The number of people who lost jobs in corporate restructuring or for other employer-instigated reasons was 1.14 million, up 530,000 from a year earlier.
Summary:
4月の求人比率は0.46倍で、前月から0.06ポイント下がり、
1999年5,6月と同様、今までで最低となった。
さらに、4月の失業率は3月より0.2ポイント高い5%で、5%以上となるのは5年半ぶりである。
正社員の求人比率は特に低く、2008年4月を0.27ポイント下回る0.27%となった。
これは2004年11月に正社員の統計をとり始めてから最も悪い比率である。
4月の失業者数は346万人で、2008年4月から710,000人増えている。
雇い主の扇動により仕事を失った人は114万人で、1年前より530,000人増えた。
What I find interesting:
景気が悪いのは知っていたけれど、
求人の比率の低さや失業率の高さに驚いた。
このままでは大変だと思った。
特に失業者が1年間だけで71万人も増えたことに驚いた。
政府の適切な対処が求められていると思う。
New words/expressions I learn:
ministry 省
statistic 統計量
plunge 陥る
instigated 扇動
Name and URL：
Job offer ratio ties worst level
www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200905300076.html
Text:
The ratio of job offers to job seekers in April slid to 0.46, down 0.06 point from the previous month, to tie all-time worst levels posted in May and June 1999, according to labor ministry statistics released Friday.
Moreover, April's unemployment rate rose 0.2 point from March to a seasonally adjusted 5 percent, according to the internal affairs ministry. It is the first time in nearly five and a half years that the rate has risen to 5 percent.
The latest job offer rate indicates that only 46 jobs were available for every 100 job seekers.
For regular, full-time jobs, the ratio was especially low, registering 0.27, a drop of 0.27 point from April 2008.
It is the worst ratio posted since the government began tracking such statistics for full-time positions in November 2004.
New job offers, a key indicator in economic forecasting, plunged 26.5 percent from April 2008, marking its 28th consecutive month of decline.
Job availability in the manufacturing industry was particularly glum, with new offers tumbling 55.6 percent from April 2008.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate grew by a combined 0.9 point over the last three months, with internal affairs ministry officials describing the situation as "an unprecedented rapid decline."
For men, the unemployment rate rose 0.4 point in April from the previous month to 5.3 percent, while for women, the ratio fell 0.1 point to 4.6 percent.
The number of jobless people totaled 3.46 million in April, up 710,000 from April 2008, the largest margin of growth on record.
The number of people who lost jobs in corporate restructuring or for other employer-instigated reasons was 1.14 million, up 530,000 from a year earlier.
Summary:
4月の求人比率は0.46倍で、前月から0.06ポイント下がり、
1999年5,6月と同様、今までで最低となった。
さらに、4月の失業率は3月より0.2ポイント高い5%で、5%以上となるのは5年半ぶりである。
正社員の求人比率は特に低く、2008年4月を0.27ポイント下回る0.27%となった。
これは2004年11月に正社員の統計をとり始めてから最も悪い比率である。
4月の失業者数は346万人で、2008年4月から710,000人増えている。
雇い主の扇動により仕事を失った人は114万人で、1年前より530,000人増えた。
What I find interesting:
景気が悪いのは知っていたけれど、
求人の比率の低さや失業率の高さに驚いた。
このままでは大変だと思った。
特に失業者が1年間だけで71万人も増えたことに驚いた。
政府の適切な対処が求められていると思う。
New words/expressions I learn:
ministry 省
statistic 統計量
plunge 陥る
instigated 扇動
Reading diary 1
Date：30 May 2009
Name and URL：
Final resting place of Himiko discovered?
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200905300072.html
Text:
An ancient tomb, constructed in traditional keyhole style denoting someone of very high rank, may well be the final resting place of Himiko, the legendary third-century queen of the Yamatai kingdom, say archaeologists who relied on radiocarbon dating for their finding.
Artifacts from near the earthen mound in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, were examined by researchers attached to the National Museum of Japanese History (Rekihaku) in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture.
Using radiocarbon dating, they studied clay fragments from the rim of the mound and found that they were made between 240 and 260. Himiko, according to Chinese records, died around 250.
They determined that the tomb very likely could have been built for Himiko.
The discovery will also likely ignite further debate on the location of the Yamatai kingdom, which some say was in Kyushu and others believe was centered around Nara, an ancient capital.
An early Chinese book, "The Wei Zhi: Account of the Wa People," chronicles tributary relations between Himiko and the Cao Wei kingdom during the late second to early third century. Himiko is recorded as having dispatched a diplomatic mission to Wei in 239. The delegation was said to have received 100 sacred copper mirrors and other gifts from the Chinese dynasty.
Hashihaka, a 280-meter key-hole shaped tree-encrusted mound, is much larger than other ancient tombs built before or at the same time in Japan. The nearest one in size measures just 110 meters in length.
Some scholars believe Hashihaka matches ancient Chinese descriptions of Himiko's tomb.
Until recently, many archaeologists had theorized that the Hashihaka mound was constructed in the fourth century.
However, an analysis of artifacts unearthed near the site led researchers in recent years to conclude the tomb was constructed in the late third century, and thus, it could be Himiko's.
The Imperial Household Agency has forbidden any excavation of the tomb itself on grounds that it is designated as an imperial burial ground.
The archaeologists will present a paper on their findings at the 20th International Radiocarbon Conference in Hawaii starting Sunday and at the Japan Archeological Association conference being held the same day at Tokyo's Waseda University.
Summary:
ある前方後円墳が邪馬台国の女王卑弥呼のものかもしれないことが、放射性炭素年代測定法でわかった。
古墳のへりのかけらが粘土であることや、
それが240～260年に作られたものであることがわかり、
また、中国の記録文書より卑弥呼は250ごろ亡くなっているので
このお墓は卑弥呼によって建てられた可能性が高い。
280mある箸墓古墳はそれ以前に日本でつくられた他の古墳の中で最大である。
魏志倭人伝の卑弥呼のお墓は箸墓だという学者もいる。
最近までずっと、多くの考古学者は箸墓古墳は4世紀に作られたと分析していた。
しかし、発掘された物の分析から、3世紀後半に作られているので
卑弥呼のものかもしれないとわかった。
考古学者たちは、日曜日にハワイで始まる国際的な放射性炭素の会議や、
早稲田大学での日本の考古学者の連合協議で
彼らの発見を述べるだろう。
What I find interesting:
すごく昔の出来事でも、放射性炭素年代測定法を使えば分かることがたくさんあるので、すごいと思いました。
これからもどんどん研究が進んで、箸墓古墳が卑弥呼のものかどうかわかる時がくると思います。
もしも卑弥呼のお墓だったら大発見だと思います。
すごく興味深いニュースでした。
New words/expressions I learn:
radiocarbon dating 放射性炭素年代測定法
unearth 発掘する
burial 埋葬
The Wei Zhi: Account of the Wa People 魏志倭人伝
diplomatic 外交
Imperial 皇帝
Name and URL：
Final resting place of Himiko discovered?
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200905300072.html
Text:
An ancient tomb, constructed in traditional keyhole style denoting someone of very high rank, may well be the final resting place of Himiko, the legendary third-century queen of the Yamatai kingdom, say archaeologists who relied on radiocarbon dating for their finding.
Artifacts from near the earthen mound in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, were examined by researchers attached to the National Museum of Japanese History (Rekihaku) in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture.
Using radiocarbon dating, they studied clay fragments from the rim of the mound and found that they were made between 240 and 260. Himiko, according to Chinese records, died around 250.
They determined that the tomb very likely could have been built for Himiko.
The discovery will also likely ignite further debate on the location of the Yamatai kingdom, which some say was in Kyushu and others believe was centered around Nara, an ancient capital.
An early Chinese book, "The Wei Zhi: Account of the Wa People," chronicles tributary relations between Himiko and the Cao Wei kingdom during the late second to early third century. Himiko is recorded as having dispatched a diplomatic mission to Wei in 239. The delegation was said to have received 100 sacred copper mirrors and other gifts from the Chinese dynasty.
Hashihaka, a 280-meter key-hole shaped tree-encrusted mound, is much larger than other ancient tombs built before or at the same time in Japan. The nearest one in size measures just 110 meters in length.
Some scholars believe Hashihaka matches ancient Chinese descriptions of Himiko's tomb.
Until recently, many archaeologists had theorized that the Hashihaka mound was constructed in the fourth century.
However, an analysis of artifacts unearthed near the site led researchers in recent years to conclude the tomb was constructed in the late third century, and thus, it could be Himiko's.
The Imperial Household Agency has forbidden any excavation of the tomb itself on grounds that it is designated as an imperial burial ground.
The archaeologists will present a paper on their findings at the 20th International Radiocarbon Conference in Hawaii starting Sunday and at the Japan Archeological Association conference being held the same day at Tokyo's Waseda University.
Summary:
ある前方後円墳が邪馬台国の女王卑弥呼のものかもしれないことが、放射性炭素年代測定法でわかった。
古墳のへりのかけらが粘土であることや、
それが240～260年に作られたものであることがわかり、
また、中国の記録文書より卑弥呼は250ごろ亡くなっているので
このお墓は卑弥呼によって建てられた可能性が高い。
280mある箸墓古墳はそれ以前に日本でつくられた他の古墳の中で最大である。
魏志倭人伝の卑弥呼のお墓は箸墓だという学者もいる。
最近までずっと、多くの考古学者は箸墓古墳は4世紀に作られたと分析していた。
しかし、発掘された物の分析から、3世紀後半に作られているので
卑弥呼のものかもしれないとわかった。
考古学者たちは、日曜日にハワイで始まる国際的な放射性炭素の会議や、
早稲田大学での日本の考古学者の連合協議で
彼らの発見を述べるだろう。
What I find interesting:
すごく昔の出来事でも、放射性炭素年代測定法を使えば分かることがたくさんあるので、すごいと思いました。
これからもどんどん研究が進んで、箸墓古墳が卑弥呼のものかどうかわかる時がくると思います。
もしも卑弥呼のお墓だったら大発見だと思います。
すごく興味深いニュースでした。
New words/expressions I learn:
radiocarbon dating 放射性炭素年代測定法
unearth 発掘する
burial 埋葬
The Wei Zhi: Account of the Wa People 魏志倭人伝
diplomatic 外交
Imperial 皇帝
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