News in Easy English: Free breakfast at Osaka Pref. schools helps children start the day
On a morning in July, children came to Chounan Elementary School to eat breakfast before class. The menu was "summer vegetable chicken curry" with many vegetables, cherry tomatoes and bananas. One sixth grade boy said, "It's fun to eat with friends." A fifth grade girl said, "I feel energized. When I eat breakfast at home, I get hungry by the end of the second period, but on days I use the breakfast cafeteria, I can hold out until the third period."
On that day, 47 students used the service, about 15% of the school. The principal, Mikito Yoshioka, said, "The children enjoy eating breakfast together with peers from different classes and grades, smiling and creating a pleasant atmosphere. It's wonderful to see them go to class with energy."
The breakfast menu changes every month. Head cook Satoko Tsujino said, "Seeing the lively atmosphere makes me happy, thinking, 'They're energetic today, too.'"
Any student can use the breakfast service. The city started the program after hearing that some children did not eat breakfast at home because their parents were busy or they woke up late. The city first tried the program at two schools in 2023. Now, more than 20% of children in the city use the service.
The city says the program helps children eat better, make friends, and feel happy at school. It also helps them want to come to school and learn.
(Japanese original by Tadakazu Nakamura, Izumisano Resident Bureau)
Vocabulary
cafeteria: a place in a school where students eat meals
energized: feeling strong and ready to do things
principal: the leader of a school
atmosphere: the feeling or mood in a place
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
6 hours ago
- NHK
NHK: 20% of historic WWII monuments lost in past 3 decades
NHK has learned that about 20 percent of facilities and sites in Japan that serve as legacies of World War Two have been lost in the past three decades. As of some 30 years ago, 660 such places had been reported by municipalities as war monuments to the Cultural Affairs Agency. They included facilities used by the former Imperial Japanese military and underground air raid shelters. This year marks 80 years since the end of World War Two. NHK queried municipalities across Japan about the state of preservation and use of the monuments. The survey results show that 14 percent of all relics were intact and 44 percent were mostly preserved. Meanwhile, 13 percent were mostly lost and 8 percent were entirely lost. As for 15 percent of the monuments, it was not known what condition they were in. This indicates that about 20 percent of the war remains have been lost. Regarding usage of the sites, 34 percent of the relics were being shown to the public to pass on memories of the war, 28 percent were not being utilized and 27 percent were being used by public offices, private businesses or individuals. On the reason why the monuments were lost, 36 percent were torn down for development, and 14 percent were taken down because they posed safety hazards. The reason was unknown for 26 percent. The Cultural Affairs Agency has been surveying the places because a significant number are believed to be at risk of demolition for urban redevelopment. Agency officials say sites that are considered important to understand Japan's modern history should be properly protected. Professor Yamada Akira of Meiji University, an expert on military history, says it is important to pass on the legacies of war, but there is a limit to what can be relayed person to person. He says it is extremely important to learn about wartime directly through the buildings and other structures that characterize that period. Yamada says war monuments recount history and should be passed on.
The Mainichi
16 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Her voice long-stifled in US-occupied Okinawa, Nagasaki A-bomb survivor speaks out
NAHA -- "I had no choice but to stay silent." In Tomoko Oshiro's calm words, the deep loneliness of the past was unmistakable. Oshiro, 84, who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and now resides in Urasoe, Okinawa Prefecture, has lived in Okinawa since the year after World War II ended. Under U.S. rule until 1972, Okinawa lagged behind the Japanese mainland in providing support for hibakusha, or atomic bomb survivors. For many years, Oshiro did not speak about her experiences. What changed that was her connection with other hibakusha on the island. Oshiro was born in Osaka to her father Chiyu Bise (who died in 2004 at age 93) from the Okinawa prefectural capital Naha, and mother Sachiko (who died in 2006 at age 95). In the spring of 1945 Oshiro moved to the Motoharamachi district of Nagasaki to live with her paternal grandmother. She was 4 years old at the time. The family of five included her 1-year-old brother. At 11:02 a.m. on Aug. 9, while Oshiro was playing at home with her grandmother and brother, the ceiling collapsed onto her head. The A-bomb had exploded, and Oshiro was only about 1.3 kilometers from the hypocenter. "Tomo-chan, Tomo-chan." She heard her mother's voice as she returned from a friend's house, and Oshiro desperately shouted "Help me!" from under the rubble. Her mother, herself burned, rescued Oshiro and carried her to a first-aid station. According to her mother's memoir, her grandmother was blown off her feet by the blast and died despite efforts to save her life. Oshiro's baby brother, who was on his grandmother's back, was killed instantly, crushed against an earthen wall. In 1946, the family moved to Okinawa. Her parents made a living as geta sandal makers and welders. Many atomic bomb survivors in Okinawa worked on bases belonging to the U.S. military, which had dropped the bomb. The need to survive made hibakusha reluctant to speak. Taeko Kiriya, an associate professor of peace studies at Tama University in Tokyo who conducted interviews in Okinawa from 2019 to 2022, noted, "Many survivors said they hid their status because they feared losing their jobs if people found out." On the Japanese mainland, the 1957 atomic bomb medical law required the national government to pay for health checkups and medical expenses for hibakusha. But Okinawa was excluded. A survey of survivors in Okinawa began in 1963, and the Ryukyu government (as it was then) started issuing survivor health handbooks in 1967 -- 10 years later than on the mainland. It was only through these long-awaited checkups that they discovered glass fragments still embedded in Oshiro's mother's body. When Oshiro graduated from high school, relatives in east Japan's Kanto region warned her, "Never tell anyone you're a hibakusha. It will affect your chances of marriage." She obeyed, thinking, "If I'm going to be discriminated against, I have no choice but to stay silent." The first time she confided in someone outside her family was in her late 20s, to a man she had met at work, whom she would later marry. Worried about the effects of radiation, she told him, "I can't have children." Even so, she became pregnant at 25 and raised a daughter. In her 40s, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and uterine fibroids. She never consulted colleagues or those close to her. "The atomic bomb was something that happened on the mainland. People in Okinawa wouldn't understand how survivors feel," she thought. She also felt guilty for not knowing or being able to talk about the suffering of the Okinawan people, a quarter of whom died in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. A turning point came about 25 years ago. After reaching retirement age and settling into a quieter life, she joined the Okinawa Prefecture hibakusha association, the only such group in the prefecture. At general meetings and health checkups, survivors from across the Okinawan archipelago would gather. There, she could share feelings she had never spoken about, including her thoughts on the atomic bombing and the Battle of Okinawa. "I enjoyed talking with everyone," she said, recalling the encouragement she felt. Eight years ago, her only daughter was diagnosed with bile duct cancer and died at age 50. "Was my daughter's cancer my fault?" Oshiro wondered. It was her fellow association members who helped ease her deep sense of guilt. In the early 1980s, there were more than 350 hibakusha living in Okinawa. As of April 2025, only 68 remained. At the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, the Cornerstone of Peace bears the names of those who perished in the Battle of Okinawa and local atomic bomb survivors, including Oshiro's parents. When she visited the monument in June, she traced their names with her hand and said, "Dad, Mom, I'm doing well." Since 2020, Oshiro has served as president of the survivors' association. She says she is only able to speak out now thanks to the community built by earlier generations of hibakusha. "I hope people will not forget the journey of hibakusha on the (Okinawa) islands who lived far from the bombed cities," she said.
The Mainichi
a day ago
- The Mainichi
Nagasaki marks 80th A-bomb anniv. as survivors put hopes of nuke ban in hands of youth
NAGASAKI, Japan (AP) -- The southern Japanese city of Nagasaki on Saturday marked 80 years since the U.S. atomic attack that killed tens of thousands and left survivors who hope their harrowing memories can help make their hometown the last place on Earth to be hit by a nuclear bomb. The United States launched the Nagasaki attack on Aug. 9, 1945, killing 70,000 by the end of that year, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima that killed 140,000. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II and the country's nearly half-century of aggression across Asia. About 2,600 people, including representatives from more than 90 countries, attended a memorial event at Nagasaki Peace Park, where Mayor Shiro Suzuki and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke, among other guests. At 11:02 a.m., the exact time when the plutonium bomb exploded above Nagasaki, participants observed a moment of silence as a bell rang. Nagasaki pledges to be the last atomic bombing site Dozens of doves, a symbol of peace, were released after a speech by Suzuki, whose parents are survivors of the attack. He said the city's memories of the bombing are "a common heritage and should be passed down for generations" in and outside Japan. "The existential crisis of humanity has become imminent to each and every one of us living on Earth," Suzuki said. "In order to make Nagasaki the last atomic bombing site now and forever, we will go hand-in-hand with global citizens and devote our utmost efforts toward the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of everlasting world peace." Praying for nuclear abolition and no war Survivors and their families gathered Saturday in rainy weather at Peace Park and nearby Hypocenter Park, located below the bomb's exact detonation spot, hours before the official ceremony. "I simply seek a world without war," said Koichi Kawano, an 85-year-old survivor who laid flowers at the Hypocenter monument decorated with colorful paper cranes and other offerings. Some others prayed at churches in Nagasaki, home to Catholic converts who went deep underground during centuries of violent persecution in Japan's feudal era. The twin bells at Urakami Cathedral, which was destroyed in the bombing, also rang together again after one of the bells that had gone missing following the attack was restored by volunteers. Despite their pain from wounds, discrimination and illnesses from radiation, survivors have publicly committed to a shared goal of abolishing nuclear weapons. But they worry about the world moving in the opposite direction. Survivors put their hopes in younger hands Aging survivors and their supporters in Nagasaki now put their hopes of achieving nuclear weapons abolition in the hands of younger people, telling them the attack is not distant history, but an issue that remains relevant to their future. "There are only two things I long for: the abolition of nuclear weapons and prohibition of war," survivor Fumi Takeshita said. "I only see a world where nuclear weapons are never used and everyone can live in peace." In hopes of passing on the lessons of history, Takeshita visits schools to share her experience with children. "When you grow up and remember what you learned today, please think what each of you can do to prevent war," Takeshita, 83, told students during a school visit earlier this week. Teruko Yokoyama, an 83-year-old member of a Nagasaki organization supporting survivors, said she feels the absence of those she has worked, which fuels her strong desire to document the lives of remaining survivors. The number of survivors has fallen to 99,130, about a quarter of the original number, with their average age exceeding 86. Survivors worry about fading memories, as the youngest of the survivors were too young to recall the attack clearly. "We must keep records of the atomic bombing damages of the survivors and thier lifetime story," said Yokoyama, whose two sisters died after suffering illnesses linked to radiation. Her organization has started to digitalize the narratives of survivors for viewing on YouTube and other social media platforms with the help of a new generation. "There are younger people who are beginning to take action," Yokoyama told The Associated Press on Friday. "So I think we don't have to get depressed yet." Nagasaki hosted a "peace forum" on Friday where survivors shared their stories with more than 300 young people from around the country. Seiichiro Mise, a 90-year-old survivor, said he is handing seeds of "flowers of peace" to the younger generation in hopes of seeing them bloom. Japan's security dilemma Survivors are frustrated by a growing nuclear threat and support among international leaders for developing or possessing nuclear weapons for deterrence. They criticize the Japanese government's refusal to sign or even participate in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons because Japan, as an American ally, needs U.S. nuclear possession as deterrence. In Ishiba's speech, the prime mininister reiterated Japan's pursuit of a nuclear-free world and pledged to promote dialogue and cooperation between countries with nuclear weapons and non-nuclear states at the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons review conference scheduled for April and May 2026 in New York City. Ishiba, however, did not mention the nuclear weapons ban treaty. Nagasaki invited representatives from all countries to attend the ceremony Saturday. China notably notified the city it would not be present without providing a reason. The ceremony last year stirred controversy due to the absence of the U.S. ambassador and other Western envoys in response to the Japanese city's refusal to invite Israel.
