Latest news with #ToyoUniversity
NHK
2 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Japanese firms take steps to prevent heatstroke
Extremely hot summers are becoming more common in Japan, with temperatures sometimes rising to dangerous levels. Starting on Sunday, Japanese companies will be required to protect workers from intense heat. They will also need to make sure their staff are ready to deal with heatstroke emergencies. People working in the construction industry are at high risk of developing heatstroke. An air conditioner and ice water are available at a site in Tokyo to help employees cool themselves down. The workers know who to contact in an emergency. The firm has also compiled guidelines for these situations. The number of heatstroke casualties at Japanese workplaces in 2024 stood at 1,257, a record high. Thirty-one of those people died. An IT company in Tokyo has developed a system that focuses on body weight to help catch the early signs of heatstroke. Workers are required to weigh themselves a few times a day and to answer questions about their physical condition. The data is analyzed to assess the risk of heatstroke. Japan's health ministry says a person who loses more than 1.5 percent of their body weight, mainly through sweating, is at high risk. An expert says support for small businesses will be the key to ensuring preventive measures against heatstroke become more widespread. Toyo University Associate Professor Kitaoka Daisuke believes it is essential for the government to support small businesses through subsidies and other forms of assistance. Kitaoka says subsidies will help companies to purchase more equipment to tackle the problem of heatstroke.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Onosato promoted to yokozuna after record-setting ascent in sumo
Onosato has been promoted to sumo's highest rank of yokozuna, the Japan Sumo Association announced on Wednesday, completing a meteoric rise to the summit of Japan's national sport in the record span of 13 tournaments. The 24-year-old, who weighs 421lb (191kg) and stands 6ft 4in (1.92m) tall, becomes the 75th yokozuna in sumo's centuries-spanning history and the first Japan-born wrestler to hold the title since Kisenosato in 2017. His promotion comes just days after clinching the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryōgoku Sumo Hall with a 14-1 record, clinching his second straight championship and fourth overall. Onosato's promotion was made official after a unanimous recommendation from the JSA's advisory council on Monday and approved by the board of trustees at a special meeting on Wednesday. He is now the fastest wrestler to reach yokozuna in the modern six-tournament calendar era, which dates to 1958. The record ascent eclipses the previous mark of 21 basho set by Wajima, another Ishikawa native, in 1973. 'I am truly happy,' Onosato told reporters on Wednesday after receiving the decision from JSA envoys at his Nishonoseki stable in Ibaraki Prefecture. 'Now, things will become more important than ever. I want to stay focused and continue to work hard.' He added: 'I will devote myself to training so as not to disgrace the rank of yokozuna. I want to be the one and only grand champion.' The phrase 'one and only' echoed his remarks last September when he was promoted to ōzeki, sumo's second-highest rank. 'I didn't originally plan to say it again, but it just felt right,' he said. 'It was the only thing that came to mind.' Onosato, whose birth name is Daiki Nakamura, entered the professional ranks in May 2023 after a decorated amateur career at Toyo University. He began in the third-tier makushita division and quickly scaled the ranks without a single losing record, reaching ōzeki in his ninth tournament and before reaching the top in his 13th. He secured his latest title on day 13 of the Summer tournament – where competitors wrestle once daily and the best record after 15 days wins – by defeating fellow ōzeki Kotozakura to improve to 13-0. His only blemish came on the final day to Hoshoryu, the Mongolian-born yokozuna who was promoted in January. Hoshoryu finished 12-3 and the result has only heightened anticipation for the budding rivalry between the two. They are set to face off as yokozuna for the first time at the Nagoya tournament in July – sumo's grand tournaments are held every two months throughout the year in the odd-numbered months – the first time two grand champions will top the banzuke ranking list since 2021. It makes the first time that two rikishi have earned promotion to yokozuna in the same calendar year since 1987, when Hokutoumi and Onokuni both reached the top. 'Winning two straight tournaments as an ōzeki is an impressive feat,' said Tadamori Oshima, chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, said on Sunday. 'Above all, he remained composed and consistent under pressure.' The promotion ends a period of scarcity for Japanese-born yokozuna. Before Kisenosato in 2017, Japan had gone nearly two decades without a native wrestler at the top rank, as Mongolian wrestlers dominated the sport. Six of the last seven yokozuna before Onosato were born in Mongolia, including the record-shattering Hakuho, Harumafuji and Asashoryu. Their emergence followed Akebono, the American who became the first rikishi born outside Japan to earn the rank in 1993. 'I hope he leads by example and lifts the entire world of sumo,' said Nishonoseki, Onosato's stablemaster, who competed as Kisenosato. 'He's still developing. He's been building his body properly since entering the stable, making steady efforts. Training does not lie.' Onosato's rise has been widely hailed both for its symbolic significance and his calm, composed style. A technical and balanced wrestler, he has been praised for his maturity in the ring and his steady temperament off it. His promotion has also been a source of pride in his home prefecture of Ishikawa, which was devastated by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake on New Year's Day in 2025. More than 600 people died in a disaster that displaced thousands and the Noto Peninsula region continues to rebuild. 'I will work hard as a yokozuna to encourage and cheer up the Ishikawa prefecture and the Noto region,' he said. He is now the third yokozuna from Ishikawa, following Wajima and Haguroyama. With the sport preparing for an international exhibition at London's Royal Albert Hall in October, his promotion comes at a time when JSA is seeking to broaden its global profile while reconnecting with fans at home. At 24, Onosato is the youngest yokozuna since Takanohana's promotion in 1994 and thought to be the first to reach the rank without a single losing record in the top division. What comes next is not only the pressure of defending the rank, but the responsibility that accompanies it both inside and outside the dohyo. 'This is unknown territory for me,' Onosato said. 'But I want to continue being myself: to wrestle my way, stay focused, and become a unique and unparalleled yokozuna.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
21-04-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
University Students Fill Key Role in Teaching Japanese to Foreign Children, as Japan Welcomes More Workers from Abroad
The Yomiuri Shinbun A university student teaches Japanese to children with foreign roots at Toyo University in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, on April 10. More and more university students are teaching children with foreign roots the Japanese language, and working to create places for them to feel comfortable. Amid a shortage of teachers for Japanese as a second language, students studying Japanese language education at universities are working actively in the field, and putting what they have learned into practice. Club activities 'Yu-bin-u-ke. Do you know what that means?' In mid-April in a classroom at Toyo University in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, a senior at the university pointed at a Japanese language textbook and began drawing a picture of a mailbox on a sheet of paper with a felt-tip pen. A boy of Chinese nationality in the second grade of elementary school, who was reading the textbook with her, nodded his head in understanding at her drawing. The university club Spirit, which she heads, holds a Japanese class for children of foreign nationalities every week. On the day, four Chinese and Australian children were participating in the class. Using simple Japanese, occasionally employing Chinese and English, the university students asked the children about what they did at their schools and helped them with their homework. 'Since we're university students and closer in age to them, they should be able to talk to us about things. We want to make this a place where children can resolve problems they may have at school,' the leader of Spirit said about the purpose of the club's activities. Too few teachers At the University of Tsukuba in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, students studying Japanese language education have been helping with Japanese classes at junior high schools in the prefecture since fiscal 2020. The prefecture's student body has grown more diverse in terms of nationalities, but the foreign students are spread out, making it difficult for schools to hire enough teachers who can teach Japanese as a second language. Last academic year, about 30 university students supported a total of 51 students enrolled at 24 junior high schools, assessing how the non-native speakers did in the classroom, determining their level of Japanese, and working out what they should study. When the children received Japanese lessons in a separate room, the university students joined in online, explaining the terms used in the lesson and acting as partners in speaking practice. At Hokota Kita Junior High School, a municipal school in the prefecture's city of Hokota, a Pakistani boy received support from university students and successfully went on to a local high school this spring. The principal of the school recalled, 'When the student entered our school, he could hardly speak Japanese. There were no teachers who could instruct him, but the university students saved us.' 'The university students also gain a lot from the program, as it provides them with an opportunity to practice teaching the Japanese language,' said Hiroko Sawada, 49, an associate professor at the University of Tsukuba, who is in charge of the program to help children in need of language support. Josai International University in Togane, Chiba Prefecture, which has a course for teaching Japanese as a foreign language, concluded a partnership agreement with the city of Sammu in the prefecture in 2023. The Sri Lankan population in Sammu has been growing quickly, and this academic year there are 88 foreign students, double the figure four years ago. The university provides advice to teachers who instruct such children in Japanese, and also creates opportunities for exchange between university students and the children. Rising demand Japan had about 3.76 million foreign residents at the end of last year, according to the Immigration Services Agency. That number is up by about 1.64 million over the past 10 years, with the government accepting more foreign workers to try to remedy a labor shortage. In fiscal 2023, students who were enrolled in public elementary, junior high and high schools and needed Japanese lessons totaled about 69,000, according to a survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. This was about 11,000 more students than in the previous survey conducted in fiscal 2021, extending a record high. The education ministry plans to improve support for students of foreign nationalities by assigning one teacher for every 18 students in need of Japanese lessons by fiscal 2026. 'The national government should assume responsibility for the education of these children, because it intends to increase acceptance of foreigners,' said Hiromi Saito, 63, a professor at Tokyo Gakugei University who is an expert on Japanese language education. 'Meanwhile, it is important for external staff, such as university students, to be made use of as supporters rather than simply as a stopgap measure to fill in for teachers.'
