Sometimes, people show their frustrations with their government through demonstrations. Some of them are peaceful, and some of them are violent. Governments often regard them as dangerous, so they sometimes suppress them. They are afraid of social disorder. 

If people demonstrate violently, their government has an excuse for attacking them violently. If people demonstrate peacefully, there is no excuse for attacking them violently. But recently, I have seen police attacking journalists and people violently who are demonstrating peacefully. We must not allow violence like that. 

In democratic countries, people can express their opinions on their government through elections. However, if it is a one-party dictatorship, how can they do it? Aren't demonstrations a choice? What do you think about demonstration?

I think everybody agrees that Whitney Houston is one of the greatest female singers. Her voice was amazing and she had great success as a singer from the middle of the 80's to the 90's. You can listen to her amazing voice in her cover song "I Will Always Love You".

However, she had a difficult time from 2000 to 2008. She got hooked on drugs and was violently attacked by her husband. She must have realized that she shouldn't keep going on in such a situation. She divorced her husband and attended a therapy program for drug dependency.

She released a new album in 2009 after she overcame hardships and she sang songs about her revival in the album. I like this album more than any other of her albums because this album shows the power that a woman has when trying to overcome hardships. My favorite song on this album is "I look to you". Three years after she released this album, she suddenly passed away. This song was sung by R. Kelly at her funeral. It was so touching. 

I Will Always Love You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK4hweZRU0k

I look to you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTSlKG2ZCq8

"I look to you" sung by R. Kelly at her funeral https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLvDN07O5M8

Once upon a time, there was a mountain in a village where elderly people were thrown away to reduce the number of mouths to feed. Ichiro, who lived in the village, was a very poor farmer and lived with his mother, wife, and three children. They didn't have enough food so his children cried every day because of their hunger. Ichiro's mother pitied her grandchildren and asked him to leave her at a place deep in the mountain. She thought that the little food that they had should be shared among everyone in his family except her because she thought that she wouldn't live much longer than them. 

One day. he decided to leave her at a place deep in the mountain after much agonizing. When he was walking toward the depths of the mountain carrying her on his back, he noticed that she sometimes dropped petals one by one. He asked her, "Why are you dropping petals?" She answered, "It is because you can get back without getting lost." When he heard that, he realized how deep his mother's love was. He was very ashamed of his attempt to throw his mother away, and went back home with his mother. Though they were poor, they lived together happily ever after.

Four hundred years ago, the Imperial court of Japan didn't have much power and there were many warlords everywhere in Japan. They fought each other in order to keep their opponents under their control.

Various raw meats are sold in Chinese food markets. When we deal with raw meat, we must be thorough with food safety management because pathogens in raw meat propagate easily in dirty places. Food safety management in the food market in Wuhan seems not to be thorough. It is said that the source of the new coronavirus is bats.

However, there is the other terrible fact that the food market in Wuhan where the new coronavirus was first found is only 30 km away from the institute for virus research. Of course, I don't affirm that the new coronavirus was leaked to the outside by mistake. It is a small possibility. I read about it in the news. Some scientists refer to it and warn that the management of viruses in the institute is not thorough. I hope the new coronavirus doesn't spread any further and the source will be found soon so that the same thing will not happen again.

The Chinese doctor who first discovered the new Coronavirus died from the new Coronavirus transferred from his patient. He first discovered it last December in a patient who came from the food market in Wuhan. He told other doctors about it, but he was arrested by the Chinese authorities on a charge of spreading false information. He said that he could not deal with the new Coronavirus well because the Chinese Government forbade him to say anything about it.

At the moment, in China, the number of people who are infected with the new Coronavirus is about 30000 and the number of deaths due to it is about 600. The numbers are increasing and the new Coronavirus is spreading around the world. If the Chinese government had dealt with the new Coronavirus when they first heard about it from the doctor, there might not be such a serious situation.

If you are in deep sorrow and can't get over it, what should you do? You may wait for it to go away on its own, but you can't know how long it goes on. However, something may heal you from it.

Eric Clapton is a great musician and he was in deep sorrow in 1991. He lost his four-year-old son in March of 1991. His son fell to his death from the fifty-third floor of an upscale apartment in New York. We can't know how sad he was, and if he can ever recover. However, he must have recognized that he had to get over it and move on. A few months after his son's death, he wrote a song. It must have been given to him by his son, and it healed not only him but also the people listening who had the same experience as him. His son became the song.

It is said that a huge meteorite whose diameter is from 10km to 15km struck the earth sixty-five million years ago. The meteorite impact swirled up dirt and dust until the sky was almost covered. It caused cooling of the earth and all dinosaurs died out because of it. If the meteorite impact had not happened, dinosaurs would have survived and human beings would not have emerged. In that case, dinosaurs may have developed like humans and they could have had their own civilization. Anyway, we are here thanks to the meteorite impact.

Let me introduce Mr.Tanaka Kouichi, a Japanese chemist who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2002. He invented a method of mass spectrometry of protein that is useful for the early detection of disease. The process of his invention is interesting. One day, he mixed a solution A with a solution B by mistake, but the mixture contributed significantly to his invention. It is interesting that a mistake results in success. Have you ever experienced something like that?

About four hundred years ago, there was a shogun who opened Edo bakufu. Bakufu is the Japanese word for a feudal government headed by a shogun. He fought against many generals before he became a shogun and he mostly defeated them. However, he was once defeated by a general, and it is said that he pooped his pants with fear when he fled on horseback. It is also said that he made a painter draw a picture of him pooping his pants in order not to forget the humiliation. It seemed to give him motivation like 'I don't ever want to feel miserable like that again" when looking at it before fighting other generals. He changed the failure to his power. Do you have failure that you should not forget?

I will introduce a traditional Japanese drum. There are several traditional Japanese instruments, but the drum is the most famous and popular instrument in Japan. The size of the drum varies from large to small, and the playing style also varies. Sometimes they are played by a person and sometimes they are played by a group. When a group plays them, the sound has a beautiful harmony.

This is Kodo's promotional video. Kodo is one of the most famous groups that played the drum. Enjoy the sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzOVthBhxnE

What digestive organ do you think of first? You probably think of the stomach. However, in fact, the first digestive organ is the mouth and teeth. We first chew food, and then it is sent to the stomach. Chewing food well helps your stomach digest it. Bad teeth are not only a burden on your stomach but also deprive you from the pleasure of eating. This is very unfortunate because eating is one of the most important and pleasant things for us. Do you care about your teeth? How do you care about your teeth?

I feel that mass murder has been increasing recently, especially in the U.S. I often hear we must take measures against it such as gun control, mental health care, prohibiting violent movies and video games and so on. However, they seem not to be working so far. Even if we have strict gun control, murderers can kill many people in other ways. On the other day in Japan, a murderer killed 35 people by setting fire to some spread out gasoline. It is impossible to notice and treat the mental illnesses of all people who may commit mass murder. Even if we prohibit violent movies and video games, they would keep existing illegally. 

Nothing can be done about it? I think that the most important thing is to know the importance of life. If they kill people, those people are no longer alive. The victim's family and friends will feel deep sorrow, and anger for the assaulters. I think mass murderers can't understand their sorrow. How can we tell people about the importance of life? Especially to people who may commit mass murder, though it is very difficult to find them, Are there any effective measures against mass murder? What can we, as individuals and as a society, do in order to prevent mass murder?

I discussed mass murder with a woman a few days ago. She said that society is also responsible for mass murders. However, I don't like this opinion. Of course, there are various problems in all countries, but there isn't any excuse that would support the ideas that we allow mass murder. She seemed to shift the responsibility of mass murderers to society, as if to say "Society creates mass murderers."

There are many people who live without committing a serious crime in the same society, even if they have frustrations with their societies. I think most mass murderers attribute their unfortunate conditions to society and others, not to themselves. This is very selfish.  People who killed many people must be responsible for their actions. Then, we should investigate their backgrounds of their actions so that mass murder will not happen again.

In Japan, thirty five people were killed by a man about a month ago. He broke into a famous animation studio, spread gasoline there, and lit it on fire. He was also seriously hurt, but seems to be recovering in a hospital. I have mixed feelings about his recovery. Of course, the details of this tragedy must be revealed in court with his testimony, but he will be surely condemned to death because he took so many people's lives. I wonder if it is reasonable to spend much money and time on the murderer. He took not only their lives but also good animation creators, and original pictures of some popular animations as well.

This news was broadcasted about two years ago. An officer of the U.S army said in his talk that an ally of the U.S destroyed a small drone with a Patriot Air Defence missile. The price of a small drone was about 200 dollars. On the other hand, the price of a Patriot Air Defence missile was about three and a half million dollars. It cost seventeen thousand times as much as a small drone. It was a huge waste of money, wasn't it? It was as if killing a mosquito with a gun.

Which do you think is more important for you when you vote for a candidate in political elections, their policy or personality? In Japan, people tend to think that their personality is more important. They tend to vote for a candidate because of their fame and popularity more than their policy and ability as a politician. 

The other day, a male Diet member, in a campaign speech for a candidate of his party, who was a member of an idol group, said that her biggest achievement is to have had children. She says, "I want to be a politician as a representative of mothers." Of course, mothers are great, but she doesn't talk about her policy and what she will do concretely if she becomes a politician. On the other hand, the party doesn't expect her to have any ability as a politician, but just want to take advantage of her popularity, and they think she only has to follow the policy of the party. Even if candidates don't have their own policy and plans of what to do concretely for the nations, if they are famous, popular and follow the policy of a party, they can become politicians.

When he saw coconuts high up in trees, he wanted to drink coconut water. He thought about how he could drink them for a while. He thought he needed to climb a tree, so he practiced climbing trees for many days.

After he learned how, he climbed a tree and drank coconut water. Then, some guys came to the tree and said, "Please give us the coconut water." He thought that I had made an effort in order to get them, but they tried to get them without any effort. So he said that, "You guys should practice climbing trees if you want them. No effort, no gain."

Recently, I have often heard news of child abuse. When I hear the news, I always feel sad and angry at the parents who abuse their children. A few days ago, a 10 year old girl was killed by her father. He had abused her for a long time like by beating her, throwing her in a cold shower and making her stand for hours. She asked for help from her school and a child consultation center, but they couldn't save her life. One reason of that is because he insisted his actions like that were the actions of home discipline. Japanese society tends to admit slight physical punishment as discipline. Of course, his actions were obviously not home discipline but violence.

After that case, the Japanese government is considering whether they should make a new law that prohibits any physical punishment in the family. However some people think they need slight physical punishment and say that: what they should do if their children are bad and don't listen to what they say? What do you think about that?

I will introduce the Japanese Empress Masako, who became the empress a month ago. She spent her childhood in Russia, the U.S and Japan because her father was a diplomat. She spent her teens in the U,S because her father became the Japanese Minister in the U.S. Therefore, she can speak English fluently, and speak Russian, French and German as well. She is very intelligent, and she graduated from Department of Economics, Harvard University with honors. After that, she entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. I think the job was perfect for her, because she can speak many languages and has an international way of thinking. 

She met the new Japanese emperor Naruhito for the first time at a reception party for the king of Spain in 1986, and he asked her to marry him 5 years later. However she was worried about his romantic advances towards her because she had a lot of passion for her job at the time. She hesitated to become the empress and wanted to keep working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Naruhito persuaded her that she can still promote international goodwill like a diplomat if they married, and said to her that he would protect her from any difficulties. She believed him and they got married in 1993. 

After the marriage, she found it difficult to adjust and she was often absent from public service as a crown princess, This was because she couldn't be active in the Imperial House Of Japan. Members of the Imperial House of Japan are asked for modesty. It also distressed her that she didn't have children until 8 years after she married Naruhito, despite the expectations of Japanese citizen that she would have children soon after marriage. However she adjusted to it little by little. 

Naruhito became the Japanese emperor and Masako became the empress a month ago, A few days ago, the U.S President Trump and his wife Melania came to Japan as state guests. Masako talked with them fluently in English at the Imperial Palace and amazed them. I think she can promote international goodwill as the empress more than any member of Imperial Household of Japan.