＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
<Added 2/28/2021> Jiro Sinbo’s “Chairman” Graduation Today
Jiro Sinbo graduated from the “Sokomade Itte Iinkai NP” today. His successor as “Chairman” is Chiaki Kuroki, currently serving as “Secretary.”
Kuroki has recently become more entertaining, bringing her own unique style to the forefront, but she has yet to reach the level of entertaining that Chairman Sinbo is known for.
My request to Sinbo now is to “give up on his Pacific crossing by yacht and return to his role. I also want to hear his sharp, honest, and pointed out problems in today’s society.”
<Added October 11, 2020> BTS (Bangtan Boys), the hot topic of discussion due to their “military service exemption”
The seven-member South Korean boy band BTS, who reached number one on the US Billboard singles chart, has been facing growing calls for a military service exemption in South Korea, and in September a bill to allow for a postponement of enlistment was submitted, creating a lot of buzz. However, on October 9, the Military Manpower Administration stated its opposition, stating that it “does not align with fairness and equity.”
On October 11, the “Sokomade Itte Iinkai NP” discussed the topic of “What is BTS’s greatest achievement?”
Yoko Tajima (former Hosei University professor, former member of the House of Councillors): “They defeated the United States through peaceful means.”
Mayuko Toyoda (former member of the House of Representatives, former Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare bureaucrat): “They sang about Korea’s dark side and promoted a spirit of self-acceptance among young people.”
Yoichi Masuzoe (former governor of Tokyo, former member of the House of Councillors): “They spread the appeal of modern Korea to the world.”
Tsuneyasu Takeda (political commentator, third son of former JOC president Tsunekazu Takeda): “No.”
While the other three gave positive reviews, Takeda was the only one who completely denied the group’s achievements, saying they had no merit. However, his comments were not aired.
Takeda stated on Twitter, “Maybe because I spoke so badly about BTS, not a single word of it was aired.”
In 2018, BTS member Jimin came under fire for wearing a T-shirt that read, “Atomic Bomb Mushroom Cloud: Long Live Korea.”
I would have liked to hear what Takeda said this time. Did the TV station cut it out out of “consideration”? If that’s the case, it’s unfortunate.
Yomiuri Broadcasting Television hosts a “straightforward, heated debate program” called “Sokomade Itte Iinkai NP” (Every Sunday from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM).
The chairman (MC) is Yomiuri TV announcer Jiro Sinbo, and the secretary (assistant) is announcer Chiaki Kuroki.
The regular (and some semi-regular) “panelists” are:
Tsuneyasu Takeda, Shinichiro Suda, Yoko Tajima, Hiroshi Nakata, Takamasa Kadota, Yukihiro Hasegawa, Kunihiko Miyake, Koji Murata, Mirei Kim, Kana Maruta, Mayu Yamaguchi, and Kyung-ju Kim.
With the exception of Yoko Tajima and Kyung-ju Kim, most of the panelists are conservative or common-sense.
This program is the successor to “Takajin’s Sokomade Yatte Iinkai” and “Takajin’s Sokomade Itte Iinkai,” originally hosted by singer Takajin Yashikin.
The “NP” at the end of the show’s title stands for “no problem.”
Each episode selects several themes to discuss and invites an expert guest to present their views on the topic, then engages in heated, candid debate with the panelists.
This program is from Osaka, but if it were broadcast in Tokyo, the same comments as this “true statement” would be perceived as “problematic,” and the speaker could be forced to step down, so it is not aired there.
This makes it seem like “speaking out is like the cold autumn win（*）,” and I feel it is an “excess,” similar to the recent “self-restraint measures on distribution, sales, publication, etc. following scandals involving cast members.”
*「物言えば唇寒し秋の風」
There are countries like communist countries and South Korea where people cannot speak freely, but I hope that Japan at least will remain a country where people can freely speak their true feelings.
In that sense, this program is not just entertaining, but also a “valuable program.” I don’t know if Tokyo TV stations are afraid of backlash from China, North Korea, or South Korea, or what, but I think they should adopt a more “firm attitude” and be more “tolerant” of the comments made by Japanese TV personalities and commentators on television.
And when there are “unreasonable complaints or backlash,” shouldn’t there be the “magnanimity” to stand up and “defend the talent or critic who made the statement”?