In commemoration of No.100 of “Everyday Policy Studies (in Japanese)”
With the support of many people, we were able to celebrate the publication of the 100th essay of “Everyday Policy Studies (in Japanese)”. I would like to express my appreciation to all the forum members who wrote the essays and those who read the essays.
The aim of the forum is as oultlined on the website, but as the president I have been trying to achieve an additional aim. The stated aim is to educate junior high and senior high school students and other young people so that they will become responsible citizens. Therefore, I hoped that each member could send some useful messages to young people and help achieve this purpose.
With this in mind, I would like to ask the members to write essays in such a way that allows young people to understand the following: the basic ideas of policy studies, their own thoughts in their daily lives, and the results of their research. Writing for young people to understand as much as possible will help the authors to think about how they should talk about policies and daily lives in order that the next generation will understand their thoughts.
It may also have the effect of making people ask of themselves “what does one owe to one’s children.” Parents (the adult generations) become aware of themselves as parents only when they have children (the child generations), and it becomes difficult for parents to take actions that are contrary to what children think are correct. Even adults who do not walk across the road on the pedestrian crossing when they are without their children do cross the pedestrian crossing when they are with their children because they are aware that their children are watching. And adults who see the children taking eco-friendly actions such as saving water and saving electricity then start to copy such actions. Therefore, I would like the authors to write essays for these young people to understand.
Also, I would like the authors to translate each essay published in the “Everyday Policy Studies (in Japanese)” into English, so that they will be able to convey the message to young people all around the world who will play a leading role in the future, not only in Japanese society but also on a global scale.
In addition, I have a request for those who have read the essays so far. If you have an essay that you would especially like young people to read, please recommend them to read it. Through these efforts, if the readers can carry out such a role, I think that the value of “Everyday Policy Studies” can be further enhanced.
We therefore look forward to your continued support for the “Everyday Policy Studies” series.
(Author: Akira Yokoyama)
This essay is the English version of No. 100, December 2, 2019 on the Japanese website.