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Infographic -Foreign workers in Japan-


Recently, in Japan, I often see foreigners working at convenience stores. I feel that the number of other industries such as restaurants, hotels, and agriculture are also increasing. How is it actually going? I looked it up the relevant data.

It seems that there is a serious human resources shortage behind Japan’s acceptance of foreign workers. Japan faces the total population decreasing and it is expected to fall below 100 million in 2050. In December 2018, Japanese government revised the law and established new two statuses of residence in 14 industries such as construction, ship building, nursing care, agriculture and so on. This updated institution will be implemented in this April 2019.

The problems must be tackled promptly are disappearance of technical interns, illegal overtime and unpaid wages. Japanese government also plans to set up an immigration bureau newly in this April 2019 to improve these acceptance environment.


Increasing the number of foreign workers in Japan
The number of foreign workers in Japan has increased in the past five years. At the end of October 2018 the number of foreign workers are 1.46 million people. It has doubled from 0.72 million people five years ago.


Percentage of foreign workers in Japan by nationalities
By nationalities, China is the largest number, 389,117 people (26.6%). Next is the Vietnam, 316,840 people (21.7%). Especially for Vietnam, the number increased to 76,581 people (31.9%) as compared with the same period last year.


The number of foreign workers in Japan by each prefectures
Looking at the number of foreign workers by prefectures, 478,775 people in Tokyo, 151,669 in Aichi, and 90,072 in Osaka. 47% of 1,460,463 foreign workers in Japan are working in these 3 prefectures.


Categories of foreign workers
Firstly, “Status of residence based on personal status or position” such as permanent resident and Japanese wife is the most common. Secondly, there are a lot of foreign students who come to Japan with “Permission for extra-status activities”. Working is not the main purpose, but in many cases they work as part time jobs in convenience stores and restaurants.


Industries of foreign workers
By the employment industry of foreign workers, manufacturing (29.7%), services (15.8%), wholesale and retail (12.7%) and lodging and restaurant (12.7%) are high ratio.


New two statuses of residence
On December 8, 2018, Japanese government revised the law and established new two statuses of residence in 14 industries such as construction, ship building, nursing care, agriculture and so on. This updated institution will be implemented in this April 2019.

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A Digital Christmas Card 2018


Merry Christmas to the best friend in the world. I’m wishing you joy and blessings this Christmas. This is a digital Christmas card from me. Many thanks.

Recently I finished one of edX courses, Scratch: Programming for Teachers. I wrote before why I started learning programming and what programming language I am interested in.

After this lecture, I would like to plan two types of courses. One is the course to deal with programming in Scratch with an inspiring and clear way for the children who learn programming first time. And second one is to make the digital greeting card using Scratch for adults.

Therefore, I create one of the examples as a digital Christmas card. Scratch has various possibilities not only greeting cards but also quizzes, games and stories. I would like to continue exploring these possibilities and offering of courses.

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Alvar Aalto – Second Nature

I visited The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama to see Alvar Aalto Exhibitions on Friday. Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) was a leading Finnish architect of the twentieth century. This exhibition is planned by Vitra Design Museum and Alvar Aalto Museum and touring the world.

We are able to see both detailed drafts and artful works. He utilized natural materials and light for his architectures. Functional, standardized and flexible works such as apartment house and mass-oriented products were introduced as well. A film about transition of Finnish history and industry were screened in one corner.

In this exhibition, I had two discoveries. The first one was a method of softly bending solid wood trees. Stool 60 was made by innovative way to bent L shaped leg and patented in 1933. Here is the video.

The second one was his initiative itself. When I saw the manifest of Artek, my heart was extremely moved. Artek was a company founded in Helsinki in 1935 by four young idealists: Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen, and Nils-Gustav Hahl. The name Artek is a synthesis of “art” and ‘technology’ – concepts central to the international modernist movement that came to prominence in the 1920s. Their goal of Artek was “to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of living by exhibitions and other educational means”(Artek web site) . Here is the manifest, scroll down the web page and we can select manifest. This was a conceptual diagram of the company that art, design, and propaganda were closely connected, aiming for global activities while collaborating with some organizations. I could not believe that was conceived in 1935.

Hayama is a peaceful place I can return myself. This day I had a day-off and thought about myself in front of the sea. “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get until you open it up.” This is the quote from 1994 film Forrest Gump. I am excited about the future I do not know what will happen. It was mild cloudy and sometimes the sun was peeping at her face.

Photography: invisible-hand

References

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Why Programming?

In today’s digital world, coding becomes an important skill. I have joined MIT’s online community Learning Creative Learning (LCL) since this October, and I was interested in Scratch that is one of the programming languages. As I wanted to learn Scratch deeply, I began to take the edX online course, Scratch: Programming for Teachers. The objectives of this course are learning how to deal with programming in Scratch, broadening programming concepts, and discussing strategies/approaches for teaching. I am not a teacher but a parent and a person interested in STEAM. It is suitable for me because I want to learn Scratch itself and acquire the skills to deliver this attractive tool to children and adults.

What is programming?
At first, the lecturer of this course mentioned when we talk about programming education, one of the biggest questions is what is programming. It is a deep question but a basic answer is programming is getting a computer to do something. As digitalization advances, programming becomes more important.

Why do all children need to know programming?
This lecture taught me three reasons why programming is so important. The first reason is job markets are expanding in a few years and we might need more programmers because of the software importance. The second reason is to understand the world trends. There are lots of software related News. The third reason is programming is creative. We can self-express by programming. Childhood is a great time to start programming and develop computational thinking, creativity and problem solving.

What programming language should I use?
There are lot of languages like HTML, CSS, javascript, PHP, Python and so on. One of the benefits of Scratch is we can set our own language because research has shown that children learn better in their own language. Another benefit is we need not install anything. We just connect internet and sign in Scratch page. The third benefit is Scratch includes blocks right there. We need not memorize and search the code itself. It looks too easy and childish as we can just move the cat but it is a real and powerful programming language.

I have some opportunities to learn Scratch recently and I enjoy, explore, tinker, and reflect with peers. I would like to combine with other hardware and and apply it.


My recent Scratch project: Cant’t wait Christmas (DelftX: ScratchTENGX Week2 Homework) Coding kids decorate a Christmas tree. Using programming concept: Timing, different look.

References

  • DelftX: ScratchTENGX. Scratch: Programming for Teachers. Week1. Week2.
  • Hill, B. (2017). Learning to Code in One’s Own Language. Retrieved from https://mako.cc/copyrighteous/scratch-localization-and-learning

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Learning Creative Learning

Five weeks have passed since I joined Learning Creative Learning or LCL which is online community organized by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab. Today, I think what is so special about the kindergarten approach to learning? Why do I think it is a good model for learners of all ages?

Remember your kindergarten activity
At the time of kindergarten, I imagined fantastic stories, played with sands, made mountains, dug tunnels and collaborated with friends. When the mountain collapsed, the teacher or parent came over and encouraged us. They showed or advised the importance of foundation and the children could notice to solidify the foundation using water. Based on these experiences going through the spiral, the children could imagined the new ideas and new directions. LCL defines these processes as the Creative Learning Spiral.

The Creative Learning Spiral
The Creative Learning Spiral is the creative process as kindergarten children play with blocks, build castles, and tell stories (Resnick, 2017). It is the engine of creative thinking. After kindergarten, most people shift away from the Creative Learning Spiral. Students spend much time for sitting at desk, filling out worksheet, and just listening to lectures. I may have forgotten this spiral since childhood. However I revived this spiral again after joining LCL community. Interestingly, my 8 years old daughter is faster to create something than me. She made some creatures with blocks/crews, sewed the clothes for dolls, and made scratch projects during I was thinking. It was one of discoveries through LCL.


The Creative Learning Spiral
(Resnick, 2017. Lifelong Kindergarten. p11.)

Creative learning framework: Four P’s
In the LCL community, we learned the creative learning spiral and big ideas of creative learning including four P’s. Four P’s, a framework for creative learning, means Projects, Passion, Peers and Play. We focused on the one P’s in a week, learned the concept by watching videos and reading articles/books, moved hands and made things, shared the ideas and discussed in the community.

Learning Creative four P’s

  • Projects: We focus on learning through making, and reflect on the creative process through Creative Learning Spiral.
  • Passion: We explore motivation in learning, along with strategies to engage people in meaningful experiences.
  • Peers: We focus on learning social activity. We explore remixing and support people connecting to each other to share ideas, collaborate on projects, and build on one another’s work.
  • Play: We playfully explore Play. We discuss different types of paly, provide opportunities for tinkering, and share strategies to promote a playful approach to learning.

    • (LCL Website)

Through weekly activities, I made two Scratch projects and my daughter also made her projects. Scratch is guided by these four P’s of creative learning.

Sierpingski gasket
A rotating snow-girl draws Sierpinski gasket.Please enjoy with a Christmas song.

Santa gathers stars
This is the game. You are a Santa. Let’s save stars avoiding Christmas trees and snowmen. If Santa touch a Christmas tree and a snowman, the game is over.

I wrote about my childhood toys before. I introduced my favorite plastic models. Now I found playing with plastic models or any other existing toys were like playing in a playpen. There are only fixed and limited manuals/rules. These processes are much more efficient, however less creativity and agility. According to Resnick (2017), Danish has two different words for play. The word spille is used to describe the types of play that have a defined structure and sets of rules, like playing sports or playing a video game, whereas the word lege is used to describe play that is imaginative and open-ended, without an explicit goal. It seems appropriate that the Danish toy company is named LEGO, a contraction of lege with godt, meaning play well. In our surroundings, I feel there are so many things as a playpen. These are also existed in trendy programming and robot making curricula because these only provide the way people traces the codes that were taught. Do we image fantasy? Do we create, play, share and reflect? If we do not and just proceed with manuals/rules, it can not cultivate creative learning. I would like to enjoy the way what I did in the kindergarten. I think the kindergarten approach is a good model for all ages learners.

References

  • Resnick, M. (2017). Lifelong Kindergarten. Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play. The MIT Press.
  • LCL Website. Retrieved from https://learn.media.mit.edu/lcl/
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What is the news that has caught your attention?

Yesterday, I was in the SINCA x Omotesando college session and it was very impressive. I received these strong messages.

Keep eyes open what’s going on
We have to follow the English news or news in other languages. If we follow only Japanese news, our world is going to be small and limited. Listening English podcast is one of the good idea. If we listen to BBC or Economist, we find different picture from US. Picking some news occurring in Japan reported in other countries and other languages is interesting as well.

Think more
As a next step, we have to think. After picking up the news that I sort of notice, think these two ways. What’s behind it? And What kind of implications does it have for me, my business, my company, and my industry?

Train myself
We almost have to train ourselves to pick the news, think along these and express our own words. I felt this kind of topic/question is also useful to train ourself. If you can say/send message anybody in the world, who would you pick and what would you say?

I start from today to be able to think and discuss from much more diverse perspectives.

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Gears of my childhood

A new round of Learning Creative Learning or LCL started on Wednesday, October 9th and I joined. It is an online community organized by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, led by Mitch Resnick. It aims to connect and share ideas with people around the world with similar goals, visions, and values. There is an opportunity for like-minded educators and learners to meet one another and share ideas, strategies, and practical tips on how to support creative learning (LCL Website).

First week, we discuss the Lifelong Kindergarten approach and share a childhood object. I thought about some objects from my childhood that interested and influenced me.

I loved to make a Mini 4WD which was sold by Tamiya Inc., one of the Japanese manufacturers of plastic model kits. This kit includes some parts of plastic model racing cars, a motor and grease. I enjoyed assembling while imaging the accomplished figure. After completion I played racing with boys. As they have lots of know how about motors, gears, and grease, we discussed how we could race our cars faster.

I also liked ZOIDS sold by Takara Tomy, a Japanese toy manufacturer. ZOIDS, as a coined word derived from English “ZOIC ANDROIDS”, are assembled toys as a motif of animals and dinosaurs with a gimmick such as walking and weapon operation using a motor. I enjoyed the process of creation and imagined the story those animals/dinosaurs fought and won the evil. Because there was a small person and operated the animal/dinosaur inside ZOIDS, I imagined as if I were inside and operated it.

These plays affect the way my think and learn as follows.

  • I assembled parts according to the instructions.
  • I considered why and how I can solve it when I got through difficulties.
  • I played in the imagination world.
  • I empathized with my friends.
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The power of design – Message form Finland

The last session of Nordic studies was held on October 14th at Freedom University in Omotesando, Tokyo. The guest speakers were Samuli Helavuo and Elina Aalto. Samuli san is a Finnish designer and Elina san manages design office Aalto+Aalto with her husband in Helsinki. The main topic was the meaning and the role of design. We heard futuristic and influential stories that design brings.

The goal was to make the topic easy to approach

Samuli Helavuo is mainly focused on product design, but also works with art and interior architectural projects. He is interested in functional design combined with aesthetic pleasure (JFDA website, 2018). He has various fields of experience, he learned business school, worked in the sales and marketing field, travelled 7 month, then got a bachelor degree in Art and Design. Now he is working as a freelance designer while enrolled in the master’s degree at the Department of Art Design and Architecture at Aalto University. He designed “Edit” that was Edit shelf, space divider and cloth rack for Finnish design brand Hakola. It could easy to assemble and named for Editing the life. I consider that the way to his designer is based on the Finnish education system that can motivate and rework as much as possible.

The product I received the most impression is “Pupa”. While working on design, he became interested in what the world is going on in future. Pupa is the final design in his bachelor thesis named “Insects as Human Food”. According to Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations or FAO, trends towards 2050 predict a steady population increase to 9 billion people, forcing an increased food/feed output available agro-ecosystems resulting in an even greater pressure on the environment (FAO website, 2018). He focuses on insects for food that is one of the protein supplies when people will try to reduce meals and take more vegetables. Pupa is a ceramic container with wooden rid design for rearing giant mealworms. He described the goal was to make the topic easy to approach (Helavuo website, 2018). He changed the difficult topics to be empathize through designing. He keeps balance within his identity by doing two wheels designing what he wants to do and contributing to the society through insects for food.

The power of design

Elina Aalto has three children and manages Aalto+Aalto with her husband, Klaus Aalto. Aalto+Aalto is a Helsinki-based design office working with products, spaces and exhibitions. Their aim is to create special everyday objects with a strong identity and story. Their special skill is managing to make things which are imaginative and different but still simple and timeless (JFDA website, 2018). “Vakka”, a wooden storage box for ittala, is one of the famous products they designed. When Japan Finland Design Association was reorganized in 2011, she became the executive head. Aalto+Aalto is skillful to incorporate playfulness into design and they also devoted to workshops for children. She considers the benefit for learning design from children is developing problem solving and creativity. When children face problems, they can consider by themselves how to change or overcome. Creativity is not the manufacturing itself, but it is indicated how to think and solve the problem. Products or expressions exist one of the solutions.

Through their stories, I felt Finland education system and social system affected their decision-making. Finland has a flat hierarchy between professors and students, bosses and subordinates, parents and children, and also men and women. There are lots of things that we need to improve in order to interact Finnish good ideas with Japanese culture. However I suppose designs and creativities are universal all over the world. On the first day of this session, Makoto Shimazaki (Professor Emeritus, Musashino University) said design was a mechanism to achieve objectives. I recognized making things was not a purpose but a solution. I want to look around the world with a broad perspective and identify issues to be struggled that seem to be my mission. I would like to add my own taste to footprint that our ancestors stacked up. We also need to leave heritages to our descendant sustaining our limited resources. We tend to suppose every time we can generate plan B but there is NO PLANET B.

I appreciated this precious opportunity learning Nordic studies and the new network creation.

Photography: invisible-hand

References

  • FAO. (2018). Edible insects. Future prospects for food and feed security. Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e.pdf
  • Helavuo, S. (2018). Pupa. Retrieved from https://www.helavuo.com/blank
  • JFDA. (2018). Aalto + Aalto. Japan Finland Design Association. Retrieved from https://www.japanfinland.com/the-finance-pulse/
  • JFDA. (2018). Samuli Helavuo. Japan Finland Design Association. Retrieved from https://www.japanfinland.com/ethics-review/

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What do you value? – Message from Finland

Nordic studies 2nd day was held with guest Saana ja Olli and Viivi Laine. Saana san & Olli san are designers and a couple. Viivi san is an interior architect and designer. The theme of this session was TAUKO, that is one of the Finnish words, meaning “break”. They told about what do they find value in their life and work. I consider these are simple and natural, however these must be sources of happiness. I would like to think how they connect creativity.

What elements are needed to cultivate sustainability and creativity?

Saana ja Olli produce their own 100% hemp textile collection manufactured transparently and locally in Finland (JFDA website, 2018). They live in Turku which is the port city in the southwest of Finland. They renovated their home which was established as a school 100 years ago. They feel importance on food and penetrate vegan. On the weekend they help their grandfather’s farm and get their firewood or meditate in nature. They are designing together and make products using natural and recycled materials. Their trusted friend takes pictures and they use SNS to publicize economically and efficiently. I gathered some pieces what they find value in their life and work (Fig 1). I am especially inspired these three elements. They are learning by doing, for example when they renovated their house or started a business. They have a spirit help each other with their family and friends. They considered all these values are interconnected. Overall, I believe their way of living gives us a hint to be sustainable both in life and work.

Fig 1. What do you value? – Some pieces of Saana ja Olli

What things/experiences in daily life are useful for creativity?

Viivi Laine are living in Helsinki, Finland. Her approach is holistic in which architecture, interior and furniture come together. She strives for simple, functional and ecological solution. Modern heritage describes her work best (JFDA website, 2018). She worked at big architectural firm and engaged in the big projects. As the client’s work style has changed, her project designed the office where employees are free to change space. I considered this was one of the power of design influenced the work style. Now she is a freelance interior architect and designer. She works with two architectural firms and performs high quality work. I feel she has huge responsibility to effect and enlighten people putting her philosophy practice. Interestingly, on the vacation she enjoys hunting with her dog. Her way of spending vacation taught me that it was important to have an original place to return wild. Fig 2 shows some of pieces what she is inspired and finds value.


Fig 2. What do you value? – Some pieces of Viivi san

I recognized that their stories commonly mentioned these following things.

  • They thank to nature and food.
  • They have a place to return themselves.
  • They merge modern and tradition or update modernly.
  • They have philosophy in themselves and their products.
  • They notice the truly valuable ways and pursue them.
  • They don’t force themselves.

After this session, I cleaned up my home because it is thankful space for my family. Can I feel any timeless spirit or traditional culture in my daily life? Do I have any original places that I can find myself? Am I living in a hurry? I would like to interact these precious ideas into my life and work. I believe some seeds which I plant produce creativity.

Photography: invisible-hand

References

  • JFDA. (2018). Saana ja Olli. Japan Finland Design Association. Retrieved from https://www.japanfinland.com/kipp-harbor-times/
  • JFDA. (2018). Viivi Laine. Japan Finland Design Association. Retrieved from https://www.japanfinland.com/vanguard-bureaucratic-suspense/

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Where does the creativity come from?

I am studying Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) at Freedom University. I joined the first session on Wednesday and I learned about the outline of creativity and three viewpoints to know Nordic countries. A lecturer Yuriko Shibayama and a curator Kensuke Iwai instructed to our twenty attendees. This time, I would like to write about the Global Creativity Index 2015 which is one of the impressive theme in the session that the lecturer introduced.

The Global Creativity Index, or GCI
GCI is a broad-based measure for advanced economic growth and sustainable prosperity based on economic development – talent, technology, and tolerance (Florida, Mellander, & King, 2015). Regarding the overall ranking, Australia takes the number one ranking, United States is second, New Zealand is third, Canada fourth and five Nordic counties rank all by 11th. However, Japan is 24th. It seems technology is high but talent and tolerance are challenging.


Fig 1. Top 25 Countries on the Global Creativity Index

Global Creative Class
The creative class includes workers in science and technology and engineering; arts, culture, entertainment, and the media; business and management; and education, healthcare, and law (Florida, Mellander, & King, 2015). Luxembourg has the largest share of the creative class (54%), Bermuda is second (48%), Singapore third (47%). Nordic countries are also ranked high, but Japan is 64th (19%). I think there is a possibility to boost up economic production and wage in Japanese creative class and to interact between Japanese creative classes.


Fig 2. The global creative class map

Creativity, Competitiveness and Prosperity
Global creativity, as measured by the GCI, is closely connected to the economic development, competitiveness, and prosperity of nations (Florida, Mellander, & King, 2015). The scatter graph (Fig 3) shows how individual nations lineup in terms of the connection between the GCI and GDP per capita.


Fig 3. The GCI and economic output

Fig 4 shows the relationship between the GCI and economic competitiveness. The measure of competitiveness is based on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. The line slopes steeply upward showing the close connection between the two. In the upper right hand corner of the graph, we find Singapore, the United States, Canada, Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, and Australia.


Fig 4. The GCI and global competitiveness

Entrepreneurship is a key factor in competitiveness. The measure of entrepreneurship is based on the Global Entrepreneurship Index.


Fig 5. The GCI and global entrepreneurship

Japan has high GDP per capita and competitiveness, however its relationship with GCI tends to somewhat weak and entrepreneurship also tends to be inferior compared with the upper right hand corner countries, like United States, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Along with economic growth, I would like to think about how to make my daily life more creative.

References

  • Florida, R., Mellander, C., & King, K. (2015). The Global Creativity Index 2015. Retrieved from http://martinprosperity.org/content/the-global-creativity-index-2015/
  • Florida, R., Mellander, C., & King, K. (2015). The Global Creativity Index 2015. p14, p25-27, p58-60. Retrieved from http://martinprosperity.org/media/Global-Creativity-Index-2015.pdf
  • Shibayama, Y. (2018). Creative City Nordic Studies at Freedom University. https://freedom-univ.com/lecture/nordic.html/