Notes
registered 登録した;
blackout 停電
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A terrible earthquake hit Hokkaido on September 6. I felt very sorry for the people there. Actually, my daughter and her family live in Furano. The earthquake there registered 4 on the Japanese scale. I was very worried about them because they have little children. There was a blackout, so they didn’t have any electricity. Finally, I got a call from her. Fortunately, nothing was damaged, and everyone was safe. She said that the family enjoyed watching the stars during the blackout. She had never seen such a stunning star-filled sky! I was surprised at how positive they were about it.
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Notes
Respect for the Aged Day 敬老の日;
turn grey 老人社会になる
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Today is Respect for the Aged Day. This is the day to say “hello” and “thank you” to your grandmother or grandfather. Don’t forget to be nice to the other elderly people in your neighborhood, too. When this holiday was created in 1966, there were about 6 million people who were elderly (65 and over). Only 250 of them were 100 years old and older. Now there are more than 35 million elderly people in Japan. They make up almost 28 percent of Japan’s population. More than 2000 of them are 100 years and older. Japan is definitely turning grey! (by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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