Nowadays, shoku-iku (food education) is very much promoted in Japanese schools. I read in the article "L.A. schools give healthy food a try" (June 6 issue), that U.S. schools are also starting to give healthier school lunches to children. Obesity seems to be a big problem in the United States, so this would be a good place to start. Parents as well as teachers and children should be educated on food health. When I visited Disneyland in California, I noticed that children's meals included apples instead of french fries. I hope fast-food restaurants will follow its step and lead children to good eating habits.

I was glad to find the article about Cat Stevens (May 23 issue). A few years ago, when I stayed in a foreign country, I listened to his songs. I have been his fan since the 1970s, when I saw his concert on a TV show. I have some LPs and I love them not only because of his music but also his art. He painted some of these LP jackets.

Recently, my son in junior high school told me about the song Wild World, which was covered by his favorite band. He loved that old song but he didn't know about the original. I suggested to him that it was sung by Cat Stevens more than 30 years earlier.

I am impressed that the good songs may have eternal life even if the times have changed.

I often talk with my friends about topics in the Weekly and one of them recently asked me to translate letters in the Readers' Voice into Japanese because she would like to let her grandchildren know people's comments on different topics. She hopes that her grandchildren will be able to respond to other people's opinions and express their ideas in public. I'm glad that I have been involved in this translation work and I've enjoyed doing it every other week.

I enjoyed reading "One family's odyssey to Taiwan with China's imperial art" (May 16 issue) as I'm interested in Asian history in the 12th century. Japanese culture is very related to Chinese culture. If I had a chance to visit Taiwan, I really should visit the internationally famed National Palace Museum.

There has been a number of cases of people with the new A(H1N1) flu in Japan. However, it seems to me that Japan as a whole has become way too nervous about it.

Now that we know that the H1N1 flu strain is very similar to any other seasonal influenza and it is not fatal, I think people should stop overreacting.

If my children were infected with H1N1, I wouldn't be scared of the flu. Rather, I would be scared of some sort of discrimination against my children or even against my whole family; we might be treated like culprits. I hope that the government will change its stance on the flu to help prevent people's frantic attitude.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 20, 2009
(C) All rights reserved