I've noticed more Halloween merchandise over the years in Japan. In America, many people know about Cinco de Mayo ("the fifth of May"), which is celebrated in Mexico in grand style. However, the holiday never became widely popular across the United States.

Years ago, children were left unfettered to dress up in costumes and go door-to-door all over town at night "begging for candy" as my mother put it. These days, parents are much more protective. Halloween is organized into parent-monitored block-by-block participation or in a town hall. Japan seems to favor the latter, holding parties at schools. I think Halloween will continue to gain acceptance in Japan. Many young Japanese love cosplay and this dovetails nicely with Halloween. Ten years ago, my English-teaching wife introduced Halloween in her junior high school classes. The students knew little about it. Currently, when the subject is brought up, all the students shout, "Trick or treat!" I think Halloween is here to stay in Japan because it's an easy holiday to understand.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about going green, including the example of the eco-friendly garage described in your Oct. 31 issue ("A $160,000 eco-friendly garage"). In Japan, too, the new government has recently made efforts to save energy and reduce carbon dioxide output. I've always wondered why Japan doesn't make more use of solar energy. There have been solar installations here for 30 years, yet not much progress has been made in the field. Japan has a lot of sunshine all year, especially in the Kanto region, but houses with solar installations are scarce.

I suggest creating a law that would require all new houses to have solar panels built in. At least initially, the government could take on some of the costs. If solar panels are used on a grand scale, their overall cost would diminish substantially and anyone building a house would be able to easily afford them. Using solar energy is clean and free, so why not capitalize on its full potential?

I read the editor's column in the Oct. 24 issue ("Editor's note" page 19). Halloween has been a kind of memorial day for me since 1992.

In 1992, Yoshihiro Hattori, a Japanese student studying in the United States, was shot in Louisiana. We — Japanese students of English — were shocked to hear this sensational news. Hattori was going to his friend's house Oct. 17 to celebrate an anniversary and unfortunately he invaded his friend's neighbor's house by mistake. The neighbor shouted for him to "freeze." But Hattori didn't understand what the man said and approached him instead. Immediately, the neighbor fired a gun at the student and a young, precious life was gone. If Yoshihiro had mastered the meaning of "freeze," he likely would have survived and completed his school experience abroad.

I'm a part-time English teacher, so teaching colloquial English to students studying overseas is one of my important duties. In that sense, Halloween is a good time for me to stop to think about what I have accomplished each year. Because of Hattori's untimely death, however, Halloween has bright sides and dark sides for me.

The Japan Times Weekly: Nov. 21, 2009
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