AN INTERESTING VISITOR

Hokitika Guardian, 14 March 1930, Page 7

AN INTERESTING VISITOR

SIDELIGHT-. ON JAPAN

CHiHSTChojU'H/ March 12.

An m-vivsniig \ biiur to Christchurch at present is .Miss 'Juki Kimura "'ho has liceli stationed in Australia tor the Ijiat year as a member of the national stair of the Y.W.C.A., with the object of promoting friendship between Japan and Australia. She has now joined the Y.W.C.A. in .New Zen land for six months and will visit the \ arums branches of the institution in tiie Dominion, leaving Christchurch in about a fortnight for Dunedin. .‘•peaking English perfectly, with deligntlul vowel intonations, Miss Kim urn is a. most interesting personality. She takes an interest in all subjects relating to the social and political conditions of her country, and can speak authoritatively on the problems facing her people. As an official in the Y.W.C.A. she is interested in all women’s movements, and is especially keen on the women of Japan gaining a right which at present they do not possess—the right to vote and have a share in the government of the country.

WOUHv OF THE Y.W.C.A

Speaking of Y.W.C.A. work, in which she is especially interested, Miss Ivimura said that there were five Y.W.C.A. branches in the different cities, and student work of an educational nature was carried on. There were clubs for business girls, and industrial girls wore visited at the factories where meetings were' held. The movement was young as compart'd with New Zealand. having, been in existence Ifor twenty-live years, but it ’was growing all the time. There was, in addition a country Y.W.C.A., which was district from the city work, for the methods differed according to the comiwunitv.

\Snaakme with regard to educational work. Miss Kunura said that every S"ho"l and educational institution had : ts language class, the girls' being taught English thoroughly. For those who wanted lo specialise in*fftfcrnture or other subjects • provision wfis made at the Y.W.C.A.. There was, moreover, a class in English for children, although French and German were also taught. The educational courses pro"ided for instruction .in English conk■ng, the pupils learning Japanese cooking at. home. Typewriting and sewing were also taught. All the seondarv sclmols specialised in the teaching of English, and the pupils could read and write English very well.

WOMEN AND EDUCATION.

Education for women made a beginning ten years ago, but women studv'ng at the universities was comparatively a new thing. The majority of women graduates had studied at English or continental universities. As fains the subjects taken went, women

seemed to go in for the more technical branches of study. Many of- them studied’ medicine, there being a. large number of women doctors in Japan, while domestic science was very popular . For a long time in Japan there had been an educational institution between the .secondary schools and the universities, so ti.afc the average school career was abort three years longer than in New Zealand.

U NEMPLOP Y MENT PROBLEM

‘“The great problem at present in Japan is that of unemployment,” continued Miss Kimurn, “and it is very had. There are roughly 4,000,000 manual labourers in my country, 3,000,000 of which are men and 1,000.000 women the latter engaged in the textile industry. The government has taken steps to deal with the situation by encouraging the people to migrate to the north, where the population is less dense and farming facilities are provided. In the cities the government has set up an employment bureau for manual labourers, and a separate' bureau for professional men. The position is that there is not much raw material and more care must he taken to cultivate the secondary industries so that work will be provided.” The country was governed by the middle classes, said Miss Kimurn, although the party corresponding to the New Zealand Labour Party was in power. As yet, however, it

bad no r n al newer. Although the limn n H had a vote there was no universal farm'd!jso for the women; indeed no woman had a vote. There was a strong feeling that the women should have some part in the government of the country. Jiowever. and at various times movements had been started with that cud in view, but they had not aocom hi• shed -1 groat deal.

The railways wore rim hv the ow. emment. and were ef a high standard bo mg onifo nn to date’, with oTe«t"i" radwa-.-s in the mountains. .Speaking

generally, communication in Japan w o< very good, there being verv many miles of railway through the country.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Japan had a big part in the League of Nations, added Miss Kimura,. there being some very fine statesmen at the League offices at Geneva. National interest in international affairs was very strong, the headquarters of the.movement being in Tokio .There were also branches of the movement fn all the cities in Japan, together with a students’ department at all the universities. In the primary schools there was a kind of children’s league. At the schools special attention was paid to the writing of essays by the children on what it meant to he a citizen of the world.

“It is n very good thing to educate the young in the way of international understanding rath el* than nationalisation. Many children are being educated too nationally, and the result is

■ misunderstanding, I visited a country where the children were being taught that Japan was a very strong country and that the people of Japan would come and take the country the children belonged to. By that teaching the children would grow up to have an almost instinctive feeling of hatred towards Japan. That was the way to create misunderstandings and should he avoided. The cause of international goodwill should be the first care of every nation.”