Day 57

Today on Leap Year day, Or whatever you call February 29th, I had a field trip to Otsu with my Japanese Politics class. We got to visit the governors office and the Otsu court, as well as sit in on a meeting with the Diet, I hope I'm saying that right.

It was pretty cool. We had a presentation by this group talking about a Rice Cradle Project, which basically uses rice fields as a place for fish to eat and reproduce in a healthier environment and go back to the lake, since the lake is colder. Shiga Prefecture, (it's the state I'm in), Has a Big lake inside of it, called Lake Biwa, the lake outside my dorm, And they want to make sure the the fish are thriving. They actually sale the rice grown in the grade to serve as awareness for the project. They also gave us these cool portable chopsticks.

We got to see a Japanese courtroom, they just started using Lay Judges, which is basically a jury, and they sit on the same level as the Judge. The Witnesses sit in the middle of the courtroom, and both attorneys ask questions from their seats with Both sides sitting at the same table. I have pictures coming, hopefully by the end of the week.

I got to sit in the Judges seat.

I also figured what i want to write my paper on, Women in politics in Japan. Shiga's governor is a women, and she is only the third female governor in Japan. She actually went to the University of Wisconsin. There are also few female mayors, Otsu, the city I was in had it's first female mayor, She actually received a law degree from Harvard. American Graduate education going far oversees.

And a Side note, something I really just realized, and it shows just how much English runs the world. In Japan, Japan is Nihon. I knew I was in Nihon, By I'm am curious to find out why English speaker felt the need to call Nihon Japan.

Until Next Time,