SOGIE

　　When I was in kindergarten, I liked to catch insects and do karate and I wasn't interested in the piano although my mother wanted me to play it. I think I was a tomboy. But my parents respected my will and didn't force me to be more feminine. I think I was able to grow up freely and be myself because of it.

　　But a few years ago, my mother often said to me that I should be able to do housework well because I am a girl. At that time, I always felt so uncomfortable because I thought my mother saw me as a category, as a girl only, not as "me". Haven't you ever had someone tell you something like "You're a boy so don't cry!" or "You're a girl so behave more gracefully!"? It feels unpleasant, right?

　　First of all, what is masculine or feminine? Are there clear criteria? If you think that gender is a part of our personality, you will find that there are no clear boundaries between men and women's minds. I'm cisgender, which means someone who feels they are the same gender as the body they were born with. Most people are cisgender in our society.

　　On the other hand, there is a minority of people who are called transgender, that identify themselves as not the same gender as their body. These people are included in LGBTQ+. But now there is a new term that includes both the majority and minority of people. It is called "SOGIE". SOGIE is an acronym that stands for Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression. Everybody has one, so you and I have one too!

　　In the last decade or so, there is a lot of discussion about what gender means. I think it is a gradation. Even if you're not an LGBTQ+ person, there are likely some parts of you that masculine or feminine don't apply to. Even if you think that LGBTQ+ people have more parts of them that masculine or feminine don't apply to, you should feel a little closer to this topic.

　　So, what I want to say is that gender issues are not just on LGBTQ+ people's shoulders. That's why I chose to talk about SOGIE, which includes everyone, instead of talking about only LGBTQ+ people.

　　The topic of SOGIE is a sensitive issue and I'm sure that LGBTQ+ people also have different opinions. But people who are in the minority should not have a hard time living for any reason. At the very least, we should not be a part of creating difficult situations for them. All of us can be minority from some points of view.

　　I don't think it's only about becoming an activist or giving opinions.

　　It is knowing they are people who have a correct understanding of gender and have positive thoughts, whether or not they tell their opinions to others, that makes the world comfortable for people of various SOGIEs.

　　So, what can we do? We can understand about SOGIE correctly, we can make sure to not participate in harassment, give words of caution or switch the topic if we see SOGIE harassment, and support and encourage people who have been harassed. We can also wear rainbow goods, which are a symbol of LGBTQ pride, to express that we are allies, and so on. There are many things that we can do in our daily lives.

　　Lots of things that people like me － who are in the sexual majority － think are natural are actually a privilege. Certainly, there are some people who can't receive these privileges.

　　YOU and I are now aware of these privileges! So why don't we start with learning more about SOGIE to create a "rainbow" society in the future!

(1st Prize of the 74th Contest, 2022)

(The World Family Award of the 74th Contest, 2022)

Be Strong

　　What do you think about life? Lately, I've been watching a lot of news about students committing suicide. One case I especially find horrible is of a female student from Hokkaido who took away her own life by jumping into a frozen river because of a group of bullies. I felt terrible for this girl because I was also bullied by a group of classmates when I was in elementary school. Did you know that Japan recorded 415 suicides among school children aged 6 to 18 during the 2020 school year? That's the highest number since 1974. I was totally shocked to see that so many young people decide to end their lives early.

　　Japan is a developed country where children can get a good education and have every chance to live happy lives. So why do so many young people commit suicide? Bullying is one of the main reasons for that. There are many ways that young people bully each other, such as teasing, taunting, spreading rumors about someone, embarrassing someone in public, and making mean or rude hand gestures to them. It is painful and humiliating, and kids who are bullied feel embarrassed and shamed, which could eventually lead to someone ending their life. Another reason is family violence. Family violence is when someone uses abusive behavior to harm a family member. This can cause so many students to take away their own life.

　　In many cases, suicide can be prevented, but how? First, we need to learn about the warning signs. People who feel suicidal have a change in their conversations with people, their feelings, and their behavior. First, they have conversations with others about wanting to die or being a burden to their families and friends. Second, they feel hopeless, extremely sad, trapped, and have no reason to live. Lastly, planning to die, isolating from friends, and have irregular eating and sleeping patterns is an extreme change to their behavior. If we see those warnings signs, we must take them seriously, and remove any objects that can be used to induce self-harm. We must also encourage them to seek professional help. It is the only way to get better, they can't do it alone.

　　Another way to prevent suicide is with a safety plan. A safety plan is a written set of instructions that someone creates to guide themselves when they have suicidal thoughts. There are three things to write. First, the person needs to write ways to comfort themselves when they are feeling sad, like taking a hot bath, listening to music, and exercising. Second, they write their personal reasons for living, or what has helped them stay alive until now, such as families, friends, pets and so on. Lastly, they create a list of professional contacts like their psychiatrist or therapist. Encouraging people to create a safety list is one way we can save a person's life.

　　When I was little, I always used to get bullied and had many fights with my classmates. It made me feel stressed, and I often cut or hurt myself because of it. It was my way of dealing with the emotional pain. I even had suicidal thoughts and often considered taking away my own life. But one day, my family and friends noticed that I was depressed and asked me what was wrong. I told them about my situation and they said to me that I should stay strong and try to think positive. They made me feel like I wasn't alone, and I that I should not hide the pain that I carry. From that point on, I learned that no one is alone, and everyone deserves a bright future. If you are also feeling pain, don't hide it. Check your safety plan, stay positive, and be strong.

(2nd Prize of the 74th Contest, 2022)

A Language Crisis

　　"Today may be the last day of our lives."

　　A Ukrainian woman named Olga thought this as she and her young son Dima fled from Ukraine's capital of Kyiv. Like Dima, more than two million children have fled from the war in Ukraine. These children often arrive without the ability to speak the language of their new country. Can you imagine being only 11 years old, having to flee a war in the only country you've ever known, to arrive in Japan - a country with a complicated language that you've never spoken before? For people like Olga and Dima, this has become a reality.

　　To date, Japan has accepted over 1,300 Ukrainian refugees. This is a large increase over past years when Japan only accepted 42 out of 10,000 refugee applicants. Still, this is an extremely small number. Canada, for example, has taken in 32,000 refugees from Ukraine. Japan has the lowest refugee-intake of all developed countries, yet the Ukraine crisis shows that this might be changing. As such, we have the beginning of a language crisis on our hands.

　　When Dima and Olga arrived in Japan, they couldn't read a single character in hiragana. He is worried he cannot make friends or keep up with his studies in elementary school. Olga is worried she cannot find work to support her son. Japan is a very difficult country for non-Japanese to live in. Imagine yourself at a loss at such a high language barrier. We need to become a more inclusive country to help those in need.

　　What can we do? For starters, the club activities at my school are hard at work providing translated materials for potential refugees and foreign residents in the area. Currently, we're translating guides on how to take the local train and which place to visit to get certain services and information in public. These are activities you can do at your school, too.

　　Second, we can also take our language classes more seriously. In Japanese universities, we can choose a second foreign language to learn besides English. But how many adults that graduated from university can speak three languages? It's said that less than 10% of Japanese people can speak English well, let alone another language. Isn't this embarrassing?

　　I hope the Ukraine crisis ends soon, but by the time we graduate from university, there may be another world crisis. And if Japanese people want to help, we need to have a better grasp of English - at the bare minimum. Also consider, as you move into high school and beyond, studying another language. Languages such as French, German, Spanish, and even Arabic are spoken by people of many countries. One day, your ability to speak such a language may help a refugee fleeing war in Japan.

　　I am sure Olga and Dima will feel comfortable in Japan. Dima will be able to attend school and speak Japanese freely. But for now, it's a stressful time for them made all the more stressful by how insular Japan's language culture is. If we want to continue helping those in need, we must begin ending this language crisis today.

(3rd Prize of the 74th Contest, 2022)

You've Got a Friend in Me

　　Do you sometimes feel as if you're all alone? Do you feel as if nobody understands you? And when you feel down, do you have somebody to turn to? Today, I want to talk about the meaning of friendship and how it can influence all of our lives.

　　I spent half of my time in elementary school feeling that I didn't fit in. I didn't watch TV at home and thanks to my parents' bilingual child-raising experiment, all the resources and information I had were in English. It was difficult for me to understand the Japanese language and culture. I couldn't join conversations about everyone's favorite celebrities. Nor could I ever talk about what I liked. Why would anyone know about my favorite American TV shows, like Dora the Explorer?

　　Feeling like I didn't belong, I started to think that friends were meaningless. Besides, who would want a strange and weird friend like me?

　　But when I attended middle school, things began to change. There were more students here and our personalities had just started to blossom. Up until that point, I thought I was the only student who was "weird." However, I soon noticed that everyone else had their own quirks too. I started to make friends, talk more and smile more. That was when I realized the many magical powers of friendship.

　　This is what I've learned about friends so far. First of all, friends make every minute of your day more interesting and enjoyable. They make you laugh harder and smile brighter. For me, going to school every morning became exciting just because I could see my friends there. Remember, you're hearing this from a person who once absolutely hated school.

　　Second, they make the troubles we face seem less scary. Sometimes we all get overwhelmed by life's problems. But if you have a good buddy who is willing to walk through them together, suddenly they don't seem so bad. A problem shared is a problem halved.

　　The last and most amazing part of friendship is that friends give you the courage you need to challenge yourself. I could have been stuck thinking I was small, weak and worthless. I hated trying new things because I was afraid of messing up and making a fool out of myself. But my friends gave me the courage to give it a shot. Most of the time, things were easier than expected. All I needed was a little push. Friendship unlocks your full potential.

　　Even now the gap between me and other people is still there and sometimes communicating is hard. I'm sure some of you feel the same way I do. According to a survey by the Ministry of Education and Culture, around 37% of the population in Japan feel lonely, especially the young generations. What's more, reports state that when people have a hole in their lives they tend to fill it with anger. The hateful comments and discrimination you see on the Internet and in society might be part of this phenomenon. Just as friendship saved me from my negative emotions, friendship can also be a key to solving these problems.

　　Right now, I am part of the school's Student Council. My past self would never--and I say never--have imagined doing this. And I never would have dared to enter this speech contest either. Thanks to my friends, I've made it this far. And with them, I feel like I could go on forever.

(4th Prize of the 74th Contest, 2022)

Doing What We Like Most

　　Hello, everyone. Today I want to talk about my favorite thing. Can you guess what it is? It is mathematics. Oh, before you decide to walk out, please continue listening to my speech because I will be sure not to discuss complicated math problems. Instead, I will talk about the effect mathematics has had on my school life in junior high school.

　　I enrolled in junior high school about a year and a half ago, and since then I have always been alone in my classroom. I do not know what to talk about with my classmates. When I start to talk to my classmates about math, they become bored and do not want to talk to me anymore. So what should I talk about? I am not sure. Do I have to bring up popular celebrities, or favorite movies and songs? Those things do not interest me. Do you also worry about friends, like me? Today I'd like to look for the answer to the question 'how to make best friends.'

　　First, I have to talk about how much I love math. Whenever I think about numbers, I feel excited. My favorite toy in the world is a calculator. I calculate a lot of things without any specific purposes. I calculate just because I enjoy numbers. Calendars are also appealing to me because I can see many numbers on them. I was making calendars when I was in kindergarten. In addition, I like gas stations, because I can see numbers that show the amount of gas and how much it costs. I also tried advanced math tests for high school students. I have loved math for almost nine years. I can say that math is my best friend.

　　I said that I am alone in my classroom, but I am not alone at school, because I have my favorite math teacher at school. He taught math to my class a year ago. During his class, he gradually realized that I am a big math-lover. Then, he started to give me interesting math problems. I really appreciate that, because solving math problems is the happiest thing for me. After I solve them, I go to the teachers' room, knock on the door and call the math teacher, and hand in the answers to him. If I cannot solve the problem for more than a week, I will ask him for help. However, I have managed to solve the problems almost every time, so math problems from him have become more and more difficult. He understands me very well, and I learned a lot from both his math problems and himself.

　　This year, I proceeded to the second year, and first-year students entered the school. And now I have three first-year friends who love math. I sometimes teach them math after school, and they teach me as well. I enjoy spending time with them. At first, I was just solving math problems to fight against loneliness. But now, math has led me to make new friends. The more I study math, the more friends I have. Of course, studying math does not help me to be better at talking with my classmates. But it does help me to meet people who love math. We have a proverb that says 'Birds of a feather flock together.' According to the Oxford Dictionary, it means that 'people of the same sort or with the same tastes and interests will be found together.' This proverb certainly applies to me. Because I love math so much, I tend to meet people who love math as well. Enjoying what you like will surely lead you to making new friends.

　　Little by little, the way my classmates see me has changed through my eagerness towards math. Now, they sometimes even ask me math questions. Some of my classmates cheer me up when I prepare for a difficult math examination. So I want to finish my speech with this: many people have worries about friends. But surely someday, if we persist, we will meet someone who really has good chemistry with us, and we can make great friends. So the next time you feel lonely, just do whatever you love to do. Never be afraid to do and focus on what you love!

(5th Prize of the 74th Contest, 2022)

The Power Within Us, Beyond Magic

　　"I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."

　　These are the words of J.K Rowling, one of my favorite authors of all time. It's true! I really do imagine that opening a book can take you on an adventure anytime, anywhere.

　　I've always liked to read, but it all started when I read the world's bestselling series, Harry Potter. The experience was mind-blowing. I've never felt so passionate about a book before. When I was reading, I truly was in the magical world, playing quidditch and taking lessons with Harry. I'm also happy to say that I have good friends around me who are just as geeky about Harry Potter as I am. The series is a bit of magic in our own normal lives. But what if I told you that some people in this world, the same world we live in, aren't receiving their own share of magic?

　　According to UNICEF, there are approximately 153 million orphans around the world, and it is said that an estimated 5.4 million children are in institutional care. However, these figures are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. On top of that, 80% of these children are actually sent to orphanages from their real families, mainly because of poverty or because the children have disabilities. This means that these children still have a living parent or parents, but the parents are too poor to provide for their children. You might wonder: "What's so bad about orphanages? Even when run with good intentions and effort, institutions like this struggle to give children what they need the most: love. What's more, the "Bucharest Early Intervention Study" (a study that started in Romania about the effects of orphanage care on children) proves that growing up in institutional care severely harms a child's physical and mental development. Numbers don't lie: according to the study, for every three months that a child was in an institution, he or she lost one month of development compared to a child in foster care. Mind you, this research wasn't made at terrible orphanages or foster homes either, it was conducted at high quality versions of both.

　　J.K Rowling learned about children living in orphanages for the first time when she saw a photograph of a small boy in a newspaper. The poor little boy was in an institute far away from his home and family, completely hidden from the world. To save other children and to end institutionalization, J.K Rowling founded "Lumos," an international NGO that takes action to "Fight for every child's right to a family by transforming care systems around the world." "Lumos" is a light-giving charm for Harry Potter in the novels, which brings light to even the darkest of places. That's exactly what the organization "Lumos" does - they light the way toward a brighter future for disadvantaged children.

　　J.K Rowling has written three extra Harry Potter novels to support Lumos, meaning that the money raised will help thousands of children find their way to a safe and loving family. I believe that this is far more incredible than the powers of any kind of wizard. My small gesture of buying a book helps brings these children a step closer to a better future.

　　Harry battled against evil using magic in the series, but J.K Rowling herself is spreading her own magic throughout the world, too.

　　Harry Potter. It's just a sprinkle of magic to light up our everyday lives, but it actually has the power to change the lives of millions.

　　When our small actions are put together, they will become stronger than any magic wand. Because as J.K Rowling says, "We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already."

(6th Prize of the 74th Contest, 2022)

Changing Our Attitudes Toward Animals

　　In February 2017, 57 Japanese monkeys were killed in a zoo in Chiba prefecture. Why did they need to be killed? Did they attack people? Did they have a terrible virus which can cause humans to die? Neither of these is true. They were killed just because they were found to be hybrid breeds of Japanese monkeys and foreign monkeys. In other words, they were exterminated for the purpose of protecting genetic purity or biodiversity in Japan. Isn't it shocking? I was shocked to learn this.

　　Let's think about alien species in Japan for a while. Alien species are organisms that have entered Japan from other areas due to human activities. Let me introduce two examples. The Alligator gar is a fish that was originally brought to Japan for ornamental purposes. When they became too big to be kept in fish tanks, the owners dumped them into rivers and lakes. Black bass is also a very famous alien fish. It was originally brought to Japan for eating. After they gave up on it for edible use, it was released into rivers and lakes and began to be a target fish for sports fishing. Both species settled and bred in Japanese waters.

　　And now, the pressure to exterminate these alien species is growing. Local governments are encouraging fishers to catch and kill black bass, for example, and many people seem to be obedient. The reason for killing them is to protect local species and, of course, biodiversity just as we saw with the monkeys.

　　Of course I think it is important to keep and preserve local species and natural diversity. However, I think it is very selfish to exterminate species which we ourselves once brought from other areas. When people wanted a foreign species, they imported it into Japan and when they decided its number was becoming too large, they killed off the animals. Those actions are full of human selfishness and arrogance and show no respect for life.

　　So, I think we should accept the natural existence of the alien species which already live and have begun to prosper here in Japan. An incomplete solution? It may be so. But, for example, clover, Reeve's turtles, and even sparrows were originally from overseas and have now become established as a part of the Japanese ecosystem.

　　Local species are indeed important. So is biodiversity. However, are these concepts more important than real animals' lives? The image of 57 dead monkeys and thousands of dumped black bass made me wonder about this. We, humans, cannot live without the expense of other living things but I strongly believe that this doesn't mean we can play God and try to control animal species on our own.

　　Stop treating creatures poorly or brutally! Stop trying to control nature! And, above all, stop thinking selfishly and arrogantly because, in the end, we are all living together on this planet.

(7th Prize of the 74th Contest, 2022)

武藤一也（むとう・かずや）　東進ハイスクール・東進衛星予備校講師。英語の音読量と正確さを可視化する日本初のアプリ「音読メーター」開発者。Cambridge CELTA Pass Grade A（ネイティブスピーカーを含む合格者の上位約５％）。英検１級。TOEIC990点満点。著書に「共通テスト　英語リスニングドリル（東進ブックス）」、「イチから鍛える英語長文シリーズ（学研プラス）」など多数。

【主催】読売新聞社、日本学生協会基金

【後援】外務省、文部科学省、都道府県教育委員会ほか

【特別協賛】東進ハイスクール・東進衛星予備校

【協賛】日本テレビ放送網、ぺんてる、ワールド・ファミリーほか