- Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.
On May 9th, 2023, I arrived in Tokyo and we traveled to Tokyo University to present 2 projects/PowerPoints about Public Health Issues – the 2 prompts I presented included Health issues in farming villages (marginal villages) in Japan, how we protect the health of people in farming villages in the U.S, and the overview of student life in America. After a couple of lectures, we traveled around many important places in Tokyo, Toyama, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Minamata, and Sendai. For example, short field trips will be conducted throughout Hiroshima prefecture, to explore the city’s history and the aftermath of the nuclear bomb.
- What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.
Through this intensive program in Japan, I studied a variety of public health, sociological and cultural issues with an emphasis on Japanese perspectives. The dynamic academic instruction and unique cultural immersion allowed me to compare and contrast major regional, domestic, and international public health issues and how they interact with and influence one another. I have also learned many historical facts about Japan and how each experience has affected the lives of the people who live there. One of the most enraging and depressing things we learned about on our trip to Japan was the Itai-Itai disease, Minamatia Incident, the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb, and the 2011 Earthquake. For both the Itai-Itai disease and the Minamata incident, a factory/corporation leaked toxic chemicals into the nearby rivers. The citizens of these towns would eat many fish from those rivers because the majority were fishermen and they had to rely on the fish to survive. Because of this, the chemicals inside the fish began to accumulate in the bodies of the people who were eating them, and many people were severely affected. For the Itai-Itai disease, many females who were affected had very fragile bones which were easily broken even with the slightest touch. For Minamata disease, patients’ bodies slowly deteriorated, and those who were fetuses in the bodies of pregnant women were born deformed and discriminated against in society. When the citizens took these companies to court, it took them a very long time and so much effort for them to less or completely reverse the effects of the poisoned river. Many people had to put a price, a monetary value on their loved ones even though they knew money was not the solution they wanted. However, on a brighter note, after many years the rivers are clean and back to safe levels today. Although there has not been an Itai-Itai disease or Minamata incident in the U.S., learning about these is essential in preventing it from happening again in another area. It is still important to note that water pollution is still a large issue in the U.S. and if caution is not taken or steps to clear waterways are not taken, we could face tragic incidents such as this.
While many of us learned that the Hiroshima bombing was necessary for the U.S. to win the war, schools never taught us the devastating effects it had on the innocent lives of many citizens of Hiroshima. When visiting the Hiroshima A-bomb Museum, we learned about how many young lives were taken because they were out demolishing buildings that day. They were either killed instantly from the blast or suffered long-lasting painful injuries that led to their death a few years later. It was absolutely heartbreaking to learn that the U.S went forth with this decision despite flying planes over the areas and fully knowing that the younger generation will be highly impacted by this bomb. Additionally, when learning about the 2011 earthquake and the Okawa Elementary school incident, we were told that the City lied to the parents of the children who died and that escaping towards the river was the smarter decision in comparison to running towards the mountains. The most enraging part was knowing that there were 50 minutes for students to escape, but due to the indecisiveness of the teachers, and the majority deciding to run towards the river at the last minute, only 1 teacher and 3 students survived. If the students had run up the mountain, it only would have taken them a minute and they would have all been saved. After hearing this, it made me think a lot about lies people in high positions can tell lower-powered individuals so that they can cover up some things. Regardless of the country, many governments lie to citizens about many things. They could also use propaganda to manipulate the beliefs of large groups or people. Even if they believed that the truth may have been too hard for people to handle, it can still become detrimental to the mental health of the people who know the truth. I think all countries around the world should learn from the many incidents such as these and devise better plans to make sure to decide what the right thing to do is. Through learning all the information above, I believe I have been able to grow as an individual and that by applying this information to the future we can save the lives of future generations. We also need to know that war/nuclear bombs or lying and manipulating the public are never the solution. In conclusion, I would like to use this information to help create a safer future for us all.
- What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.
Some of the differences in human health that I learned about between America and Japan are the life expectancy rates and obesity/chronic disease rates. Moreover, the way they handle trash incineration is also very different. For life expectancy, Japan is considered to have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world. The average age residents live up to is around 84 years while the average life expectancy in the U.S. is 77 years. (CDC, 2022). Unfortunately, this can be a big issue for marginal and rural villages in Japan because while the life expectancy is high, the birth/fertility rates and population rates are very low. With that being said, depopulation causes many small farming villages to quickly disappear. Without foreign aid or any reason for travelers to visit these areas, they will no longer exist.
On the other hand, the U.S. has its own issues with low life expectancy because there are higher rates of obesity and the prevalence of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. To be more specific, the U.S. has the highest obesity rates in the world with an average of 36 percent of adults being obese. To put this in perspective, Japan only has around 4-5 percent of adults be obese. Even so, they also have small issues with many women being underweight due to the crushing expectations of beauty standards in its society.
Another big thing we explored while in Japan was the incineration plants. We learned that trash was separated into 4 categories: burnable, non-burnable, recyclable, and oversized. When visiting the incineration plant for burnable trash we watched the whole process of trash being dumped into a pile, being mixed with a clamp, and picked up into a burner where it is turned into ash. This ash is then transported to a different area. Since that area is being quickly filled up, the Japanese government is planning to find a way to compile large amounts of ash and compress them into cubes so that they take up less space. Again, there is an issue of citizens not following the division of trash so some trash that does not follow the burnable trash may end up in the incineration plant and can become dangerous so it is very important for the people to be very educated about what can be burned or not. On the contrary, the U.S. separates trash into recyclable and non-recyclable. They also have more trash cans available in the public whereas, in Japan, there are very few trash cans to be seen so many people must carry theirtrash around. For both countries, recyclable trash is collected, processed, and remanufactured.
Through learning all the information above, I believe I have been able to grow as an individual and that by applying this information to the future we can save the lives of future generations. Finding a good medium in physical health and eating is important as we want to lower the rates of obesity and increase life expectancy rates, but we don’t want to take in fewer calories of nutrients and be underweight. We want to find ways to better handle trash in the U.S. but because we have a larger population compared to Japan, even if we adopted their ways of trash collection, it would be difficult to maintain. However, knowing the pros and the cons of each solution is an essential step in improving our ways.
- Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.
This transformation was very significant for my life because I was able to see new perspectives on the different lives and histories of the other half of my culture. Without seeing varying points of view, many people can grow to become very close-minded. I am thankful to be able to experience this project as I feel more educated about the world around me and it has even made me want to explore more parts so that I can learn even more. I am hoping that my future career will allow me to travel at least a little. If I didn’t go on this trip, that decision would not have popped up in my mind at all. However, after this trip, I have really taken a liking to traveling abroad to observe the lives of societies outside the United States. Again, I feel like it has brought me closer to the other half of my identity. Growing up in America, I never had the chance to keep in touch with Japanese culture. I highly regret that about my past, but thankfully, I was able to become a bit closer to myself through this project. Living in another country for 3 weeks or longer will always be a transformative experience for anyone who tries it and so I would highly recommend any student who is considering this possibility to give it a chance.