A New School Year Comes with New Worries
Article by Ren Topping
September 29, 2020
To say that the 2020-2021 school year has been, and will continue to be, different, is an understatement. The COVID-19 crisis has shattered the school routine we once knew and brought on one full of masks, hand sanitizer, and reminders to stay 1.5 meters apart. Even after dealing with months of online l...
The Strangeness of AP 2020
Article by Marine Savoure, Writer
May 21, 2020
In these last few months, the coronavirus has impacted every facet of our lives. As high-school students finish up AP testing, the extent of this impact is felt with a new intensity. While a majority of exam programs worldwide—such as the worldwide IB exams, the English A levels, the French Baccalauréat—announced that they would cancel their 2020 exams, the College Board opted for an al...
Take in Some Good News
Article by Kokoro Igawa, Writer
May 3, 2020
Amid the Covid-19 chaos, it is easier than ever to fall down a rabbit hole of news; understandably, it seems as if all the coverage is about the pandemic. With all this negative news, we sometimes don’t get to hear about the wonderful things, so here are a few acts of kindness from around the globe...
Unmasking Japan’s Mask Shortage
Article by Tei Kim, Writer
April 24, 2020
Weeks ago, after the severity of the coronavirus was publicly acknowledged by the Japanese government, masks, alcohol wipes, and hand sanitizer have, for the most part, disappeared from shelves at most local pharmacies. In particular, the demand for masks has risen significantly with the rise in confirmed case...
Distance Learning: A Look Back and A Step Forward
Article by Marine Savoure, Writer
April 21, 2020
“In the beginning, I thought this was a minor nuisance with not much potential to cause any large-scale problems. But after seeing the stock market experience its worst few weeks since the financial crisis in 2008, hundreds of thousands dying, countries declaring national emergencies and halting t...
Coronavirus and Domestic Abuse
Article by Sejin Yu, Writer
April 19, 2020
Across the world, governments, organizations, and leaders are urging people to stay at home. But what if staying at home isn’t safe? According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, each year in the United States, more than 10 million people are abused by their intimate partners. Now, the rap...
Going, Going, Ghosn
Article by Julie Defibaugh, Writer
March 11, 2020
“I am here to expose a system of justice that violates the most basic principles of humanity,” said Carlos Ghosn, former Nissan chairman turned Interpol fugitive. Gesturing wildly, at a news conference last month the 65-year-old Brazilian-Lebanese-French desperately asserted his innocence against ...
Coming Soon: A Mandatory Fee for Plastic Bags
Article by Serena Landers, Writer
March 9, 2020
We’ve all heard of the slogan “reduce, reuse, recycle” to combat the negative impacts of our waste on the environment. When it comes to plastics, we often focus on the last of the three R’s. However, recycling can sometimes actually contribute to climate change. In Japan around 86% of plastics are r...
The Economics of Tokyo 2020
Article by Tei Kim, Writer
March 9, 2020
Unless the coronavirus derails the 2020 Olympics, the much-anticipated global event will begin on July 24, mere months from now. Athletes and tourists will start flooding into Tokyo for the games from all over the world. The New York Times estimates that approximately 600,000 people will visit Tokyo f...
Making Change: TEDx Youth Returns to ASIJ
Article by Maia Macek, Writer
February 24, 2020
On Wednesday, February 26th, the High School will host its third annual TEDx Youth at ASIJ event, which the TEDx team has been working hard on since September. An organization dedicated to sharing and teaching “ideas worth spreading,” TED has hosted conferences and events for over thirty years ac...
Changes Are Coming to the ACT
Article by Serena Landers, Writer
February 12, 2020
The ACT is undergoing a major change: starting in September 2020, students who have taken the test previously will be able to take each of the four sections -- English, math, reading, and science -- individually. Right now, students have to take the full test if they want to retake the test, even if it...
The Burning of Australia
Article by Kokoro Igawa, Writer
January 29, 2020
Hundreds of fires have engulfed Australia from September last year. They grew as a result of hot and dry summer weather and strong winds, then exacerbated by the worsening effects of climate change. Last year is said to have been the hottest year on record for Australia. According to data from ...
Sejin and Kokoro decode the dress-code controversy. #asij #asijHighSchool #花火 #hanabi #studentpublication https://hanabi.asij.ac.jp/features/decoding-the-dress-code/
Should you get an Xbox or Playstation? Yes. Ren explains. #asij #asijHighSchool #花火 #hanabi #studentpublication https://hanabi.asij.ac.jp/arts-entertainment/new-features-same-old-rivalry-the-console-war-between-xbox-and-playstation/
How’s hybrid learning going for you? Tei assesses our current educational lives. #asij #asijHighSchool #花火 #hanabi #studentpublication https://hanabi.asij.ac.jp/opinion/hurrah-for-hybrid/
Kokoro Igawa has had enough of Columbus Day. #asij #asijHighSchool #花火 #hanabi #studentpublication https://hanabi.asij.ac.jp/opinion/columbus-day-a-celebration-of-western-colonialism/
Maia talks with fellow members of the cross-country team about this season’s virtual meets. #asij #asijHighSchool #花火 #hanabi #studentpublication https://hanabi.asij.ac.jp/features/virtual-cross-country/
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Article by Ryne Hisada
October 20, 2020
The 2020-2021 academic year has been unlike any other, and certainly a foreign experience for students, teachers, and faculty at ASIJ. Naturally, as the year goes on, uncertainties will begin to dissolve,...
Article by Kokoro Igawa, Writer
October 18, 2020
This past Monday, October 12, was a federal holiday in the United States: Columbus Day—a celebration of the day that Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, arrived in the Americas in 1492. However,...
Article by Maia Macek, Writer
October 15, 2020
On Friday September 25, the HS cross-country team held their first virtual meet. Our coaches mapped out a course in the nearby Tama Cemetery, a one-kilometer loop that we would complete five times. The...
Article by Marine Savoure, Writer
October 13, 2020
It’s the end of the day, students streaming out of the entryway towards the buses that will take them home. Near the roundabout is Dr. Augustine, our new associate principal. Seeing him ahead, I wave....
Article by Akika Altman-Chandler
October 8, 2020
Everything in Tokyo is incredible. It’s futuristic and compartmentalised and chimerical. I feel like I closed my eyes and woke up in a utopic simulation—my very own version of The Truman Show — where...
Japan’s Pandemic Safety Blanket
October 6, 2020
There is a tendency for us to describe our times as “unprecedented” or “unparalleled,”as humanity is currently faced with the greatest pandemic since the last century. As challenging as these times...
The Teacher Perspective of Hybrid Learning
October 6, 2020
Living in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, we began a school year that is quite different from the past. But we students aren’t the only ones facing new challenges: Teachers are also learning how...
Love, Passion, and Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry’s Sweet Side
October 5, 2020
Delicious. Chunky. Radical. The three staples of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Finding this commodity in Japan is always a challenge, but one that never disappoints—the heavenliness of Vanilla...