I heard about the first Nobel Prize of 2025 on the Monday night 6 o’clock news. The winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine are Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi discovered special T-cells in the blood. Then Brunkow and Ramsdell made other important discoveries. Together, their research is helping scientists to develop new treatments and new medicines to fight diseases like diabetes, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. After the Nobel committee contacted Sakaguchi, he went to Osaka University to talk to the press. Brunkow was difficult to contact, but they did find her. They couldn’t contact Ramsdell however. He was hiking in the mountains and enjoying life offline.   (111 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

We have had some rain in Nagoya recently, and it hasn’t been so hot. In this kind of weather, weeds grow very quickly. I had to cut some weeds at the center where I work last week. After working outside for an hour, I went back into the center. Another staff member looked at me and said, “Oh no!” There were seeds all over my pants and on my shoes. They are called “beggar’s lice,” and they stick to your clothes. They come from a plant called “nusubitohagi” in Japanese. I just smiled and said, “No problem!” However, when I tried to take them off my clothes, I said, “Oh no!” These seeds don’t come off easily. It took me 10 minutes to finish one leg, another 10 minutes to finish the other leg, and finally 10 minutes to finish my shoes.   (142 words) You can send me a comment or your own

Jane Goodall passed away last week at the age of 91. She was a pioneer in the study of chimpanzees. She went to Tanzania in her early twenties and started living with wild chimpanzees. She changed the way scientists looked at animals and humans. Scientists used to think that only humans could use tools. Goodall discovered that chimpanzees used tools to get food. Scientists thought that only humans had complex emotions. Goodall discovered that chimpanzees showed love and played together. They had friends and enemies. Mothers had close bonds with their babies. Chimpanzees even went to war and killed other chimpanzees. Goodall showed us that chimpanzees are almost human.   (109 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

One Saturday morning, I was at my favorite cafe thinking about fashion. I looked around to check what stylish people were wearing. Then, I found a handkerchief on the wooden floor near a cool-looking man. He was reading a book and didn’t notice it. I stood up, picked it up, and said to him, “Excuse me. Did you drop this?” He turned his face toward me, but he seemed puzzled. “It’s not mine,” he said. I was confused. I looked at it again. It seemed familiar to me…….It was mine! “Shall I look for the owner with you?” the man said. “No, you don’t have to. Thanks.” My face turned red, and I wanted to go back home.　  (118 words)By Ryugen S. You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Today I am happy to tell you about the 7th Jaremaga Essay Contest for junior high school and high school students. The deadline for your stories is January 10, 2026. We are looking for stories about daily life and heart-warming experiences in simple English. Don’t worry about mistakes. If your story is good, we will choose it! The winners will receive a certificate from Jaremaga, and I will post the stories in February and March next year. To find out more about the contest in Japanese, go to the Jaremaga website. You can submit your story to the following URL: https://forms.gle/aoTf8qz11QgLA3tq7. If you are a junior high school or high school teacher, please encourage your students to write an essay. It is great practice for them, and we can read a lot of interesting stories. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!   (141 words) You can send me a comment or your own story

If you have a smartphone, you probably use QR codes. You can add a friend to your LINE address book by scanning their QR code. Many stores ask you to scan a QR code to pay with electronic money, and restaurants have started using QR codes instead of menus. The QR code was invented by Hara Masahiro at Denso Wave in 1994. There were barcodes at the time, but they were mostly used in supermarkets. Besides, they were not always easy to scan. Hara wanted to make a better code that was easy to scan and could hold a lot more information. One day, while playing Go, a board game with black and white stones, Hara had an idea. If he used small squares, he could make made a “quick response” (QR) code. He did it, and his invention has changed our lives.       (143 words) You can send me a comment or your