I got a call on Monday afternoon from a friend who lives in Kagoshima Prefecture. He was in Nagoya and wanted to stop by to see me! I knew that he was planning to come to Nagoya this year, but this was very sudden. Luckily, my wife and I didn’t have any plans. We invited him over for dinner and spent the evening talking. We had a lot to talk about! The last time he came to Nagoya was 14 years ago. We have known him for 40 years, and he hasn’t changed. He is still a great person and a wonderful friend. There is one big difference, however. The last time I saw him, he had black hair, and my hair was brown. Now, our hair is white.    (129 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Japanese Princess Kako, the second daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito, is in Brazil to celebrate 130 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. She is also traveling to many different cities to meet groups of Japanese-Brazilians. Although Brazil is on the other side of the world from Japan, more than 2.5 million Brazilians of Japanese descent live there. The first Japanese moved to Brazil in the early 1900s. At that time, Japan was poor, and Brazil needed people to work on coffee farms. Many more Japanese followed them. They hoped to make enough money to come back to Japan, but most couldn’t. They stayed in Brazil, and today, Brazil has the largest group of people of Japanese descent of any country in the world.  (125 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

I started to watch wheelchair tennis when Kunieda Shingo was the number one player in the world. I love how the players turn their wheelchairs and go after the ball. At first, it was strange to see the ball bounce twice and stay in play, but now I’m used to it. The French Open was held last week, and two Japanese players won. First, Kamiji Yui got two titles. She won the women’s doubles with the South African ace Kgothatso Montjane, and then she beat her Dutch rival Aniek van Koot and won the women’s singles title. After that, Oda Tokito beat his British rival Alfie Hewett to win his third French Open title in a row. What a pair of winners!   (122 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Fujimae Tidal Flat is a special place for migratory birds. Every spring, many birds stop by at Fujimae on their way north. They eat small fish, crabs, and shellfish. In the autumn, the birds come back to Fujimae. They rest and eat before going further south. In winter, ducks and other birds come to Fujimae and stay until spring. There were many tidal flats in and near Nagoya before the 1960s, but people filled them in to make land. Fujimae was the only tidal flat in Nagoya, so it was more important than ever for migratory birds. Nagoya planned to fill in Fujimae Tidal Flat too, but many people were against the plan. In 1999, the city decided to save Fujimae Tidal Flat.  (123 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Nagashima Shigeo was probably the most famous baseball player in Japanese history, at least until Ohtani Shohei. At the beginning of his career, he made the news with a walk-off home run in front of the Emperor, and everyone in Japan went crazy. He was exciting to watch, and he loved his fans. When Oh Sadaharu joined the Giants, they became an unbeatable pair. Oh hit third and Nagashima hit fourth, and because of their powerful hitting, they were called the ON Cannon. They helped the Giants win the Japan Series nine times in a row from 1965 to 1973. Nagashima was Mr. Baseball! After he retired, he became the manager of the Giants twice. He passed away at the age of 89, but we should remember him as the great player that helped to make baseball Japan’s number one sport.   (141 words) You can send me a comment or your own story