Advanced Communicative English（ AE CLASS）

News Report
Date：May 06 / 2010

Class：AE Name：Miya Akita Student No：21310901 Report# :1

1) MLM CITATION
For my news report, I choose an article from the BBC website about Dating by
blood type in Japan. I chose this topic because I want to know why many
Japanese love talking about blood type and believe blood type determines
personality. Here is the citation of article I choose.

By Roland Buerk , “Dating by blood type in Japan”

BBC News 28 April 2010, from
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8646236.stm>

2) ORIGINAL ARTICLE
People in most parts of the world do not think about their blood group much,
unless they have an operation or an accident and need a transfusion.
But in Japan, whether someone is A, B, O or AB is a topic of everyday
conversation. There is a widespread belief that blood type determines
personality, with implications for life, work and love.

It is Saturday night and a speed dating session is under way in a small building
in the backstreets of Tokyo. Men and women are sitting nervously at tables
hoping to find that special someone. The room is brightly painted in red and
white, the staff upbeat and enthusiastic, but the conversations are rather stilted.
The couples have just a few minutes to try to sound each other out before a bell
rings and they have to move on to the next lonely single. It is a scene repeated
in cities across the world but this speed dating session in Japan has a twist.
It is for women who want to meet men with blood group A or AB.
One says she decided to narrow down her search for a boyfriend after a bad
experience with a man with type B.
"Looking back it seems trivial," she said. "But I couldn't help getting annoyed by
how disorganised he was."
"I really would like someone with type A blood," added her friend. "My image is
of someone who is down to earth, something like that."

'Burahara'
Interest in blood type is widespread in Japan, particularly which combinations
are best for romance. Women's magazines run scores of articles on the subject,
which has also inspired best-selling self-help books.
The received wisdom is that As are dependable and self sacrificing, but
reserved and prone to worry.
Decisive and confident - that is people with type O.
ABs are well balanced, clear-sighted and logical, but also high-maintenance
and distant.
The black sheep though seem to be blood group B - flamboyant free-thinkers,
but selfish. "At the interview for my first job they asked me about my blood
type," said a man with blood group B, who wanted to identify himself only as
Kouichi.
"The surprise was written on my face. Why? It turned out the company
president really cared. She'd obviously had a bad experience with a B type
blood person. But somehow I got the job anyway."

Later, though, the issue of his blood came up again.

"The president was the kind of person who couldn't take her drink and at one
company party she got drunk. So she sent B people home before the others.
'You are blood type B,' she said. 'Get out.'" There is even a term for such
behaviour in Japan, burahara, which translates as blood group harassment.
The preoccupation with blood ultimately dates back to theories of eugenics
during the inter-war years. One study compared the blood of people in Taiwan,
who had rebelled against Japanese colonial rule, with the Ainu from Japan's
northern island of Hokkaido, thought to be more peaceable.
Stripped of its racial overtones, the idea emerged again in the 1970s.

Debunked
Now, blood typecasting is as common as horoscopes in the West, with the whiff
of science - although dubious - giving it added credibility.
Some firms organise work teams by blood type to try to ensure office harmony.
And people going on a date or meeting someone for the first time are liable to
be asked: "What is your blood group?"
"This particular thing about blood types is a clever way of telling people what
you think about them, but indirectly," said Jeff Kingston, professor of Asian
Studies at Temple University in Japan.
"Here people don't like to be upfront and open about their opinions. So if you
can hide behind blood types you can then tell someone indirectly what you think
about them."
Scientists regularly debunk the blood group theory but it retains its hold - some
believe because, in a largely homogenous society, it provides an easy
framework to divide people up into easily recognisable groups.
The last Prime Minister, Taro Aso, even put the fact that he was a type A in his
official profile on the internet. If he had hoped that having a favoured blood
group would give him a boost at the polls he was disappointed.
When the election came around, he lost.

3) SUMMERY ( Personal summery of the article)

The article says there is widespread belief that blood type determines
personality, with implications for life, work and love. In Japan, someone is A, B
O, or AB is topic of everyday conversation, particularly which combinations are
best for romance and friendship. It causes to “burahara” which translates as
blood group harassment.

For examples: The blood type of personality;

A- Dependable and self sacrificing, but reserved and prone to worry.
B- flamboyant free-thinkers, but selfish.
O- Decisive and confident.
AB- Well balanced, clear-sighted and logical, but also high-maintenance and
distant.

4) My OPINION
If you were Japanese, I am sure you have an experience to talking about blood
type with your friend before. When I was a child I thought the information of
blood type group is very useful to understand an aspect of his or her
personality.
If one of my friends was blood type of B, and he or she would act selfish
behavior, I didn’t care the reason why she did it so. One of the reasons was that
I had already known about her blood type and understood she was likely to do
so. I realized there were other reasons why she did it. After that, I have never
believed that blood types determine personalities. Personality and character
should be growing up in environment which he or she was brought up. If you
were A blood type and brought up by the parents who were O blood type. You
seem to be like O blood type. I can’t deny there is some aspects of blood type
determining personality even though it dubious. We should keep in our mind
that preoccupation of personality of blood type leads to having prejudiced
before you get know him or her. You might lose a great chance to become a
best friend or partner. We should talk about it only for fun.

5) VOCABULARY　（Choose 10 and add * to share words with classmate）

*1) WORD / PHRASE: narrow (down)

DEFINITION: reduce the number of possibilities or options
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
She narrows down the number of applicants for last interview to hire a few new
employees.

*2) WORD / PHRASE: widespread

DEFINITION: spread among a large number or over a large area
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Swain flu disease widespread quickly and so many people was dead.

3) WORD / PHRASE: (be) prone (to)

DEFINITION: likely suffer from sth or to do sth bad
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He is prone to catch cold even in summer.

*4) WORD / PHRASE: translate

DEFINITION: to change sth, or to be changed in to a different form
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He succeeds to translate his dream into reality.

5) WORD / PHRASE: rebel

DEFINITION:
rise in opposition or armed resistance to an established government or ruler
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The nation rebelled against the government.

6) WORD / PHRASE: emerge

DEFINITION: come into existence or greater prominence. become known
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
It emerged that she had committed a murder.

7) WORD / PHRASE: debunk

DEFINITION: reduce the inflated reputation of some one
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
His reputation debunk by his insulting words against women.

*8) WORD / PHRASE: organize

DEFINITION: make arrangements or preparations for
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
I organized a theory about how to make profits to the company.

*9) WORD / PHRASE: retain

DEFINITION: continue to have; keep possession of
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He retains the confidence and support of his parents.

10) WORD / PHRASE: boost

DEFINITION: help encourage increasing or improving
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Our company succeeds to boost up sales.

5) QUESTIONS
1) What do you think why Japanese people love talking about their blood
types?
2) Do you like talk about blood type?
3) Do you like your blood type?
4) When do you feel like talking about personality of blood type?
5) Do you agree with personality of blood type?
6) Do you believe horoscopes as well? What kind of fortune-telling are you
interested in?