HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
HOKUSEITIMES
hokusei gakuen university campus newspaper by practical translation b・SHINE LIKE STARS・number 20・january 2019
Earthquakes: Is
Hokusei Prepared?
When the earthquake on
September 6th 2018 oc-
cured, Hokusei Gakuen Uni-
versity was in its summer
vacation period, so fortu-
nately, there was not much
confusion in our university
life. However, what is there
to learn from this earth-
quake? Hokusei Times re-
porter Kana Inoue asks the
hard questions in an exclu-
sive interview with the uni-
versity’s finance section
chief. Immediately after
the earthquake, guards pa-
trolled the campus with
flashlights . They informed
staff members responsible
for each department about
the situation of the univer-
sity, and some university
staff arrived early …
PAGE 8
Free Money? The Real Cost
of Student Loans
These days, the number of
students who enter univer-
sities or any other schools
after they graduate from
their high schools is in-
creasing in japan. Some of
them don`t have any prob-
lems while they are college
students. Others, however,
have serious problems.
Despite a shrinking popula-
Marketing Hoksuei
Aborad
PAGE 5
Green tea trumps
water for top seller
at the Student co-
op
PAGE 4
The ins and outs of
Hokusei students
cash flow
PAGE 11
Breaking down
Japan/China
intercultural com-
munication
PAGE 12
foreign companies:
thinking outside the
tion in Japan, the number
Shukatsu box
of young Japanese who For many students at Hokusei Gakuen University, it
enter universities or some might be normal to get a graduate job in Japan. But what
other kind of tertiary edu- if you want to work in foreign country? In this article, we
cation is increasing. focus on overseas employment options for Hokusei
graduates. Hokusei Times interviewed Mr. Sano, one of
If you want to study in a the staff at the Hokusei job hunting support division. The
university, it is easy for staff at the Job Support Division at Hokusei always help
you to enter them. It may students so that they can get the job that they want for
seem natural... their future....
PAGE 9 PAGE 3
1

Student Voices for a
Better Hokusei
Are you satisfied with your university life? The Hokusei
Times asked 30 Hokusei students if they have any re-
quests OR questions about clAsses AT Hokusei.
We summarized the results
of student responses and
found a few different
themes: Class overlap and
lotteries, biannual class
offerings, and more.
CLASS OVERLAP
The first issue that students
brought up was that some-
times the classes which
they want to take are
offered at the same time.
Therefore, it is possible to
take a famous elective
class if they already have a
compulsory class at the
same time. Offering classes
multiple times a week is
possible as a solution to
this problem.
However, this is not a prac-
tical way to solve this. Stu-
dents might have to think
about other solutions. For
example, taking another
year to complete their de-
gree or perhaps the univer-
sity could introduce more
online classes.
CLASS LOTTERY
Next, there are the lottery
classes. Students have the
right to take classes they
want to take, but if they
lose in the lottery, they
have to give up their dream
to take the class.
This is not idea, but it might
be unavoidable because, as
the number of people in a
class increases, the class
environment gets worse. It
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
is not only in Japan. For
example, some universi-
ties in the U.S run class
lotteries for over-enrolled
courses.
BIANNUAL CLASS OFFER-
ING
The third is that there are
courses not held annually.
Professors may have rea-
sons for this, but students
are not satisfied with this.
There are solutions such
as online lectures, but
some people oppose
online classes because
online lectures are usually
one-way.
ONLINE LECTURES
The next issue raised by
students was related to
online lectures; there are
no opportunities to apply
what you learn.
In passive classes such as
online courses, students
felt that they lose their
interest and become
sleepy. In classes, it is
necessary to have oppor-
tunities to have mutual
communication.
Also, there are students
who participate in classes
only to get credits. If they
are not interested in the
class content, differences
emerge in the degree of
enthusiasm between stu-
dents and for the profes-
sor.
However, we have to take
2
ions about the university’s
general environment. How-
ever, compared with clas-
ses, there were not a large
number of opinions regard-
ing the university environ-
ment. The most common
comment was a request for
WI-FI.
Hokusei is equipped with
WI-FI in the C building and
the library, but some peo-
ple said they want to see
classes from each field, so WIFI throughout the univer-
if there is a field which is sity. It would help interna-
not interesting, this can- tional students.
not be helped.
The next is that some stu-
CLASS SEATING dents want personal lock-
The last issue raised by ers. University students
students in our question- have less luggage than high
naire is that sometimes school students. However,
there are not enough three students answered
seats in classes. This hap- they want it. ■
pens because some pro- TAKA HONMA
fessors have students sit
in every other line or do
not allow students to sit at
the back of the classroom. Even in some uni-
We need to use bigger
rooms or professors have
versities in the
to grasp the situation of u.s run class lot-
classrooms.
HOKUSEI ENVIRONMENT teries for over-
We also got some opin-
students have various opinions about
classes at Hokusei. Some are satisfied,
others are dissatisfied. However, it is
different from high school: Satisfac-
tion often comes from good decisions

foreign companies: thinking
outside the Shukatsu box
For many students at Hokusei Gakuen Universi-
ty, it might be normal to get a graduate job in
Japan. But what if you want to work in foreign
country? In this article, we focus on overseas
employment options for Hokusei graduates.
Hokusei Times interviewed
to Mr. Sano, one of the
staff at the Hokusei job
hunting support division.
The staff at the Job Sup-
port Division at Hokusei
always help students so
that they can get the job
that they want for their
future. However, here, we
mainly talked about over-
seas employment options.
First he told us about the
situation of this university.
Mr. Sano told us that it is
rare that students at Hokus-
ei get a job in a foreign
country because there is
little information about
overseas employment at
Hokusei. However, there
are at least a few students
who have got a job in a for-
eign country so far. As one
example, there are some
students who got jobs in
the American branch of
Mitsukoshi.
During the third grade at
Hokusei, students usually
take a class called Career
Design Program. This class
helps them be ready for job
hunting and have a good
start.
“It is a good idea to
join internships
abroad to save
money on overseas
expenses”
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
In this class, they register
on some web sites called
Rikunabi and Mainabi to
gather information about
job recruiting. Students
can get information about
overseas employment on
these web sites. Mr. Sano
recommended that stu-
dents make sure to take
the class “career design
program” and up to date
get information.
Furthermore, we asked Mr.
Sano about an internships
at overseas companies. E
said that there are no for-
eign internships at Hokus-
ei Gakuen University, but
at Hokusei Junior College,
there is an internship pro-
gram where students go
overseas for about three
weeks and experience
jobs such as working at a
local hotel and an airport
as a ground staff.
It is expensive for stu-
dents to join internships
in foreign countries be-
cause students have to
pay air fares and accom-
modation fees. However,
it is good idea to join an
internship while one stud-
ies abroad because stu-
dents can cut the expense.
Indeed, some students do
that actually.
One other way to work in
foreign country is to re-
quest to work at overseas
branch after working at
Japanese companies for a
3
number of years.
Mr. Sano also gave stu-
dents some general ad-
vice for job hunting. He
started by saying that
most students are not sure
what they should do ex-
actly and even what job
hunting is. However, they
do not have to worry
about this because all
staff at the Job Support
Division are there to sup-
port them.
Also, it is just a formality,
but now it is normal for
students to start attending
job fairs from the first day
of March in their third
year, and for companies
start to sending out offi-
cial offers of employment
from the first day of June.
However, the leader of the
Japan Business Federation
(Keidanren in Japanese)
officially announced the
abolition of this system
about one month ago. For-
eign companies and Japa-
nese ones which do not
participate in the Japan
Business Federation do
Mr. Sano who is one
of the staff at the
Hokusei job hunting
support division
not have to obey the rules,
so they give official offers
to talented students earlier
than companies which par-
ticipate in the Japan Busi-
ness Federation.
Therefore, the rules have
been abolished in order to
hire more talented stu-
dents. It means the system
of job hunting will change
completely, so students
should gather information
about that as soon as possi-
ble.
For most students job hunt-
ing is one of the biggest
concerns, and there are
some students who do not
even go about it well. The
system will be quite differ-
ent in two years, but stu-
dents do not have to worry
about it because the staff at
the Job Support Division at
Hokusei always support
students.
Get ready for job hunting
and be set up to make your
dreams come true. ■
Ken Miyamori
 HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019

Green tea trumps water for top

seller at the Student co-op
The Hokusei Times got exclusive ac-
cess to sales data from the Student
Coop to find this year’s top-seller
items. The results were surprising.
There are many kinds of snacks, drinks and CUP
food products at the stu- NOODLES
dent COOP. These prod-
ucts are usually quite ORIGINAL RICE BALLS
cheap, and a lot of stu- Every seasons the stu-
dents at Hokusei Gakuen dents co-op sells new
University go to the co- kinds of rice balls. Take a
op every day. look at the Rice Balls table
below for some examples.
There are four sections These products are only
of foodstuffs at the stu- sold at Hokusei Gakuen
dent COOP: rice balls, University. So if you are a

student at this university,

you should try these rice
Rice-ball Sales Ranking
balls.
RANK Rice ball TYPE Original price Sales per Week
SNACKS 1 mayonnaise and tuna MIX 129yen 454
All snacks and all choco-
lates are products that are
popular in all seasons. 2 Tuna belly and mayonnaise 108yen 371
When you study hard, you
may sometimes want to
sweet things. At such
3 Pulled-Salmon rice ball 108yen 365
times, you should go to
the student co-op. There
are many kinds of sweet SNACKS Sales Ranking
things, so you will be able
to get somethings that RANK SNACK TYPE Original price Sales per Week
you crave.
1 strawberry DARS (morinaga)  140yen  103 
DRINKS
In addition to the drinks in
2 Galbo choco (meiji)  158yen  100 
the table on the left, drink
yoghurt (by Yotsuba) is
3 Bisco baked chocolate (glico)  105yen  88 
popular at 250yen. These
products were just re-
leased in October 2018. DRINKS Sales Ranking
There is plain yoghurt,
mixed berry and apple. RANK SNACK TYPE Original price Sales per Week
These products include
only Hokkaido milk, so 1 Ayataka green tea (coca-cola)  150yen  853 
richly flavored.
2 Crystal Geyser (ootsuka shokuhin)  98yen  492 
CUP NOODLES
Cup noodles are popular
3 Calpis Water (asahi)  105yen  438 

4
 HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019

Cup Noodles Sales Ranking

RANK
1 Gotsumori sauce yakisoba (toyosuisan)
2 Super cup large-size oil soba (ace cook)
3 BakeD bread and cream of corn soup (Pokka Sapporo)
with students because
these are delicious and
give a feeling of fullness.
However, if you eat them
everyday, you will be-
come ill. So , let’s eat
them in moderation.
BIG THANKS
The Hokusei Times thanks
the Student COOP work-
ers’ for their cooperation
with our survey.
Make sure that when you
want to get a quick bite to
eat that you check out the
student co-op because
these top-selling products
will satisfy your appetite
for sure. ■
RISA KOYAMA
Cup Noodle TYPE Original price Sales per Week
180yen  186 
200yen  179 
160yen  118 
STUDENT COOP TIPS AND
TRICKS
In front of the Hokusei
Gakuen University Student
COOP, there is an elec-
tronic money reload ma-
chine.At the COOP, you
can collect points by re-
charging and using your
card. In addition, if you
use your card rather than
cash, you can do your
shopping more smoothly
because you only need to
hold up your card to the
card reader at the register.
So, before starting shop-
ping at the COOP, make
sure to should charge
your card with cash.

Marketing hokusei abroad

Do you want to study abroad? If so, there is a great place for students to get
useful information about Hokusei’s study abroad programs. After a visit to
the international & language center, you’ll be set to go .
The main job of the Interna- every spring and fall. At about cultural differences.
tional Education & Lan- this overnight camp, Ho-
guage Center at Hokusei kusei students and ex- SISTER SCHOOL EX-
Gakuen University is to re- change students go on a CHANGE
cruit exchange students trip together to build Hokusei’s first
and send Hokusei students friendships. In 1965, Hokusei Gakuen sister School
to sister schools. They work University and Lewis &
hard to make Hokusei a Also, there is an event for Clark College formed Ho-
agreement was
more international univer- high school students, kusei’s first sister school with Lewis and
sity. called “English Camp.” agreement. Since then, our
High school students, ex- university began relation- Clark College,
To achieve this goal, the change students and Ho- ships with many universi- in 1965
Center holds some regular kusei students do group ties in foreign countries.
events. For example, the work together to under-
International Camp is held stand each other and learn Mainly, professors act as a

5

bridge to establish affilia-
tions with sister schools.
When they go overseas for
research trips, they meet
people who want to have a
sister school in Japan. If
conditions align, they will
become sister schools. Ho-
kusei hopes to increase the
number of sister schools
through such connections.
Every year, the director of
the International Education
& Language center, profes-
sors and some staff visit
two or three sister schools.
They greet each other and
talk about recent events.
They also visit some facili-
ties or join classes. If Hokus-
ei students study abroad at
the same time, they com-
municate with them and let
them know about their lives
at the sister university.
GOOD POINTS FOR EX-
CHANGE STUDENTS
There are some merits for
exchange students to study
at Hokusei Gakuen Universi-
ty. It is small compared to a
university in Tokyo so staff
are able to communicate
with exchange students
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
wholeheartedly. Moreover,
Hokusei is in Hokkaido and
it has some nice points.
The cost of living is low
and living environment is
great. Students can enjoy
both nature and the city.
COURSES FOR EXCHANGE
STUDENTS
The Japanese course for
exchange students has a
good reputation. There are
three levels: basic, inten-
sive, and advanced. Levels
are divided based on Japa-
nese level, so classes are
tailored to fit to each stu-
dent’s needs. Students
learn reading, writing, and
It’s better to
regret doing
something than
to regret not
doing it.
6
polite forms of Japanese.
Also, professors teach
them some useful Japa-
nese not based on the
textbook. In addition to
Japanese courses, students
study international ex-
change subjects. They
learn various subjects such
as Japanese economy and
comparative culture. Ac-
cording to Ms. Takahashi, a
chief of the center, Hokus-
ei works hard to improve
such courses.
ABOUT THE STUDY
ABROAD PROGRAM
The Hokusei study abroad
program has a lot of bene-
fits for Hokusei students.
Students have to pay
school fees only to Hokus-
ei, so they can save on tui-
tion fees. There is also a
credit transfer system; stu-
dents can get credits from
studying at overseas uni-
versities. It is very useful
system.
When students study
abroad, they will belong to
the receiving department
of the overseas university,
so there are many chances
to communicate with local
students. The required
TOEFL score is not set too
high, so all undergraduate
students have the oppor-
tunity to join the exchange
program.
Even so, Ms. Takahashi said
that students should not be
satisfied if they simply get
the required TOEFL score.
After students go abroad,
there will be a lot of hard-
ships and they need to work
hard. They ought to contin-
ue studying to get off to a
good start.
MESSAGE TO READERS
Students should go abroad
if they have a chance. Some
students hesitate to study
abroad because they cannot
graduate in the normal four
years. I believe, however,
that they must not think
about their future in the
short term. It is important to
do what they can and they
should not compare them-
selves to other people. It's
better to regret doing some-
thing than to regret not do-
ing it.■
SAKI KATOU

Culture Shock in A For-
eign Country
These days travel abroad is getting more and more popular for Japanese. And
you might see a lot of foreigners in your city. Have you ever experienced any
trouble with them? Here, We interview professor Hasegawa for her advice.
We visited professor Ha-
segawa to learn about her
experience of culture
shock.
What was the biggest culture
shock for you in a foreign
country?
It is hard to decide the big-
gest event that I felt culture
shock in the US. But, in
America, I was surprised by
American girls because they
were really bold. For exam-
ple, when they were in the
The room where
Asian students
would often gath-
er was called the
“zoo”.
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
Data from: Nihon Seihu Kankoukyoku
bathroom, they would talk
with their friends in the
bathroom stall next to
them. And many girls who
sat behind me in class
would put their feet up on
the back of my chair. It is
not something you’d see in
Japan.
Have you ever experienced
anything disappointing
while communicating with
foreigners?
Naturally, yes. On one oc-
casion, when I was in Kan-
sas, quite a few Asian girls,
including me, had been
discriminated against by
Caucasian students. Fur-
thermore, I was ignored by
Caucasian students just
because I am Asian. My
skin has a yellow tone, and
in general, students of
7
Asian descent were treat-
ed as dirty. The room
where Asian students
would often gather was
called the “zoo”. It was
really sad.
Do you have any things
that you make a point of
doing when you communi-
cate with foreigners?
Hmm… nothing in particu-
lar. But maybe my charac-
ter unconsciously changes.
This is because English is a
language where people
speak more honestly and
directly, compared with
Japanese. Many native
English speakers don’t like
indirect expressions. So I
think I probably speak my
mind more directly when I
talk in English.
Now a lot of foreigners,
“I probably speak
my mind more di-
rectly when I talk
in English” - Prof.
Hasegawa
especially Chinese and Kore-
ans, visit Japan. There are
some people who say “they
are not polite”. What do you
think about that?
Few years ago, Japanese
were said as like foreigners
in Japan. So we have to tol-
erant about that. Their
countries have only recently
developed, and citizens
now have opportunities to
visit foreign countries. So it
is natural that they are not
use to traveling abroad.
In conclusion, it is a really
difficult subject, when it
comes to communicating
across cultures Because we
all grew up in different com-
munities, cultures, and
countries it is seems obvi-
ous that we should be toler-
ant about cultures different
to our own. What we
learned from professor Ha-
segawa is that we should try
to understand different cul-
tures and be tolerant to
different ways of thinking
and acting. ■
Ayaka Oura

HOKUSEI’s Earthquake
PREPARATIONS EXAMINED
At 3:07am on September 6, 2018, a large earthquake with a maximum seismic intensity
of 7 occurred in Hokkaido . How Did Hokusei Respond, and What could be done better?
When the earthquake on
September 6th 2018 oc-
cured, Hokusei Gakuen Uni-
versity was in its summer
vacation period, so fortu-
nately, there was not much
confusion in our university
life. However, what is there
to learn from this earth-
quake?
We talked to Akira
Takahashi, the section chief
of the finance section,
which is in charge of disas-
ter measures of the univer-
sity to find out.
Immediately after the
earthquake, guards pa-
trolled the campus with
flashlights . They informed
staff members responsible
for each department about
the situation of the univer-
sity, and some university
staff arrived early to work,
at between 5am to 7am.
After sunrise, they checked
the damage situation of the
university again. It was diffi-
cult to confirm the safety of
all students due to power
outages, and the university
server, housed in Building B,
was unusable.
However, there is a genera-
tor and temporary electrici-
ty was restored from the 1st
floor to the 3rd floor in
Building C, where the ad-
ministration offices are lo-
cated. In addition, about 30
students and people out-
side the university were
staying in the Kirari Retreat
House and International
Housing, and they stayed
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
until transportation facili-
ties were restored and
they were able to return
their home.
According to Mr. Takahashi,
it was unexpected that the
electricity would be cut for
such a long time, despite
the building itself being
undamaged. On the even-
ing of the 6th, electricity
was restored to the univer-
sity, but in the surrounding
community it took much
longer to be restored.
On the 7th, 166 people in
the surrounding area came
to the university seeking
electricity and emergency
food. They found out that
Hokusei could provide
support after seeing SNS
posts and the lights of the
university.
Mr. Takahashi says that it is
a difficult question as to
what extent the university
should support the general
public. He said, however,
that when disasters cause
damage to houses and
public institutions, there is
a need to open evacuation
Hokusei Has a
stockpile of wa-
ter and food for
up to 1000 people
plus blankets,
and firewood
8
centers. In this case, uni-
versities should make their
utmost effort to help peo-
ple.
Hokusei Gakuen University
also has a stockpile of wa-
ter and food for up to
1,000 people, 500 blan-
kets, firewood and other
emergency items.
In the event of the earth-
quake this time, they dis-
tributed about 100 units of
water and food. However,
what can a university do if
the only demand is for
charging personal elec-
tronic devices?
In other words, how far
should the university go to
take care of them? It be-
came clear in this situation
that the university’s stance
emergency food and
drinking water are
stored in the basement
of the hokusei gakuen
university (from univer-
sity’s website)
should be firmly decided.
The earthquake in Septem-
ber happened early in the
morning when most stu-
dents were on a long vaca-
tion. However, what should
we do if an earthquake oc-
curs while we are at the uni-
versity?
Mr. Takahashi recom-
mended that first of all, it is
important to secure your
own safety. Protect your
head and move to a safe
place after the tremor has
stopped. If you get hurt you
will need a person to help
you. To protect yourself is
simple, but most important.
It is also important to calmly
listen to emergency broad-
casts. Once you have com-
pleted these steps, it is also
necessary to inform others
 HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019

about your safety.

The university attempted to

confirm the safety of stu-
dents one-by-one by e-mail,
Unsung heroes
the university advises stu- There are things that we should not forget regarding this recent earthquake.
dents to inform others of First, security guards went to work every day, keeping on rotation even after
their safety even if they’re the earthquake. Secondly, the cleaning staff worked from the day after the
not contacted by the uni- earthquake. They cleaned up the university, and arranged the desks and
versity. chairs back to their correct positions. Lastly, the work of removing fallen
trees downed by the typhoon prior to the earthquake also progressed de-
Hokusei Gakuen University spite the earthquake. In this way, our university life is supported by a lot of
conducts disaster drills for people. Of course it is important to protect ourselves, but helping people is
staff during the summer also important. Let's keep aware about what we can do when a disaster
vacation every year. How- strikes.
ever, Mr. Takahashi said
these are only held because
it is required by law. Fur-
thermore, the training con-
tent is the same each time.
The finance section chief
says he wants to conduct
drills that vary from year to
year. The university presi-
dent has also said that train-
ing should be done proper-
ly.■
KANA INOUE

Free money? The real cost of

student loans
These days, the number of students who enter universities or any other
schools after they graduate from their high schools is increasing in japan.
Some of them don`t have any problems while they are college students. Oth-
ers, however, have serious problems.
Despite a shrinking popu-
lation in Japan, the num-
ber of young Japanese
who enter universities or
some other kind of ter-
tiary education is increas-
ing.
If you want to study in a
university, it is easy for
these are ‘shogakukin’
posters in hokusei- you to enter them. It may
gakuen university seem natural for young
Photo by Riku yuasa people to attend college,
and graduate. However,
there are lots of students
who don`t even try going
to university, and there are
many who cannot graduate,
even if they`re accepted.
But did you know that there
are also some university
graduates who regret going
to university? Many of
these regrets may well be
due to the present student
loan or
‘scholarship’ situation in
Japan.

9

Sometimes the Japanese
government discusses the
Japan education system.
Politicians suggest new
systems to improve stu-
dents’ leaning environ-
ment. However, the univer-
sity system still has some
issues.
In particular, the student
loan system has some seri-
ous problems. One of them
is that student loans don’t
usually completely cover
tuition costs. Because of
this, some students cannot
prepare the amount of
money they have to pay.
Therefore, many bright and
intelligent students give up
entering colleges. This is a
big problem.
However, I would like to
talk about a different prob-
lem in this article. It is how
some young people may
end up regretting their stu-
dents’ life because of stu-
dent loans.
In order to understand what
confronts people who are
paying back student loans
in Japan, I interviewed Ken-
ta* and Shun*, two people
currently paying back their
student loan.
Kenta and Shun both said
that while they both re-
ceived shogakukin
(literally, ‘scholarship’),
these ‘scholarships’ are,
really, just a loan.
While you are a student,
the money received via
At the end of One’s scholarships
Might noT Be graduate employment
riches, but rather a though financial
slog.
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
shogakukin is your own
property. However, after
you graduate, it changes
from an asset into a debt.
That is, those who utilize
this student loan system
have to pay back the mon-
ey.
Also, most of them have to
also pay interest, of be-
tween 0.01% and 3%,
depending on which sys-
tem they used for their
shogakukin.
During their student lives,
students may not think
about their ‘scholarships’
becoming a loan, because
usually people don’t com-
mit to loans (such as
0.3%) until they are out of
university and start work-
ing.
Kenta told me that he has
to pay back about
15,000yen per month.
Although the monthly re-
payment amount is not
very high, Kenta will need
to continue to pay it for
about 20 years.
For Kenta and Shun, this
means they will both be in
their 40’s before they fin-
ish paying the loan off.
Most 40-year-old people
have a family. For most 40
years old, there are lots of
other payments like
house, car and education.
Furthermore, due to stu-
dent debt, some people
may not be able to get
other loans.
10
On the other hand, most
graduate incomes are
about 150,000yen, at
most 180,000yen. After
general expenses, there is
only tens of thousands of
yen left.
In this way, at the end of
their scholarships are no
graduate employment
riches, but rather a tough
financial slog. Shun told
me that his mother helps
to pay back his loan.
It appears that many loan
applicants have not asked
whether their
‘scholarship’ will turn into
a loan eventually. Surely,
if this information was
known beforehand, the
number of those who re-
gret their students’ lives
would decrease.
Lastly, Kenta and Shun
mentioned that if you cur-
rently use (or are planning
to use) a scholarship sys-
tem, you should be re-
sponsible for understand-
ing your obligations.
Your lack of knowledge
about the system may
lead to putting strain on
your family. Furthermore,
if you go bankrupt, your
guarantors will have to
pay back your loans. There
is no excuse for not know-
ing.
Also, Kenta and Shun ad-
vised that students study
hard during their time at
university. If a student
studies a lot, they will get
advantages in the job mar-
ket. For instance, your
TOEIC score leads to ex-
panding your alternatives.
Also, those who have spe-
cific licenses are likely to
receive higher salaries
and bonuses. After gradu-
ating from university, it is
hard to secure the time to
Free money?
Obligation?
we should review
our attitude during
our time as stu-
dents
study to get licenses. Fur-
thermore, some licenses
require not only time but
also money.
The harder you study, the
richer your lives are. Our
time as a student is when
we are most likely to learn
something. If you utilize
the Japanese scholarship
program, you should re-
view how you are spending
your student life. There
may be greater possibilities
for you.
Talking to Kenta and Shun,
it was clear that many peo-
ple never think that schol-
arship money might be-
come a loan. While being a
student, we might not think
about it deeply. This re-
porter certainly had not.
However, there are those
who struggle to pay back
their student loans. If you
use the system or you are
willing to use it, you should
consider carefully how you
spend your life as a stu-
dent. ■
RIKU YUASA
* Not their real names, in order
to protect their identity.

THE Ins and outs of Hokusei
students cash flow
How much do hokusei students earn and what do they spend their money on?
Here’s our survey about hokusei students’ money and How They use money.
Today, many university stu-
dents have part time jobs. I
conducted a survey to find
out what do Hokusei stu-
dents spend their money
on. I asked 50 Hokusei stu-
dents about their money
situation.
PART TIME JOBS
My first question was “Do
you have a part time job?”
and 44 people (83%) an-
swered “Yes.” Only 9 peo-
ple answered “No.” (see
Figure 1).
I found that almost all of
Hokusei students have a
part time job and there a
few students who do not
have a part time job.
There are many kind of part
time jobs and the owners of
shops and companies are
always recruiting workers
so it is not difficult to get a
job for students.
Moreover, students can
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
choose a job which they
want to do. They always
have a lot of choices in
choosing a part time job.
The second question I
asked was “How much
do you earn through part
time job per month?”
The result was very in-
teresting. The largest
answer of this question
was “40,000 to 60,000
yen” (see Figure 2). 19
people (38%) responded
with this answer. your parents?” month from their parents.
The second answer was To this question, 26 peo- SPENDING
“70,000 to 90,000yen,” ple (52%) answered What do students spend
with 14 people (28%) in “Yes.” I also asked them their money on? I asked
this category. There were “How much do you re- “What is the biggest source
only 3 people (6%) who ceive from your par-
earned more than ents?”
100,000 yen a month.
13 people (46%) receive
Over half of all
MONEY FROM PARENTS less than 30,000 yen a students receive
Next question was “Do month. Surprisingly, 8 money from their
you receive remittance people (29%) receive
or an allowance from more than 100,000 yen a
parents
11
 HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019

of spending in your daily clothes” and “Hobbies

life?” and Entertainment” were
the second most com-
21 people (42%) an- mon answers. Those two
swered “Food Expenses.” choices had 9 people
“Beauty Expenses and (18%) each.

SAVINGS
Finally, I asked students
about savings. To my
question asking “Are you
Some people re- saving money?” 27 peo-
ceive more than ple (54%) answered
100,000 yen a “Yes” and 23 people an-
swered “No.” month through part time biggest expense is food.
month from their jobs and half of students However many afford to
parents IN SUMMARY receive about 65,000 save money every month.
Hokusei students earn yen a month from their ■
about 63,000 yen a parents on average. Their MOE ADACHI

Breaking down Japan-china

intercultural communication
Recently, many Chinese people come to Japan as tourists. However, some peo-
ple think that intercultural communication between China and Japan is quite
difficult. Here, we find out strategies for intercultural communication suc-
cess.
In Sapporo, we have many his experience communi- One day, Sou went to a
opportunities to see and cating with people in Sap- barbershop in Sopporo, Why is it hard to com-
communicate with Chinese poro. His name is Sou Isy- but he did know where municate with people
people. So I interviewed oku. He told me a very the shop was, so he asked who have different
one of the exchange stu- shocking experience he a Japanese passerby. First culture?
dents from Taiwan to hear had recently. he told the stranger that

12

he is from Taiwan, and
asked how to go to the bar-
bershop.
However, suddenly the
passerby grumbled some-
thing negative about China
to him. “I was confused at
that time,” he said. He just
asked for directions. Why
would this kind of thing
happen?
In this way, intercultural
communication between
residents of Japan and visi-
tors from China is one
pressing issue in Japan
these days.
DIFFERENT CULTURE AND
CUSTOMS
Prof. Noriko Hasegawa,
who is an expert on inter-
cultural communication, at
Hokusei Gakuen University,
said that many people in
Japan have ethnocentrism.
“Ethnocentrism” means that
people think in terms of
their own culture, without
considering other cultures.
Prof. Noriko Hasegawa said
that ethnocentrism can
negatively affect intercul-
tural communication.
“People in Japan often
think that tourists should
follow Japanese rules and
culture, but it is impossible
because they are just tour-
ists,” she said.
Imagine if you travel to a
foreign country, and peo-
ple there have amazing
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
customs. You are just a
tourist. Could you follow
all the customs?
“It is important to put
yourself in their shoes.
They cannot understand
or culture, but they are
learning little by little be-
cause they have intercul-
tural sensitivity. So, it is
important to be patient
while they learn Japanese
different way of doing
things,” she also said.
For exchange students, it
can also be difficult to
know Japanese culture
and customs completely.
I interviewed one of the
Chinese exchange stu-
dents at Hokusei. Her
name is Chou Meng You.
She told me an experience
she had regarding Japa-
nese customs.
In China, people should
not flush toilet paper
down the toilet. Instead,
they throw it away into
the trash box because Chi-
nese toilet paper cannot
dissolve in water. Howev-
er, this custom is quite
different in Japan. In Ja-
pan, toilet paper dissolve
in water, so people flush it
down the toilet. “I mis-
understood this for six
months after I came to
Japan,” she told me.
Through this interview, it
become clear that it is
necessary to tell foreign-
ers about Japanese cul-
ture.
13
“Japanese people are very
kind, so if someone makes
a mistake or makes a cul-
tural faux pas, most Japa-
nese tell the person the
truth, I thought,” Chou
Meng You said. In this re-
porter’s opinion, I think
the kindest thing to do is
to tell visitors what they
have done wrong if they
want to know.
DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
Another example about
intercultural communica-
tion between China and
Japan is regarding lan-
guage.
Chou Meng You also expe-
rienced this, when she
was working part-time,
and was talking with her
co-workers. While talking,
she was surprised by
something someone said,
and said “hah?”
Her co-workers laughed
because an expression
like that is rude. However,
in Chinese, this just one’s
shows surprise, so she
was very surprised at the
difference in language
use.
“If I said this to someone I
don’t know well, maybe a
miscommunication might
have occurred,” she told
me. In this way, intercul-
tural communication is
related to language, too.
“Nationality just
means where a per-
son was born, so it
has no real value. It
is not used for distin-
guishing between
races,”
PRESENT SITUATION
Some people seem to have
prejudice towards China,
but there is no reason to
have prejudice,
Professor Hasegawa ex-
plained. If you have preju-
dice against please throw it
away.
Intercultural communica-
tion between China and
Japan might be difficult, but
if you learn about Chinese
culture, and Chinese lan-
guage, you can have better
communication with them.
I hope nobody in the future
has prejudice about China,
and all Japanese people
welcome Chinese people
to come to Japan! ■
Miku Takashima
Chou meng you is an
exchange student from
china. She is an inter-
viewee for this article.

Getting your coffee break fix
Around hokusei
as the number of cafés is increasing at a significant pace in Sapporo, we can
find “Instagram-worthy” cafés everywhere. around Hokusei is no exception.
If you want to avoid the crowds, keep reading till the end.
Cafés are essential places
for people in Sapporo, not
only for young people, but
everyone loves to go to
cafés. Here’s our pick of
the bunch around Hokusei.
STARBUCKS
COFFEE
Here’s one for
everybody who likes Star-
bucksCoffee. If you walk
about 15-20 minutes from
Hokusei, you can find a star-
bucks store in Kitano. Star-
bucks in Kitano is quaint
and there are usually not so
many people. Thus, you can
get new beverages without
waiting in a line for a long
time. Also, the store is spa-
cious, so you can feel re-
laxed with your friends or
concentrate on your work.
TULLY’S COFFEE
If you’re not really into Star-
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019
bucks Coffee,
but TULLY’S COF-
FEE, this is the
one for you. Did
you know there is one
within five minutes walk
from Hokusei? Even
though it’s really close to
the university, it is a good
place to get a coffee break.
The reason it is not very
well known is because it is
in a hospital! You can find
it on the first floor of To-
kusyukai Hospital, and it is
the only TULLY’S in
Atsubetsu ward.
JB ESPRESSO
If you are a
trend-seeker, JB
ESPRESSO MORIHICO is
the one for you. It takes
about 15 minutes on foot
from Hokusei or you can
get off the subway at Nan-
go 18 chome and walk for
14
just 1 minute. MORIHICO is
getting more and more
popular and you may think
“I’ve been to MORIHICO, I
know MORIHICO.” Howev-
er, this one is a little bit
different. Some beverages
like “black café latte” are
sold only in this store. Al-
so, you can enjoy black
and white soft ice cream,
which was only sold in the
Morihico store in Shindo
Higashi, very far from Ho-
kusei. The store has very a
comfortable and cool at-
mosphere that is sure to
make you a good coffee
fix.
Coffee
will
fix
everything
COFFEE STAND 28
Last but not least
is the Coffee Stand
28. This is not a chain café,
so you may not be familiar
with the name. However,
the store just had its 5 years
anniversary and is loved by
many local people. It is lo-
cated near Co-op supermar-
ket and takes about five
minutes on foot from Nango
18 chome station. Coffee
Stand 28 is very small café,
run by two people. The
store clerks are very nice
and friendly. You can
choose your favorite beans
for your coffee, which are
roasted at the store every-
day by its owner. You can
enjoy not only coffee, but
also a sweets menu that
changes every day. One of
the clerks makes very good
sweets and cakes everyday
and she changes the menu
depending on what she gets
on that day. Coffee Stand 28
provides you an at home
atmosphere with very good
coffee and sweets.
These are four great cafés
around Hokusei. All of them
are within 15-20 minutes
walk, so you can escape
from the stress of studying
and working at university. If
we’ve shown you ones that
you’ve never been to,
please go and find your next
favourite one. ■
Halu Hatakeyama
 HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019

Hokusei Times Editorial Staff

for Fall 2019
The latter half of 2019 was an eventful period, not
only for Hokusei Gakuen University, but also around
the world. With a number of large-scale earthquakes
both within Japan and abroad, the university has
renewed impetus to ensure their own response sys-
tems are on point. Kana Inoue’s deep-dive into how
Hokusei responds to disaster is a good reminder that
while Hokusei is well equipped with supplies,
there’s always room for improvement in how the
university responds as an organization. Also, the job
market these days is becoming more competitive.
Ken Miyamori’s story on how to make the most of
opportunities abroad should be essential reading for
anyone with an interest in working outside of Japan.
It’s not only the job market that’s getting competi-
tive. Universities are increasingly competing for ex-
change students. Saki Katou’s interview with the
International Center gives great insight into what
Hokusei Gakuen Uni-
versity is doing to at-
tract great internation-
al students, while at
the same time expand-
ing domestic students’
horizons. Please enjoy
this Fall 2019 edition
of the Hokusei Times.

To all Seniors who will be graduating this year....

Congratulations and well done and Good Luck!

From the Hokusei Times Editorial Team

15
HOKUSEITIMES | JANUARY 2019

Jan 2019

16