Issue #7: Yuki Matsuri

October 2, 2024

Unfortunately, this year the snow festival in Sapporo was canceled because of COVID-19. Luckily, I went to the festival twice when I lived in Japan. The festival started in 1950 with six snow sculptures and now has hundreds of snow and ice sculptures.

Issue #6: Protests

September 15, 2024

On May 25th 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man was killed by the police in Minneapolis, USA. In the USA, police are often violent especially to minorities. After that people protested in the USA. The protests grew bigger and bigger.

Issue #5: Pandemic

September 4, 2024

In December 2019, a virus started spreading in China. The virus, SARS-CoV-2, is often called COVID-19 or the coronavirus. By February, the virus spread all around the world.

Issue #4: Flooding In Soma

September 3, 2024

On October 12th, Typhoon Hagibis (Typhoon 19) hit Japan. Flooding happened all over Soma. Both of the main rivers in Soma, Koizumi and Uta flooded. Around one quarter of the buildings in Soma flooded.

Issue #3 School Festivals

September 2, 2024

School festivals in Japan are a big deal. They only happen once every three years. They are open to the public and have many different things going on. Each homeroom has their own project.

Issue #2 UN Climate Action Summit

August 31, 2024

Greta Thunberg gave a speech at the UN Climate Action Summit on September 23rd. She told world leaders that she was angry, she said, “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.”

Issue #1 Soma Nomaoi

August 22, 2024

Last month was Soma’s biggest festival: Soma Nomaoi. On Saturday the 27th, there were parades in Soma, Odaka, and Kashima. People from Soso area dressed up as soldiers and samurai. They marched and rode horses in the parades.