As a teacher living in Japan who has taught at universities in Osaka and Okinawa for many years, I see several violent typhoons hit Japan each year.
What I have noticed over this time, and in contrast to how things seem to happen in Taiwan, is that the locals and students here have never been dissatisfied and taken issue with the Japanese government’s decisions over typhoon holidays. There is a good reason for this. It is because Japan has good systems in place to respond to typhoons. Thanks to these systems, prefectural governors and city mayors do not need to agonize over whether they should declare a typhoon holiday, nor take responsibility for erroneously declaring a holiday.
What follows is a description of the systems generally employed by schools and colleges in Okinawa. Hopefully they can be used to resolve issues over typhoon holidays in Taiwan.
When a typhoon approaches, the Japan Meteorological Agency releases one of two types of warnings based on wind speed: “strong wind” or “gale-force wind.”
Schools call typhoon holidays based upon these warnings. Specifically, the criterion for a holiday is whether the agency has issued a gale-force warning. A holiday cannot be called for a strong wind warning.
When the agency issues a gale-force warning, every level of educational institutions — elementary, junior and senior-high schools — close for the day.
If on the day of a typhoon the agency removes the gale-force warning before 6am — or sometimes before 8am, depending on the circumstances — classes would go ahead as normal. However, if the warning has not been removed by that time, students are not expected to go to school.
If the agency removes the gale-force warning before 11am — sometimes before 12pm — the students are expected to attend classes in the afternoon. If the agency has not removed the warning before that time, classes are called off for the entire day.
In Japan, the authorities take regional variations into account when issuing a gale-force wind warning. For example, according to the Osaka Government Web site, the criterion for a gale-force warning in the city is land-based wind speeds of 20m per second or faster. In Naha city, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, the criterion is different, and is set at 25m per second or higher.
The situation is a slight generalization that does not fully take into account regional differences. Nevertheless, the principle is more or less the same in each location. Local government agencies and businesses in each area more or less follow the same standards when it comes to deciding whether to announce a typhoon holiday.
Perhaps Japan’s system can be used as a reference to formulate a typhoon response system appropriate for the conditions in Taiwan.
Lin Wen-bin is a professor at Okinawa Polytechnic College.
Translated by Edward Jones
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing