“Girls/Women’s Gathering”

I have spent my entire life in a co-ed environment. I’ve never attended girls’ school and my education and professional situation has been always about half and half in gender ratio.

Perhaps for this reason I feel slightly odd about the concept “girls/women’s gathering (女子会)” in Japan which I have frequently seen in restaurant flyers.

Japan is still male-dominated society, so is actually most of the world. Thus I know the value of exchanging views among women to address issues arising from this reality. Today, even Japanese prime minister, who is male, appears to support this move.

While I recognize such opportunities, at some essential level I don’t feel too comfortable with the idea of excluding any gender groups – female or male.

Due to historical background, there are certainly many “men’s clubs.” To balance out, “women’s clubs” might be needed. Nonetheless, I honor inclusiveness because mutual understanding is vital at the end of the day.

Some people do not belong to either gender. For example, I have a male friend who seems a gay and is very sensitive and understanding of difficulties women face. Involving such people would certainly enhance gender equality, rather than excluding them. They could serve as a bridge between men and women.

It all comes down to each individual, and we need to involve whoever appropriate.

The Objective of Life

Since I started to feel like thirty again, my lifelong desire has come back. I want to make this world a better place to live in. I am seriously considering how I can do that.

I am not talking about sound bite or hypocrisy. I am talking about substance, creativity and efficiency. I am talking about responsibility, authenticity and humanity.

In this philosophical journey I reconfirmed the importance of democratic dialogue. Because it best attains the truth, the starting point to maximize efficiency in pursuing objectives.

Come to think of it, people have disparate objectives of life. One told me it’s pottery; another said craving. Some are killing people, while others are working hard for world peace. Some love to consume, others strive to create.

Various factors would affect these differences, and many people probably don’t know how they have obtained their particular life objectives. I, too, have no idea how I have become who I am today.

Anyway I am doing my best, and feel lucky I’m able to do that.

Society in which women sparkle

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is aiming for "society in which women sparkle."

Until recently I was far from sparkling because I was suffering from menopause. Overall fatigue, insomnia, all the stuff that many women around fifty experience due to the transition phase their bodies find hard to adjust to.

Almost overnight, however, one thing completely changed it. Literally I feel like a brand new person and thirty again -- thanks to an amazing product called "natural progesterone cream" -- just like the No. 1 reviewer of 639 reviewers in Amazon's average score 4.1 out of 5.

I am not trying to exaggerate or advertise it, but just wanted to share this information I was luck enough to encounter by Googling. On the day I applied only a very little bit of the cream I could start sleeping like a log at night.

Originally an American medical doctor called Dr. John R. Lee introduced it. He argues that it's all about balance between estrogen and progesterone, the two types of female hormone. In developed countries, women actually intake too much estrogen compared with progesterone because livestock's food contains much estrogen. Adding a little progesterone will do the trick. Natural progesterone cream's objective is not to moisturize, but supply transdermal progesterone. It is made from soy, and thus natural.

In fact, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is doing the opposite by applying estrogen, Dr. Lee asserts in his bestselling book entitled "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Menopause." It started in the 1950s with the idea that husbands wanted wives to stay young and sexually attractive forever like Marylin Monroe. On the surface, it appeared to work, but its adverse effect turned serious with a higher rate of cancer. The book details how pharmaceutical industry manipulates and exploits women by spreading HRT based on false information.

Because the natural progesterone cream has worked so well that I started to wonder if this is really OK. Hence I consulted with a doctor in Japan. He said there is a group of medical doctors in the United States that supports Dr. Lee's idea, but natural progesterone cream has not been for conventional medical use because we don't know exactly the appropriate dose.

"But if it works for you, that's perfectly fine and no problem whatsoever," he said. "Estrogen does cause cancer, but progesterone is OK."

Japan's health ministry does not approve the cream, so I imported it from USA. Dr. Lee's book is translated into Japanese, but it's little known in Japan, compared with the No.1 bestseller on menopause in the United States.

It's surprising this amazing stuff is almost invisible in Japan, despite its miracle effect that makes middle age women sparkle.

これからの人生でやりたいこと

　今月50代という若さで知人が2人他界した。１人は51歳、元上司でその後テレビ出演で有名になり、ニュースで知って驚いた。もう１人は58歳で何回か会ったことがあり、その方が継いだ家業の婦人服メーカーのセールの葉書を頂いたこともあった。２人とも膵臓がんだった。

　それほど近しい人々ということでもなく、正直元上司は好きでもなかったし、納得できる発言をするとも思わなかったが、知人があっけなく世を去るという点では、これからの人生で何を優先すべきかを考えるきっかけになった。

　かねがね自分の人生はかつてはコクのあるおいしいコーヒーだったと思うが、この数年はアメリカンコーヒーのようだと感じていた。まずくて飲めないというほどでもないが、おいしいわけでもなく、少なくとも水分補給という目的は果たせるものの、物足りなさが前面に出るというか。

　最近の生活にはどことなくはっきりしない、煮え切らない側面があるのは否めず、だが勇気がないためぬるま湯につかっていたのかもしれない。そうした煮え切らなさをはっきりさせることが、コクのある充実した人生を取り戻すスタート地点ではないかという気がしてきた。

　そこで今週末から、私はそうした取り組みを開始した。かなり唐突で戸惑いを隠せない人もいるが、民主的な対話により真実を明らかにすることが、幸福な人生を追求するうえで効率性を最大化させるものだ、という思いを確認した。

　明日首都直下型地震が来るかもしれないし、100歳以上生きるかもしれない。後悔しない人生の第一歩は自分自身や周囲の人々との民主的な対話から始まる。