Today, it’s just me making a video by myself.

很遺憾今天只有我一個在拍影片。

And I have another issue that’s in the news

然後我有一件新聞

to talk to you guys about.

想要跟你們分享

You may have heard of it.

你可能有留意到，或者沒有

If you have not,

日本的地理資訊機關(GSI)

the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan,

簡單來說就是負責繪畫日本地圖的部門

a.k.a. GSI,

他們在最近發布了一系列的新標示

which is essentially just Japan’s, like, map makers,

用於日本的地理地圖上，希望可以方便到外國人

have released a new set of icons to be used

在這一刻你可能在想 ”Rachel ，關我甚麽事呢？“

on Japanese maps for foreigners.

至少其中一個改變了的標示

And you may be wondering, like,

還是挺有爭議性的

“I don’t care, Rachel. Why do I care?”

所以我便想跟你們分享一下

At least one of the symbols that they’re changing

而我認為現在便是一個好的時機

is kind of controversial in a way.

那首先讓我給予你們一些背景資料吧

And I was going to talk to you guys

好讓你們了解為何日本要做出如此的改變

about it at some point,

日本將會在2020年主辦第三十二屆夏季奧利匹克運動會

and I figured, now is as good a time as ever.

所以在近期他們一直在嘗試去把國家變得更加的國際化

So, to give you guys little a bit of background

從而令到日本對於外國人來說更加方便

on why they’re doing this,

在日本現在用於地圖上的標示中

Japan is hosting the Olympics in 2020,

有一些是只有本地人才會明白的

so they’ve really been trying

因此在近幾年

to globalise the country more

他們一直在針對外國人做各種的調查和訪問

and make it more foreigner-friendly.

這些的外國人大多都是交換留學生

Some of the symbols that they use on maps

或者是各國的外交大使和在大使館裡工作的員工

right now are very Japanese-specific.

甚至也有遊客

So, one thing that they’ve been doing

日本當局向這些人展示了各種

over the past couple of years is,

在日本地圖上出現的標示

they‘ve been conducting surveys and interviews

然後詢問他們是否可以容易地明白這些的標示

of foreigners, who are, like, exchange students, or

最後得出的結果便是這些

people who work at embassies here

他們新推出的標示

or even just tourists.

這些標示並不是隨便想出來的

And they’ve been showing them several different

然後就靈機一動的說”這些肯定是我們要選的標示了！“

symbols on the Japanese maps and asking them

日本當局其實是有做很多的工作以及調查

how easy it is to understand them.

嘗試去尋找出對於外國人來說

And so, that’s where they’ve come up with

最適合的標示

these new symbols that they just released.

你可以在GSI的官方網頁上找到整份的報告

They didn’t just make it out of nowhere

而我也會把網址放在下面的說明中，好讓有興趣的人可以方便一些

and be like, “These are the symbols we’re picking!”

這份報告很深入地解釋了日本當局所做的事情，也給予了很多的資訊

They’ve actually been doing a lot of work and research,

很明顯的這份報告是用日文篇寫的

trying to figure out what the absolute best symbols

但是如果你不會日文，你還是能夠透過圖像

would be for foreigners.

和數字等

You can find the whole report on their website,

來了解到一部分的資訊

and I’ll link to it down below

舉個例吧！日本一個常用於地圖上的標示

if you guys want to check it out.

是在圈裡放個”H"

They go into great detail on everything they have done.

這個標示代表旅店

Obviously, it’s in Japanese,

但很多外國人卻把它視為

so if you don’t speak Japanese,

像醫院，或者對於我來說

you can still understand some of it just by looking

直升機的停機坪！

at the pictures and numbers and stuff.

這是我亂想的，別當真

So, for example, one symbols that Japan

日本當局其實在不同層面上多做了調查

has traditionally been using on their maps is

但在最近期的調查中

an H in a circle, which stands for “hotel”.

他們向公眾列出了舊和新的標示

However, for a lot of foreigners, we may

而新的便是有一個人睡在床上然後旁邊有一盞燈

see that as something like “hospital”,

日本當局詢問了在這兩個標示中，那個可以讓你更容易知道

or, for me personally, “helicopter pad”!

這是旅店的意思

That’s what I imagined.

超過61%的人都認為

They have conducted several levels of surveys,

一個人睡在床上的

but the most recent survey

更加容易明白

they showed the original symbol plus a new one,

另一方面，只有18%的人

which shows a person sleeping in a bed with a lamp,

可以清楚明白到圈裡加個“H"的標示代表的是旅店

and asked,

因此，一個人睡在床上的標示

“Which one of these is more understandable

便是其中一個他們提出而且希望被接納的新標示

as meaning a ‘hotel’?”

另外一個標示

And overall 61% of people said,

也應該是對於外國人來說最難明白的吧

the person sleeping in a bed is a much easier

是日本原來的警察通訊設備，那便是一個”X"

symbol to understand, whereas only 18% of people

那當我看到一個“X"的時候，我會聯想到

said, “Oh yeah, I can get ‘hotel’ from the H in a circle.”

寶藏？這裡有藏起來的驚天寶藏?

Still, the little sleeping man symbol is the one

說真的我其實不會太知道這是甚麽

of the new symbols that they are proposing be used.

其實在一開始我並不知道這是一個警察通訊設備的標示

Another symbol, probably one of the most difficult

我猜我對於住在日本並不在行

symbols for non-Japanese people to understand,

我從來沒有學過

is the original police box symbol in Japan.

在表格上你可以看到只有4%的人

It’s just an X.

清楚明白“X"的意思

So, if we saw an X on a map,

然後他們也有一個小的警察星徽章

I would think, like, “Treasure?

對於此標示，27%的人認為這還好

Is there a buried treasure here, or something?”

然後他們也有一個警察的標示

I wouldn’t really know what it was.

33%的人認為

Actually, I didn’t even know, this was a police box symbol, so

這是最容易理解的標示

I guess I suck at living in Japan

那這些受調查的人還有寫下一些的評語

because… I never learnt that.

因為這樣，日本當局也能對於這些人做出的選擇

Here you can see that only 4 % of people said,

有更全面的了解

they understand an X, whereas they have a little

那對於這個警察通訊設備的標示，一位來至瑞典的人

sheriff star. 27 % of people said that was okay.

認為“X"代表不了甚麽，也不合理

And then, like, a little police officer, and

也有一位來自德國的仁兄說第二個警察星標示相對上較好

33 % said that was the most easily understable symbol.

但是還是挺複雜的

One thing they have done is write down comments,

另外一個他們要改變的標示是

so, of course, they have a more complete understanding

郵箱的標示，而在日本，郵箱的標示是

of why people voted the way they did.

把片仮名的”テ“(te)放到圈裡去

So, for this police box symbol,

那很明顯的在外地我們並不會用到片仮名

someone from Sweden said, “X makes no sense.”

所以他們題案說要把這標示變成一封信

Someone from Germany said, “No. 2 is better,

很多人都作出了如此的評語

but it’s kind of complicated.

沒來過日本的外國人

Another one of the symbols they are changing

肯定無法明白這標示

is the symbol for postbox.

而我也認為他們說的還是挺正確的

And the symbol for “postbox” here is the katakana “te”

那好吧！不如我們一起看看現在

in a circle, which we obviously don’t use abroad.

最多人討論的標示吧！

So, they have proposed changing it to just a letter.

相對之下，他們題案的新標示

Most people make comments like, “Foreigners who

我都能完全明白

haven’t been to Japan aren’t going to understand

而我也相信很多這些的標示

the symbol.” Which I also think is true.

可以協助到來日本的外國人

So, let’s move on to the number one symbol

但剛提到的標示確實是有討論的空間

that people are debating right now.

那便是”卍“的標示

Whereas all the other symbols, that they are proposing

我相信你們很多人都認識這個符號

changing, I completely understand the new symbol

但如果你不知道，”卍“源自於

that they have proposed, and I think, honestly,

一個印度教，佛教的符號

a lot of those will really help foreigners

此符號可能在此前已經被用在其他的方面

who are coming here.

也有上千年的歷史

This symbol is debatable.

所以這是一個有很長歷史的

And that would be the ‘swastika’.

神聖宗教符號

I’m sure most of you know this,

但在二戰時期卻被納粹黨當作了其黨徽

but if you don’t, the swastika was originally

因此這符號的形象都被摧毀了

a Hindu-Buddhist symbol.

不但如此，在西方

It may have been used for other things even before that,

我們並沒有很多的佛教和印度教信徒

but it’s thousands and thousand of years old.

所以我們對於”卍”的歷史並沒有很多的認識

So, this is a very, like, sacred, religious symbol

在日本當地有很多的佛教寺廟

that has been around for a long time

而且很多的日本人到某一個限度都是信奉佛教的

before it was adopted by Nazis, and, then,

所以他們對此符號有相當大程度的認識

like, the whole image of it was completely destroyed.

因為這樣，當日本人看到“”卍”時，他們的第一印象

But whereas in the West, we don’t have a lot

將會是佛教而不是

of Buddhism and Hinduism,

我們外國人所想的納粹主義

so we’re not familiar with that history of the swastika,

如果你有曾經來過日本和用谷歌地圖

here in Japan there are a lot of Buddhist temples!

來搜索寺廟，你肯定見過這個標示

And a lot of Japanese are personally Buddhists,

很多時候

so they are extremely familiar with the symbol

你也會在寺廟中見到“卍“

and if they see the swastika, their first thoughts

所以如果你對此不熟悉的話

are going to Buddhism and not to Nazism,

一些外國人可能會感到疑惑和受到冒犯

like a lot of foreigners’ would.

在眾多標示中，這一個標示

If you have been to Japan and you have used

我個人認為改變了

Google Maps to look up temples to go to,

是一件傷心的事，因為在其背後有

you’d have seen this symbol all the time.

很多宗教上的歷史

Sometimes you’ll actually

我想說的是

see it at the temples themselves.

我認為我們正在輸給壞人

And so, if you are not familiar with it,

為何納粹還可以贏到任何東西呢？

some foreigners can get confused and

我認為這是一件非常不公平的事情

maybe kind of… offended?

他們把“卍”搶去然後轉化成恐怖的事

But this is the one symbol that I personally…

我其實比較喜歡“卍”這個標示，也不希望看到轉變

I think it’s really sad that they would have to change

因為如果一個外國人來到了日本

this symbol because it has such an intense

然而他們不了解這是甚麽

religious history to it!

那便是一個很好的機會去教育他們關於“卍”的歷史

I mean… I feel like we are losing

而我們也不用因此而失去了此符號

to the bad guys, like, why should

把其拱手相讓給納粹

the Nazis still be winning at something?

我可以明白他們為何想

It’s not fair that they took the symbol

為了不了解佛教

and then made it something horrible.

和印度教的外國人去改變這個標示，因為如果

I would prefer that they left it as a swastika

日本到處都是巨大的“卍”

because if a foreigner comes to Japan

然後把其解釋為“一個佛教的符號

and they don’t know what it is,

是一個擁有大約二千年歷史的神聖符號

then that is a really good opportunity

跟納粹並沒有關係”

to educate them about it.

你還是不能教育所有人關於“卍”

And that way we don’t have to

我想你們大多都拼錯我的名字

lose the symbol to the Nazis.

而錯的次數也比正確的還多

I can understand why they would want to

然而這是我們頻道的名稱！

change it for foreigners who don’t know about

所以，其實想教育每一個人是沒可能的

Buddhism or Hinduism.

但是我認為也應該嘗試一下

Because even if you put a huge sign

很遺憾的，最終的決定權不在我手上

at every swastika in Japan that says,

而且以上的標示都還沒是最終的定案

“This is a Buddhist symbol!

這些都只是建議的標示而已

It’s a sacred symbol that has

最終的標示定案

been around for 2,000 years.

會在今年之內公佈

It has nothing to do with Nazism, or anything”,

而這些標示也會為了外國人而加進地圖中

you’re still not going to teach everyone about it.

啊！忘了說這些新的標示只會

I mean, you guys probably spell my name incorrectly

用在給予外國人的地圖當中

more often than correctly,

而日本人用的則不變

and it’s the name of our channel!

日本當局一共建議了18個給予外國人的新標示

So, there’s no way to teach everyone something.

而且他們也研究了像

But still, I don’t think it would hurt to try.

他們運用甚麽用詞來表達這些標示

And either way, you know, it’s their decision to make,

從而領到其更容易去理解

and none of these symbols have actually

舉個例吧！他們現在正在嘗試尋找到

been finalised yet.

最能夠表現神社的英文標籤

These are still just the proposed symbols.

神社的日文是"神社"(ジンジャ)(jinja)

So, it will be later this year that they actually

所以日本當局一直在疑惑

make the announcement, which symbol, for sure,

究竟應該叫“jinja"還是”shrine“呢？還是應該把兩個字合拼起來？

they will be adding to maps for foreigners.

所以他們真的有認真在做他們的調查

And, by the way, these are all just symbols

嘗試尋找到

that they are changing for maps for foreigners.

對於外國人來說標示地圖最好的方法

They are not using these on maps for

而我也想給予他們鼓掌

Japanese people yet.

因為他們的工作量非常大

All in all, they have proposed 18 new symbols

所以我認為他們一直以來所都做的非常好

for foreigners, and they have also looked at

雖然有些的轉變真的很有爭論性

things like how they should spell things

但我了解他們在做甚麽

on maps to make it more easily understable.

而我也感謝他們所做的事

So, for example, they are trying to figure out

我真的相信這些新的標示對

the best way to label a shrine.

會來日本的但沒有很多背景資料的

The word for “shrine” in Japanese is “jinja” (神社).

外國人來說非常有用

So, they have been saying, “Should I call it, like,

特別是當我們越來越接近奧運的時候

a ‘jinja’ and shrine? Or should I just call it

讓我知道你們

shrine? Should I just call it ‘jinja’?”

對此有些甚麽的想法

So, they have really been doing their due diligence

特別是關於“卍”的，因為這個標示的議論性是最大的

on conducting research to figure out, what the absolute

我其實真的希望日本當局可以保留這一個標示

best way to label maps for foreigners is.

但我了解其他人的憂慮

And I give them a hand for that

總之謝謝你們看我的影片，我們在下一條影片裡再見面吧

because that’s a lot of work that goes into that.

再見！

So, I think they have been doing a really great job

Despite of how controversial some of these changes

are, I understand what they are doing

and I appreciate all the work they are putting into it.

And I do think it will be helpful for

new foreigners, who will be coming into the country,

who don’t have a lot of background knowledge

about Japan, especially as we get closer

to the Olympics.

So, anyway…

Let me know what you guys think about these

new symbols, and especially what you think about

the swastika because that’s kind of the big one here…

I’m still kind of hoping that they might leave

the original one.

But I understand both sides to this, so…

Anyway, thanks for watching guys,

I’ll see you later!

Bye!

“If you have ever been to Kyōto,”

“you have probably noticed these things”

“up against a lot of the shop walls.”

“But just what are they?”

“The most common, widely known usage,”

“which they are named after,”

“was traditionally to prevent…”