Philippines

Did you know that for more than 54 years the Japanese Government through its Ministry of Education (Monbusho) has been sponsoring foreign students, including Filipinos, to study in Japan? 

On April 23, 2010, the Philippine Postal Corporation will be issuing special commemorative stamps in honor of Bro. Eraño G. Manalo, the late Executive Minister of the Iglesia Ni Cristo.

Net 25, a popular information-oriented television channel in the Philippines, is now available in Japan through ACCESS TV - a direct-to-home broadcast service provided by IPS.  The signing of Memorandum of Agreement between Net 25 and IPS was held in Tokyo last March 23, 2010.

We were informed by one of our friends, Sis. Ester, that Manny Pacquiao has a billboard in Shinjuku, a very popular urban spot in downtown Tokyo.

Does it mean Pacquiao is famous here in Japan?
 

Two Filipino-Americans, both representing the US, competed in this year's Winter Olympics.  One of them, John Robert Celski,  bagged the bronze medal in the Short Track Speed Skating while the other, Amanda Evora, placed 10th in the figure skating pair's competition.

Here's a parallel list of holidays in Japan and the Philippines for this year:

Jose RizalDid you know that Jose Rizal, the Philippine national hero, was non-Trinitarian? If you read the following arguments, you will think you’re reading an Iglesia ni Cristo tract. However, these are in fact from the letters of Rizal to the Catholic priest Pablo Pastells.

Jose Rizal
People studying Japanese could benefit from Jose Rizal’s method in learning a new language. According to historians, Rizal memorized five new root words every night.

For those who do not know Rizal, he is the National Hero of the Philippines and he was a polymath and a polyglot. Rizal knew 22 languages including the Japanese Language. He stayed in Japan for about 6 weeks from February 28 to April 13, 1888.

Just how good was Rizal in speaking Japanese? Was his six weeks of stay in Japan enough for him to acquire proficiency in Japanese?