The Impact of Covid-19 at Ibaraki University

Interviewer：Trey Alguire, Naryama Reva, and Shimamura Kenshi

Introduction

Trey： Hey Craig! It’s finally great to meet you even with our weird schedule… yet quite excited to hear about your side of Japan. Firstly, let me introduce the other group members. Joining us today is Reva (from Indonesia) and our other member is Shimamura-san who unfortunately cannot join us because of work. So, let’s begin the interview.

Trey ：Could you tell us more about your background and professions just to get to know more about you?

Craig ：Sure, well I came and did my exchange at Ibaraki University back in 2020. It was a recent program which was set up between my university, Montana State University, and Ibaraki. I think I was the first one to go on this particular program. I did my bachelors at Montana State University in Bio-Chemistry with a minor in Japanese Studies which was the reason why I went in the first place. Since then, I have worked at a biopharmaceutical company down in Colorado.

Reva ：What type of research are you currently working on?

Craig ：I do forensic analysis for pharmaceutical companies. The company I work for is contracted by pharmaceutical companies to manufacture those drugs who don’t have the lab-space, facilitates, or even the capability to produce certain drugs. So, we have a whole manufacturing facility which specifically focuses on bacteria cell-cultures to grow protein therapeutics. My department analysis the products which did not pass quality control and might have contaminated particulate matter in them. After analysis we tell what particulates are in the drug substances.

Trey ：Did you by chance do any of your research at the Hitachi campus, or is it only for engineering?

Craig ：Hitachi campus is just for engineering and didn’t go there much. I did go to Tsukuba occasionally because they have a particle collider there and Kozuma Sensei was really into using that particle collider. Frankly a lot of the science they were doing there went over my head. It was a lot of in-organic and bioelectric chemistry, but I was happy to work there in the first place. I spent most of my time in the lab (at Mito-campus) which I know best, growing bacteria cultures and purifying the protein which comes out of them. The scientific Japanese wasn’t taught in the language course, so I had to use a translation app called, Akebi. It’s the best translation tool I’ve ever come across and used it as I learned new scientific vocabulary in the lab.

Covid-19 Entering Japan in 2020

Trey ：What were your first few months like in 2020?

Craig： Well the first few months of 2020, I first heard about the virus when I was over in Ibaraki because my exchange program was specifically for science students with either a double-major or minor in Japanese studies. So, I was specifically there to do research with Kozuma Sensei (who is a researcher on campus). At the time I thought the virus was just going to be China’s problem but then the lockdown continued (which school usually starts in April) and ended up delaying my start date by two months for classes. So, I had an accelerated schedule compared to what we usually do I’m assuming. I did not get to go anywhere for the entire month of May. Just total lockdown and staying in and you live in that room (at the Kaikan), it’s hard to be there for a whole month. You could still go out to get groceries but for the most part the government asked you to stay inside if you could.

Trey ：So then how did others treat you before Covid-19 protocols were enforced?

Craig ：I wasn’t treated any differently. The Japanese people were very welcoming towards exchange students at the very least. I just saw less people during the middle of my stay. It wasn’t like the US where there was a whole lot of rash, anti-Chinese, and racist backlash. I won’t lie, it was fairly lonely by March (2020), because exchange students were supposed to be arriving and getting settled. Actually, how many people are there now?

Trey ：I think there are around ~30 people here.

Craig ：30! There were like 4 people when I was there. Yeah, it wasn’t particularly a whole lot of people to interact with. At least the locals were around, and they didn’t treat me any differently at all.

Reva ：What was your culture shock like in Japan?

Craig ：The hardest part was not being able to read and understand what most things are in kanji (besides the hiragana and katakana). In 2020, I’ve already been learning Japanese for a few years at this point and was competent in speaking to the people, but I never got good at reading. Because of my trip in 2017, the main culture shock lasted long enough to stay exciting (like a vacation) for the whole two-months I was there in Fukuoka. So, I knew what to expect when I arrived at Ibaraki University, but it was more serious involving the research. It was exciting at first but then it got tiresome at a certain point especially when you’re at a ramen shop trying to read the menu on the vending machines. It’s all in kanji yet you’re trying to find it in katakana saying チャーシューラーメン.

Trey ：Could you list of the pros and cons about Japanese society?

Craig ：Well the national healthcare is fantastic, had to go visit the doctor's office while I was there and the selection of English-speaking doctors in Mito was not the best and had to stumble through it. But the point is you were still able to get a visit. I had traveler’s insurance, but I was still able to find a doctor pretty quickly and still cheap regardless of if you’re a foreigner. I think it’s cheaper if you’re a (Japanese) citizen as well. Their Covid response also was better (in my opinion) as well. I'm a big fan of how they were wearing masks before I arrived in January (2020), it was easy to just respond to that. I like their sense of civic-duty, Japanese people are really good at that.

Trey ：Could you freely run errands on a day-to-day basis? Heard it wasn’t super strict within Japan, just the border.

Craig ：From what I understand, the Japanese government couldn’t force businesses to close but politely ask them too. I think it was the same way with the citizens to politely ask them to stay inside. Initially, Japan was a bit more relaxed when I was there but really, really good about their Covid procedures and contact tracing to stave off the 1st wave of infection. When Italy was getting hit badly by Covid-19, Japan was doing incredibly well. By July it really started to overwhelm them. At the time the common advice was to wash your hands but that was before they knew it was an airborne disease. No one knew anything about it. The Japanese government really started to get serious about Covid-19 by early August (2020) which was when I was getting ready to leave. After I left, sometime around autumn Japan was getting slammed by the virus.

Trey ：Was their anything which sparked your attraction to visit Japan (outside of school-related opportunities)?

Craig： I traveled a lot when I was a kid and was fortunate enough that my folks not only loved traveling but made enough money to travel. When I was in 3rd grade, I spent a year in Italy because my dad had a teaching job there. Also went to France during high school, but it not until my gap year when I started studying Japanese. I was looking for something different which an Asian language could provide and away from the Western romance languages which I’ve already learned. As I invested more into Japanese, I ended up really enjoying it and it led to my trip to Fukuoka to attend at the language school there. Two months went by and I absolutely loved every minute I spent there. So, I was enthused when I had the opportunity to go to Ibaraki University in 2020 as an exchange student.

Trey ：So, you’ve stayed in Fukuoka and in Mito, but what other places do you plan to visit next time you travel to Japan?

Craig： I do want to take a trip back to Kagoshima (in the southern tip of Kyushu). It’s a gorgeous town situated on a bay near one of the most continuous volcanoes in the world. I’ve biked around the volcano and visited the hot springs there too. It’s always stuck with me as one of the fondest places I’ve ever been to.