I helped change the image of Japan

Obesity is the world’s biggest problem today, says this US magazine here. Big problem indeed. And quite heavy too.

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 One doctor has this advice to his obese patients: Eat all you want, chew the food thoroughly. But don’t swallow. Hehehe.

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 Many people are dieting these days, including some figure-conscious friends in media. They are virtually starving to death so they can live longer.

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 It says here that several glass windows in Libya have been broken by rioters. This is what the TV networks call “breaking news.”

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 Some Manila cops have been reported as having ran off with millions of ransom money. I said Manila cops.

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 Mayor Fred Lim has issued a “shoot to kill” order against these cops. I said Mayor Fred Lim.

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 TRIVIA: Listen to this. Some 51 percent of business executives in the US play golf the way they do business. Some 80 percent of those say they cheat. — From Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. Hehe.

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 Let me clarify ... In last Wednesday’s column I mentioned about a giant billboard in Manila (Roxas Blvd.) promoting Cebu province as a top tourist destination. It’s not an ordinary billboard but an electronic screen advertising Cebu 24 hours a day. Sorry for my ignorance.

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 After World War II, the Japanese people lost many friends, especially in Southeast Asia and East Asia, because of the atrocities committed by the Nipponese soldiers. Believe it or not, I was one of those who helped open the door of friendship for the Japanese. In a little way.

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 How? I was then in high school (FEU) when I was approached by a PR (Public Relations) man who was connected with a PR organization commissioned to handle the PR job to improve the postwar image of Japan.

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 I was asked to draft a pen pal letter for the young Japanese (in the primary and elementary grades) to follow for the government’s “Operation Pen Pal.” Schoolboys and girls were asked to have pen pals abroad especially in Southeast and East Asia, using the letter I drafted as model. The PR agency (American) got to know me because back then I liked to write letters to the editors as a hobby.

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