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Exploring the World of
of clean water.
Morse Code and Flag Semaphores
After talking about Japanese food culture, Olivia Sensei moved on
to accommodation facts in Japan. She mentioned that houses in On the 8th of June 2021 (Tuesday), the Air Scout Troop held a talk
Japan aren’t linked together like terrace houses in Malaysia; in fact,
houses are separated by a small distance. This is said to prevent fire on Morse code and flag semaphores. The talk started off with the
introduction of the two main speakers, Abner Philip Then Yi Hao and
from spreading during a disaster. Furthermore, Japanese houses are Fong Tzyy Yu, both Student Advisors of the Air Scout Troop.
normally designed with “genkan”, which means an entryway located
inside the house directly in front of the door. Usually, the Japanese Abner then presented a video
remove their shoes at the “genkan” and change into house slippers which introduced cryptography
before stepping into other areas of the house. Japanese houses are during World War 2, where
usually also prepped with an evacuation place and a survival kit Americans at the time were
near the door closest to the exit, so that the residents can protect able to communicate using
themselves during earthquakes. Japan is also well-known for their codes that the Japanese could
cleanliness and high environmental awareness. Hence, Japan has not decrypt, aiding their victory.
strict rules for garbage disposal, which varies from area to area. A tip The video clearly pointed out
from Olivia Sensei was to be aware of garbage disposal rules while the importance of cryptology.
travelling in Japan to avoid unnecessary trouble from disposing of
litter. Afterwards, Abner started
talking about flag semaphores,
Moving on, Olvia Sensei introduced transport in Japan. Interestingly, which were invented by Claude
people in Osaka, for example, ride their escalators on the right side, Chappe in the French revolution
whereas people in Tokyo ride on the left. Thus, it is important to to transmit war signals. This
know the rules in each area to ensure the smooth flow of crowds. For method is commonly used
travellers visiting Japan, she recommended the Japan Rail (JR) pass. when personnel on different
Each pass differs according to area, but the JR pass is a good option mountain peaks want to
because travellers can access all areas in Japan with just one pass. communicate with each other.

Besides that, lifeguards and
The last section of the talk was a short Q&A session. Olivia Sensei maritime troops utilise flag
shared her earthquake encounter which made her deeply shocked, semaphores in their daily
but she told us not to worry as the earthquake department provides routines. One is required to use
instructions to the people, and Japanese buildings are mostly their hands and flags in order to
antiseismic. She also gave advice and information to students who communicate with this system.
are interested in studying abroad in Japan. He then provided us with a
video teaching the signals of

Ph o t o by : flag semaphores.
Photo by: Law Xi Yan SR2SCC
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