Interview with MIRAI participant, Mr. Eleftherios Xinaris
2021/9/7
Recently, we interviewed a former MIRAI programme participant, Eleftherios Xinaris, during which he described his experience in Japan and what sparked his love for the country.
I studied with a scholarship at a university in Komotini, Greece and, after returning to Cyprus, I did my internship at the Criminal Law Section of the Republic of Cyprus. At the same time, I was a Master’s degree candidate at a university in Paphos. Nowadays, I practice law at my own law firm.
- What is your relation with Japan?
I started attending Karate classes since I was 13 years old after being encouraged by a friend. Around that time, my brothers and I started watching English subbed Japanese anime series on DVD gifted to us by a relative. As our interest in anime grew deeper, we would go to internet cafés, since internet back then was not great, and spend our time there watching series. My first anime series to watch with the original Japanese audio was Naruto.
In total, it’s been around 16 years that I enjoy Japanese culture, be that manga, anime, mythology, music, language studying, and history. I am especially interested in the Edo period and the samurai (Japanese warriors.) I am learning the Japanese language by myself and I will be taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) in Greece this December.
I had the chance to visit Japan in December 2019 with the MIRAI programme.
- As you mentioned, you have been exposed to Japanese culture through manga, anime, music and so on from an early age. When you went to Japan for the first time, was there something unexpected or contradicting the image you had already formed about Japan?
There wasn’t anything unexpected per say, but it took some effort to acclimate myself to the Japanese rules and to overcome the language barrier. For instance, when I wanted to ask about a product at the convenience store, I didn’t know I had to wait in line as opposed to just going to the front and asking.
- Can you tell us more about your experience with the MIRAI programme?
The whole duration was about 10 days, and for its purposes we travelled to Tokyo and Hiroshima. There were about three groups separated into Economics & Business, History & Politics, and Science, I believe. I was in the first group which went to Japan in mid-December. We were about 39 members, from all over Europe; Latvia, Germany, France, UK, Greece, and so on.
With the programme, we visited the stock exchange, various corporations, financial institutions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Peace Memorial Museum. We also did a homestay in groups of 3-4 in Etajima. I stayed with a family of farmers and the hospitality was incredible. They would offer us a lot of food, help us with whatever issue we had, and showed us around their farm. What left an impression on me, is that the farmer would feed his livestock with leftovers from restaurants in Hiroshima which he would transfer by boat. It was a great example of reuse and waste reduction that I wish we could be doing here in Cyprus.
- After visiting Japan, has your perception and opinion about it changed?
I became fonder of it. There’s many things we could borrow from Japan. Their economy is strong, cleanliness everywhere, and their love for nature for example. Also, there are many artists here in Cyprus that cannot find employment. Instead Japan could have their manga/anime studios in Cyprus so that both countries would benefit.
The Japanese learn to respect others and nature from a young age at school. There is no such discipline here, as a result of which we see almost every year the school property being destroyed and we are not interested in cleanliness.
- Would you encourage others to visit Japan?
Definitely. There is low criminality rates in Japan and hospitality is outstanding. In contrast to popular belief, life in Japan is not expensive compared to other European countries. In general, I see a rise in the love and appreciation of Japan between Cypriots.
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- Tell us a bit about yourselfI studied with a scholarship at a university in Komotini, Greece and, after returning to Cyprus, I did my internship at the Criminal Law Section of the Republic of Cyprus. At the same time, I was a Master’s degree candidate at a university in Paphos. Nowadays, I practice law at my own law firm.
- What is your relation with Japan?
I started attending Karate classes since I was 13 years old after being encouraged by a friend. Around that time, my brothers and I started watching English subbed Japanese anime series on DVD gifted to us by a relative. As our interest in anime grew deeper, we would go to internet cafés, since internet back then was not great, and spend our time there watching series. My first anime series to watch with the original Japanese audio was Naruto.
In total, it’s been around 16 years that I enjoy Japanese culture, be that manga, anime, mythology, music, language studying, and history. I am especially interested in the Edo period and the samurai (Japanese warriors.) I am learning the Japanese language by myself and I will be taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) in Greece this December.
I had the chance to visit Japan in December 2019 with the MIRAI programme.
- As you mentioned, you have been exposed to Japanese culture through manga, anime, music and so on from an early age. When you went to Japan for the first time, was there something unexpected or contradicting the image you had already formed about Japan?
There wasn’t anything unexpected per say, but it took some effort to acclimate myself to the Japanese rules and to overcome the language barrier. For instance, when I wanted to ask about a product at the convenience store, I didn’t know I had to wait in line as opposed to just going to the front and asking.
- Can you tell us more about your experience with the MIRAI programme?
The whole duration was about 10 days, and for its purposes we travelled to Tokyo and Hiroshima. There were about three groups separated into Economics & Business, History & Politics, and Science, I believe. I was in the first group which went to Japan in mid-December. We were about 39 members, from all over Europe; Latvia, Germany, France, UK, Greece, and so on.
With the programme, we visited the stock exchange, various corporations, financial institutions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Peace Memorial Museum. We also did a homestay in groups of 3-4 in Etajima. I stayed with a family of farmers and the hospitality was incredible. They would offer us a lot of food, help us with whatever issue we had, and showed us around their farm. What left an impression on me, is that the farmer would feed his livestock with leftovers from restaurants in Hiroshima which he would transfer by boat. It was a great example of reuse and waste reduction that I wish we could be doing here in Cyprus.
- After visiting Japan, has your perception and opinion about it changed?
I became fonder of it. There’s many things we could borrow from Japan. Their economy is strong, cleanliness everywhere, and their love for nature for example. Also, there are many artists here in Cyprus that cannot find employment. Instead Japan could have their manga/anime studios in Cyprus so that both countries would benefit.
The Japanese learn to respect others and nature from a young age at school. There is no such discipline here, as a result of which we see almost every year the school property being destroyed and we are not interested in cleanliness.
- Would you encourage others to visit Japan?
Definitely. There is low criminality rates in Japan and hospitality is outstanding. In contrast to popular belief, life in Japan is not expensive compared to other European countries. In general, I see a rise in the love and appreciation of Japan between Cypriots.
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