Mini-Dramas on SDGs

Two friends, one of whom uses a wheelchair, decide to go to the movies. But when they arrive, they learn that only one section of the theater is available to wheelchair users. This prompts a question: Why can't everyone be treated equally? Rather than forcing some people to sit in the front and others in the back, why can't everyone be "in the middle?" This short video explores the meaning of UN SDG number 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries.

In Toyama Prefecture, Takaoka copperware techniques have traditionally been used to create large objects such as bells and Buddhist statues. But when the daughter of a long-time artisan declares her desire to craft jewelry instead, her father rebels and says that he is planning to shut down the factory. Then, a mysterious occurrence changes the old man's mind, leading to a bright future for the ancient practice and for the company.

It's winter in a forest thick with snow, an area shared in common by local people. Juri's grandfather Mamoru takes her there to collect sap for the first time in order to make maple syrup. Juri watches as Mamoru bores a hole in a tree. She then tries to collect some sap herself, but Mamoru stops her. Juri learns that this tree has been allowed to rest and recover. This story looks at the lives of people who work together to preserve the bounty of nature.

A young visitor to a lake nestled in the mountains encounters an old man with a bedraggled, melancholy appearance. The older man is mourning the disappearance of the "crossing of the gods," an enormous ridge of ice that once snaked across the lake every winter, and has been an object of devotion since long ago. But due to higher temperatures, the crossing of the gods no longer forms, threatening to end a cherished local tradition.