Photo/Illutration An inaugural issue of Kodomo no Kagaku (Science for Kids) magazine published in October 1924, right, is shown at the head office of Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing Co. in Tokyo in August 2021. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

“To let everyone know what true science means” was the stated purpose for which the monthly magazine “Kodomo no Kagaku” (Science for Children) was first published during the Taisho Era (1912-1926).

The magazine celebrates the centennial anniversary of its inauguration this year.

One of the earliest volumes ran a fascinating feature article on what the future will be like after 100 years.

Many people are living in cities under the sea, according to the story. Not a train, nor an automobile, is running in those cities. Everyone travels on the “moving footpath.” Coal-fired power generation plants have completely disappeared from the face of the earth, and electricity can be obtained indefinitely from the air. And wars are fought entirely with drones and toxic gases.

Some of these predictions ring a bell, while others have missed the mark. With some of the latter, it’s actually a relief.

Looking up at the sky, I wondered what the world will be like 100 years from now. And with a sudden pang, I missed the imaginative power I had as a kid.

A young listener of NHK radio’s “Kodomo Kagaku Denwa Sodan” (Science hotline for children) program recently asked this question: “I want to harness the power of starlight to make a time machine. Is that possible?”

On another day, a child asked, “Crows are black. Don’t they feel hot in summer?” What a spontaneous, amusing observation.

Mareki Honma, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory and one of the hotline panelists, noted: “Kids don’t buy the conventional wisdom of grownups that makes them all too ready to say, ‘That’s not possible.’ And sometimes, the questions asked by youngsters are so valid that there is much for us to learn.”

Many schools are breaking up today for the summer holidays. Kids can now gaze forever at clouds forming in the sky, or follow a procession of ants ... .

Here and there, many little kingdoms will be springing up. A seed sown in the heart will sprout some day and maybe grow into a massive tree that will support people 100 years from now.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 20

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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