• Informasia #10, October 19, 2026

    Mike Galbraith

    The Remarkable Life of the Meiji Maru: Japan’s Oldest Surviving Iron-made Ship

    Vimeo video: posted October 20, 2026Audio: posted

    October 20, 2026

    Who

    Mike Galbraith, Journalist, Kokusaika Training Consultant

    Abstract

    The Meiji Maru was especially built for the Japanese government in 1874 by the Robert Napier &Sons shipyard on the River Clyde near Glasgow in Scotland. It was designed as a steamship incorporating the latest engineering technology and, as with all early steamships, also had masts and sails in case the engines failed. In Meiji Maru’s case it was initially rigged as a two-masted topsail schooner. The ship was 225 feet long (68.6 m), 22.6 feet wide (6.9 m), weighed 1,027.57 tons, and could reach a speed of 11.5 knots.

    Our Speaker

    Mike Galbraith is a founding member of Informasia.

    Publications

    Text

    E-mail

    mike.galbraith@interworld.jp

    Requested by Patricia Yarrow.

  • NEWS

    The news is that I am focusing this summer 2026 on mastering this Informasia website.

    Right now, I am combing through the current layout and updating it.

    Once everything is order in a few days, I have arranged to contact the fine Support team at Strikingly, Informasia's web host.

    We will discuss the correct template going forward. A reasonable fee is involved.

    The current template is a long page with sections.

    That must change to individual pages. No more endless scrolling!

    Actually, I am excited to have reached this stage after four years.

    Looks like Informasia has a community and continuity!

    April 28, 2026 /Patricia Yarrow

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  • ABOUT INFORMASIA

    Informasia launch

    May 2020

    Chaos ruled and all compass points were lost in the onslaught of the newly arrived worldwide COVID pandemic. In April, as all university classes moved to Zoom, Patricia Yarrow was gazing blankly from her Ryogoku (Tokyo) veranda. Bereft of meeting companions, academically informative monthly lectures, and friendly discussions, inspiration struck on that spring day. “We could do this on Zoom!”

    A flurry of messaging later, a core group of eight castaways met (safely on Zoom) on 25 May 2020 to toss ideas around. Alex Byrne dreamed up the name “Informasia”, and the vision began coming into focus. Our Informasia ship cast off with an stalwart crew for shores unknown. Since then, our mailing list has grown from 10 to nearly 400. Our Facebook page counts some 280 friends.

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