A thought on Japan disaster

Spring is here in London, and we’ve been soaking up the sunshine that we’ve missing during the long and dark winter.

Quite contrary to the peaceful atmosphere of the spring season here, a huge devastation has happened in my home country Japan as you all know, and I feel like I’ve been living two parallel realities. Many thanks to those who wrote me a personal note to ask how my family and I are doing. I feel your support, and am appreciating more than ever the sense of connection with my friends.

Speaking of two realities, I’m aware that Japan is now having to live two kinds of roles also — victim of the natural disaster who needs to be supported, and the one who is causing damage to people and the earth who needs to take more responsibilities. During the first phase of the disaster, many foreign media complimented on how Japanese people behaved with such discipline and sensitivity with each other without causing any violent scenes. In order to successfully go through the long and arduous restoration process, however, I believe we Japanese need to also get in touch with new ways of being –  characteristics that we often project on the ‘westerners’–, such as being assertive, being able to clearly say no, and quick to take practical actions. The combination of both styles I believe will make the true resilience that we desperately need, not only for Japan but for the whole world that is going through a huge transition.

It makes me hopeful to see that many people are bringing out their inner power that they haven’t had the chance to use until now, as you can sense from this collection of tweets.
http://prayforjapan.jp/message/page/4?lang=en&paged=1