I joined the SGRA Fukushima Study Tour for the first time on May 25,2018.Every year, since 2012, SGRA (Atsumi International Foundation) has been continuing to organize study tours to Iitate Village in Fukushima, which is an area affected by the nuclear power station accident. Before I left Tokyo, I had read opinion pieces and impressions written by other SGRA members who had visited Iitate, and I thought that Iitate would still be in harsh conditions.  We visited Iitate under the guidance of Mr. Yoichi Tao, President of the “Resurrection of Fukushima”. One year has already passed since Iitate inhabitants began to return to the village.Frankly speaking, I had a feeling that this beautiful “SATOYAMA “ (village-vicinity mountains) are on the verge of extinction.  And, it was my strong impression on the first day that the “Resurrection of Fukushima” is trying to solve some very difficult problems.  Generally speaking, in rural areas in Japan, people are worrying about depopulation and aging.  In areas affect by the nuclear power accident, such fears are escalated.   During the tour, I was surprised by how many people were going in and out of the area frequently. I saw a lot of people who came from other areas. On Saturday, a miracle occurred in a depopulated area in which most of the inhabitants were senior citizens. Many people of different ages and from different fields visited the activity base of “Resurrection of Fukushima” located in the area called Sasu for rice-planting the next day.  I got the strong impression that the power to change the future is born in places where many people get together. In the Sasu area, collaboration for development of decontamination works and growing tests of farm products by villagers, specialists and volunteers started three months after the accident. Together with other participants, villagers have been growing rice throughout the year, starting from planting seeds, rice-planting and harvesting. A circle of collaboration has formed through connecting people, and is growing ever wider. People get together every Saturday and Sunday at the activity base of “Resurrection of Fukushima” . We met volunteers from the Saitama Prefectural Konosu-High School and university students of circles from the University of Tokyo. Creative activities which collaborate with universities are being developed. I thought the resurrection of farmland  or activation of rural community from a villager’s perspective would be possible through collaborations with the University of Tokyo or Meiji University.     These “circles” which create connections or links with people are now creating new possibilities for the succession of histories and cultures, and are not limited to environmental preservation. There are a few examples of this. Cooperation in the restoration project of the painting of a wolf on the ceiling of the hall of worship in Yamatumi-shrine in Iitate village, the preservation and practical usage of schoolhouses which have been built in the Meiji era, and a project for the succession of Miso--paste etc.. I had a feeling that such sustained exchanges and collaborations would contribute to establish a system of “Resurrection (of homeland)”.I, as a foreigner, was encouraged very much by this development of social activities and the establishment of social value by various bodies. Iitate is known as one of the most beautiful villages in Japan. I have encountered an unbelievably beautiful scene in Iitate - “collaboration circles” which are encouraged and promoted by creating connections.I was deeply impressed by the links of people here.I would like to come to this beautiful village again.  SGRA Kawaraban 580 in Japanese (Original)  (Mailisha / Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Showa Women’s’ University)   Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Sonja Dale

The internet and smartphones are now the norm and we can access a large volume of information instantly anywhere we go. On the other hand, however, we are asked to check the quality or correctness of such information and it has become imperative for us to gather genuine and high-quality information. For such purposes, we have to take action on our own to gather information using our own eyes and ears. This means that I, as a specialist in international relations, have to run around the globe. This is not easy for me to achieve personally, but there is a person who is in fact doing just so. This person is Mr. Jituro Terasima, President of Tama University. I come across his phrase “fixed point observation” very often when listening to his interviews or reading articles written by him.  Since I see him often on TV, I did not think that he is actually running around the world. However, he has actually been visiting countries and cities in America, England and the Middle East by himself every year. He is listening to the opinions of his friends or key individuals in these areas. What he saw, heard and felt on site is “genuine,” useful information. Regretfully, I have a feeling that getting information from smartphones in Tokyo then trying to verify its reliability and source is not as useful. This spring, I returned to Beijing after being away for six years. I was too amazed by its complete change to say anything. In programs discussing “recent China” on TV in Japan, we can see people who pay for everything using smartphones, share-economy like car ride-sharing or rental-cycles, and electric cars. You may possibly believe that Chinese people are enjoying their life based on more advanced technology than Japan.However, in reality it was chaotic in the city. The subway has been extended since the last time I lived there. However, upon exiting the subway at street level you will be greeted by “share-cycle” bicycles piled disorderly and occupying the pavement. Despite the ride-share system (which is not popular in Japan), roads are congested throughout the day. According to a taxi-driver, they can allocate taxis anywhere using smartphones. However, passengers and drivers sometimes miss each other and cause traffic congestion instead. Under economic development in China, the share-economy is developing, but the number of cars increasing even more. It is a symbol of fortune to possess a vehicle, especially a foreign one. Traffic congestion in Beijing is very famous in Japan. I have a feeling that public order in Beijing cannot catch up with the convenience doing everything using smartphone apps. I visit Shanghai for business once a year, but was surprised by Beijing this time. I acutely realized that I overlook many things in China only by “fixed point observation” once a year, and it is not enough to visit just one place. When, living in Gunma Prefecture, I would visit Tokyo once a week for lectures or participating in academic conferences. I can keenly realize Tokyo is changing every minute for the Olympics in 2020. Taxis are changing. The bus service in the center of Tokyo is also changing, displaying the Olympic mascot characters on the side of the bus body. When I see English, Chinese (not only by simplified but traditional Chinese characters also) and Korean language in Tokyo, I have a feeling that Tokyo is progressing towards becoming an international city. If I had continued living in Tokyo, I would not have been aware of such changes. As much as possible I like to visit places which are related to my field of research or interests and try not to miss the change of history or turning of the tide. Speaking of the phrase “fixed point observation”, I recall a famous speech which has been referred to as many times as there are stars in the sky. It is from the commencement address by Mr. Steve Jobs at Stanford University in 2005.  “…you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. …” (quoted from the original speech, available in full here: https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/)   Going to the spots I believe in, increasing the spots. I want to make the most of them in my research and classes from here on out.  SGRA Kawaraban 578 in Japanese (Original)  (Xie Zhihai / Associate Professor of Kyoai Gakuen University )  Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Sonja Dale

The 11th “SGRA Café” was held at Kajima Hall on July 28 (Sat.), titled “the Complex Triangular Relationship of Japan, China and Taiwan”.  In the middle of the café, unfortunately, we were visited by heavy rain and had to give up on holding the BBQ party at the inner court.  Instead, we had more time for questions after the lecture and had a very fruitful discussion with the close to 30 participants. The lecturer was Professor Lim Chuan Tiong (Assistant Researcher of Central Research Academy, Taiwan) who came up with the concept of the “East Asian frontier”. He was a former scholarship recipient of the Atsumi International Foundation.  Representative Ms. Junko Imanishi first explained that the SGRA Café was started for scholarship students who have been active in their own fields after graduation in order for them to share their thoughts and opinions frankly.       The keywords of this café were “complex triangular relationship”． In order to grasp “how complex” or understand the “China factors” which have come to be a cause for concern in Japan-Taiwan relations, Professor Lim started his lecture from the history of the colonialization of Taiwan as the result of the Sino-Japan War. He emphasized that Taiwan, which has been separated from China since after the war, could instead experience a “modern nation state” which came to be the basis of a  different identity from China.He referred also to the fact that there are still different perceptions by China and Taiwan of the Japan-China War after the defeat of the Kuomimtang (Taiwanese Nationalist Party) and coming into Taiwan as the result of the war, and discussed how the image of the Communist Party was constructed in mainland China as well as the split in Taiwan (between the people from mainland China and the immigrants from China to Taiwan). Following this, he summarized the main factors which the Chinese Government had to pay attention to in the Japan-Taiwan relationship, explaining the formation of a new “Japan–China relationship“ after the war, namely the relationship between Japan-PRC (People’s Republic of China) and Japan-ROC (Republic of China-Taiwan) and “the 1972 System” which was established after “the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China” . In other words, Taiwan as an un-unified land of the Chinese Government was an essential part for establishing their modern state. It is the core of legitimacy of the PRC Government. Prof. Lim then presented a future prospect of the triangular relationship between Japan, China and Taiwan by explaining the main tendencies of Japan-Taiwan relations in recent years and the “China factors” which would affect Japan-Taiwan relations. After 2013 in particular, he observed an ossification of Japan-China relations and strengthening of Japan-Taiwan relations happening at the same time.  The Chinese Government, along with the strengthening of their own power, showed a tolerant attitude toward Taiwan. However, at the same time they also exerted pressure on the government of Ts’ai Ing-wen by showing strong precaution.  As a result of these moves by China, Taiwan is compelled to approach Japan and America more closely instead.It is not easy for China to break their promises with Japan and America. Prof. Lim reached his conclusion that this state of complex relations and complicated diplomacy with China would continue. During the question and answer session, many people mainly asked about current problems. However, some people also asked un-academic general questions related to everyday life, such as wanting to know for how long Taiwan would be ill-treated by China.  I think the basis of such questions demonstrates that China does not understand Taiwanese society well, although this understanding should be the basis of Chinese government policy. The audience included ex-diplomats as well as businessmen working in economic exchange, and they discussed their own experiences as well as personal perspectives. These opinions nicely complemented the content of the lecture. The lecture was followed by a BBQ, during which the discussion and pleasant banter between lecturer and participants continued. The number of participants in the SGRA Café has increased recently, and I think our motto of sharing knowledge from a variety of perspectives with honesty and candor has been sufficiently realized. (photo of the day) Report in Japanese (original) (Li Yanming / Associate Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts, The University of Tokyo)       Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Sonja Dale

When I was three years old, my father came to Japan to study abroad, bringing the whole family with him. When I was a third grader at primary school, I had an unforgettable memory. I wore a scarf for the first time. I had been wearing similar clothes as my friends until then. According to Iranian customs, girls join adulthood when they become nine years old. We have to keep in mind various points and follow a lot of rules in daily life. When we go out, we have to hide our hair and skin and have to pray at certain hours.  At nine years old, I was uneasy and worried about whether I could follow the same customs in Japan, as my family had faced a lot of difficulties in Japan because of differences in customs and religion. My father consulted with his Japanese friends each time and had been helped. Without such kind Japanese friends, he could not have overcome such difficulties. My father had been thinking a great deal about his faith and asked me also to do the same. My parents had been worried about how I might be hurt or ill-treated and asked for advice from my homeroom teacher. My homeroom teacher kindly arranged a school meeting just for me, inviting my parents and brother. My homeroom teacher and another teacher stood in front of all the students wearing scarfs and said “We (two teachers) are now wearing scarfs. But, we are unchanged and the same as usual.  Hourieh-chan (Ms. Akbari) will wear a scarf from tomorrow, but she is the same as usual.”  He called me to the teachers to wear my scarf and said “Hourieh-chan will join adulthood tomorrow. But, she is always a friend of yours. Unchanged!  Are you friends of Hourieh-chan as before?” All of the students raised their hands. I was worried about being ill-treated at first, but on the contrary I became a popular person in our school. Japanese friends taught me to “Be myself !” and “Speak my way of thinking with confidence!”  This memory is my life treasure.  It is no exaggeration to say that I owe it to the teachers and all the students that I can be myself and behave stately.   Two years later, my family came back to Iran with wonderful memories of our time in Japan. My love toward Japan was unchanged.  I made up my mind to study abroad in Japan, and  I got the chance to come back to Japan at the age of twenty-nine as a scholarship student of the Ministry of Education to pursue a doctoral degree. Twenty years have already passed since my memorable days in that primary school and I could now enter Chiba University, which was where my father first studied abroad. One day, in the second year of the doctorate course, I happened to see a gentleman who I recognized in front of the main gate of the university when I was on my way home. I recognized him as the schoolmaster of our primary school and I ventured to call out to him. When I talked about the old days, he could remember me although there was no way of knowing who I was after twenty years. Thanks to this schoolmaster, I could get in touch with my homeroom teacher who gave me a lot of emotion and courage and we were able to meet again. If my father did not ask for advice from the homeroom teacher and if my teachers did not arrange the school meeting at that time, I would have experienced life very differently.  Thanks to these events, I realized how important it is to convey and understand my beliefs and emotion accurately and with confidence. I also realized that we could bring peace and prosperity through such thinking.     I learned a lot of important things this time through my meeting with the wonderful Japanese and foreign students in Japan. We could all understand each other as human beings regardless of nationalities, languages and religions. If I could add one more important thing, it is my husband, from Costa Rica.  I have learned that there is a man who has a similar way of thinking and similar values as me.   Japan taught me and gave me many important things. I can’t thank Japan enough.   SGRA Kawaraban 576 in Japanese (Original)  ( Special Researcher of Graduate School of Humanities and Studies of Public Affairs, Chiba University)  Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Sonja Dale

When I started my study of Nichiren, I was a student of Japanese language at University of Turin (Italy).   (Nichiren：Japanese Buddhist priest(1222-1283))When I asked myself where linguistic difference between Italian and Japanese language come from, I was conscious about “something deeper”: the “background of languages”.  “Language” is not only “words”.  Behind “language”, there is a factor of thought which has been formed by human psychology and its peculiarity.  No matter how much I cram up vocabularies, I cannot be a good Japanese speaker without understanding Japanese thoughts.  At that time, at the latter part of the 20th century, there was a scenario of crisis of Western culture.  There is Christian ethics which do not allow at will to manipulate the world on earth which God has created.  And, on the other hand, there was a philosophical thought which became staying inside only university life after a sterile crash with science which have manipulated the world.  Christian ethics and Philosophical Thought became unable to cope with our daily ethical issues toward what Technology has revealed as possible one, and the debate reached to a deadlock. My philosophy master, Doctor Umberto Garinberti, ex-Professor of the University of Venice, told us that Western culture has experienced three systems of ethics. System of ethics by Christianity：Western legislation has been accomplished by Christianity ethics. We call it the “Ethic of the Intention”. Decision or judgement is made inside our “individual interiority”. People are judged by “intentions” which have resulted in some behaviors. Crime is judged and decided by an intension which is intentionally or un-intentionally. However, if we will search for only “intention”, it would become meaningless in “the time of technology”. Dr. Enrico Fermi invented atomic bomb, but it is not so important what kind of intention he had when he invented. What is important is how his invention resulted in history. “Kant ethic (secular ethic)”：(Immanuel Kant：German philosopher(1724-1804)It is summarized to a proposition that human beings should be handled as a purpose, nor as means”.  Kant ethics might function when the earth looks bigger, they have ample natural resources and population is small. However, how is the situation now?  Population became bigger, the earth became smaller and natural resources became poorer. Is it correct to handle human beings as a purpose and handle everything, others than human beings, as means?  Are air and water now just means?  Are air and water purposes to be preserved?   Ethic by Max Wever (German political scientist and economist(1864-1920))It is an ethic about responsibility and results. He said “Human behavior should be judged only by results, not by intention behind their behavior.” And he continued that it is limited to results which are possible to forecast. Science and technology are not proceeded on the assumption that they like to “find out”. What scientific technology discover is a coincidental result in various working process. Such results cannot be forecasted from the beginning.  For example, “clone” is not a result which was forecasted from the beginning.  It was discovered accidentally in various working process. Basically, result of research is not possible to be forecasted. As mentioned above, at “the period of technology”, ethics which were known in the Western world are quite incompetent now. It will be necessary to revise new ethics. However, if we try to revise old ethics basing on old “unchanging” principle, I think it meaningless to try to find new ethics. “Unchanging principle” might function in the period when nature is thought to be unable to manipulate. I think it was the time when human being could not do anything toward nature. Nature is now manipulated by scientific technology, not unchanging nature which Greek or Christian have thought. In short, nature is not “background” anymore. Not a “measure” (as we say "man as the measure of all things") and not a “standard”. As German philosopher, Martin Heidigger (1898-1976) said, our eyes toward nature changed into an utilitarianistic eye. When we see rivers, we think of electrical power. When we see a forest, we think of wood. And when we see ground, we think of mining resources. Nature, at present, has already changed to be usable and can be manipulated.  We can say that it became impossible to revive new ethics on the “background” or “measure”.       Doctor Umberto Garinberti pointed out our (men of today or Westerners) standard is no more necessary and useful as far as we correspond to new the background: “the period of technology”.  It was the time when I started to change my interests toward other thoughts than the Western.  If we do not have different nor new eyes adopting new thoughts, present Western culture, which have contributed to the world, would reach  in a deadlock. I thought Japanese and oriental cultures might have made our Western world fresh and given different eyes fundamentally.  Existence of Buddhism, which is a religion and, at the same time, a system which has gigantic system of ideology, seems to me the most prominent. First of all, however, if I cannot make my research through the original text, I would be confined in the Western linguistic family and present ideology.  And I attended a seminar “Religions of East Asia and their Ideology” of University of Turin.I began to wish my study in Japan thinking of access to many historical materials. When we study “holy books”, we have to read materials in the original text. By doing so, we have to overcome “our time”(now) and “ourselves”, both of which are linguistic and cultural identities. In other words, we have to enter into the world being retrospective to the original background of the people and their world view. At the seminar, I chose “Buddhism in Japan” naturally as a student of Japanese language. It was not so easy to read original materials (the Buddhist scriptures and its annotated editions) of Nara period (710-794) and Heian period (794-1185). It is said that original materials of Kamakura period (1185-1333) are easy to read and the Buddhism in Kamakura is said to be most authentically “Japanese”. Among many Buddhist priests, three priests, Shinran, Dogen and Nichiren were prominent. I had a feeling that Jodo Buddhism by Shinran (1173-1263) was acceptable to me because it was close to Christianity in its spiritual foundation. But, because of this, on the contrary, I could not have any interest.About Dogen (1200-1253), I had a feeling of argumentativeness. It was similar to the Western philosophy.  And I know studies about “Zen Buddhism” by Dogen were already popular in overseas.The last priest “Nichiren” was not so popular in overseas. His versatile or multilateral thoughts in his writings were difficult to be brought into a coherent composition.And his ideas were very unique for European. So, I thought I can overcome my European identity which I have succeeded from my cultural environment. Since then, I had an impression that Nichiren have guided me, as an European, to a different world view basically.  I choose to study him freely beyond religious bodies, established by Nichiren as a progenitor and their conventional interpretations. I thought he could offer a lot of new point of view and could affect to the Western world which, I think, has been in a deadlock.  This is my individual approach to “Study of Nichiren”. I hope my approach would become useful for further researches in the same field. SGRA Kawaraban 561 in Japanese (Original) (Researcher in Oriental Culture Research Center, Minobusan University）  Translated by Kazuo KawamuraEnglish checked by Mr. E. D. Giglio