Recently, we may be occupied with many matters, such as job hunting, nursery hunting, actively looking for a life partner, and actively trying for a baby or preparation for the end of life. And we could not care about our surroundings.<\/p>\n
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One day, when I brought my one-year-old son to the nursery school, I saw a public servant making a speech in front of the station. \u00a0\u00a0During the two or three minutes it took me to exit the gate, wait for traffic lights and cross the street, this politician was just talking about weather on and on.\u00a0 My son was eagerly listening to his speech .<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son!\u00a0 It is just about weather. Not about your future.\u201d<\/p>\n
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I went to a coffee shop after the nursery school.\u00a0 When I opened a book entitled \u201cThe True Story of Ah Q\u201d written by Lu Xun, an old lady, next to me, spoke to me.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhat are you doing?\u00a0 Studying? \u00a0I am proud of you. We have to study hard in this day and age. My daughter, forty years old and living in Tokyo, told me that, as I can\u2019t speak English, I was not promoted. \u00a0The other day, she went to a hospital for a treatment of the pain of her finger.\u00a0 And a doctor gave her medicine though he could not diagnose a reason for her pain.\u00a0 She went home and fell down unconsciously.\u00a0 Strange isn’t it ?\u00a0 I advised her to go to a big hospital. But my daughter told me she had no time to go to a big hospital because she was so busy with work.\u00a0 The other day, she smelled something burning when she was warming herself in a \u201ckotatsu<\/em>\u201d(Japanese foot warmer with a quilt over it) and I advised her to buy new one. \u00a0I am afraid there is no \u201chome-center<\/em> (DIY store)\u201d near her house. \u00a0I do not go to her house though I worry about her. I do not like to disturb her life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Are you married? Ah, you have a child. How about your parents? Ah, you came from China! I do not have any prejudice. I remember there were several Chinese kids in the place where I have been working. Everybody was a good boy or good girl! \u00a0China seems very tough now. I have heard of \u201catariya<\/em>\u201d(an automobile accident faker). \u00a0I think it is sad that a person would purposely hit a car. Your national leader shall do something. Am I wrong?\u00a0 In Japan, there are no such pitiful things.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I wanted to say something, but I couldn\u2019t. \u00a0I made just an insincere smile. What the old lady said was correct. Lu Xun wrote, in a preface of \u201cThe True Story of Ah Q\u201d in Russian language, as follows. \u00a0Due to the high barriers among human beings, we are forced to be unable to feel not only physical pains of the others but also mental pains.\u00a0 After publishing, he said \u201cthere were some who thought my novel be morbid, some thought to be comical and some thought to be satirical.\u00a0 Even myself, I doubted I have had \u201can awful ice block\u201d in my mind.\u201d \u00a0Lu Xun did not write toward a soul of the silent people just for a satire nor sardonic smile, who \u201clive silently, become drooped and dying\u201d even though he has been stubborn and obstinate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A crazy man who slams against a car which is not moving, and an old woman who told a lie to receive compensation money, which made an innocent young boy commit suicide.\u00a0 Both of them are souls of the people in the present China. I do not feel at all any sympathy for it and I regret the decadence of our country. I was looking for any apologetic words for our country in my mind , and not thinking about any responsibility of leaders of our country. \u00a0Like Lu Xun, I am afraid I had an awful ice block in my mind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dear old lady, don\u2019 t you think your national leader should do something?\u00a0 Your daughter was faint in the \u201ckotatsu<\/em>\u201d having been kept working busily and had no time to go hospital. \u00a0Any people in every country, who has been enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable, are now cannot afford to consider the physical and mental pains of others beyond the high barrier \u201ca nation state\u201d, even though such pains of the others are the \u00a0reflection of our own pains. Once they feel a sensation, they would be excited regardless of the color, red or green. Would there be a situation as critical as this reality?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I entered a \u201cMatsuya<\/em>\u201d restaurant (very popular for bowl of rice with toppings). A lady waiting staff of South Asian ancestry, who has big eyes like a movie star of Indian cinema, served me a cup of water. One boy explained to her that he made a mistake for buying a ticket. But, she could not understand what he said and went to kitchen. After five minutes, a gray haired guy appeared from kitchen and listened to boy\u2019s saying and returned to kitchen again. After five minutes again, he handed a small change to a boy asking him to buy a ticket. Oh, by the way, at \u201cHidakaya<\/em>\u201d(popular ramen<\/em> restaurant) recently, I scarcely see a waiting staff from Japan or China. Most of the cooks who handle a Chinese frying pan are Southeast Asian. Here in \u201cHidakaya<\/em>\u201d, nationality, race, distinction of sex and age has no relation at all and it is the world of low-paying workers for low-income consumers. In labor and consumer markets in this era of globalization, stupid fantasy where Japanese eat poisoned dumplings cooked by Chinese, or Chinese boycott any products made by Japanese., simply does not make sense. If I am a producer of a TV program, I like to ask people to speak through microphone like \u201cHey you!\u00a0 What brought you to Japan ?\u201d \u201cWhat is the reason why you kept living in Japan ?\u201d \u201cWhy do you keep working in Japan, not enjoying your comfortable life after retirement?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When I ate up \u201cKimchi<\/em> stew\u201d which a lady waiting staff with big eyes has prepared for me, the boy was still kept waiting patiently sipping a cup of tea.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After \u201cMatsuya<\/em>\u201d, I dropped by a convenient store where a young man named \u201cRyu\u201d on his name card was displaying goods. \u00a0His hourly wage is 820 yen (one yen higher than 819 yen\uff1athe minimum legal wage) . If you go to \u201cSESAMI-TEI<\/em>\u201d (ramen shop in front of \u201cAkamon<\/em>\u201d of The University of Tokyo\u201d, a bowl of \u201cramen<\/em>\u201d would cost you 800 yen (before Tax) . It means that he cannot afford a bowl of ramen, full of sesame, even if he works hard unloading goods, operating cash register and tending customers. Tax which this young man has paid would be used for the deployment of Osprey in Okinawa which Okinawa people are opposing or used for handling the Nuclear Power Plant Accident in Fukushima by Tokyo Electric Power Company, regardless of uneasiness by inhabitants in Fukushima. \u00a01.600 billion yen for the Tokyo Olympic Games is out of understanding of the people who walk the distance of one station to save 160yen. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n I like Miss Christel Takigawa to appeal again to the public \u201cO-Mo-Te-Na-Si\u201d(traditional Japanese way of hospitality) or \u201cMo-tta-i-nai\u201d(unnecessary use of money, time, ability etc.).\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A chilling north wind at the end of the year pierced to my bones. It looks like rain tonight. Does the Congressman speak about weather again to the public next morning at the station square?\u00a0 I like him to say one word \u201cOur leaders in this country ! No, leaders in this world ! \u00a0Don\u2019t you think you have to do something?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n