The recent earthquake in Japan and the subsequent nuclear radiation fallout brought the attention of the world to Japan. There are doubts in the world community whether Japan will recover from this disaster. Economists fear whether this disaster will further drag Japan’s slow-paced recovery from the economic meltdown in 1990.
While I understand the world’s concerns, I would like them to understand what Japan is and what Japanese people are capable of. If there is one nation in the globe, which can take insurmountable tragedies like it happened recently and then recover, it is Japan. This is one country which I admire a lot. I admire their people, their culture, their respect for tradition, their concern for the environment, etc. There is no other country in the world that had suffered as much as Japan during World War II. They were bombarded with 2 nuclear bombs in subsequent days and were threatened to attack again with a third nuke (in Tokyo) until they conceded.
Japan’s response to this humiliating defeat was its recovery. They stood together as a nation. Their people worked harder than everyone else and within 50 years, they surpassed the economies of all other nations in the world. Western countries saw their electronic products and cars struggling to compete against Japanese makes. Japan taught the world about quality, productivity, and process. What else, one nation can boast about?
Japanese people are the biggest donors in the world. In Trivandrum, where I grew up, the Japanese aided drinking water project helped tens of thousands of people living in newly developed urban areas.
My fascination with this little nation started as early as my childhood. I grew up hearing about Japanese success stories. Stories like workers of a company once demonstrated their discontent by overproducing their products; workers protesting by producing shoes for just one leg; scheduling the paint job in high seas and thereby utilizing 2 weeks of transit time to North America etc. In short, Japanese people found a way to be innovative and productive even while they are protesting. In my school, we had a teacher nick-named as “Japan Gandhi”, thanks to his punctuality and innovative ways of teaching.
I was fascinated to read about the Ninja fighters, kamikazes, the sumo wrestlers. I truly believe they are the descendants of Sun God as they claim. I am confident that they will recover from recent tragedies and become a stronger nation. I am certain that they will learn from their mistakes and make better nuclear plants that the entire world can use. May God bless this nation and its gifted people.
NS: Make your weakness as your strength – A Japanese Short Story
There was a 10-year-old boy, whose left arm was damaged in an accident and was subsequently amputated. Unable to endure bullying at his school, his father introduced him to a Judo master. The Judo master quickly taught him a move and told him that this was all he would need.
There was a 10-year-old boy, whose left arm was damaged in an accident and was subsequently amputated. Unable to endure bullying at his school, his father introduced him to a Judo master. The Judo master quickly taught him a move and told him that this was all he would need.
The next day at his school, he confronted one of the bullies and pinned him down. Soon after, the boy entered a tournament, where he quickly advanced to the finals, where his opponent was bigger and more experienced. The boy seemed very outmatched. After a long match, the opponent seemed to lose concentration. Quickly the boy took advantage and pinned what seemed to be his superior opponent.
On the ride home, the boy asked his Master.
"How could I win with only one move?"
The Master replied, "You have nearly mastered one of the most difficult moves in all of judo. And, the only defense against that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."
