Can We Be Optimist?

In Liverpool, we got two T-shirts that have the phrase "Imagine peace" in many different languages,one for our son and one for a fried of ours who is acting for peace. When I was teaching at junior highs, I often read the phrases with students. "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one"
Is the world getting better?
When I handed a flier about the government and its politics a few days ago, a man said," I agree with the government. China and Korea are making a fool of us, Japan. We can't bear their underestimating us. We have to be strong, and the only way to show it is the military strength." He talked about the nations and the wars like a quarrel among the children. More people look to be thinking like them these days, and the fact scares me.
Another friend of ours who is acting in Okinawa says that he is givig canoe lesson to fight on the sea against the construction of new US military base and he is enjoying it. What an optimism!

How Free Are We?

It's rainy season now in Japan, and I struggle against weeds in my garden everyday. I don't know the reason why, but we have a pandemic of caterpillars this year. Whenever I find them on the leaves, I slaughter them mercilessly. Many of the trees especially azaleas were damaged. Roses are beautiful this year and it makes me happy.

The World Cup of soccer is now held In Brazil. I've heard that there were demonstraitions against it in Brazil evn just before the games. I wonder whether we can have the same kind of actions against Tokyo Olimpic Games. Probably NO. We are not free like them, I feel.

Surveillance Cameras Work, But...

My husband and I went on a tour to the UK last month. We enjoyed the beautiful fields with sheep, old stone houses, and flowers. And at the very last moment there, I was robbed my bag at the airport. The security gard of the airport called the police and soon two officers came along to me. Wow! Famous Scotlandyard!
The officers asked me many questions, made a documentM, and gave me a victim card. The officer's name and e-mal address, the steps how the investigation go, and where to access in emergency were on it. It also said that the police would report the result of the investigation in six days.
My bg was a cheap old one and it had nothing expensive except the electric dictionary. The cash I had in my wallet was only 20 pound. Poor thief! He must have been disappointed. Luckily I had my passport im my hand, and I could come back to Japan. And! To my surprise, I got an e-mail from Scotlandyard that they had arrested the thief after five days.
I have heard that there are surveillce cameras everywhere in the UK. The officers said they would check videos from cameras, and so they could identify the thief, I guess. Even in Japan, we are alwys watched by many eyes of cameras unknown to us. It is a little uncomfortable, isn't it?
Our tour conductor said that the UK is the best friend of the USA, and so they are aware they can be the biggedt target of the terror. Yes, the security check there was very close. After 9.11, the security of the airports in Japan also has changed.
When the USA declares that a person is a terrorist, they even go to another country and attack it. What is left must be just hate. Hate can be a cradle of terror. Endless hate and endless suspicion. It is sad.

Why Are We This Timid? Though It's a Beautiful Season, I Worry

It is a beautiful saeson with fresh green leaves and early summer flowers like irises, azaleas, and peonies. Rice paddies are filled with water and rice seedlings are already planted in some of them. Blue skies and green mountains are reflected on the water. It must be one of the most beautiful landscape of Japan. But many of those rice paddies are disappearing. In the cities or along the roads they are changing into shops, or restaurants, or apartment houses. In the country you can see many abandoned farms. They have no people to keep farming on them. We can't make a living on a small farm now, and sons and daughters of the old farmers leave the farm.

Today's newspaper made a scoop that 90% of the workers of the Tokyo Electric Company left the exploded plant, against the order of the Head of the Fukushima 1, including the member who were responsible to take care of the plant with the accident. The Head told the fact but TEC has hided it. I've heard that the families of the TEC employees were the first to get away, on the other hand huge number of the people were left in the radiation without information.

I heard a talk of a comedian who has kept researching and reporting about the TEC and the accident in Fukushima and the government. She said she was asked in Germany
" Why don't you fight against the government?" " Do you think the posters can stop the nuke?"
Why don't we, Japanese get angry about the wrong? Why can't we fight against the power? Why are we this timid? Why are we this ignorant about suffering neighbors, about democracy? It's a shame.

Oh, again I'm complaining about this and that. We are planning to have a gathering and demonstration to protest the government that intend to change our constitution and join the wars all over the world. Now people are acting all over Japan though each one is not so large.

Why Don't We Stop Fighting?

Holidays called "the golden week" is over now and spring is turning into early summer around here. Spring flowers such as tulips and daffodils are almost gone and fresh green leaves are beautiful now. People enjoy going out and enjoy nature. In the field they are starting farming; plant vegetable seedlings or plowing the rice paddies.

Yesterday we made "miso"-bean past, one of Japanese basic seasoning. We boiled soy beans in a big pot and mushed them. Mixed it with malted rice and salt and packed it in a big barrel. In a year we can enjoy good bean past.
Until some decades ago most families here made bean past and soy sauce themselves, but now many of them stopped to make them by themselves, just go and buy at the supermarkets.
When I was working at school, I was too busy and felt too stressed to think of food for my family. After retirement I joined a women's group and I learned how to make bean past from them. Those women are so wise and know a lot about making food, farming, and sewing. To farm and produce food to eat is the basic skill for living, I feel now. To buy the ready made food from the shelves of the supermarkets knowing nothing seems a fragile way of life, isn't it?

March 3rd was our Constitution Day, so we had many kinds of act to appeal it. We also collected the signatures to ask for the Nobel Peace Prize to the article 9 of our constitution, which declares not to go to war and not to have army and weapons. In fact we have a big army, but we, people have protested to go worse. It's so strange that people have to act to keep the constitution against the government. The government is responsible to keep it.
Many conflicts in many places in the world were reported in the TV news this evening; Ukraine, China and Vietnam,Thailand and so on... Can't we stop fighting?

Obama Made Abe Happy?

It's the most beautiful season in my garden now. All the spring flowers and blossoms are blooming, but not so big weeds yet. Under the cherry tree in the garden we had lunch with friends who visited us today. Our grandsons and their friends tried fishing in the river nearby(but caught none!) and found a snake and played with it!!! We have holidays in this beautiful season and so many people enjoy going out or having picnic. The families that have boys put carp streamers high up on the pole in this season.

The US President Obama visited Japan and talked with the Primeminister Abe. Obama's main purpose must be to put Japan a pressure about the TPP, and the government of Japan probably made some secret deal. At the same time Obama expressed his approval for Abe's politics to change our constitution and join USA's war. It made Abe and his followers so happy and I scare that they are encouraged. Obama said the Asian nations should find a way to get together, not militarily, but Abe seems not to understand it but occupied with war games. TV news and shows made a fuss that they called each other by their first names, or they went to a famous sushi restaurant, and they said the sushi was the best they have ever had, and so on.

I was shocked to read Henmi You, one of the most intellectuals in Japan, I think, about the situation of recent Japan. He describes it as a society of "Ignorance is power" and has anticipation that the time of violence we have never experienced will come He is asking us and himself if we are prepared to fight against the fascism even if we are alone. He thinks now is the crisis of the slight hope left in Japan. He also thinks the war between China and Japan can be happen, because of the stupidness of both countries.

Why Does He Keep Feeding Contaminated Cattle?

The cattles in the contaminated area in Fukushima were abandoned and then the government decided to kill them all. But there are some people who have refused to do so. I listened to a speech of one of those people today.
His name is Yoshizawa and he has been a manager of a ranch in Namie town in Fukushima, which is 14km from the power plant that exploded. Though the area is seriously contaminated, he has stayed at the ranch and kept feeding the cattle. Of course the cattle have no value for sale.
He is angry with the government and the Tokyo Electric Co. that destroyed everything of the area but have evading the responsibility of the fact. And, he is also angry with Tokyo, which has used the electricity from Fukushima and enjoyed the prosperity, forgetting the fact in Fukushima. So he goes to the government and the TEC to make protests. He also goes to many places to tell the people his story. He makes speeches in Shibuya in Tokyo, that is one of the most crowded place in Japam.
He said, "Let's speak loud and clear, not just complain." He named his ranch "Kibo no Bokujo Fukushima",it means" Ranch of Hope Fukushima" . His speech encouraged me though he is suffering and in the desperate situation himself.