2020/8/7
The following is a continuation of the previous chapter.
A national disaster is coming.
Sasaki: The spread of the epidemic is truly a national crisis for Japan. Suppose you read the record of a lecture given by Shinpei Goto (1857-1929) to the students of Tohoku Imperial University in 1924, titled "The Coming of the National Disaster" (Fujiwara Shoten). In that case, the situation is the same as it is today.
Iwata: Speaking of Shinpei Goto, he served to modernize Taiwan, was the first president of the Manchukuo National Railway, and was the mayor of Tokyo.
Sasaki: After the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, Japan faced a major crisis, especially in Tokyo. At that time, Goto said the following.
'A steady stream of foreign invaders, wearing the mask of peace, hiding behind the institutional dress code, taking advantage of the weaknesses of human nature、the internal malaise that gradually undermines the people's flesh and blood is not prepared for, because people do not notice it.'
'Or perhaps you are aware of it, but you don't dare to face up to that reality, which in turn mocks your mind, and you get drunk on the easy pleasures of makeshift and finally plunge the nation and its people into the depths of ruin.'
So, what is suitable to be feared, then, are the following words.
'A national nervous breakdown in which people are unaware of a national crisis as a national crisis and randomly sing about their selfish behavior is the most frightening national crisis of all.'
Iwata: That is a perfect statement.
Sasaki: The reason why people have a nervous breakdown is that they are blinded by immediate profit.
Chinese with whom the Japanese do business and have an upbeat personality are universalized and convince people that China is significant.
That is the reason for the nervous breakdown and the blindness of the national crisis.
Iwata: Unfortunately, the Japanese belief in the innate goodness of man in international relations is wrong; it is dangerous.
Despite this crisis, some people in the Japanese media are making some false statements.
Asahi's editorial board member Chihiro Kotaki said, "It swept the world in a flash, and the president of a superpower shuddered in fear when it wasn't a war. The new coronavirus may be quite a delightful entity in some ways," she tweeted (March 13 / as originally written), prompting an outpouring of condemnation.
This is the true identity of the Asahi Shimbun, isn't it?
It must be said that this is far removed from the sensibilities of the average person.
Sasaki: This is a tendency seen in people who call themselves liberals. They hate the society to which they belong and laugh at its misfortune.
Iwata: As expected, the Asahi Shimbun also wrote an apology. The left has completely eroded the world of academia. For example, a friend attended a meeting and said, 'My country.' Then people asked him, 'What do you mean, 'my country' is right-wing?' He was accused of around. They mean to use the word "this country.
Sasaki: I wonder if Natsume Soseki, who had the word "I am the cat," is also a right-winger. Goto said, "I believe that what will save this country's woes is more than a hundred studies and a thousand experiences, but one innocence. It's a message to young people but still rings true today. With the unity that Japanese people are so good at, we will get through this national crisis by working together in government, government, and the private sector.
