It Was a Beautiful Sunday

　　It was a beautiful, bright autumn day today. It was hard to stay home. My husband and I drove to a lake called Lake of Goddess and walked around it. The mountains are changing their color under the clear blue sky. Yellow and red tree leaves were bright.  We, Japanese people love this season a lot, and many go out to enjoy the beautiful season.

    When I visited Malaysia, a woman said, ”I can’t imagine the color of the mountains turn into red or yellow. Tree leaves are always green here.”

    I autumn, we can also enjoy good food. On our dinner table this evening, there were sweet potatoes from our garden, broccolis from my friend’s garden, and apples from our neighbor’s orchard. Red peppers and garlic were also from my garden. Everything was so good.  

    I may be lucky to live here, even though it’s cold in winter, far from big cities.    

The Government Want to Control Children's Mind

　　We had a small meeting about moral education at school with some young mothers and ex mothers or ex fathers. Elementary and junior high schools of Japan have to give moral classes in every grade and evaluate students’ morality. Do you think it possible?  I am terrified of the nation control our, especially young people’s mind and idea. And it’s very sad that the schools are used for it.

    One more irritating matter I have to write about. The government says they will raise the consumption tax from 8% to 10%. As you know, this kind of tax is the most unfair for the people. When they imposed the 3% tax for the first time, they said they need it for social welfare. But it wasn’t true. The tax had been increased to 5%, then 8%. The gap of income is getting bigger and bigger and one sixth of the children are from poor family.. How can they and we, pensioners like me, bear the 10% tax on everything we buy?      

Are We Guilty for the Aging Society?

　　Japan is one of the countries where people live long, and people living in Nagano area live to an advanced age even in Japan. Why?

    1, Many of the people in this area have some vegetable gardens, and they work outside on their gardens even they get old. Their meals are mainly vegetables from their garden. When women have some meeting, they bring some bowls or dishes they cook. They chat and chat, “how to make it”, “when to seed it”, “ how to preserve it”, and so on. I have many friends over eighty who work hard and join some social activities.

    2, Medical care system has been built successfully in this area. Seventy or sixty years ago people worked so hard without caring health. They seldom went to doctors even when they got sick. Their food was salty and poor. But one doctor worked and built a hospital. He thought medical care should be democratic and taught people and medical staff. His idea spread all over, and now most people take health check before getting sick, partly thanks to the health insurance covering all the people.

    3, Modern medical care and its system save many lives that were difficult to survive some decades ago. Last month one of my friends collapsed when we were together. We called an ambulance and the person called a helicopter with a paramedical. When my son got broken his skull, he could get surgery even at midnight of new year’ s eve, and came back home after a week. We were so thankful. Now he is working as before.

   But on the other hand, Japan is becoming an aging society very rapidly, and health insurance system may become difficult to keep . We, elderly people, are worrying about our future, sometimes feeling guilty to have lived long..

Why the New Governor a Symbol of Okinawa?

　　People of Okinawa have chosen Denny Tamaki as the new governor.  They say he is a kind of symbol of Okinawa. Why?

    Denny’s mother is a woman from Okinawa and his father is an American soldier who had stationed in Okinawa. The soldiers go back home after their service leaving the women and their children. The women can’t make their lives with babies, so the children are raised by other people. Denny was raised by a foster mother. One of the stories we hear in Okinawa very often. A blind tenor singer Tsutomu Aragaki, whose father is also an American soldier, was raised by his grandmother, He hated his father who abandoned him and his mother and had determined to find out and kill him, I read in his book.

    Denny says when he was bullied because of his appearance, his foster mother said, ”The fingers are all different but every finger has its role and value.” I don’t know the detail of his life, but he must have had some hard days. He says “ Let’s make a society that never leave anyone behind.”

    Foreign army troops always cause the same tragedy. Soldiers of the strong countries may think they have rights to do anything to the people of inferior countries they station. Probably the American soldiers think Okinawa and its women are their possessions. Of cause the soldiers go back home leaving the women behind, and marry other women of their countries and make families in their homeland not feeling guilty at all.

    Okinawa has endured such a situation for a long time, without any help from its own government. The government and America is building one more huge army base in Okinawa. The people of Okinawa said,”NO!!!” again. Which has reason?        

Spreading Hate and Intolerance

　　It seems hate and intolerance is covering this world much more. I’m surprised some extreme right leaders are chosen or having much power these days in many of the Western countries, where we have thought as civilized and democratic countries. Whenever I hear Trump’s arrogant words I wonder isn’t it shameful for the American to have such a man as the president. People who support right leaders hate refugees or immigrants, right? I can imagine their uneasiness when many people with different culture intrude into their society.

    But think of this. Why do so many people come to the Western countries as refugees or immigrants? Where do they come from?  They have to run away from danger and poverty.  No people leave their homeland when they are happy and safe there. Why are they in such poverty or danger? Aren’t the Western countries responsible for it? Terrors and wars in Middle-East are caused from the attack to Iraq by the USA and other Western countries originally. Isn’t rich countries sucking wealth from the poor ones? 

    Actually I have no right to blame other countries. Japan accepts few refugees. It’s a shame. And there are people who hate and discriminate Koreans and Chinese openly.   Japan once invaded both countries and the people suffered a lot, but those right wings don’t admit the historical facts. They deny the holocaust the Japanese army did in China or the sex slaves in the army. Those opinions were mainly on the Internet some time ago, but now more people including the LDP members of the Diet think the same. The drift of the society is toward it, and it’s also nationalism. I’m so ashamed and fearful for this trend.