From Isolation to a Sense of Community

I am convinced that the recent disaster has brought about a real shift in the mentality of the Japanese people. Before March 11, it was hard to avoid the impression that the Japanese were retiring and inward-looking. People tended to think in terms of building more fulfilling lives for themselves rather than considering the impact of their actions on society as a whole. The influence of the Internet and mobile phones may have exacerbated this tendency.

I think at some level everyone sensed that things could not be allowed to go on like this, and that we needed to rebuild a society in which people were more connected to one another. I’m sure this sense of crisis was shared by people in rural areas as well as the big cities. But no one seemed capable of applying the brakes and slowing the apparently inexorable slide toward a society that put individual values ahead of everything else.

The recent disaster has changed this. A movement to build new connections between people is gaining momentum, especially among the younger generation. The vectors that previously pointed inward have started to turn toward the outside world and society at large. Terms like danketsu (solidarity) and kessoku (cohesiveness), which had been fading from use, have begun to sound fresh again, and the word kizuna (bonds) is back in vogue.

The Need for Strong Leadership

What we need at this moment of renewed solidarity is leadership. Strong leadership is essential in order to bind these various efforts together and bring synergy to this new sense of community. Working without a shared sense of purpose is not just inefficient—it also increases the risk that we will lose our sense of direction. Political leadership is indispensable if we are to move smoothly and purposefully toward the goal of reconstruction. But the current administration, having come to power only recently after toppling the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party, has little experience in government and cannot be expected to provide the necessary levels of leadership.

In order to overcome this situation, I believe we need to establish a new system of integrated leadership, overcoming differences of party and faction and working together on the process of reconstruction. We need to look past the small differences that divide us and concentrate instead on the bigger things we have in common. If we succeed in pooling our strengths and moving together toward our common goal, a new type of politician may emerge. In a sense, the present moment represents an opportunity for a new generation of young politicians, free from the constraints of the past. This could lead to a dramatic shift in course from the path that Japanese politics has followed in the past.

A Sense of Connection to the Outside World

This sense of solidarity is not limited to the domestic sphere. A similar new feeling of community can be sensed in Japan’s international relations. Calls for people to come to Japan’s aid have been heard around the world, opening the eyes of many people in Japan to the close connections between this country and the rest of the world. Aid has come from around the globe, including from countries like Bangladesh, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines that have been the target of Japan’s development assistance; it is almost as if these countries are showing their gratitude for the help they have received from Japan. There used to be a widespread feeling in Japan that the country was somehow cut off from the rest of the world, and many people suspected that the Japanese were resented or disliked around the world. For such people, seeing the generous support and assistance that has come from around the world in the wake of this disaster must have been a moving experience indeed.

When the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake hit the Kobe area in 1995, Japan was slow to accept offers of assistance from overseas for a variety of reasons. Quarantine regulations caused delays in admitting a Swiss team of search and rescue dogs into the country, for example. This time, things were different. It is this difference that has enabled people to gain a real understanding of Japan’s position as a member of the international community. I have no doubt that this shift in thinking will have a significant impact on Japanese diplomacy and international exchanges in the years to come.

(Originally written in Japanese based on an April 26, 2011 interview.)