There are pacifists in the world who refuse to accept the need for military force, no matter how logically they are explained.
I find their complaints extremely annoying. But I can’t help but stand up to them.
The other day, something like this happened.
After the New Year, I gave a lecture to fifth and sixth graders at Tomisehigashi Elementary School.
The message I gave was, “Try going abroad at least once. It’ll be an experience that will lead to new discoveries.”
I ended up adding something other than kendo:
I thought Japan was such a great country.
I didn’t think Japan was the best country because Japan caused trouble in Asia during the war. Of course, I had heard from people who had traveled abroad that Japan was respected.
However, in Malaysia, I heard a middle-aged man say, “I respect Japan. That’s because they fought even though they knew they would lose.”
It was the first time I’d heard something like this, and it changed my perspective a little.
After hearing my story, a parent of one of the children reportedly contacted JICA Tokyo with a complaint.
“Is the school teaching something that mocks China and glorifies war? Shouldn’t they be educating their children from a more neutral standpoint?”
Shibuya, the section chief at JICA Tokyo, responded, “Since this is a matter for JICA Chiba, I don’t know anything about it. However, I understand that you are right to be angry, and I will explain it to them,” and somehow managed to settle the matter amicably.
I heard the complaint later.
I asked the parents to let me explain, but neither the elementary school teacher nor my colleagues at JICA Chiba agreed.
I think everyone decided that it was a waste of time.
However, there are signs that the next generation is doing well, and I feel relieved.
During the recent election, Takaichi said, “If there is no will to protect Japan, no one will come to help.” If you think about it logically, it seems like a natural thing to do, but for these people, it seems like they’re thinking, “This opens the way to war.” The election results show that there are fewer absolute pacifists. I think that’s really good.
In 2021, Saya Hirose, a second-year junior high school student who had been bullied in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, froze to death.
The mayor responded, “The perpetrator has a life to live, too.” The school principal said, “There was no bullying.” The vice principal asked, “Which is more important: one person’s future or the futures of 10 others?” The homeroom teacher replied, “I have a date with my boyfriend, so can you do it next time?”
In response, my friend lamented, “It’s heartbreaking to think about the feelings of the victim’s mother, who had to fight alone against the mayor and even the homeroom teacher who would say such things.” He said, “If that happened to my daughter, I would punch the mayor, principal, and teachers.”
The current solution is to leave it to the school or teachers.
This is because many people believe that bullying should be the school’s responsibility. Teachers find it difficult to resolve the issue, so they transfer bullied students to other schools. Many parents say that in cases like this, they respond by not letting their child go to school.
I think there is another solution. I think it would be better to focus on developing children’s coping skills.
For example, I think a good idea would be to teach children how to fight using karate.
That way, even if they lose and get hurt, I don’t think their life is lost.
This is another way to solve the problem of bullying.