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| Buddhism in Action |
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| "Face-to-Face" |
| By Koji Okumura, Japan |
In February 2006, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda and Chinese
ambassador to Japan, Wang Yi, met and discussed
strengthening friendship between Japan and China. As one way
to achieve this, they emphasized the need to expand cultural
and educational youth exchanges, and President Ikeda
proposed that a large Soka Gakkai youth group again visit
China.
At the time of the meeting, the Sino-Japanese relationship
could only be described as chilled. Although our countries
share a long history, our relationship has been
characterized more recently by old tensions dating from the
time of the Second World War. These tensions, exacerbated by
Japanese politicians' apparent insensitivity, were brought
into sharp relief by a series of large anti-Japanese
demonstrations in China during 2005.
For me and many people in Japan concerned about the
relationship between the two countries, this was a
frustrating state of affairs. So, when I heard about
President Ikeda's proposal for the youth exchange, I
immediately knew that I wanted to participate.
I'd never been to China before, but as I boarded the plane,
I felt that our large-scale exchange group of 200 people
could really help change the current in the Sino-Japanese
relationship. I felt a strong determination that these 200
participants would be able to spread a correct understanding
of China to a larger audience in the future.
On landing in China, I felt a great sense of excitement but
also trepidation. Recent political events make obvious the
great deal of misunderstanding between us. I, in fact, had
never really interacted with Chinese people and must admit
to a poor understanding of China.
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| Tragedy of Mistrust |
Without close contact, one naturally forms impressions of
others that are based only on supposition and colored to
some extent by whatever negativity exists in the general
atmosphere. It's only when one meets face-to-face with
others that we can see each other for who we actually are.
This I feel describes the tragedy of mistrust on both sides
of the relationship.
I was struck by these thoughts, for example, during the
course of the trip when we visited a war museum in Beijing.
Shocking scenes of unbridled carnage conducted by the
Japanese military were displayed. There were a large number
of very young Chinese school students viewing the exhibits.
The members of our group all felt a deep sense of sorrow at
this tragic history. The children were also very moved, and
some of them were crying. But when a member of our
delegation offered her handkerchief to one of the crying
children, she refused it, saying she didn't want a
handkerchief from a Japanese person.
Fortunately, this kind of reaction was not characteristic of
our trip. At any time when we actually sat down with people
and began to talk with them, any such mistrust quickly
evaporated. There was a feeling that, although there have
been tragic events in the past, we are after all neighbors
with thousands of years of shared history. I realized that
through dialogue, there is no obstacle to understanding each
other.
At a meeting with students at Peking University, for
example, the atmosphere was initially very tense. As soon as
the discussion started, the students confronted us with the
apparently anti-Chinese actions of Japanese politicians. As
we spoke to each other, though, feelings softened and
lightened, and, in the end, youths from both sides departed
with a strong determination to help build Japan-China
friendship.
Above all, just being among Chinese people, in their
environment--standing in the massive expanse of Tiananmen
Square; eating mutton kebabs at a local food stall each
night; watching the rivers of bicycles flow down the streets
each day and feeling the abundant energy of the Chinese
people--these simple sights and impressions have given me
the precious sense of closeness to the lives of ordinary
Chinese people.
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[ Courtesy January 2007 SGI Quarterly ] |
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