Genuine Patriotism and Japan’s Future.

This week, I enjoyed a luncheon in Tokio with one of my best friends from Italy. They are a married couple, while the wife has been an old friend of my own wife. They got to know each other during intensively studying German language in Berlin. Later, the wife, who’s a tough Japanese business woman with splendid language skills, met an intellectual guy from a northern part of Italy and got married. Beyond borders, our wives have been succeeding to maintain their friendship, which sometimes makes us get together with this “Italiano-Japanese” couple in Tokio. Every time I meet the man, who’s professionally translates prominent books in English to Italian, I’m deeply struck by his way of genuine European thinking and sound intelligence of continental and traditional citizen. Even though the Anglo-American financial capitalism has been making the European society terribly confused as it is the case for the rest of the world, he always stick to something genuine European, which the Europeans traditionally inherit. According his words, it’s “nation” that matters in the continental Europe. In spite of practical nature of European integration, Europe is divided in a series of nations, and each one of nations maintains its own language and tradition, he says. This is exactly what the American people don’ t have, and they pretend as if there weren’t such a kind of “nation”. Instead of that, they love to make everything mess thanks to both financial and political powers. “Do you know, that’s why Putin is popular in Europe right now”, my Italian friend says. Putin, Russian “authoritarian” President, keeps, of course, his great interest to get involved in world affairs and intervenes into other countries issues such as ones in Syria. However, he’s doing this only based on his firm recognition as a president of Russian nation. He refers to neither “globalism” nor “universalism” and always gets back to his own nation’s interest. As a realistic strategist, Putin spontaneously understands what’s hidden behind these flowery words: We’re forced to go beyond borders and integrate ourselves because of the very interest of those who can traditionally make the most profit of these “global “ trends. The answer is quite obvious. The Jewish people, who have lost their own nation in the traditional meaning for long time. Let’s forget the state of “Israel”, which is just an artificial country. “I recommend you, don’t let so many foreigners into the Japanese borders. Of course, they’re welcome as long as they’re just tourists. But the thing is totally different when they try to settle down in Japan. They never adapt themselves fully to both Japanese traditions and customs I really love. Look at Europe, where the society has become totally mess due to so-called “Syrian refugees”, who actually aren’t “refugees”. Keep Japan only to your nation, Japanese nation.” Spontaneously, I agreed with him. The history clearly shows Japan succeeds to flourish whenever she seeks her “open and closing” strategy vis-à-vis outsiders. That means, everything positive and meaningful is always welcome, while nothing harmful to the nations may not be accepted. Well, this is the genuine patriotism we should immediately recall right now. And in this regard, we Japanese unite ourselves with European friends, who are also “patriots” and keeps their tradition of “humanism”. The Italian sound and prosperous citizens, or “Buergertum” in German language, are a part of these friends, with whom we Japanese should expand friendship. All through the luncheon with my best friends from Italy, I reassured myself with this belief.