198 The Japanese Spirit of Harmony

“The Japanese Spirit of Harmony”

Japanese should be proud that they were born in Japan.
Look far and wide, and you will find no country like it.
A history 2,678 years long, at its heart the nation’s emperor.

An economic superpower, a technology superpower,
A cultural superpower.
Save military might, Japan is a superpower in every way.
The country’s slow uptake in military matters lies in Article 9 of the constitution—
The very constitution which, at the end of World War II, was thrust on Japan by the Allied Forces,
And which, strangely, has never been amended.

Even as a neighboring nation takes over new land with wild abandon,
Japan’s politicians and media dismiss its actions.
They have sold the country’s soul to this “friend,”
Who perhaps holds malice toward Japan.
In any case, he is an enemy of true Japanese people.

Japan’s “spirit of harmony” does not mean we won’t fight.
It means we will protect this nation, fight for this nation.
Japanese face the outside threat, together as one.

America is undergoing big change.
Japan has entered a stage where it, too, must change.
Security is surely a critical concern.

A stronger Japan means a calmer world.
For the world to reap the benefits of prosperity and growth that come,
Essential is the Japanese sense of values embodied in its “spirit of harmony.”