Dear Friends,



A friend abroad has sent me the following message.

“The Corona Virus pandemic is a message to humankind to change course while there is time.”

Bill Gates is reported to have pointed out that “the coronavirus is not a great disaster, but a great corrector”

I fully agree with them. We are faced with the crisis, not of the economy nor of the finance, but of the civilization.

The Corona Virus seems to have started the changing course of the world in accordance with the law of history that does not allow immorality to last indefinitely. A change has begun in favor of the good, although the cost is unimaginable.

The shift of top priority from economy to life. This is the very lesson, already forgotten, of the Fukushima nuclear accident.

The dawning shift of civilization from the current paternal civilization based on power and domination to a maternal civilization based on ethics and solidarity. This change will benefit the weak and the poor. Women are expected to increase and strengthen their role.

As regards, the Tokyo Olympic Games, postponed for a year or so, we cannot and should not totally ignore the existing Fukushima radioactive dangers. It is immoral and irresponsible.

We should not forget the present and actual dangers in Fukushima. Natural disasters could at any moment make them take shape, and thus once again stand in the way of the Olympics.



With warmest regards,

Mitsuhei Murata

Former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland



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