I recently returned from a truly delightful trip to Japan, where I couldn't help making a few observations. I was fortunate enough to be invited to give a couple of talks at a meeting on brain tumor surgery, which allowed me to bring my wife, Andrea along for a combined business trip and vacation to Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kyoto. While there, we enjoyed some amazing hospitality from Drs. Fujii, Oka, and Kawamoto! Of course, the Japanese have long been known as incredibly gracious and generous hosts, a reputation which is clearly well earned. Nonetheless, this was not the single feature that struck me most during our visit. Instead, it was the remarkable altruism that seemed so pervasive.
Six months after a devastating earthquake and tsunami, Japan was still struggling to recover, including energy shortages due to the loss of individually damaged nuclear reactors, as well as ongoing maintenance of remaining reactors. As part of the initiative to conserve however, all office workers (mostly fully dressed in suits and ties) agreed to keep their air conditioning units set no lower than 28o C (82.4o F) despite the oppressive heat of summer. Additionally, window shades were drawn down during daylight hours and auto workers agreed to work on Saturdays and Sundays instead of their normal times on Thursdays and Fridays, otherwise considered times of peak energy use. In Japan, everyone readily accepts these personal sacrifices acknowledging it as a small price to pay for the good of the country and its people as a whole. Nobody complains or questions why they have to be inconvenienced. Even in normal times, I've been struck by the fact that everything is so clean, there's no graffiti on public buildings, and it feels perfectly safe to walk virtually anywhere as signs of crime seem to be lacking entirely. When I visited two years earlier, I strayed into a department store to find a gift for my daughter. Although nobody spoke a word of English (and needless to say, I couldn't speak Japanese), the sales staff couldn't have been friendlier or more helpful. With enough gesturing, it appears that you can communicate almost anything!
During this current trip, as Andrea and I enjoyed the bullet trains, we noticed many new windmills decorating the country landscape, presumably reflecting efforts to expand green energy. Is it possible that the Japanese have really achieved such a utopian society, where everyone consistently puts the needs of others above their own? I have no illusions that Japan is a perfect country and they're clearly dealing with more than their share of serious problems currently. Nevertheless, I can't help wonder how much the rest of us could achieve if everyone adopted the level of maturity and esprit de corps of the Japanese people! Perhaps if we could inject a small dose of Japanese ideology into our own societies, we'd be one step closer to our own utopia. This sounds like a good goal for Brain Pathology as well. I'll try to do my part.
Arie Perry, MD