Fuji-san

On Wednesday I had host city orientation. I was told to go to the Moonlight room on the 43rd floor of the Main Tower of the hotel building. As soon as I walked into the room I was pleasantly surprised. The room had windows on two sides and the view was amazing. It was a clear day and I could see Mount Fuji in the distance, although half of the mountain was blocked by the Tokyo Municipal Government building across the street. The result, however, was something very interesting to look at; it demonstrated the contrast that exists here in Tokyo of the old and natural compared with the very modern. It is interesting that, as fast paced as this city is, they still seem to show a great deal of interest in a clear day when the mountain is visible.

In addition, we learned during one of our sessions yesterday that the government of Japan is encouraging schools to teacher students to be more nationalistic and proud of their country. The member of the House of Representatives, Yuji Tsushima (who has served in the Diet for over 30 years), was asked how teachers are instructed to teacher nationalism. In response, he explained that teachers should ask their students the following questions:
Do you see Fuji-san?
Do you love Fuji-san?
Don’t you think that it is wonderful that Japan has Fuji-san?
Do you think that you should love Japan as much as you love Fuji-san?

Personally, I think that Fuji-san is simply wonderful and I can see why Representative Tsushima thought that it might be enough to inspire the type of nationalism they are trying to encourage.