In Japan, when cherry blossoms bloom, it’s about time to greet the New Year with a fresh start. After living such a life for many years, the body’s cycle asks for it and strangely I am driven to want to see cherry blossoms even when I am away from Japan.
Four years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, every time I see the reconstruction and the ravages which are not yet healed in a special feature on TV, the thought of praying is compelling. Me, who can do nothing, shall at least try hard now, and let my feelings mix with the special program about the reconstruction and cherry blossoms. I cannot help praying, not only for everybody heals their heart as soon as possible, but also to be able to see cherry blossoms with are refreshing feeling of hope and expectation.

By the way, I tried to unravel the origin of the name; why it is called “Sakura”. [Sa] represents God, that God came down from the mountain to sit, and [Kura] is the name of a tree. I heard it’s named after the wind called Sakura. In addition, when I try to explore whether the reason we cherish the season is that there are merely four seasons. I found that habit goes back to the Heian Period. In classic Japanese poems, it was used as a meaningful word with a deep sense of the four seasons. A concept of a “season” was utilized for a haiku in the Edo Period, and the name of the food also started to be corporate as a word for the season. There is also a legend that can live long for 75 days by receiving the first ones. Because the powerful life force of the season is also valued highly by the body, there are a lot of opinions that became sensitive to a seasonal visit.

There was an article that introduces the wonders of the Japanese with such a delicate feeling. It’s a story of a driver of a sightseeing tour bus from China, who welcomes passengers by loading luggage onto the bus quickly without keeping them waiting. If there is a thing left behind in a suitcase, he takes down almost all of the luggage and hands it to the passenger with a smile in apology for having kept them waiting. When you try to return to the bus to pick up the luggage, the driver who took a rest in the shade of a tree runs in a mad dash to open the door. Under the scorching sun, even though he can also rest on the bus by switching on the air conditioner, he thought it wasteful to use gasoline for one person. And also to watch the movement of the passengers while wiping sweat in the shade. That a Japanese with such professionalism and consideration has been doing the day’s work routinely
is commonplace. It is something you do not know when you are in the country, but when away from Japan, you will know the goodness of the Japanese again when you see such an article. 
I think that the splendid feelings such as the richness, tenderness, and compassion of the heart that the Japanese have, are light and decent as cherry blossoms and can soften other people’s hearts. Every day I feel frustrated that I cannot tell such goodness of my own country to Cambodian people. If you look at people who are tied together only by wages without exchanging such hearts with them, someday they will lose their whereabouts! While thinking about that, I am reflecting on the inadequacy of myself that cannot help but only sigh.

To those Japanophile Cambodians who like Lexus, love grilled meat, and want to imitate Japanese people, we must teach them the technique to make something as well as the feeling to achieve it and the sense of accomplishment. If not, after all the technique would be just a tool for them to make. If we want to be respected that the technology is superior or want to be recognized as a companion, a considerable effort is also necessary from the Japanese side. Investment fraud in Cambodia and “Illegal Corporation” which does not meet the conditions of corporate registration, etc. are simply intolerable. Unless we take the means to eliminate without turning a blind eye, we cannot be respected by many Cambodian people.

Now as the beginning of the ASEAN integration, various things will start moving across the border. Neighboring country Thailand will begin construction this autumn with the aim of opening a high-speed rail, and in Hanoi also a major Japanese logistics company plans to branch out. The Japanese government also explores the possibility of Indochina logistics, testing the condition of time, immigration, and products in each country longitudinal, and the cross-border of the Indochina countries continues to accelerate. When the environment and the way of thinking of people come in the same way, it is inevitable that the word “this country” is not understood until now anymore. We must take initiative to be a bridge of mutual understanding and environment.

Cambodia will take a big step so that this year can be exactly a new year for not only their own country but also the ASEAN countries. Therefore we who do the job can feel softened by watching children of the new entrance to the opened Japanese school and will be sensible of the seasons from their growth. These children will use English naturally, and we are looking forward to the global working times such as today in Phnom Penh and tomorrow in Europe.