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Rock Paper Scissors: The Deadly Vocabulary of Fighting

Read in Japanese (日本語 )

By Akio Matsumura

In childhood we played the game Rock-Paper-Scissors.  Rock wins over Scissors, Paper wins over Rock, and Scissors wins over Paper. There is no single absolute power among three partners. The outcome always depends on the opponent’s tactic.

This game also plays out in democratic governance. Government executives have power over their people because they execute the law.  The legislative body has the power over the government executives because they produce the law and appropriate the budget.  And people have power over the legislature because they elect them.

Now let’s put it an individual perspective, specifically my personal case.

One disadvantage I have is that I speak poor English, and zero Spanish, French, (or  Chinese or Hindi, whose speakers total 37 percent of the world’s population). I do have the advantage, however, of meeting so many eminent people in the hundred countries I have visited.  Not speaking all of these languages has come in handy: I have a keen eye for understanding intentions and unspoken expressions.   It has helped me grasp the total picture rather than become weighed down on an analytical level.  I read a situation as if it were poetry, not prose.  However, when I debate the difficult issues with my country men in Japanese, each word, each paragraph and the precise meaning of expressions interrupt me from understanding the true intention of my opponents.  I find myself missing the total picture of our debate.  We must have both perspectives to balance our overall viewpoint; for without the trees, we wouldn’t have the woods! … Continue reading

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36 Million Miles before 5,000 Feet

Read in Japanese.
By Akio Matsumura
Less than two weeks ago, on May 16, I wrote “Plunging a Hole into the Ship’s Bottom,” to share my despair for the environmental and economic disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.  Last month, scientists estimated that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was releasing 210,000 gallons of crude oil daily.  I predicted drastic, terrible outcomes for the area, and I was convinced I was not wrong.

Now I know I did not worry enough.  The Flow Rate Technical Group now estimates that the gusher — 5,000 feet (1,500 m) underwater — is flowing at 1,500,000 to 2,500,000 gallons of oil per day.  Every day we see heartbreaking images of birds, turtles, and 400 other species suffering amid the crude muck.  Every day we see that the delicate wetlands are perishing.  And hurricane season has not even arrived.

And every day we see the BP engineers continue to fail in their attempts to stop the flow.  Every day we notice that the US government has its hands tied even more.  This is the most watched news since the first man walked on the Moon in 1969.  I remember watching then with such excitement—the capacity of our technology was unlimited.  We all joined in watching America succeed at our common dream.

The challenges of space technology still continue to push society on, generation to generation.  Forget the internet—this is the Facebook generation.  We even plan to put a person on Mars within a decade. … Continue reading

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Plunging a Hole into the Ship’s Bottom

Read in Japanese.

by Akio Matsumura

The disaster from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, is still vivid in our memory.

In the city of New Orleans, the storm surge caused more than 50 breaches in drainage canal levees and precipitated the worst engineering disaster in the history of the United States. 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded.

People around the world tuned in to see the wreckage and could not believe their eyes: dead bodies lying in city streets and floating in still-flooded sections. The advanced state of decomposition of many corpses, some of which were left in the water or sun for days before being collected, hindered the coroners’ efforts to identify many of the dead. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, looting, violence, and other criminal activities became serious problems.

During the next five years, people and communities in New Orleans and states along the Gulf coast have made extraordinary efforts to recover their lives and community. Tourists are returning, fishermen are enjoying profitable catches, the economy is recovering, and the Saints won the Super Bowl. New Orleans is back in business.

However, feelings of extreme fear and insecurity returned with the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010.

The oil spill, originating from a deepwater oil well 5,000 feet (1,500 m) below sea level is discharging an estimated 210,000 US gallons of crude oil daily. The spill is expected to eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as the worst US oil disaster in history.… Continue reading

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Response from Sunil Mittal

Mr. Sunil Mittal, Chairman and CEO of Bharti Group and Bharti Airtel, was kind enough to respond regarding the article on his father.
 
Whenever I visited Senator Mittal in India, I would also visit Sunil and his wife Nyna. They hosted me so graciously. I remember when Sunil accompanied his father at the Moscow Conference, hosted by President Gorbachev at the Kremlin. Senator Mittal made a memorable speech at the closing ceremony. Many eminent leaders at the Moscow Conference were impressed with young Sunil, recognizing in him the qualities of a diplomat and a leader. 

To me, Sunil is the model case of the remarkable generational transition from parent to child. I would like to commend him for the approach he has taken to his business practices and laud his outstanding success. Sunil has proven the advantages of a truly global vision—we must now encourage the next generation of emerging leaders to follow the example he has set. 

I am pleased to introduce his response here.
—

Dear Akio,

Thank you for forwarding me the beautifully written piece. I really enjoyed reading it and laughed at the piece on my father.

I am reminded of an event. Once a Japanese team of two engineers from Suzuki Motor Co. had come to impart training to my staff on portable generators. I per chance visited the workshop and stood in a corner when I noticed the team leader going over and over again on some point and I sensed the confusion amongst the trainer and trainee.… Continue reading

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“Sat Paul, Do you disagree with me?” Learning globally to act locally

Read in Japanese (日本語 )

by Akio Matsumura

The media coverage over the U.S. health care debate throughout the last month has been extraordinary.  Put aside your thoughts on the outcome—the coverage helped viewers become more familiar with U.S. politicians and the U.S. political process.  And many were left disappointed.  The deep rift that splits American politics invites bitterness and disappointment at all levels.
As I have had the pleasure of meeting with so many politicians, in and out of the U.S., in my thirty five years at the UN and other international organizations, I would like to share my perspective on the potential power of our elected leaders.   I think I can paint a more hopeful picture than the one we are witness to currently.

Politicians share a host of characteristics.  First, their sensitivity to and engagement of broad population groups is important.  It is why they are elected.  Second, they promote ideas and opinions with a success that other sectors struggle to match.  Their goals are threefold: to build consensus, foster action, and finally succeed with legislative implementation. Particularly impressive is their ability to transcend tough challenges—whether they are daily hurdles or national referendums.  Here, I find their dynamic spirit of sympathy to be invaluable.  Politicians can identify and sympathize with another person; bureaucrats find this very difficult.

My wife Maki and I had the great pleasure of welcoming so many political leaders to our small apartment in New York.  Through these visits and long-lasting friendships I have been fortunate to glean many insights from the political world.… Continue reading

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Young Business Leaders: The Missing Link in World Peace

 

By Rinaldo Brutoco, Founding President of the World Business Academy

Youth have a unique ability to serve as peacekeepers between Muslim and Western communities, but the missing link among youth has been their recognition of the possibility of creating an improved human condition for both Muslim and Western nations through increased commerce. Young people have the energy and the drive for entrepreneurial engagement, so it is likely they will be the most effective peacekeepers through commerce.

Young people also have far more to gain from peace than their elders do, and far more to lose from war. Totally apart from the fact that youth constitute a disproportionate number of the casualties of war, war is not good for any youth, ever.

The youth caught up in the Israeli-Palestine conflict can see that if the conflict continues on its present course, they will be caught in a grim lifetime of grinding poverty stretching decades into the future. Young people can see that their lives will be better in peace than war. Peace provides the opportunity for commerce. Without peace, a community cannot create meaningful jobs; young people cannot easily nurture their new families; and the grinding cycle of poverty rolls on infinitely into the future.

Violence has taken a toll on both the Palestinian and Israeli economies, but the contrast between the economies of the West Bank and Gaza highlights the opportunities for economic development that come with an improved security situation.

The West Bank’s economy is improving, thanks to Prime Minister Sala Fayyad, an American-educated reformer; a clamp-down by Palestinian security forces that prompted Israel to remove many of the checkpoints that had cut off movement and trade; and the Obama Administration’s more effective, highly targeted, quiet diplomacy.… Continue reading

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From Lahore, Pakistan: Youth as Emerging Peacemakers

Ms. Lubna Malik, international link coordinator for Beaconhouse Schools in Lahore, Pakistan, sent me this contribution for the blog. A positive message encouraging dialogue.
First, a quick intro to the Beaconhouse School System:

logo_Beaconhouse


  • The first Beaconhouse school opened in Lahore in 1975. Beaconhouse has now established more than 130 schools in 30 cities and towns in Pakistan. Students study a variety of curricula, and Beaconhouse alumni are successful in all walks of life in Pakistan. More info at: http://www.beaconhouse.edu.pk/bssgroup/index.php

The post from Ms. Lubna Malik:

Youth as emerging peacemakers between Western nations and Muslim communities


Is peace in the world possible? Emphatically, yes!
Before writing anything else I should give a message to the youth who are raising the banner of peace, harmony and unity between the western world and the Muslims nations that you may not be able to make a big contribution, but you can make a little one, and you’ve got to try. Even if your contribution is a “little one,” in the long run, the smallest ingredient can be the most powerful, and the slightest act the most potent.
We are to discus the role of young generation in achieving the enlightened future, in succeeding to turn dream into reality; PEACE between western countries and Islamic nations.
Being a peacemaker I believe that Peace in the world starts with each and every one of us, and the younger ones have more potential, opportunities and chances of success to draw the reconciliation between two communities. Guys and girls we need to understand it, why should we always suffer from the agitation, aggression and all that distress which is enforced to us by mischief makers.

… Continue reading
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Why Do Retired Generals Become Peace Advocates? Let Us Create a Curriculum for Peace in Our Military Academies

Read in Japanese.

By Akio Matsumura

During September in 1973 I found myself beginning a two hour bus ride, headed for the outskirts of Jakarta. I was with the Japanese Parliamentary Study Mission on Population and Development, headed by former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. We had already had very fruitful visits to India and Thailand, and were now moving through Indonesia.

All parliamentarians and three foreign special guests — General Draper, former Maryland Senator Joseph Tydings, and Mr. McDonnell — sat in their own private car, while the rest of us—government bureaucrats, population experts, media and staff—traveled behind by bus. As the youngest member of the group I sat at the back of the bus. Before we departed, a member of the Japanese Embassy staff came to the back of the bus, saying that General Draper was calling for me. General Draper and Mr. Tatsuo Tanaka, Member of Parliament and deputy head of the mission, were sitting together when I got to the car, with the staff member from the Embassy. General Draper wished to speak with me during the trip, and asked me to sit in the car instead of the staff member. Meanwhile, Mr. Tanaka seemed to be uncomfortable next to General Draper, and excused himself to the front seat because he wanted to operate the video camera, so the front seat would be a better location. So, I ended up next to General Draper in the back, to the astonishment of the embassy staff. Mr. Tanaka assured them it was the request of General Draper, and we began the two hour ride.… Continue reading

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Why Did McDonald’s Go the Moon? There Are No Financial Deposits in the Spiritual World

Read in Japanese.

By Akio Matsumura

In September of 1973 I was working down to the last moment to arrange the Japanese Parliamentary Study Mission to Asian Countries on Population and Development headed by former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. It was hosted by the International Planned Parenthood Federation in London and the UN Population Fund in New York. General Draper called me from Washington to tell me that Mr. McDonald would be joining the mission and would be arriving the following day in Tokyo from the U.S. I was to meet with him and explain the program for the trip. I didn’t know who Mr. McDonald was, so I asked a Japanese friend who he might be. He said, “Oh yes, a McDonald hamburger restaurant just opened at Ginza, so he might be the owner of the McDonald restaurant company.”

The next day we met and ate lunch at the Hilton Hotel in Akasaka. He was an older gentleman, with white hair, so I asked him at the beginning of lunch, “Mr. McDonald, when you were 31, like I am now, what did you dream of being?” He told me, “Akio when I was your age I was so interested in the universe, and spacecrafts. My dream was that one day man would go to the Moon. And Akio, when we first landed on the Moon in 1969, many of my company’s products went there.” His face was glowing with pride–he was telling me the story as a grandfather would to his grandson.… Continue reading

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Peace as Process: Religious Interpretation and Political Compromise

By Akio Matsumura

At the Kremlin in Moscow in 1990 I learned a life changing lesson, watching those Jewish in attendance, all prominent leaders, pray to attend during the Sabbath. For those who are not familiar with Jewish tradition, the Sabbath is a weekly day of rest, lasting from Friday to Saturday evening, with the timing depending on the time of year. Observation and remembrance of the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. I’ve mentioned this story in my blog before, on September 1, 2008 and Inauguration day, January 20, 2009 and received many responses. People have continually expressed deep surprise that we were able to transcend the religious tradition and have everyone in attendance at the closing ceremony. Although the story itself is extraordinary, it is the lesson that is most important.

Our global world is experiencing a battle of ideologies—of cultures. As these cultures grow, spread, and become more interconnected, more confrontations arise between them. Over the years I have stressed the importance of approaching each issue from a practical and spiritual perspective, encouraging effective change to be made while keeping long term ideals in mind. Many ideologies and values, especially in religion and politics, are not shared cross-culturally because of their self-contained traditional barriers. So how in this case, were the rabbis able to transcend their religious barrier? Why was the meeting able to go on?

If we had planned the closing ceremony originally for Friday night, the Jewish participants would not have attended. If I had bluntly ignored their important religious tradition, I would have been disrespecting them, and the situation would have gone awry.… Continue reading