THE SECRET OF LIFE
The Japanese consider themselves descendants of the Sun. They believe their race is superior to others and that they have the right to dominate other nations. This thinking gave rise to the slogan:
East Asia for Japan.
This mindset, rooted in Japan’s history, made the nation aggressive. From 1937 to 1945, they fought other nations to defend this self-proclaimed right. At first, Japan achieved victories. In 1942, for example, they captured Manila, and soon after, Singapore, Dutch East Indies, and Rangoon also fell under their control. But eventually, they suffered a crushing defeat. In trying to gain more, they lost even what they had.
During the Second World War, America and Japan became enemies. Japan had only simple bombs, while America developed nuclear weapons. This broke the balance of power. In July 1945, America dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. Japan’s military strength was shattered. America won, and Japan had no choice but to accept what one observer called a humiliating surrender (Time, April 13, 1987, p. 15).
At that moment, Japan chose realism. On August 14, 1945, Emperor Hirohito, the ruler of Japan at the time, delivered a radio broadcast to the nation. He said:
We must bear the unbearable and endure the unendurable in order to pave the way for peace for all future generations. (The New York Times, August 15, 1945)
In line with this decision, Japan signed the surrender documents on September 2, 1945, accepting America’s dominance.
For Japan, this was no ordinary decision. Until then, the nation had been driven by a sense of superiority. Now it had to stand on the ground of realism. Until then, it had lived with anti-foreign emotions; now it had to turn inward, practicing self-reflection to discover the secret of life. Japan’s condition at the time was grim. Its industries lay in ruins. The “war criminal” General MacArthur was imposed on the country. Besides losing Korea, Burma, Singapore, Taiwan, and other occupied territories, Japan also lost parts of its own land, such as Karafuto Island and Okinawa. In 1946, the “MacArthur Constitution” was enforced, designed to keep a defeated nation completely under foreign control.
All this was truly “enduring the unendurable.” Many Japanese could not bear it and took their own lives in grief. According to Encyclopedia Britannica (1984), military extremists even tried to prevent the Emperor’s message from being broadcast. When they failed, many nationalists and army officers, overwhelmed by humiliation, committed suicide:
“There were a number of suicides among the military officers and nationalists who felt themselves dishonoured” (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 10, p. 86).
By choosing realism, Japan accepted the role of being number two. But this did not mean it agreed to remain second forever. It simply meant avoiding conflict with the stronger side in order to gain time for reconstruction. Under this policy, Japan accepted America’s political and economic dominance and focused all its efforts on science and technology. This work continued, and within thirty years, history had changed. Militarily defeated Japan became an economic leader. Japan produced electronics and other goods of such high quality that even Americans began to prefer Japanese products over their own—because they were better in quality and cheaper in price. This deeply troubled American policymakers. One American politician, Pete Wilson, remarked:
The Japanese semiconductor Godzilla is now destroying everything but Tokyo.
After the war, Japan had become America’s debtor. Now, America was sinking into debt to Japan. In 1986, American goods worth 26 billion dollars went to Japan, while Japanese goods worth 85 billion dollars went to America. The trade balance between the two countries collapsed. In 1986, Japan’s trade surplus against America exceeded 85 billion dollars. Today, America is the world’s largest debtor nation, while Japan is the world’s largest creditor nation (Time, April 13 & 27, 1987).
This situation has inspired a flood of books. One American bestseller is titled Japan Number One. In 1945, Japan had accepted the position of number two against America. Forty years later, America itself had to admit that Japan had again become number one.
It was as though the Japanese had written a book called ‘Japan Number Two’ when they accepted the unbearable conditions imposed by the United States and recognized their secondary position. Only later could others write a book about them titled ‘Japan Number One.’ This reflects a law of today’s world: those who accept defeat are the ones who ultimately triumph, and those who agree to step back are the ones who move forward again. Fourteen hundred years ago, Muslims discovered this profound truth through the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. In modern times, the Japanese applied the same principle to their own circumstances.
The truth is that this world is built on competition. Everyone is running, everyone wants to move ahead of others. This competition is the ladder of human progress. All the advances of history have come out of this struggle. America’s pursuit of leadership led to nuclear power, Japan’s determination to rise again created the electronic age, and so on.
The result of such competition is that one nation repeatedly overtakes another, while some fall behind. In such times, if the weaker side wastes energy on complaint and protest, it will achieve nothing. Its only real path is to admit the fact that others have gone ahead and it has fallen behind.
This acknowledgment guides a person’s efforts in the right direction. It allows them to rebuild without engaging in pointless conflict with those who have already advanced. Eventually, the day will come when they recover their lost position.
The awareness of being left behind gives a person the strength to move forward again. But if someone fails to engage in introspection over their backwardness, they will remain where they are, unable to move ahead.
