Nagoya in October was damp with rain, but when the sun shone, it bathed the clean streets and wide, even walkways in brightness.
Japan in any month is inviting — the culture is so zen it’s relaxing even when one gets caught in the “rush hour.”
There is no melee; order and discipline are evident even in public food halls where one is expected to clean up after himself and leave the table spotless for the next user. Consideration for others is bred in every little thing.
In such a place where people are constantly urged to practice the basics of human decency, it’s easy to enjoy the moment, unworried, unhurried.
In a list of 10 things to live by, according to Ali MacGraw, she ends with the reminder that we should “Always, always, drink the good champagne and use the things you keep for ‘best.’”
She adds, “Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. Today is a gift — that’s why we call it the present.”
For the past four years, we were ever reminded of this, too — with disease after disease felling thousands, to war after war flattening towns and cities.
Yet, for all the beauty queens calling for world peace, it remains elusive.
And, for us Filipinos, the portent of trouble has drawn much too near for our comfort; aggression has been noted more than ever before from our great neighbor striving to own the oceans around us.
Full control — of the area’s rich resources and of passages of all kinds — is obviously what it so desires.
Our President has been battling both internal challenges and the threats that draw ever closer. Toward the latter he has worked to strengthen our position, with more alliances forged and nurtured.
The latest alliance, with Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, reassuringly reiterates a closer cooperation especially in the realm of regional security.
It’s ironic though that Japan, one of the most peace-loving and peaceful countries in the world, lost its previous prime minister to a violent act.
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was mourned by many, including world leaders. President Marcos Jr. honored the leader in a statement on Facebook, saying he “was a devoted friend and a supporter of the Philippines, and it was during his leadership that Philippine-Japan relations truly flourished.”
Marcos Jr. has recently said he would like to deepen this cooperation further with Prime Minister Ishiba. Both leaders are fortunately of the same mind, reports say, “to accelerate the procedures for the early implementation of the Reciprocal Access Agreement signed between their countries in July.”
Much remains uncertain at this point, however, and meanwhile we continue to hope for more rising suns in our lifetime, living as we do amid tensions, chaos and increasing scarcity.
More than ever, the peace-loving tack of President BBM is yielding partnerships that also work to enhance “cooperation in economic security and agricultural technology.”
And while a peaceful resolution to all disputes is the guiding force for both countries, the defense pact signed by Japan and the Philippines “that would allow the deployment of Japanese forces for joint military exercises” is necessary in a world where the present remains an unappreciated gift.