Chapter 1. Japan and Ukraine today
- Part 1-1. Nation and culture
- Part 1-2. Sea country in the center two continents
- Part 1-3. Literature and the world
Chapter 2. New Ukraine’s Dream
- Part 2-1. Society and Religion in Japan and Ukraine
- Part 2-2. Peace as the common aspiration of Japan and Ukraine
Michael Zgurovsky. How have you met your teacher Josei Toda?
Daisaku Ikeda. My four brothers were at the front during the war. Two years later, in May 1947 we got a letter that my eldest brother fell in the battle. He died in Burma, at that time he was only 29 years old. My mother, who was always a cheerful woman, didn’t doubt that he was alive and would return back home.
I can't forget her weeping: her shoulders were trembling heavily. Father suffering from rheumatism aged a lot after this news. Japan sustained an utter defeat in this war and majority of people of that time including me lost their faith and values instilled by military regime. The country was in a total chaos. Having lost faith in their previous values, people struggled against not only material hardships but spiritual emptiness as well. Thenadays, I was 19 and I was looking in despair for my way in life. One day my friend and I attended Josei Toda's lecture. As he used a lot of Buddhism terms in his speech, I hardly understood it, but I was impressed how deeply he believed in what he told. I also liked that he talked with young people in such a friendly way. I asked him a several questions if there is a unique right way in life, genuine patriotism etc. Josei Toda thoroughly answered me and added: «Life is short. You should live it in a such way that at the end you wouldn't regret about anything». His words became providential for me, for a boy who was ill with tuberculosis and looked for life sense. We met on the 14th of August on the eve of India's independence… I learnt later that Josei Toda with his teacher, Soka Gakkai founder, were sent to prison because they were so much devoted to pacifist and humanist Buddhism ideas and deprecated war. Later after having thought over on the 24 th of August in 1947 I accepted Buddhism teaching, the core of my Teacher's beliefs. Thus, the 24th of August is my second birthday, starting point of my spiritual life. The 24th of August is significant day for Ukraine as well. This day in 1991 your country proclaimed its independence.
M.Z. It's the honor to remark that the day of your spiritual birth and our country's birth coincide!
D.I. The day before Ukrainian independence on the 2nd of August in 1991 I received the president of the USSR Peace committee Genrih Borovik and the first deputy chairman of Ukrainian Peace council Boris Zrezartsev. They came to Japan to participate in all manifestations dedicated to exhibition opening «War and Peace» in Hiroshima, organized by Soka Gakkai. And this meeting will dwell in my memory forever with all historical events that decided fate of Ukrainian statehood. At the end of 1991 leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belorussia agreed to found the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in a new format of intergovernmental relations. The former ambassador of Ukraine in Japan Yurii Kostenko told me following about those events. At that time he represented the USSR in international organization in Vienna. It was quite frosty on the 8th of December in 1991: the temperature was about 20 degrees below zero. After having got a message about CIS foundation, Yurii Kostenko raised Ukrainian national flag. He felt as a person who the destiny gave a rare chance to become a part of this important historical event. August had a particular meaning for the Japanese. Hiroshima and Nagasaki tragedy and following defeat in the war wounded strongly our people. It's time to reconsider Japan's role in the world, time to expiate historical mistake, time to revive peace around the globe.
M.Z. After having become independent in 1991, Ukraine chose a complicated and thorny way for freedom and democracy. First months it faced a row of dramatic challenges, the main of which is misunderstanding of nation role in ever-changing world by its national elite. The lack of integration experience into world order led to significant corruption and political instability. Elite was not capable to think and act patriotically. Country's independence and statehood, civil rights as well as unique achievements were preserved owing to Ukrainian peacefulness, hard work and patience.
Undergoing the way of ordeals, mistakes and disappointment, facilitating burden of its totalitarian past, Ukraine also tried to underbuild a new democratic society, form amicable relations with other countries of the world. At current moment it is searching for new prospects, way of self-identification and development of national security system. Voluntary refusal of nuclear weapon and its complete liquidation carried out from 1991 to1996, Chernobyl station closure in 2000, protest actions for civil and democratic rights during the Orange revolution in 2004, democratic elections in 2006 and 2007, and entry to WTO etc. demonstrated Ukraine's aspiration to build an independent and strong state.
Nowadays world community understands better Ukrainian beneficial geopolitical position. The country where 46 millions of people have decent education (according to the UNO statistics education index in Ukraine amounts to 0,94) is situated between the Black sea and the Sea of Azov, possesses fertile chernozems and powerful gas transportation system. It represents «a silk road» for energetic, cultural and commercial exchange between the West and the East. The strategically important objective of Ukraine is to support this vital international artery. At the beginning of the XXIst century being under strong influence of Russia and having no relationship with European countries and the United States, Ukraine appeared to be in the center of not only geopolitical but cultural and psychological interests of these powerful states. It was almost divided into the Eastern and Western parts. The Eastern part of Ukraine has strong connections with Russia and its culture while the Western one is close to European values. In this situation Ukrainian politicians do not succeed in uniting people aspirations from both parts into common national idea. In fact Ukrainians don't need this domestic opposition. Simple people from different regions of Ukraine making their contribution into material and spiritual well-being of the country by building step by step peaceful and constructive relationship not only between themselves but also with their close and remote neighbors such as Russia, European countries and the USA. I am happy that our dialogue aims to enhance mutual understanding between Japan and Ukraine.
D.I. It was epoch of drastic historical changes and deep transformation of your society. Moreover, you have to conduct these transformations in the conditions of global changes and certain instability around the world. The decision to abandon nuclear weapons was, indeed, historical for Ukraine. I have no doubts that this epoch-making act will be appreciated in the future. Nuclear weapon elimination on the global scale is a cherished dream of Japanese people, who were first that suffered from atomic bombardments. It was one of the essential testaments of my teacher J. Toda. I would like to know what made young country abandon nuclear weapons.
To world with peace
M.Z. The first intention to refuse nuclear weapons was announced in the Declaration on state sovereignty of Ukraine adopted by the Supreme Soviet on the 16th July in 1990: «The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic solemnly proclaims about its intention to be a permanently neutral state which won't take part in military alliances and will adhere to three non-nuclear principles: not to possess, not to produce and not to buy nuclear weapons. This decision predetermined further policy of Ukraine after the Soviet Union collapse. From first days of independence Ukrainian authorities wanted to get rid of nuclear weapons of the former USSR. Anti-nuclear slogans dominated in minds of people who were deeply wounded by Chernobyl tragedy. But on practice it was quite complicated to abandon nuclear weapons and eliminate it completely. It's important to remind that in 1991 Ukraine possessing more than 1900 nuclear warheads for strategic rockets was the third most powerful nuclear state after Russia and the USA. On its territory two biggest camps of intercontinental ballistic rockets were situated, there were aircrafts Tu-160 equipped with nuclear weapons. In those conditions some authoritative political forces insisted on preserving powerful nuclear potential as Ukrainian best trump card in foreign policy. Due to intensive domestic debates, influence of world community and anti-nuclear protests of Ukrainians the crucial decision was taken.
D.I. News about new peace-oriented policy of Ukrainian government was widely spread around the globe and gave a hope to many people.
M.Z. In February 1994 the Supreme Council of Ukraine (the Verkhovna Rada) ratified the non-circumvention agreement # 1 including the article V of the Lisbon protocol with liabilities to join the Treaty on Non-Proliferation as a non-nuclear state. The first president of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk played a crucial role in the preparation and adoption of this decision. Now he is a chairman of the Ukrainian Council of Peace. The complete nuclear disarmament took place only in 1996 by reason of long-run, painful and sometimes fierce debate in the society. In 2005 the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko after having visited the museum dedicated to the victims of nuclear bombardments in Hiroshima, in his press-conference underlined: «In human dimension my words, undoubtedly, will find a response in hearts of millions of people who do not feel safe because of it». As for political factor the head of the state said that «it's a unique decision and there is no use in discussing whether it was right or not». Besides, Victor Yushchenko noted that Ukrainian act of refusal from the third place in nuclear weapon league was not evaluated on its merits by world community.
D.I. If a nuclear war breaks out, it will inevitably lead to human extinction. As a result, there will be nobody who could wail for dead. As Victor Yushchenko said Ukraine's decision had remarkable significance for world community. I sincerely regret that people around the globe still have no common view on this problem which favors the development of the opposite tendency — more and more countries want to possess nuclear weapons. In my opinion, all of us, who have an opportunity to influence human minds, have to take particular actions in order to confront this dangerous tendency. I continue to appeal to world community in different ways in particular through our SGI organization. For example, in April 2008 SGI organized the exposition entitled «Call for liquidation of nuclear weapons and spiritual development of humanity». It took place on the 36 exposition panels in Geneve (Switzerland) in European headquarters of the UNO. It was held within actions dedicated to work of the Preparatory committee on revision of Treaty on Non-Proliferation. Moreover, the committee was presided by Vladimir Ilchenko, the ambassador of Ukraine in Switzerland. He was present at the exposition opening as well. We plan to show this exposition hereafter in many countries of the world. The exhibits demonstrate consequences of destructive power of nuclear weapons. We have to make strong impact on human hearts, arouse in them humanistic feelings: love of mankind, sympathy to every living being. The liquidation of these monstrous weapons will become possible only when we all accept the fact that nuclear weapons are the seat of the trouble. I do believe that our soul is given to a human not to keep it in a fear, but to choose the way of consolidation, peacefulness and life defense. As for me, we have to do our best to realize it. It seems to me that during the Orange revolution in 2004 millions of Ukrainians followed the same ideals.
The Orange revolution
M.Z. During the Orange revolution people were led by dignity, love of freedom, desire to see their country prosperous and beautiful and be proud of it. All this made majority of society fight selflessly for getting freedom of choice. These events had a huge significance for Europe after the fall of the Berlin wall. In their minds people were guided by political nation creation, transformation of political system in Ukraine, change of political development into open society which in a modern dictionary is defined as a synonym to the word «Europe». The Orange revolution started on the 22nd of November 2004 when people saw that free president's elections had been cynically stolen. Those who believed in positive changes in the country were shocked most of all by obvious and large-scale violation of electoral law. Observers from European organizations and even from Russia were astonished not only by law violation but by the fact this violation was carried out in an open and cynical way. The incompetence and disrespect to people devoted the old political system to destruction.
D.I. Symbol of people protests has become an orange ribbon…The color of sun and life…
M.Z. People attached it to jacket lapels, tied to car bumpers, balconies and all other surrounding objects. They wanted to say in such a way: «We do not feel safe, we are against lies and do not want to live like this anymore.» Without a choice to choose, people lose hope to change something. The dimension of offence and indignation was at its pitch. Capital's main street Kreshchatik was turned into a gigantesque freedom island, which became known around the world as «Maidan». Justice-driven people especially students did not leave their freedom island more than a month even when the temperature outside was 20-25 degrees below zero until the third tour of elections had been held. They were even ready to shed their blood in case of attacks against them. It can be often heard that the Orange revolution was pre-planned and organized by some external forces. Being a witness of those events, I assert that there were no such power centers or money which could generate such peoples' enthusiasm. People rose on their feet and nothing anymore could make them be on their knees. Students became the backbone of the revolution. This juvenile movement arose spontaneously on the basis of love-freedom minds of a new generation which had been already brought up at Ukraine's independence period. Neither authorities' apologists nor their foreign supporters expected this phenomenon. Simple people such as scientists, teachers, doctors, cultural workers, representatives of small and medium businesses in Kiev and other Ukrainian regions backed up the tent city. Their thermoses with hot tea, warm clothes, sandwiches, medicine and notably moral support turned the beam of the revolution. As one of the journalists said depicting those historical events: «We can dispute precise number of people flooding streets those days, but we can just cast a quick glance at Maidan 2004 to remember Berlin, Prague and Bucharest in 1989, Belgrade in 2000 and Tbilisi in 2002…This picture speaks louder than words»
D.I. Those days in Japan we watched attentively news on TV about from Kiev. The capital city covered with snow was colored in orange which emblemized the dawning of a new era. Colors reflect different thoughts and states of mind. Our SGI flag has three colors: red, yellow and blue. They symbolize victory, dialogue and peace respectively. Meanwhile, for our female part of Soka Gakkai red color signifies peace and harmony, yellow — seeking spirit while blue is a color of kindness. Soka pupils see in red color enthusiasm, honor in yellow and intellect in blue one.
M.Z. Yes, I saw your flag in front of the building of «Seiko» where we had our first conversation.
D.I. What was the role of students in the Orange revolution?
M.Z. There is a common opinion in Ukraine and abroad that Ukrainian civil society is still very weak to defend its rights. Foreign newspapers of those days noted: «Prague 1989 is in Kiev? O no, even in our bravest thoughts! But still it has happened. The first and the most important fact which the revolution revealed that Ukrainian society had drastically changed since Ukraine's independence». The new generation of young people has appeared. The youth who want to live decently and freely. University students took an active part in protests. The following day of the revolution, the 23rd of November, the meeting of many thousands of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute students took a decision to join other protesters at Maidan. The revolutionary movement was growing strong. Local councils refused to accept the results of the elections. The diplomats announced about this as well. Media magnates lost control of their mass media. A week hence the Security service of Ukraine, army and internal security troops refused to apply force. The decision of the Supreme Court to organize the third round of elections turned the beam of the revolution. «It wasn't traditional political struggle between the right and the left or joyous adoption of neo-liberal economic model. The Orange revolution was a process of civil society creation in real time in front of your eyes when for the first time in the Ukrainian history organized movement was acting to defend its rights and interests. Two weeks of demonstrations (from the 22nd of November to the 3rd of December, the day of court decision) could not be planned. There are two essential moments here: active participation of young people in revolutionary movement and national identity formation. National self-awareness has become another important achievement of the revolution. And it doesn't correspond to a national idea formed at the beginning of independence when people wanted to create a strong state, but rather national self-affirmation of people who understood that only free citizens of the country living decently and independently can oppose in organized way democracy suppression. Nowadays five years after the Orange revolution skeptical comments can be heard concerning its results. However, some people expectations regarding fast country development, liberation from survivals of times past and successful European integration really didn't come true. On the wave of revolution government was boosted by politicians who are not worthy of their people as they postpone the public welfare to own interests. Instead of working at state's progress and its fast integration into European and world community they sowed unworthy intergroup quarrels engaging in it country's population. But after the Orange revolution Ukrainian people have become different. They know the worth of freedom and understand what country they and their children want to live.
This understanding will raise young and progressive leaders to power and in its turn will favor Ukraine's prosperity.
D.I. The development of the civil society is a long-run and complicated process. It's essentially nourished by citizens' social activities, responsibility awareness of every person for the future of their country as well by people cooperation. And young people should represent a driving force in this process. I sincerely want it to become a world tendency.
Buddist democracy
D.I. Thereupon I recall what John Dewey, an American philosopher, once said. He stated that democratic forms and their procedures is not the end in themselves but only means. The true objective of it is free and independent citizens who develop together with formation of democratic society. The scientist warns us that we cannot confuse goals with means. According to Dewey's theory democracy is not generated by one generation and then automatically passed on to others. Every generation must pass democratization process in conformity with epoch in which they live. The philosopher underlines that nation upbringing and education are essential for democratization. My teacher Josei Toda told about this as well. Being the author of popular mathematics textbooks he was publishing books. One year after the war J. Toda come out of prison and started to publish textbooks. One of the most famous is «Big democracy training course». The main idea of the book is that democracy can't be granted. Post-war democracy in Japan was a surprise for the USA; our people didn't fight for it. My teacher understood that democracy without conscious civil society is doomed to turn into ochlocracy. That was the reason why he started to publish materials for educating people in the spirit of democracy. It's known that in his doctrine on the «Ideal State» Plato names five systems of governance giving last but one place in this hierarchy to democracy. The author underevaluates it because if democracy glorifies only freedom not appealing to human spiritual nature, it will enslave people to their passions. Thus, as democratic principles are acknowledged around the world, I would like to highlight that high-quality humanistic education is even more crucial than ever and democracy must be supported by human values.
M.Z. I would like to note that all this seems very timely for the countries of the former Soviet Union which after decades of authoritarian regime started to build up with the shortest possible delay democratic societies. Particularly Ukraine after having become independent went to the other extreme. Democratic freedom turned into total permissiveness and sometimes anarchy. Ukraine met with big losses by reason of having no experience in formation of civil society democratic institutes and no support with relevant culture and universal values. At the beginning of 90s of last century existing institutes of culture, education, science and medicine were in deep decay in Ukraine. First romantic and even utopian aspirations of a young country to become at once a mature democratic state were accompanied with numerous mistakes. It led to first disappointments, engendered apathy and sometimes uncertainty in people minds concerning a right choice of chosen way. Only more than dozen years of independence made people realize that to gain democratic values is not one-day process. It requires hard work from people in sphere of upbringing, education and universal values respect.
D.I. To my mind, apathy of modern people is a serious enemy of democracy. A person feels himself as a tiny part of a global giant mechanism. Thinking that nothing depends on one person and nothing will be changed by one human being, our contemporaries start to feel more powerless and hopeless. The Orange revolution followed the example of struggle with this dangerous disease. I believe this is the biggest contribution of it.
M.Z. It's true that before and during the Orange revolution nobody expected such high civic duty and courage. It seemed that heretofore people fell into apathy and were indifferent to world events. However, this observation was superficial. In my opinion, every nation has a big potential due to deep historical memory and freedom-loving traditions of its ancestors. But people reveal it only in extreme and crucial moments of the history.
D.I. I agree with you. A human being really possesses endless opportunities and huge resources. He is a treasury which sometimes we can hardly see. It happens that a person thinks that there is only emptiness and earthy desires and sufferings inside him. This state of mind resembles the living in a room without windows and called in Buddhism as moomiyo (fundamental darkness). The principal mission of Buddhism is to overcome spiritual darkness, open inside you an inner eye, set fire to activate your vital forces and direct them for creation. Buddhism tells following about this. A human being has different earthy wants — passions. On one hand, they ruin human dignity as they underlie egoism; on the other hand, they bring vital energy for development and support of a living being. We cannot get rid of it but we should pacify our passions in order not to lose our dignity. When a genuine spiritual teaching or philosophy enlighten inner human world, moomiyo is replaced by blooming (clear consciousness and insight). This permits a human being to transform egocentric and destructive energies of earthy desires into positive and altruistic ones. We in our Buddhism movement pursue a goal of enlightenment of good citizens with help of belief in human opportunities and creation.
M.Z. The main mission of every religion is to raise a person over his earthy vices and weaknesses and inspire him to something good. This is also essential for Christianity, the most wide-spread religion in our country. It's important that in fundamental issues religion and education share similar opinion, look for compromises, help and cooperate with each other using in return their own methods and means. The first steps are taken in this direction after a long period of atheist education in our country. For instance, the «Religion History» course is added to school curriculum. At these classes Christian ethics is introduced to pupils of junior school.
D.I. The changes in your country especially in the sphere of humanist education are huge for such a short period of time. You were one of the witnesses and participants of these events. Do you remember how everything has begun?
Education — fourth independent power
M.Z. All eighteen years of Ukraine's independence I had been living and working in Kiev. Along with my country I went through happiness from first victories and bitter disappointment from failures, trough hope, big expectations, euphoria and illusions. I have seen everything. I remember how elevated romantic feelings filled people at the beginning of the 90s. Those days we thought that we had achieved the most important. We only had to spare little efforts and resort to some occidental experience. These expectations and hopes were shared not only by naive Ukrainians, romantic politicians, deputies of first convocations but by sober western experts as well. Particularly experienced experts of the World Bank and numerous international organizations at the beginning of the 90s of the twentieth century considered Ukraine as the most perspective of all post-soviet countries on its way to open market and democratic society. At that time I worked as a rector of the Kiev Polytechnic Institute and a minister of education of Ukraine. We had to do a lot of things for the first time. My young team of supporters and me carried out a drastic reform of our university to transform it from military and industrial appendage of the Soviet Union into democratic open technical university which followed a model of the best European and world universities and was society-oriented. For the first time we worked out national system of education of Ukraine elaborating legislative base practically from scratch. We developed system of democratic control institutes, provided schools and universities with Ukrainian textbooks, adjusted a range of professions to society needs and implemented the policy of education humanization.
D.I. You have done much to establish national system of education. I sincerely respect you and your supporters who did a lot for upbringing a new generation in Ukraine. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi wrote: «Seismometer can measure the earthquake size by holding it tightly in the same position during earth tremors from epicenter. Educational establishments must guard their firm position like a seismometer. That's why true humanism should be the basis of these institutions which won't depend on political, economic and social situation. We should work for education that gives a young person timeless values, brings up humane personalities, true future leaders of society». I have been thinking for a long time about education role and suggested the idea to create in state system forth power — educational one along with legislative, executive and judicial power. I also put forward the idea of international Summit on world education for regular meetings of university rectors and professors all over the world. I think such experience exchange would be very valuable for all pedagogues.
M.Z. We can recall many happy and sad moments about transformational processes that took place in our country. Undoubtedly, there are more joyous, touching and naive traces. Many things from today's perspective could have been done in faster and more efficient way. But the most essential is that through these mistakes and disappointments we have gained priceless experience and knowledge for further quality development. The people psychology was gradually changing. They got out of the habit of living in total social dependency. Changes also concerned the elite who accumulated experience and professionalism in numerous peripetias and deputy squabbles. People learned to take responsibility for their personal life and use possibilities of competitive environment.
D.I. Nichiren Daishonin writes in the letter to his young disciple Siro Sijdzi: «Numerous rivers flow into the sea. It accepts all these tributaries and never falls back into rivers. This way it turns into huge ocean.» Rivers here mean various difficulties and trials which a person faces on his way when he tries to build up something significant for himself and society. Accepting and overcoming it a person becomes stronger. His soul gets wider and richer resembling huge ocean.
M.Z. Unlike countries with old political culture (let call them old countries) the state history of Ukraine is being written from scratch. To my mind, it allows Ukraine to become the ground for new ideas and achievements in this ever-changing world. We can even speak about some export of peace ideas from the pure country to globe corners full of prejudices.
D.I. I wish with all my heart your people and you would overcome all problems that appear on the way to realize your national idea and welfare. Ukraine with its generosity and openness really could give an example of new statehood to other countries. At the beginning of the last century T. Makiguchi put forward the idea of the humanist competition. According to it, world community must replace a stage of hegemony-oriented competition with other countries in military and economic spheres with humanist contributions competition. He dared to suggest this courageous idea in times of emperor's military regime which was preparing the war with Russia. So every critical remark against this war was regarded as a treachery. Makiguchi was absolutely sure that if humanity wanted to preserve its civilization, people should stop building up their well-being at the expanse of other nations. This is a golden rule. He believed that people would shortly cease to bow down before the authorities. Intelligent people will respect only human power but not force. In other words, military, economic and political power, so-called hard power, will be rather despised than respected. Other type of power, so-called soft power, will gain respect among people. Soft power means nation's desire to make cultural, humanitarian, technical contributions to other countries, help others and maintain cooperation policy. Nowadays this prediction becomes reality. There are people and organizations that are ready to act in such a way. Among them we can name different non-governmental organizations, independent experts and doctors. I wish Ukraine and Japan could become first states which jointly make this significant transition to the new historical stage, new world culture.
M.Z. Outstanding scientists of the past century Vladimir Vernadsky and Nikita Moiseev made similar conclusions independently of one another. They predicted that in the middle of the XXIst century by reason of hard power policy which aims at satisfying our own wants special conditions can emerge within which people won't be able to live. Other world scientific centers conducting research on development of world conflicts tendencies also reached such a conclusion. Among them the Institute of Applied Analysis should be named where I have honor to conduct my studies. All recommendations come down practically to this: «Humanity must change the paradigm of its existence on global scale to „harmonious one“». Moreover, it will acquire new opportunities to continue its mission on the planet. I think that Ukraine can make its own contribution to new world culture. High level of population education can serve as a guarantee. According to statistics we have a lot to share with other countries. For instance, the percentage rate of well-educated emigrants from Ukraine to the USA and Western Europe is quite high. These people are professionals who achieve success in new countries and set a good example of such qualities as industry, talent, and respect to occidental values. At the present day accumulated human knowledge and experience are adequate to form new world culture, mind culture and culture of understanding to solve ever-growing human problems. It's a chance for Ukraine, one of the biggest countries in Europe, to do its bit into creation of the new world culture for peoples burdened by contradictions of modern world order, isn't it?
Source: "Campus" Magazine