Posts Tagged ‘bridge-building’

A Taste of Living Oneness

Earlier this month I had the great pleasure of visiting Jeffrey Irish, a fascinating fellow in southern Japan who, as an American expatriate, is garnering considerable regional renown for his twelve years of residency in a tiny rural Japanese farming village, including two years as village head.

 

Jeff came to his current position in an equally unlikely way. Following college he got a job with a large Japanese construction company and showed sufficient business acumen to be asked, with two other employees, to start a U.S. branch of the company in New York City, a branch which ultimately grew to 180 employees as he moved up to become vice president.

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Japan’s strength, and future, is rooted in their ancient connection to nature

In last Sunday’s Japan Times article, To realize its cultural potential, Japan must celebrate its strengths, Kyoto-resident Roger Pulvers hits a positive chord when he asserts that Japan must celebrate its strengths, but says that they’ve already missed the opportunity to capitalize on manga, anime, sushi and karaoke. (See my published letter to the editorĀ here.) Continue reading

A subtle but profound shift appears to be taking place in the Japanese psyche

This weekend I was very pleased to read Japan For Sustainability’s April newsletter article, Good-Bye ‘Ownership,’ ‘Materialism,’ and ‘Monetization” in Lifestyles:
A New Era Dawning in Japan
, as it is a timely reflection of what I feel to be a very important, and hopeful, trend occurring in Japan, and later, the world. Continue reading