Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of The Asahi Shimbun, written by its veteran writers.
Excerpt:^1
>“Kappa” is an amphibious “yokai” (mythical creature) of Japanese folklore with a beak, webbed feet and a tortoise shell on its back.
>Author Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) states in “Kappa,” his 1927 novella: “Nothing is wackier than the birth of a kappa.”
>The father kappa, sounding as if talking loudly to someone on the phone, tells his yet-to-be-born child in its mother’s belly: “Answer me — only after you’ve really thought this through — if you’ve decided to be born into this world.”
>The story is replete with Akutagawa’s characteristic humor.
>If the fetus replies it does not want to be born, the birth is canceled. In the kappa world, every would-be kappa child has the right to make their own decision.
>
>May 5 is “Kodomo no Hi” (Children’s Day) in Japan. Are we adults doing all we should be doing to ensure there will be smiles on the faces of children in the distant future? I am examining my conscience as the sun shines brightly on the young green leaves of May.
>Childhood poverty affects one out of seven Japanese children.
>And the nation also has other kinds of bad news for kids, such as child abuse and bullying, not to mention a high suicide rate among the young.
>Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to deal innovatively with Japan’s declining birthrate, but his real aim is too transparent: He just wants to boost the national economy, not necessarily for the sake of the next generation.
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of The Asahi Shimbun, written by its veteran writers.
Excerpt:^1
>“Kappa” is an amphibious “yokai” (mythical creature) of Japanese folklore with a beak, webbed feet and a tortoise shell on its back.
>Author Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) states in “Kappa,” his 1927 novella: “Nothing is wackier than the birth of a kappa.”
>The father kappa, sounding as if talking loudly to someone on the phone, tells his yet-to-be-born child in its mother’s belly: “Answer me — only after you’ve really thought this through — if you’ve decided to be born into this world.”
>The story is replete with Akutagawa’s characteristic humor.
>If the fetus replies it does not want to be born, the birth is canceled. In the kappa world, every would-be kappa child has the right to make their own decision.
>
>May 5 is “Kodomo no Hi” (Children’s Day) in Japan. Are we adults doing all we should be doing to ensure there will be smiles on the faces of children in the distant future? I am examining my conscience as the sun shines brightly on the young green leaves of May.
>Childhood poverty affects one out of seven Japanese children.
>And the nation also has other kinds of bad news for kids, such as child abuse and bullying, not to mention a high suicide rate among the young.
>Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to deal innovatively with Japan’s declining birthrate, but his real aim is too transparent: He just wants to boost the national economy, not necessarily for the sake of the next generation.
^1 Asahi Shimbun (5 May 2023), “Vox Populi: Adults are failing create world that children would want to live in”, https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14893362