This year, 2009, is a double anniversary of particular relevance for this column.

It is both the 200th anniversary of the birth of the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-82), and also the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work, "On the Origin of Species."

In Japan 150 years ago, the Tokugawa Shogunate, which had ruled since 1603, was coming to an end. With that, Japan — which the feudal regime had kept isolated from the world for more than two centuries — was opening up to the world.