I read Takeru Toki's Dec. 5 letter, "Leaders provoking antagonism," with deep interest, and again it made me think very seriously about Japan's relationship with China and South Korea.
I completely agree with Toki that our leaders have a huge responsibility [to refrain from using language that could keep past antagonisms alive and provoke new hatred].
In the global age today, nobody should believe that any nation in the world can exist on its own. Every country in the world has to think of its relationships with other countries to survive.
Asian nations are no exception!
It is great that a nation's people are educated toward becoming good citizens. At the same time, they also need some form of education as a world citizen. We expect our leaders to make the utmost efforts to realize such a vision.
Any nation run under this kind of management philosophy will probably see a brighter future than it would have without it.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.