Renowned biologist Richard Dawkins recently tweeted a quote from Harvard professor Steven Pinker’s "Enlightenment Now" in response to the novel coronavirus: "The first step toward wisdom is the realization that the laws of the universe don't care about you. The next is the realization that this does not imply that life is meaningless, because people care about you and vice versa." A pandemic is a natural phenomenon and beyond the control of humans. While Homo sapiens emerged no more than a mere 200,000 years ago, viruses have a history of several billion years. But humans can care about each other. In other words, global trust and solidarity are their greatest weapon.
Movements of people have been restricted on a global scale. This was a logical step because movement spreads the virus. In Japan, a state of emergency was declared on April 7. Although physical exchanges between people have been temporarily blocked, I feel that bonds with people around the world have deepened through the internet.
A friend in Washington regularly updates me on the situation in the United States. A Chinese graduate of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), where I serve as president, delivered masks to his alma mater. An Italian friend gave me a word of encouragement, saying we should hug each other once this pandemic is over. A video sent by a friend in France showed people on their apartment verandas applauding medical professionals coming back home. A friend in Britain sent me a news report that 750,000 people responded in three days to an announcement seeking 250,000 medical volunteers.