These are my thought about the recent coronavirus pandemic.

Human beings have been dominating all other species on Earth. Now, the human is the only dictator, controlling other creatures, harvesting plants, feeding livestock, catching fish, consuming fossil fuels, producing various merchandise, polluting the air, contaminating oceans, extinguishing forests, melting icebergs, warming climates and exploding our population. All these elements have been accumulating. Human longevity has improved, so many people are concentrating in big cities and can transport over borders. Is this a real evolution? Is this the right direction for our future? Since this pandemic spread, it is really ironic that the environment has been gradually getting better. This is because we came to a point where we had to stop or slow down our basic, productive and social activities to prevent the virus from spreading. I suppose these circumstances seem comfortable and convenient for other species. Mother Earth would be blessed with the absence of humans. What I mean here is the present crisis is supposed to be a kind of punishment from God to conceited humans. Humans got too arrogant, did too much. We should recognize what we have damaged, sacrificed. The pursuit of our comfort and material wealth may not be the only way to sustain our society. We should stop now and think about better and more different ways to coexist with other creatures and Mother Earth.

Now is the moment when the warning bell is ringing loudly.

We have to listen to this sound carefully for assessing our past sins and reforming for the future.

However, like repeating history, we will perhaps again overcome this crisis with our shrewd intelligence and gigantic power without reflecting on ourselves. Furthermore, fortunately, or unfortunately, we are getting back to the previous normal and going in the same direction as ever.

I just hope we "don't miss the bell."

Koji Kaneda

Aizumisato, Fukushima Prefecture

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.