Dear customers, I hope this letter finds you well. Tokyo has recently grown quite hot, and summer has truly arrived.
Sword prices have risen considerably, and at the dealer markets here in Japan, fine pieces have become hard to come by. Nevertheless, we are doing our utmost to gather worthwhile items and bring them to you through every means we can devise.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has now passed three years and is approaching four. Through their courageous efforts, Ukraine has grown considerably stronger — gaining great power through the use of drones — while Russia continues to press the attack with massive heavy artillery, locking both sides into a fierce struggle. The conflicts involving the United States, Israel, and Iran are likewise grim. One cannot help but pray that these wars will end soon and that no further wars will follow.
Tensions between China, Taiwan, and Japan are also severe. The relationship between the United States and Japan is no longer the honeymoon it once was; each nation must now negotiate give-and-take with the others on its own terms. Japan must build closer ties with the nations of Europe, with Australia, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, and the other countries of Asia.
The progress of AI is truly astonishing. When it comes to languages, AI can understand any tongue and can readily tell you what is correct and what is mistaken. To obtain a difficult qualification such as a lawyer's license, for example, ordinarily requires tremendous effort — yet AI is developing the capability to produce answers with ease. It can deliver, without error, exactly the answer one is hoping to hear. It can also draw out the answer to such questions as how best to extricate oneself from a lawsuit.
Recently, when I was suffering from a herniated disc, I visited a certain university hospital. When I asked the doctor what I should do, he replied, "Shall we go with surgery, or with an injection?" Fortunately, my wife urged me to see a different doctor. I went straight to that clinic, and after I spoke with him, an older doctor who was examining my X-ray said to me: "Mr. Tsuruta, you do indeed have a hernia, but it would be better for you to move your body more and to walk often." From that day onward I walked and exercised, and my condition improved remarkably.
At the university hospital, the doctor simply stared at his computer, trusted the information on the screen, and gave me the standardized answer it produced. With that kind of approach, mistakes are bound to occur. Without accumulating real experience and studying earnestly, perhaps no amount of knowledge can make one truly complete. AI is an extraordinarily advanced machine. It accumulates vast knowledge and capabilities, so it can produce answers easily and at once. Within a few years, AI packed with enormous knowledge and ability will surely be at work all around us.
The Japanese yen has weakened tremendously. The yen, which was once close to 80 to the dollar, has now reached 160. As for buildings — even structures nearly 30 years old, simply refurbished and made to look presentable, can cost as much as 1 billion yen. Prices of 500 million yen or 800 million yen have become shockingly common.
In Japan's case, unless the country's land as a whole is reapportioned, real estate prices will not come down. Labor costs are also high, and people can no longer even afford to buy a home. If the land concentrated in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya could be redistributed, then by dividing inexpensive land wisely, well-sized housing units could surely be built. If all the citizens of the country could share, say, one section of the Yamanote Line equally among themselves, everyone could live in a spacious home. I have spoken to you about this before, but I believe there must be a better way still. If ten or more large-scale developments were built throughout Japan, comfortable housing for everyone could surely be provided.
The world has grown smaller lately. Many people now travel in search of sightseeing and cuisine all over the world. The number of people marrying across borders — Japanese with foreigners — has grown as well. Apologies are exchanged easily, and people settle wherever they happen to be. What makes all this easier is the internet and AI.
In the past, when Russian visitors came to see me, the language barrier was a real difficulty; today, however, translation has become a simple matter. If only this were enough to make us friends with the Russian people — yet in the end, perhaps nothing will truly change unless the presidents and prime ministers change as well.
Even today, many foreign visitors are wandering through Japan as tourists.
How wonderful it would be if the peoples of the world could come to know one another in friendship, and live freely.
To the grandfathers and grandmothers — please live well together in harmony.
To the wives and the husbands — please live joyfully, and now and then visit a hot spring, and enjoy delicious food.
To the children — be kind, cheerful, and modest; look forward and flourish.
A person's life is short. Where there are many hardships, there are also many joys.
Wishing you all the very best of health.
Kazushige Tsuruta
