This summer was truly hot, wasn't it.
Many countries, France and Italy among them, were struck by heat waves.
People in countries that have never had the habit of using cooling appliances must have suffered a great deal.
The other day, television showed floods in Nepal, with muddy torrents sweeping through the towns and causing enormous damage.
It was reported that at least a thousand people had lost their lives.
Watching the footage of tourists, cars and buildings being swallowed up, my heart ached.
I am sure all sorts of measures will be devised to escape this heat from now on, but whether it can truly be escaped is a source of constant worry to me.
In Japan as well, violent shaking of around intensity 7 on the Japanese seismic scale caused major damage, and the damage from flooding continues even now.
We must watch carefully how these harsh conditions around the world will change, and think out how to respond to them.

Forgive me for speaking of private matters, but at our home we keep a dog that has turned sixteen.
He is a very old dog now, and compared with his younger days I cannot help but feel that his death is drawing near.
My wife devotes herself to his care and looks after him with all her strength.
She is delighted when he drinks water, and leaps for joy if he eats even a little food; seeing my wife like this, I am filled with heartfelt gratitude.
The time of parting will surely come before long.
I have video sent from the house to the shop, and I look in on him from time to time.
These days I find myself wishing never to keep an animal again.
For my wife's kindness, I can only be grateful, purely and simply.

Looking at the disparity in annual incomes around the world, Japan stands at 4.58 million yen while neighboring South Korea is at 5.4 million yen, a gap of as much as 800,000 yen.
The United States is at 10 million yen, and among 38 countries Japan ranks 25th.
Unless we try very hard indeed, we may never catch up with the gap between ourselves and South Korea.
Why is Japan's real strength falling away like this?
Every time I think about it, I feel that something must be wrong.
Having forgotten what it is to feel frustration, the Japanese may simply go on sliding downward.
What is needed, I believe, is for capable leaders to appear, inspire the people, and make the effort to lift the country up step by step.
Could we not do with fewer members of parliament?
Are there not too many holidays in the Japanese year?
Is it acceptable for the population to remain concentrated in Tokyo and the other large cities?
It is precisely in the regions that people ought to be able to live with room to breathe.
There should have been far more carefully considered urban planning.
Urban planning carried out by a few people for the benefit of a few becomes a great stumbling block, and land, prices, everything ends up costly.
The 800,000-yen gap between South Korea and Japan is an extremely large one.

Japan's shipbuilding industry, once so highly developed, is now something we can only stand and watch.
At present China accounts for 70% of shipbuilding and South Korea for 15% to 30%, while Japan is probably at around 10%.
I would like to give some thought to how Japan should steer its course from here.
From now on, I believe that unless matters are entrusted to people of outstanding ability and genuine capability, nothing will be translated into action.
Above all, however, nothing can be done unless Japan itself stands up.

It has been four and a half years since Russia and Ukraine began fighting.
At the outset, Russia said the matter would be settled within a few months.
Yet Ukraine fights on even now, building new types of drones and more, with greater vigor than before.
What will come of it I do not know, but perhaps in time it will be resolved through talks.

This year's weather has been abnormal worldwide.
In Japan too there were many typhoons and much rain, and flood damage occurred again and again.
Many cars were inundated and rendered useless, and homes were in a terrible state from flooding beneath the floors.
I consider this to be not a problem for Japan alone, but a worldwide phenomenon.
Typhoons have come to bring greater damage than they did in the past.
Earthquakes too have grown larger, and tremors exceeding intensity 5 show a tendency to increase compared with the past.
An earthquake directly beneath Tokyo may also strike the city in due course.
Let us keep checking the situation at all times and take care not to be caught up in one.
The last earthquake was quite violent, and I had the experience of fleeing from the shop out into the street.
What is frightening about an earthquake is fire.
Looking back over Japanese history, I think that earthquakes, fires, tsunami and lightning have brought great damage.
Whenever I see the damage in various parts of the world, I wish for us to be able to avoid, as far as possible, the disasters that will come in time.

The world has grown smaller and smaller.
Not only in Germany but throughout Europe, parties calling for the exclusion of foreigners have won victories, and a similar situation exists in the United States.
When that happens, people begin to move to other countries where life is easier.
In Japan too, many foreigners have come to live here in recent years.

A great many acquaintances have passed away, and it is about time that I too prepared for my own departure.
To all of you in your later years, please stay well and live together on good terms.
Wives and husbands alike, do soak in a hot spring now and then, enjoy delicious food, and spend your days at leisure.
Money exists in order to be enjoyed.
Children, be kind, be cheerful, aim for a simple life, and spend time close to nature.
Dipping your feet in the flow of a river feels wonderful, doesn't it.

Don Quixote, the Association for Better Japanese Politics
Chairman: Kazushige Tsuruta