Japan's Example to the World

Caught off guard at first, the country's response to the tsunami and nuclear accident has been exemplary.

The situation in Japan over the past several weeks has provided heart-rending images of unimaginable disaster – and inspiring examples of courageous leadership from every level of the population.

Many of the surviving Japanese people in the most stricken area of Honshu Island have lost everything they ever had: family members, homes, businesses, money, material possessions. In some cases, they can never recover what they have lost. For the moment, finding food and shelter is the most important thing. And yet the images and stories that are coming out of Japan speak of solidarity and unselfishness.

A reporter from the Toronto Star told the story of a man handing over his last container of gas so that the media could continue telling the world about the unfolding disaster. A columnist from the Globe and Mail remembered Japanese strangers driving an hour out of their way to help her get to where she needed to be.

There has been no looting and no violence – a sharp contrast to the situation in many other similar natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina or the Pakistani earthquakes of last year. The stoicism and bravery of the Japanese people are awe-inspiring. We are left to wonder if we could do anywhere near as well, were we in their shoes.

Japan has a long history of seismic activity. It is as well-prepared and technologically equipped for this kind of disaster as any country on Earth. Still, this earthquake, followed by a massive tsunami, exceeded even its capacity. At first, the government seemed taken off guard. But then, because of one man’s leadership, it found its footing.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has become the voice of courage and integrity, the one people need and want to hear. He is the one the government is sending to the front lines, speaking on national television as many times a day as necessary. Wearing the light-blue overalls of disaster recovery, he tells the people honestly what is going on. He provides direction when he can, and admits the unknowns where he must. But most of all, he is transparently truthful and empathetic. His words resonate with both competence and emotional intelligence.

Yukio Edano has the trust of the Japanese people at this most difficult time in their history since the nuclear bombs detonated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki more than six decades ago.

At this time – as radiation levels are rising in the food chain, and we do not know whether the reactor cores in Fukishima can be safely contained – we can only imagine what it must be like to be contemplating so much uncertainty, experiencing so much fear for ourselves, our loved ones, and our homeland. At such times, just operating day by day requires a tremendous amount of courage, perseverance, and conviction that things will eventually get better. For many Japanese people, life will never be the same again.

Meanwhile, people living in the devastated areas are proving their heroism and leadership by organizing themselves to do whatever has to be done, assigning tasks among themselves, and dealing with daily life as best they can. They are worried about the safety of their own food supply and, in the medium and longer term, the viability of their exports, and therefore their economic base.

Japan will rebuild, as it has in the past. We can be certain that the job will be done with the same competence and quiet dignity that we have come to expect from that society. It will take many years, but the world will never forget the example of leadership that came from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Photo courtesy of Reuters.