Akira Kawasaki, Part 2

I still ask myself: "What do you want to do?"

In a tent set up for citizens demonstrating in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, Akira Kawasaki is to the right and the woman mentioned in the article is next to him.

Akira Kawasaki

Born in Tokyo in 1968. When he was a student of law at Tokyo University, he founded a group opposed to the Gulf War. While caring for the disabled in his work, he became involved in peace activities and support activities for foreign laborers and the homeless. He served as bureau chief of Peace Depot, an NPO, from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, he became a member of the executive committee of Peace Boat. His book "Nuclear Proliferation" received an award from the Peace Studies Association of Japan.

I was a quiet child when I was in kindergarten and elementary school. I didn't have many friends and I usually played alone, drawing pictures. I was scared of other kids who could climb to the top of the jungle gym or were good at the bars because they seemed so strong. When my mother had a parent conference with one of my teachers, I remember they were worried about the fact that I didn't like playing outside.

However, when I was in the third or fourth grade of elementary school, my situation changed. Because I liked to sit and study, I was doing well in school. At my school there was a kind of system in which children who were good at studying were praised by the teachers and that raised their standing among the other students. So, although I was timid, my confidence grew and I found my voice.

In high school, I joined the water polo club. The club had very long, hard practices every day until late into the evening, but I enjoyed the club and I stuck it out. At the same time, I continued to study hard. I was particularly interested in humanities and science, so I took as many courses as I could in these subjects. I also studied Chinese as a second foreign language. I was so busy from morning to night, and my friends were surprised by my hectic schedule.

After I graduated from high school, I took a trip to China for a month so I was absent from my university entrance ceremony. It was my first trip overseas and I met a lot of nice people. On the other hand, I had some bad experiences, too, like getting my pocket picked.

At the time, China had just begun its reforms and was opening up more to the world so people were very interested in economics and foreign goods. When they realized I was Japanese, the Chinese people always wanted to talk about Walkmans and cars and Konosuke Matsushita (the founder of Panasonic). To be honest, I got tired of being part of the "Japanese image" in their minds, since I didn't have anything to do with those things.

When I was in my second year at university, the Iran-Iraq War ended and I wanted to see post-war Iran. I traveled around Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

On my way to Iran, the man sitting next to me on the plane invited me to his house. I stayed there for a week and his family was very kind to me. I realize now, though, that I shouldn't have done such a thing. A few years before, a young Japanese man who entered Iran during the war was killed by the army. I was just lucky the same thing didn't happen to me.

I visited Azerbaijan and Armenia, which were part of the Soviet Union at the time, because I was curious about the conflict over land going on between these two nations. I often heard about it from the media. In Armenia, I saw thousands of people gathering day and night to protest for Armenia's independence. It felt like something powerful was happening.

But the people there spoke only Armenian or Russian, so I couldn't understand what they were saying. I tried to find someone who could speak English.

A middle-aged woman responded to me with a strong accent, "What do you want to know?" Her question took me aback and I had to really consider what I was curious about. I couldn't make myself clear, but the woman and I hit it off well and she watched over me for a few days. She took me to a number of places and kindly taught me about the history of Armenia and the conflict taking place.

After I returned to Japan, I thought about my future. The woman had asked me "What do you want to do?" That question is still in my mind, even today.