Before Talking about Someone’s Education

A flood of news reports on Nobel Peace Prize to Malala Yousafzai appeared on front page of every newspaper on Saturday. The Japanese like to be compassionate on someone’s success, with a sentiment of virtually participating in the story. Most Japanese were delighted with awarding Yousafzai and chanting the importance of education. But they do not realize enough about problems of education in Japan. A number of kids in Japan cannot get enough education not because they are woman, but because they are in poverty.

Newspapers praised Yousafzai of her brave effort to require education for women. They reported the reason of the award, “Resistance against oppression on children and young people and effort to address the right for every children to have education.” Media liked to quote her words of victory, which were “Attempt to silence me with guns and bullets had failed. Book and pen are the most powerful weapons,” as if they were encouraged by that young Pakistani girl.

The Japanese are easy to be encouraged by beautiful stories. It is common that Japanese soccer fans scream on the street of Shibuya, Tokyo, that they thank the team for giving braveness, dream, love and hope, even when the team loses. They are not actually thanking for the soccer game. It is a simple excitement on unusual event in their boring and empty ordinary lives. Not being changed by the event, their lives go on with their routine jobs.

Children in poverty in Japan are not excited with those events, because they do not know about it. They do not see soccer game on TV, because electricity is cut off in their houses. They will not go to the public viewing, because they cannot afford to get train ticket to Shibuya. Kids in poverty are silently sitting in a small room, waiting for their parents to come back from low-income job. It is embarrassing.

In 2011, one student out of six in Japan was dependent on financial support to go to school. Although administration led by Democratic Party of Japan introduced tuition exemption for high schools, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been cutting budget for supporting low-income families. High school students who retire the school with the reason of inability to pay for tuition are increasing. Before praising the cause of Malala, the Japanese need to help kids in neighborhood go to school.

Basically, the Japanese are too excited with Nobel Peace Prize. They were also excited with the recipient, Barack Obama, in 2009. Their hope was turned to disappointment when Obama was involved in sir strike in Iraq and Syria. Political decision of Nobel Committee has been eroding its authority. Having said that, people who cannot maintain their own peaceful principle in the Constitution have better not talk about peace in the world.