Japan

I felt guilty that I hadn’t thought of Kizuki straight away, as if I had somehow abandoned him. Back in my room, though, I came to think of it like this: two-and-a-half years have gone by since it happened, and Kizuki is still 17 years old. Not that this means my memory of him has faded. The things that his death gave rise to are still there,

And when you are dying, you may have a chance to reflect on your life and the legacy you are leaving behind. You created that legacy during the past day. You are creating that legacy at this very moment. What will you leave behind? What will you create that will outlive you? How many hearts and minds will be touched by your deeds? Use your precious

Now, though, I realize that all I can place in the imperfect vessel of writing are imperfect memories and imperfect thoughts. The more the memories of Naoko inside me fade, the more deeply I am able to understand her.

‘Pointless thinking is worse than no thinking at all.’”

I once heard a social activist making a presentation, and during the discussion period that followed a member of the audience commented that she found the presenter’s work inspiring. The presenter responded by asking the audience member what she was inspired to do. There was a long pause. The presenter used that moment as an opportunity to

secrets to a long life during his interview with journalist Judit Kawaguchi. Some of his guidelines for living are: ● Don’t retire. And if you must, retire much later than 65. ● Energy comes from feeling good, not from eating well or sleeping a lot. ● Don’t be overweight. ● Take the stairs. ● Have fun. ● Having fun is the best way to forget about