Beppu, Oita Pref. ¨C Renowned biologist Richard Dawkins recently tweeted a quote from Harvard professor Steven Pinker¡¯s ¡°Enlightenment Now¡± in response to the novel coronavirus: ¡°The first step toward wisdom is the realization that the laws of the universe don¡¯t care about you. The next is the realization that this does not imply that life is meaningless, because people care about you and vice versa.¡± A pandemic is a natural phenomenon and beyond the control of humans. While Homo sapiens emerged no more than a mere 200,000 years ago, viruses have a history of several billion years. But humans can care about each other. In other words, global trust and solidarity are their greatest weapon.

Movements of people have been restricted on a global scale. This was a logical step because movement spreads the virus. In Japan, a state of emergency was declared on April 7. Although physical exchanges between people have been temporarily blocked, I feel that bonds with people around the world have deepened through the internet.

A friend in Washington regularly updates me on the situation in the United States. A Chinese graduate of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), where I serve as president, delivered masks to his alma mater. An Italian friend gave me a word of encouragement, saying we should hug each other once this pandemic is over. A video sent by a friend in France showed people on their apartment verandas applauding medical professionals coming back home. A friend in Britain sent me a news report that 750,000 people responded in three days to an announcement seeking 250,000 medical volunteers.