This is how I have lived my life　
Message from an Elder to the Young
～Interview with Haruo Nishihara, former
　President of Waseda University

CGTN、CRI、China 　September　28　20218

Translation: Teiichi Aoyama Tokyo City University
Independent Media E-wave Tokyo Oct 13, 2021年

Haruo Nishihara, 93, former president of Waseda University

　Autumn is the season for starting a new school year in China and a new term in Japan.

　With the world still in a state of instability due to the Corona disaster and other factors, how can young people make the most of their lives? We have a guest who has some enlightening tips for young people.

　Haruo Nishihara, 93, former president of Waseda University, was originally an expert in criminal law. He has made it his life's work to build lasting peace in the world, based not only on the world of criminal law, but also on the recognition that "war is the summit of crime". Even after retiring from active practice, he continues to search for mechanisms to achieve world peace, including from the perspective of international law and the peace movement.

　Since 2020, Mr. Nishihara has been working with 20 Japanese elders, whose average age is over 85 years old, to establish the "Organization for the Promotion of Non-War in East Asia".

　Even at the age of 93, Mr. Nishihara is as energetic as a young man. We interviewed him about the secret of his long and healthy life and how he spends his time.

　This is how I've lived: A message from an elder to the young: Interview with Haruo Nishihara, former President of Waseda University_fororder_MrNishihara450
Haruo Nishihara, jurist and the 12th President of Waseda University (1982-1990)

Living with stress is the key to a long and healthy life

-What is the secret of your hale and hearty health at the age of 93?

　People say that it's better to have no stress. It is true that too much stress can lead to neurosis and physical problems. However, we need a certain amount of stress, don't we?

　From a young age, I was a leader of an athletic team. I was in sports all through secondary school, high school and university. When I was at university, I was put in a position to deal with university conflicts on the front line, and after I got a job, I was put in charge of the law department and then the president of the university. ...... As the head of an organization, I was trained to use my head from morning to night. And I was under a lot of stress. I was trained to do that.

-You have to use your head as well as your body. So it's been good training for you?

　Yes. I was always a thin, sensitive, literary boy. I paid attention to what people said and I was a crybaby. After that, I spent my whole life thinking from morning till night. That's why even now, at the age of 93, I'm still thinking from morning to night about the procedure for doing things. And when the task is gone, I create the next task. I think that's why I'm young.

　In other words, if you don't use your head, your body won't work. When you use your head, every cell in your body gets excited. When you use your head, all the cells in your body become active. That is why people who are still working or doing their hobbies after retirement have a longer and healthier life.

Satisfying the meaning of life is the meaning of human existence.

--How have you dealt with and recovered from the sad and damaging experiences in your life?

　When I was a young child I was a tearful, emotional and literary boy. If I had stayed that way, I wouldn't have been able to endure so many things and I wouldn't be where I am today. I think that I have been able to prevent this by developing the strength to endure such things.

　Not only that, but in the midst of all this, I became more and more convinced that everything, good and bad, is a heavenly scenario. So things started to pile up that made me feel that way. As I get older, my emotions may become a little duller, but I think I've been able to transcend my anger and sadness because I've come to believe more and more that it's all a matter of providence and that there's no point in lamenting.

-It also seems essential to have a goal to pursue.

　As I said before, I was a literary boy with a thin line, so I don't like confrontations and fights, I don't like to do it myself and I don't like to see people fighting. So if there was a fight going on around me, I wanted to stop it. That's what I've learned over the years. "I think that's how I came up with the idea of making East Asia a war-free region.

　The theory of security is that the main purpose of any country is to defend itself against an enemy attack. That's why you have a military force, you expand your military force, and you try to defend your country when other countries attack. But when you think about it, thinking about "what if the enemy attacks us" has the aspect of assuming the enemy and turning them into the enemy, doesn't it?

　So I thought, why don't we just stop them from attacking us? In other words, if the conflict is not easy to solve, we should take it to a higher level. That way, even if things can't be solved, they can be prevented from leading to war. I call it the Theory of Transcendence. Every day I am still thinking about how I can bring it to more people and transmit it. I think that's why I'm doing well.

-What do you think is the ultimate meaning of human life?

　Human beings are very dignified, but we came into this world by chance, didn't we? You can say that it is up to us how we spend our lives, but we are given only one life. It's only a few decades, a hundred years at the most.

　So I think about it this way. We exist in this world so that we can be satisfied with the meaning of the life we have been given. I think that the most desirable way of being human is to make our existence in this world as meaningful as possible. Shouldn't this be our goal in life?

　What we consider big, and how we make it big, depends entirely on the person. It's something you have to learn for yourself. I think this is a way of life that young people today can understand to some extent. That is how I have lived my life.

(Organized by Wang Xiaoyan)