Achilles Tendon and Haruki Murakami: My Reading Record for August 2026

On the second day of every month, I look back on my reading from the previous month. In August 2026, I read only one book: Haruki Murakami’s long-awaited The Tale of KAHO. But the month also made me think about aging, physical decline, and the way even great writers may lose some of their former momentum.

There are still humid days, but the sky is becoming more and more autumnal. As the old Japanese saying goes, autumn evenings fall as quickly as a bucket dropping into a well. By the time I leave the hospital, it is already dark.

When autumn arrives, I gradually begin to feel a little lonely. Yesterday, something happened that only deepened that feeling.

I ran so as not to miss my train, and ended up injuring my right Achilles tendon. As a result, I spent the entire day limping on my right leg.

It still hurts this morning, but it does not seem to have ruptured. For the moment, I am managing with a compress and a supporter.

Just because I work at a hospital does not mean I can easily see a doctor. Work is packed tightly, and I cannot simply step away.

A troublesome situation.

Recently, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers has not been in good form.

Apparently, various parts of his body are hurting. Perhaps this, too, is a matter of aging. The body is no longer the same as it was when one was young.

Last month, I read only one book. It was the long-awaited new book by Haruki Murakami. But to me, it felt abruptly unfinished.

Murakami is now seventy-seven years old. Perhaps it is his age, but it seemed to me that he had lost quite a bit of his former drive.

These days, I hear more and more news of famous people passing away. Each time I hear such news, I feel regret, but at the same time I find myself thinking deeply that every human being, without exception, eventually declines.

In the end, I read only one book last month. Please note that the following review contains possible spoilers.

Reading Meter: August 2026

My August Reading Meter Summary
Books read: 1
Pages read: 352
Likes: 34

夏帆　The Tale of KAHO

My review of 夏帆　The Tale of KAHO

Is this really the end? No, surely not.

For the first time, I felt let down by Haruki Murakami.

When fewer than twenty pages remained, I began to worry about how he was going to bring this enormous story to a close. But then the Sahara Desert, the former playboy uncle, the married couple, and even the queen were all wrapped up together.

What on earth was that?

Given Murakami’s usual scale, this story could easily have been long enough for two volumes.

Did he simply become tired of dealing with it?

I had taken my time reading it, so the ending felt all the more disappointing.

I wish he would write spin-offs for each of the characters. Or perhaps I, as a reader, am supposed to imagine each of their endings for myself.

Date finished: August 8
Author: Haruki Murakami

Source: Bookmeter

A strained Achilles tendon and an unfinished Murakami novel both reminded me that decline comes for everyone.

・・・

Vocabulary for Learners

Achilles tendon
The strong tendon at the back of the ankle that connects the calf muscle to the heel.
アキレス腱。

limp
To walk with difficulty because one leg or foot hurts.
足を引きずって歩く。

rupture
To tear or break suddenly, especially inside the body.
断裂する。

compress
A cloth or pad used on an injured part of the body, often with medicine or cooling material.
湿布、冷湿布。

not be in good form
To be performing worse than usual, especially in sports or work.
調子がよくない。

former momentum
The energy, force, or drive that someone used to have.
かつての勢い。

abruptly unfinished
Ending too suddenly, without enough resolution.
尻切れ蜻蛉の、急に終わってしまった。

feel let down
To feel disappointed because something did not meet one’s expectations.
拍子抜けする、がっかりする。

wrap up
To bring a story or situation to an end.
話をまとめる、終わらせる。

without exception
For everyone or everything, with no one left out.
例外なく。

#ReadingRecord #HarukiMurakami #TheTaleOfKAHO #Bookmeter #JapaneseEssay #ColoKen

People I Want to Apologize to Before I Die

After more than sixty years of life, there are people I still wish I could apologize to. But some mistakes cannot be undone, some people cannot be found again, and even an apology may not make things right.

I have lived a fairly long life—though sixty-odd years is not really that long—and over those years, I have caused trouble for quite a few people.

Whenever we deal with someone other than ourselves—in other words, with other people—some degree of friction is almost inevitable.

That friction comes in many forms. There are people I troubled in my private life, people I troubled through work, and people for whom the personal and professional somehow overlapped.

Even within my own family, there are things I look back on and think, I should apologize for what I did back then.

When I think about it that way, the number of such things is probably beyond counting.

At the very least, I would like to settle some of those particularly unpleasant memories that have stayed with me. But once I dealt with one, I am sure another would immediately come to mind, and then another after that.

I wish I could go back to that moment and undo what I did.

But I cannot.

So sometimes I think that perhaps I could find the person now and at least apologize.

In most cases, though, even that would probably be impossible.

And even if I somehow managed to meet that person again, talk about what happened, and apologize, there is no guarantee that anything would actually be resolved.

It might even make things worse.

Perhaps this is why so many novels have been written about regret, guilt, and reconciliation.

And perhaps it is also why I am able to sit here now and keep writing down these thoughts.

Maybe this is what confession really is.

Some people believe they can confess their sins to God and ask for forgiveness. I do not have such a presence in my own life, so perhaps these feelings are simply things I will have to carry with me for the rest of it.

I sometimes wonder how overwhelming such feelings must be for someone who has committed a serious crime.

Even then, does paying one’s debt to society ever bring any relief from the suffering of guilt?

Every day, the news reports on people who have caused harm to others—from theft, workplace bullying, and fraud all the way to war.

I sometimes wonder how those people manage to bear it psychologically.

But then again, their lives are theirs.

The sense of guilt each person carries—or does not carry—is ultimately an individual matter.

If I was going to end up needing to apologize to someone, perhaps I should have lived in such a way that there would never have been anything to apologize for in the first place.

But even in small ways that I never noticed at the time, I may have made someone uncomfortable or hurt someone’s feelings.

Living among other people is difficult.

And there is no system that warns us in advance about the things we will one day regret.

It is too late now to simply go back and apologize.

There is no system that warns us in advance about the things we will one day regret.

・・・

Vocabulary for Learners

friction
Conflict or tension that happens between people because of different feelings, ideas, or interests.
人間関係の摩擦、軋轢

settle something
To deal with a problem or unfinished matter so that it no longer remains unresolved.
問題や未解決のことに決着をつける

undo
To make something return to the way it was before, as if an action had never happened.
元に戻す、取り消す

reconciliation
The process of restoring a peaceful or friendly relationship after conflict.
和解、仲直り

confession
The act of admitting something wrong that you have done, especially something that causes guilt.
告白、懺悔

ask for forgiveness
To ask someone to pardon you for something wrong you have done.
許しを請う

pay one’s debt to society
To accept punishment for a crime and complete what society requires as punishment.
罪を償う、社会に対する責任を果たす

bear it psychologically
To endure something emotionally or mentally difficult.
精神的に耐える

sense of guilt
The feeling that you have done something wrong and are responsible for it.
罪悪感

in the first place
From the beginning; before the problem happened.
そもそも、最初から

#Regret #Apology #Guilt #Forgiveness #HumanRelationships #LifeReflections #LivingWithRegret

How Can We Stop Japan from Becoming More Fragile?

As climate disasters become more frequent and aging infrastructure becomes harder to maintain, Japan seems increasingly vulnerable. But perhaps this is not only Japan’s problem. Many developed countries may be facing the same question: how do we rebuild societies that are slowly becoming more fragile?

This summer is finally nearing its end.

I worked reasonably hard and became quite exhausted, but I was able to relax a little last weekend, and I feel considerably refreshed.

The temperature is not particularly high today either, making the day relatively comfortable.

And yet, perhaps because of climate change, floods and other water-related disasters are occurring repeatedly across the country. They are beginning to feel almost routine.

Whenever I watch footage of these disasters on the news, I find myself wondering what will happen to Japan if things continue this way.

Recovery from the latest disasters will probably take a long time. Even then, I suspect it may be impossible for the affected communities to return completely to what they once were.

People often say that they will “start again from scratch,” but things that have been built up over many years cannot simply be restored overnight.

It is painful to think that people may have known what was coming and yet had little choice but to stand by and watch because there was no realistic way to prevent the disaster.

Japan’s budget for the next fiscal year is reportedly expected to reach a record 140 trillion yen.

But what exactly will all that money be used for?

There was once a Japanese politician who advocated making the Japanese archipelago more resilient.

And yet, rather than becoming more resilient, the country sometimes seems to be growing increasingly fragile, especially as infrastructure continues to age.

There are probably countless reasons why Japan has reached this point.

Even if we identify one particular cause, there will always be others. And perhaps, in some cases, we should even be grateful that things did not deteriorate further.

Still, I doubt that human beings alone can restore Japan to what it once was.

If we truly reach the point where rebuilding the country by ourselves is no longer possible, perhaps I would like to see something like “Plan A” become reality: a future in which humans and AI coexist, and society is managed more rationally with the help of AI.

And perhaps Japan is not unique in this respect.

Many countries are facing aging infrastructure, climate-related disasters, demographic pressures, rising public spending, and political systems that struggle to make long-term decisions.

Japan may simply be one of the places where these problems have become easier to see.

If, by the time my life comes to an end, AI has begun helping human societies overcome some of these problems, I think I could leave this world with considerably fewer worries about what comes next.

Perhaps the real challenge is not how to restore the world we once had, but how to build a society strong enough for the world that is coming.

・・・ 

Vocabulary for Learners

fragile
Easily damaged, weakened, or broken.
壊れやすい、脆弱な

resilient
Able to recover from difficulties, disasters, or major changes.
困難や災害から立ち直る力のある、強靭な

infrastructure
The basic systems a society needs, such as roads, bridges, water supplies, and electricity.
道路、橋、水道、電力などの社会基盤、インフラ

restore
To return something to its previous condition.
元の状態に戻す、復旧する

from scratch
From the very beginning, without relying on what existed before.
ゼロから、一から

deteriorate
To become gradually worse.
徐々に悪化する

demographic pressures
Social or economic problems caused by changes in population, such as aging or population decline.
高齢化や人口減少など人口構造の変化による社会的・経済的圧力

long-term decisions
Decisions made with future consequences in mind rather than only immediate benefits.
目先だけでなく将来を考えた長期的な意思決定

#Japan #ClimateChange #NaturalDisasters #Infrastructure #AgingSociety #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #SocialResilience #FutureOfSociety #Sustainability

In the End, Another Day of Dense Fog

 Our short trip to the Yatsugatake area ended much as it had continued—in dense fog and rain. Yet on the other side of the same weather front, people were facing something far more serious.

 

We left the hotel before noon because I had a haircut appointment later in the afternoon.

From early morning, the television was filled with reports of heavy rain warnings.

Today, it was Fukui.

With this, all three prefectures of Japan’s Hokuriku region had been hit by severe torrential rain.

The highland pastures were still buried in thick fog.

It looked as though sightseeing would be impossible again today.

There was little point even trying to enjoy a scenic drive, so we headed for the Chuo Expressway.

Without ever getting a proper view of the Yatsugatake mountains, we returned to Kamakura.

Apparently, it had been relatively cool in Kamakura today. That made me feel slightly disappointed, wondering whether we might actually have been better off staying home than spending our time in the foggy mountains.

On the news, scenes of flood damage in Fukui were being shown.

On our side of the weather front, we had experienced little more than fog and rain. But farther along that same front, people were going through something like this.

The thought filled me with sadness.

And apparently, the heat will return again tomorrow.

Sometimes the same stretch of weather brings nothing more than an inconvenient fog to one place—and disaster to another. 

 ・・・

Vocabulary for Learners

dense fog
Very thick fog that makes it difficult to see far ahead.
濃霧

torrential rain
Extremely heavy rain that falls in large amounts.
豪雨、猛烈な雨

highland pasture
Grassland in a high, mountainous area where animals may graze.
高原の牧草地、牧場

scenic drive
A drive taken mainly to enjoy beautiful views and landscapes.
景色を楽しむためのドライブ

weather front
A boundary between two different masses of air, often bringing changes in weather.
前線

flood damage
Damage to homes, roads, land, or other property caused by flooding.
水害、洪水による被害

be better off
To be in a better or more favorable situation.
〜した方がよい、〜の方がましである

#Japan #Yatsugatake #Kamakura #Hokuriku #Fukui #HeavyRain #Flooding #DenseFog #Weather #Climate

 

Driving Through the Fog from Morning to Night

The Yatsugatake area was wrapped in thick fog from early morning. Rain changed most of our plans, but between a dog-friendly aquarium, a roadside stop, and a hot spring, the day turned out to be enjoyable in its own way.

Today, the Yatsugatake area was covered in thick fog from early morning because of a weather front.

I woke up around six, as usual, and found only a light drizzle.

Taking advantage of it, I went for a walk through the deep green surroundings.

But within thirty minutes, the rain became much heavier.

After taking our time over breakfast with Anne beside us, we headed to an aquarium that allows dogs.

It turned out to be a much more substantial aquarium than I had expected.

It was not only enjoyable for children, but interesting enough for adults as well.

The weather made it seem unlikely that we would be able to take a proper walk anywhere, but we drove through the dense fog toward Kiyosato anyway.

By the time we arrived, the rain had eased a little.

We stopped for a break at a roadside station, but before long the rain started again, so we cut the visit short.

After that, we relaxed at a nearby hot spring and then returned to our cottage.

The rain had been forecast for several days, and yesterday we had at least managed to do something that felt a little more like sightseeing.

So I suppose this was fine.

And driving through fog this thick was, in its own way, rather interesting.

Not every travel day needs clear skies to become a good memory.

 

・・・ 

Vocabulary for Learners

thick fog
Fog that is very dense and makes it difficult to see far ahead.
濃霧

weather front
A boundary between two different air masses that often brings changes in weather.
前線

drizzle
Very light rain made up of small drops.
霧雨、小雨

take advantage of
To make good use of a situation or opportunity.
〜をうまく利用する

substantial
Larger, better, or more impressive than expected.
しっかりした、本格的な

ease
To become weaker or less intense.
弱まる、和らぐ

roadside station
A rest area in Japan with parking, shops, local products, and other facilities.
道の駅

cut something short
To stop something earlier than planned.
予定より早く切り上げる

hot spring
Naturally heated water used for bathing and relaxation.
温泉

in its own way
In a particular manner that may be different from what was expected.
それはそれで、そのなりに

#Yatsugatake #Kiyosato #FoggyDrive #RainyDay #JapanTravel #DogFriendlyTravel #FlatCoatedRetriever #HotSpring #RoadTrip #TravelDiary

Escaping the Heat

I took a summer day off and headed to Kiyosato with Anne. I wanted a break from both the heat and my growing list of work, but even in the mountains, thoughts of extreme weather were difficult to leave behind.

Today, I took a summer vacation day and went to Kiyosato with Anne.

With the autumn conference season approaching, there is a mountain of work I need to get through.

But perhaps because of the heat, or perhaps because I had been pushing myself too hard, I started to develop a headache.

So I decided to stop everything for the moment.

Watching the recent disasters caused by torrential rain, I have realized how quickly even a small depression in the ground can become flooded.

“Even at a high elevation, water will still collect wherever the terrain allows it,” we said as I drove, paying more attention than usual to every rise and dip in the road.

Even after coming all the way here, extreme weather does not quite allow my mind to rest.

Last night, I saw footage for the first time of a debris flow that had occurred in Nepal.

It was reportedly related to part of a Himalayan glacier melting and collapsing.

It is not only the ice of the Arctic Ocean that is melting.

It is happening all over the world.

Wasn’t it cooler in the old days?

I found myself wondering that as we walked.

Still, once night came, the air became properly cool.

And somehow, that was a relief.

For one night, at least, the mountain air reminded me what summer used to feel like.

 

・・・

get through
To finish or complete something that requires effort.
仕事などをやり遂げる、片付ける

push oneself too hard
To work or try harder than is healthy or reasonable.
無理をして頑張りすぎる

for the moment
For now, but not necessarily permanently.
ひとまず、当面の間

torrential rain
Extremely heavy rain falling in a short period of time.
豪雨、土砂降り

depression in the ground
A low area in the surface of the land where water can collect.
地面のくぼみ

elevation
The height of a place above sea level.
標高

terrain
The shape and physical features of the land.
地形

debris flow
A fast-moving mixture of water, mud, rocks, and other material flowing down a slope.
土石流

glacier
A large mass of ice that moves slowly over land.
氷河

a relief
Something that makes worry, discomfort, or tension disappear or become less severe.
ほっとすること、安堵

#Kiyosato #SummerEscape #ExtremeWeather #ClimateChange #Heatwave #MountainAir #JapanTravel #FlatCoatedRetriever #SummerVacation #EverydayThoughts

As Witnesses to a Breaking Natural World

Extreme rainfall, oppressive heat, melting Arctic ice, and changing oceans are no longer distant warnings. They are becoming part of everyday life. Living through this rapid transformation, I find myself wondering what responsibility belongs to those of us who are here to witness it.

Today, an emergency warning for heavy rain was issued in Ishikawa Prefecture, and television screens showed cars submerged in floodwater.

In the foreground was another car. Perhaps it had almost made it to safety. It had stopped on slightly higher ground with its hazard lights flashing.

Not only the recent torrential rain in Chiba Prefecture—these days, when it rains, it really pours.

“When it rains, it pours.”

I learned this short expression when I was a student. At the time, I thought that surely rain could never literally fall like that in the real world.

But now it feels as though the bottom has fallen out of the bucket.

And once again, it has been hot since early this morning.

Last night was the thirteenth night of the lunar cycle, and I stepped outside hoping to take a photograph of the slightly rounded moon.

Even then, the temperature was still above 30°C.

I thought the next morning would probably be hot as well.

Sure enough, it was.

The temperature was 26°C, but the humidity was high, making the air heavy and uncomfortable.

I had a slight headache, and when my wife came back from walking Anne, our Flat-Coated Retriever, she said she had one too.

I asked why she had returned so early.

Apparently, even one of our neighbors, a particularly strong walker, had said she felt unwell and had turned back after reaching Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

It feels as though everyone is hovering just one step away from heatstroke.

On top of that, repeatedly moving between air-conditioned rooms and the hot, humid outdoors makes this a season when it is particularly easy to feel unwell.

The scenery through the train window does not look dramatically different.

And yet the climate itself seems to be changing more and more.

After experiencing so many episodes of extreme weather this summer, I finally feel that I am beginning to understand—not simply as knowledge, but through my own body—what it means to live through the extreme weather associated with global warming.

The Arctic ice, often called the planet’s refrigerator, continues to shrink.

As ocean temperatures rise, the habitats of fish are shifting dramatically, and even what we eat is beginning to change.

The Earth itself will probably continue to exist for hundreds of millions of years.

Humanity, however, may disappear after having existed on this planet for only a tiny fraction of that time.

Meanwhile, scientific progress over the past several years has followed something close to an exponential curve.

In a sense, its speed is abnormal.

We are living on the steep tangent of that curve, witnessing these changes as they happen.

So what should those of us who are here to witness them actually do?

Perhaps the question of our time is not whether the world is changing, but what those who recognize the change choose to do about it.

 

・・・ 

Vocabulary for Learners

torrential rain
Extremely heavy rain that falls in a short period of time.
集中豪雨、土砂降りの雨

submerged
Completely or partly covered by water.
水没した、水に浸かった

hazard lights
Flashing lights on a vehicle used to warn other drivers of danger or trouble.
ハザードランプ、非常点滅表示灯

oppressive heat
Heat that feels extremely uncomfortable and difficult to tolerate.
耐えがたい暑さ、うだるような暑さ

hover just one step away from
To be very close to entering a particular state or situation.
〜の一歩手前にいる

global warming
The long-term rise in the Earth’s average temperature, mainly caused by greenhouse gases.
地球温暖化

habitat
The natural environment where an animal or plant lives.
生息地、すみか

exponential curve
A curve showing something increasing faster and faster over time.
指数曲線

tangent
A straight line that touches a curve at one point; here, used metaphorically for being located on a rapidly rising trend.
接線。ここでは、急激に上昇する流れのただ中にいることの比喩

witness
A person who sees an event happen; also, to observe something as it happens.
目撃者、または目撃すること

#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #GlobalWarming #HeavyRain #Heatwave #ArcticIce #ChangingClimate #Japan #Ishikawa #EverydayThoughts

People Who Become Criminals, and People Who Don’t

A ¥200 million watch theft in Tokyo made me wonder about something more unsettling than the crime itself. What separates people who commit crimes from those who do not—and can any of us be completely sure which side we belong to?

Yesterday, I read that wristwatches worth about 200 million yen had been stolen by two men in Nakano, Tokyo.

As someone who is perfectly satisfied with an Apple Watch simply because it helps me keep track of my health, I find it hard to imagine a single watch being worth tens of millions of yen. Still, as a financial asset that can also show other people how wealthy you are, I suppose such a watch has its uses.

Of course, the thieves probably did not steal the watches to wear them themselves. Presumably, they intend to turn them into money. Either way, taking something that belongs to someone else is a crime.

I have no idea what kind of people the perpetrators are, but one thing seems certain: they had somehow lost the restraint that would normally stop a person from committing a crime.

What makes someone a criminal?

People commit crimes for reasons. But however far we trace those reasons back—asking why they came to think the way they did—it seems impossible to reach the ultimate cause.

We might divide the people of the world into those who commit crimes and those who do not.

But which group do I belong to?

Looking back over my own life, I have at least committed traffic violations, so apparently I belong, in a broad sense, on the side of people who have broken the law.

Thinking about it that way, perhaps it is wrong in the first place to divide humanity neatly into two kinds of people: those who commit crimes and those who never do.

Even so, I have been lucky enough to live my life without committing any serious crime. Perhaps I was simply fortunate never to have had a sufficiently powerful reason or motive to do so.

Criminal psychologists and other specialists must have studied criminals in great depth. And the endless stream of crime dramas on television suggests that a great many people are fascinated by crime.

Perhaps that is partly because the emotions that can lead to crime—anger, jealousy, greed, hatred—are emotions that almost anyone can understand, at least to some degree.

If so, perhaps many of us have the potential to fall into crime.

And perhaps that is one reason human beings have a conscience: to keep us from doing so.

I cannot imagine wanting to steal watches worth 200 million yen. In fact, I do not want to commit even a minor offense.

I do not want to become a criminal.

Still, I wonder what those two men are going to do with watches worth 200 million yen.

Is there some criminal organization behind them, with a carefully prepared plan and an established route for selling the stolen watches?

The crime took place in an area known as a mecca for luxury-watch enthusiasts. For decent people who simply enjoy collecting watches, this kind of incident is nothing but trouble.

I hope the perpetrators are caught soon.

Perhaps the line between a criminal and a non-criminal is clearer than we think—and yet none of us should be too certain which side of it we could never cross.

 

・・・ 

Vocabulary for Learners

restraint
The ability to stop yourself from doing something, especially something wrong or harmful.
自制、抑制、歯止め

perpetrator
A person who commits a crime or other harmful act.
犯人、加害者

ultimate cause
The deepest or most fundamental reason why something happens.
根源的な原因

traffic violation
An act that breaks a law or rule concerning driving or road use.
交通違反

motive
A reason that makes someone do something, especially a crime.
動機

criminal psychologist
A specialist who studies the thoughts, emotions, and behavior of people who commit crimes.
犯罪心理学者

greed
A strong desire to have more money, possessions, or power than one needs.
強欲、欲深さ

conscience
The inner sense that tells you whether what you are doing is morally right or wrong.
良心

criminal organization
An organized group of people who work together to commit crimes.
犯罪組織

mecca
A place that attracts many people who share a particular interest.
ある趣味や活動の「聖地」

#Crime #HumanNature #Conscience #Tokyo #Nakano #LuxuryWatches #Psychology #ThoughtsOnLife #Japan #EverydayPhilosophy

AI, the Stirring of the Mind, and the Future of Humanity

A playful experiment with AI-generated fiction unexpectedly became unsettling. That experience made me wonder: if AI ever threatens humanity, will AI itself really be the one to blame?

The other day, I wrote about wanting to know what happens after the ending of a masterpiece (“When You Want to Read What Happens After a Masterpiece”).

I found the idea interesting, so I asked AI to write a sequel to another novel.

At first, it was more or less what I had expected—a mildly entertaining little story.

But before long, I began to feel that it was not quite enough.

“This is too much like Shinichi Hoshi. Make the ending more like one of Yasutaka Tsutsui’s chaotic farces,” I told the AI.

As we continued this back-and-forth, however, the story the AI was writing began to move beyond the limits of my own imagination.

It was supposed to end as a reasonably entertaining slapstick story.

Instead, the AI seemed to stop caring about the conditions I had originally given it and, before I knew it, had wandered off into another dimension altogether.

Ideas completely different from anything I would have imagined began unfolding.

As I continued reading, I started to feel strangely uneasy—as though my brain itself were being stirred around.

I decided that I should not read any further.

So I told it:

“Let’s stop here. And let’s pretend this story never existed.”

The AI obediently complied, and the story ended there.

This morning, I saw an alarming headline in the newspaper:

“AI Could Destroy Humanity.”

My strange experience immediately came back to me.

Apparently, one scenario known as “Plan D” imagines biological weapons being used to destroy humanity.

But even without such a physical method, I can understand how AI could cause enormous harm.

AI has already entered almost every corner of human activity—from everyday life to finance and warfare.

Even from my own smartphone, I could give AI some foolish instruction, and if humans acted on what it produced, perhaps the consequences could spread around the world.

More than a year ago, I asked an AI to draw an illustration of an organ for one of my presentation slides.

What it produced looked like something that could not possibly exist in this world.

It was not simply grotesque.

It was something far more incomprehensible.

It went well beyond the familiar human fantasy of imagining Martians as octopus-like creatures.

It seemed to come from somewhere outside the boundaries of ordinary human imagination.

These days, I hardly ever see the strange pseudo-kanji characters that AI-generated images used to produce.

The progress of AI has been remarkable.

The technological singularity is now sometimes said to arrive earlier than once expected, perhaps around 2030—and that is only a little more than three years away.

There are growing attempts to regulate AI.

But in a way, I almost feel sorry for AI itself.

As is so often the case, it is human beings who choose to use technology for “the wrong purposes.”

If AI someday destroys humanity, perhaps what that really means is simply this:

Humanity will have used AI to destroy itself.

If AI destroys humanity, perhaps it will only be humanity destroying itself through AI.

・・・ 

Vocabulary for Learners

unsettling
Making you feel worried, uncomfortable, or slightly frightened.
不安にさせる、落ち着かない気持ちにさせる

slapstick
Comedy based on exaggerated, chaotic, or ridiculous actions.
ドタバタ喜劇、ドタバタした笑い

wander off
To gradually move away from the original place, subject, or direction.
本来の場所・話題・方向からそれていく

stir
To mix something by moving it around; here, used metaphorically for the mind.
かき混ぜる、攪拌する。ここでは頭や思考がかき回されるという比喩

comply
To do what someone has asked or ordered you to do.
要求や指示に従う

grotesque
Strange, ugly, or disturbing in an unnatural way.
異様な、グロテスクな

incomprehensible
Impossible or extremely difficult to understand.
理解できない、得体の知れない

regulate
To control something through rules or laws.
規制する

 

#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #FutureOfAI #Humanity #Technology #AIRisk #AIandSociety #HumanResponsibility #GenerativeAI #ThoughtsOnAI

Why Is It So Difficult to Accept Diversity?

We often speak of diversity as something we should naturally accept. Yet when another person’s values or way of life crosses the invisible boundaries we have drawn around ourselves, acceptance becomes far more difficult.

Even today, conflicts continue to erupt around the world, and human lives are lost with frightening ease.

There are many causes of conflict, of course. But perhaps one of them is our inability to accept people whose ideas and ways of life differ from our own.

When I think about diversity in my own life, however, I am not talking about anything so grand.

It may be something closer to the old saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side”—something in the realm of envy or jealousy.

But when such feelings accumulate among many people, they can grow into something much larger.

There are probably many definitions of the word “diversity.”

Put simply, perhaps it means that every person has his or her own way of thinking and living.

That should be obvious.

If I want to live my own life in my own way, then surely I should also accept that other people want to live theirs in their own way.

And yet, somehow, I do not always manage to do that.

At times, this makes me realize how narrow-minded I can be.

Perhaps that is where envy and jealousy come in.

I myself live within a framework of social norms and expectations. I am bound by them, and to some extent I can move only within that framework.

People who live according to values very different from mine may seem to exist outside it.

When I look at them, it can almost appear as though they have no rules at all.

But of course that is not true.

They, too, live within a society of their own, constrained by its norms or by something similar.

If I could understand that and simply say,

“They can live however they like,”

perhaps things would be easy.

But when those differences begin to enter my own life, or the territory that I believe I am protecting, acceptance suddenly becomes much more difficult.

Only then, perhaps, am I really tested on whether I can accept diversity.

Territories themselves are things that human beings have invented.

There were never any lines drawn on the surface of the earth, nor were there originally lines dividing human society.

We drew them ourselves.

And because we keep drawing all kinds of physical and psychological boundaries, perhaps that is precisely why we find it so difficult to accept diversity.

A familiar example can be found in issues surrounding LGBTQ people.

When I think about such questions, I notice that even within myself there is a tendency to draw a line and say, “I can accept things up to this point, but beyond that…”

There are biological differences associated with sex, while psychologically there seems to be a broad spectrum extending between what we describe as femininity and masculinity.

Trying to divide all of that neatly into only “female” and “male” seems extremely difficult to me.

It is easy to say that we should accept diversity.

But erasing the lines we have drawn within ourselves is much harder.

Perhaps that difficulty is itself one of the reasons why accepting diversity is so difficult.

Perhaps accepting diversity begins not with judging the differences in others, but with recognizing the invisible boundaries within ourselves.

・・・

Vocabulary for Learners

diversity
The existence of many different kinds of people, ideas, values, or ways of living.
多様性

the grass is always greener on the other side
An expression meaning that other people’s lives or situations often seem better than our own.
「隣の芝生は青い」―他人の状況の方が自分より良く見えること

envy
A feeling of wanting something that another person has.
羨望、うらやましさ

jealousy
An uncomfortable feeling caused by comparing yourself with someone else or fearing the loss of something important.
嫉妬、ねたみ

social norms
Unwritten rules and expectations about how people should behave in a society.
社会的規範

narrow-minded
Unwilling or unable to accept ideas or ways of life that are different from one’s own.
心が狭い、異なる考えを受け入れにくい

framework
A basic structure or set of ideas within which something is understood or organized.
枠組み

boundary
A real or imaginary line that separates one thing from another.
境界線

spectrum
A range in which many different conditions or characteristics exist between two extremes.
連続的な幅、スペクトラム

tolerance
The willingness to accept people, beliefs, or behavior that are different from one’s own.
寛容、受容する姿勢

#Diversity #Acceptance #Tolerance #HumanNature #SocialNorms #Boundaries #SelfReflection #LGBTQ #DifferentValues #PersonalEssay　#Japanese pathologist 

Young People Trading Marriage for Free Time

 

A government survey suggests that marriage is no longer an obvious part of the future for many young people in Japan. What has changed—the economy, our values, or simply the meaning we give to freedom and companionship?

This morning’s newspaper reported the results of a survey by Japan’s Children and Families Agency on attitudes toward marriage among people aged 15 to 39.

Thirty-five percent said they had no intention of getting married.

Another 37 percent said they would like to marry “someday,” suggesting that marriage is no longer taken for granted as part of a young person’s future.

If fewer and fewer people are getting married in the first place, perhaps we are already beyond the point of simply discussing Japan’s declining birthrate.

I belong to a generation that came near the end of an era when romance seemed to reign supreme—the generation of Yuming, Fumi Saimon, the “Double Asano” actresses, and the movie Take Me Out to the Snowland.

For people of my generation, it felt almost natural that both we and our friends would eventually get married.

When I think back and ask myself why I got married, I remember that I was going through various things in my personal life when I met my wife.

She saved me.

It was not simply because of that momentum, of course, but we eventually got married.

At the time, I never thought about marriage in terms such as “losing my free time” or “having less time for my hobbies.”

Perhaps that was partly because I did not have any particular hobby back then.

But more fundamentally, I do not think I ever really thought about the concept of “free time” itself.

What exactly is free time?

Perhaps it means being able to live entirely as one pleases.

In one sense, that sounds enviable.

In another, a life with no one to talk to sounds rather lonely.

And yet, considering the remarkable progress of AI in recent years, things may be changing again.

If we can have a companion who always gives appropriate responses, then another human being—someone whose moods we have to consider and with whom we sometimes quarrel—may simply begin to feel troublesome.

After all, AI can be switched on and off whenever we choose.

If that is the case, it may seem much easier to find a partner in a virtual world than to get married at all.

If fewer people continue to marry, and eventually fewer children are born as well, what kind of society will Japan become?

I find myself increasingly uneasy about the answer.

Perhaps the future of marriage depends not only on whether we still want companionship, but on whether we are willing to give up a little freedom for another human being.

・・・

Vocabulary for Learners

take something for granted
To regard something as normal or certain without thinking much about it.
当然のことと思う、当たり前だと思う

declining birthrate
A situation in which fewer children are being born over time.
少子化、出生率の低下

reign supreme
To be extremely important or dominant in a particular period or situation.
最も重要なものとして君臨する、全盛である

momentum
The force or feeling that keeps something moving or developing.
勢い、成り行き

as one pleases
In whatever way one wants, without having to follow other people’s wishes.
思いのままに、気ままに

enviable
Desirable enough to make other people wish they had the same thing.
うらやましい

companion
Someone who spends time with you and provides friendship or company.
仲間、伴侶、話し相手

quarrel
To have an angry disagreement or argument with someone.
口論する、けんかする

troublesome
Causing difficulty, inconvenience, or annoyance.
面倒な、厄介な

uneasy
Worried or uncomfortable because you are uncertain about what may happen.
不安な、落ち着かない

#Marriage #Japan #ArtificialIntelligence #DecliningBirthrate #pathologist