A quiet morning walk under cherry blossoms turns into a reflection on how “jokes” are no longer just jokes.
It was sunny in the morning.
We had already decided the night before to walk along Dankazura to see the cherry blossoms, so my wife—free from making lunch—woke up slowly and without hurry.
Anne, who hadn’t been able to go outside much because of the rain, seemed full of pent-up frustration and walked energetically.
A flat-coated retriever without energy would be worrying, so seeing her lively like this this morning felt just right—and comforting.
Today is April Fool’s Day.
As we grow older, we come to understand that even lies and jokes have boundaries—things that are acceptable, and things that are not.
But these days, what once would have been dismissed as a joke has become reality, and that feels strangely empty.
We live in a time when words like “Aliens will invade the Earth tomorrow,” once clearly absurd, are given a disturbing sense of reality—not by aliens, but by humans themselves.
And no one seems to have a way to stop it.
Before we knew it, we lost even the space to think of clever April Fool’s jokes. The world has become one where anything goes.
How long can we, as Japanese, continue to look away from reality?
Starting today, the prices of over 2,000 food items are said to rise.
Even that number sounds like an April Fool’s joke—but it is not.
Between a world damaged by nuclear weapons and one taken over by aliens, I am no longer sure which would be the better outcome.
It may no longer be a joke to say that this year’s cherry blossoms could be the last we ever see.
When reality begins to feel like a bad joke, even April Fool’s Day loses its meaning.
