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In 1963 Japanese pop star Kyu Sakamoto topped the American pop charts with a song titled "Ue O Muite Aruko" ("Let's look up as we walk") and, weirdly, retitled Sukiyaki in the U.S. The song promptly became the only Japanese language song to reach the top of the pop charts. Released in Japan 16 years after the devastation of World War II in which the island nation was all but leveled by the United States, Sakamoto's hit ushered a new, younger generation into the cultural mainstream. The song was inspired by opposition to the American occupation and encouraged the Japanese people to continue their recovery from that devastation with bittersweet lyrics that went something like this: "Let's look up as we walk, so that the tears won't fall."
22 years after his triumph on the world stage, Sakamoto's golden voice was silenced when a Japanese airliner crashed into the hills of Gumma prefecture, just north of Tokyo. Sakamato was among the 520 who perished—the largest loss of life on any single aircraft in the history of aviation. The tragedy that haunts Japan to this day is that not all of those victims died at once.
The plane's wreckage was spotted within 20 minutes of the crash by U.S. forces stationed nearby, who notified both Japanese and U.S. officials, and though U.S. forces were ready to help in rescue efforts which could have commenced before nightfall, they were reportedly told to stand down by Japanese authorities.
Worse still, when after touring the wreckage from the air, Japanese forces concluded that there were no signs of life and that the operation would be focused on recovery, not rescue. This meant that Japanese forces wasted crucial hours setting up a base camp nearby. They did not reach the site of the crash until daylight. Medical personnel would later conclude that lives could have been saved had the passengers received prompt medical care and a surviving passenger later recalled hearing the cries and moans of fellow passengers which gradually subsided with the approach of daybreak.
The stilling of the voice of one of Japan's greatest international pop stars—and hundreds of fellow passengers—is a reminder that on occasion, Japan has not been effective as it should be when it comes to rapid response to disaster. Japanese cultural observers have long debated the topic, with some blaming the consensus-oriented nature of much of Japanese decision making. This type of decision-making may be effective and constructive in many situations but can result in critical delays where swift and decisive action is needed.
It's with that backdrop that the world is watching Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's actions as he navigates a terrain that is, metaphorically speaking, as difficult as the one faced by Japanese forces that evening when they made the ill-fated call to wait. And while there has been some private grumbling from members of opposition parties who feel that Abe is playing up the Corona virus crisis to deflect attention from domestic scandals, or fault him for his unwillingness to close down travel from China at the outset of the crisis, after some initial stumbles, Japan's longest serving prime minister seems to be finding his footing as he takes decisive steps that haven't always characterized politicians—in Japan or elsewhere.
His decision to send 13 million Japanese schoolchildren home, effectively closing down the nation's education system for at least a month, coupled with his call for all public sporting and cultural events to be shut down for the foreseeable future aren't just bold moves, they showcase the kind of decisive leadership that will be needed if Japan is to avoid a major national health catastrophe and save the Olympic games, the loss of which would devastate both the economy and the national psyche of a nation trying to claw its way out of a 30-year cultural and economic recession.
These types of crises invariably show us the kind of leaders we have. In a culture traditionally deferring to consensus, Prime Minister Abe will be faced with the daily challenge of having to make decisions that may not wait for a consensus to build up, but rather demand a leader who can take risks and exercise executive powers quickly.
As he navigates that difficult terrain, a nation that failed to respond with due speed to a major disaster 35 years ago—losing a cultural treasure in the process—will be watching closely to see if Abe will continue to move decisively to protect his nation from an unseen enemy and avert an even more devastating catastrophe.
Mark Joseph is a filmmaker and author, and the producer of the documentary "Japan: Searching For The Dream"
The views expressed in this article are the author's own.
