History's on the Side of Japan

While predicting Japan's future in the wake of last week's 8.9 earthquake, tsunami, damage to the infrastructure, and nuclear reactor shutdowns, we can see that the Japanese people as a whole can and have historically emerged from such disasters stronger than ever.

One thing recent events have shown is the civility and adaptability of the Japanese people in the face of extreme conditions. These are a strong people who face an uncertain future. This is a society which emerged stronger after the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657 which burned for three days and destroyed the capital city of Edo (Tokyo), killing 100,000 people. The Japanese emerged stronger from the Kanto earthquake which killed between 100,000 and 142,000 people. The Japanese emerged from WWII, the firebombing of Tokyo and the destruction of its army, strong enough to rebuild and become the world's second greatest economy (now surpassed by China).

Japanese politicians have argued recently that Japan needed to reform and revitalize Japanese industry and society. While no one could have predicted the heart-wrenching disaster and human tragedy of March 11, Japan once again finds itself at a historic turning point. And history demonstrates that it is on the side of Japan, which will emerge stronger.