Waseda WeeklyWaseda Weekly

The first university where I taught in Japan had many international students. The students from Indonesia were earnest and cheerful, and I became close with them. One of them was a Christian, and the others were Muslim.

One day, unfortunately, some Muslims attacked a Christian church in Indonesia. A Christian Indonesian student expressed his indignation to me about the persecution and threats Christians had suffered. Later, when I met some Indonesian Muslim students at a party, they spoke with indignation about the influence that Christians, mainly Chinese immigrants, had on Indonesia.

While I am firmly opposed to terrorism, I feel that we need to listen to each other. It pained me to see situations where people only listen to their own group and rarely hear the other group's side of the story, preventing deeper mutual understanding. The same can be said for the wars between Russia and Ukraine, and between Palestine and Israel. Can we understand the pain of the other side as well as our own? When friction arises between Japan and South Korea, or Japan and China, over historical issues, are the people of those countries really listening to what the other side has to say, rather than just thinking about their own interests?

At times like these, I believe the role of universities is even more important. On campus, all truths must be laid out on the table, and we must be able to listen to each other's opinions and debate freely. If we form our own opinions without knowing the truth, how ashamed and regretful will we be when we one day learn the truth?

(SB)

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