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— ABOUT  Wasabi Stories… —

“It is necessary to see a thing from various angles”

Today’s story teller is a fellow member of Hitachi, a Japanese multinational corporation specializing in high-technology, Hideaki Koizumi.

He told two stories to tell the importance of seeing a thing from different angles.

The first one is about a Japanese doctor who worked for eradication of tropical disease in the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the back region of Ethiopia, he succeeded in exterminating almost all malaria and made the villagers happy.

Until then, they had high infant death rate, but the achievement brought their smiles back.

Years later, the doctor visited the village thinking they would welcome him; however, he saw unexpected scene there.

Because of the decrease of death rate, the population increased and they were in scarcity of food; therefore, they started fighting each others for food.

Seeing the people’s hearts falling into disrepair, the doctor felt what he did, saving lives and becoming happy, was his arrogance.

The second story is about the Yanomami in Amazon rainforest.

He heard a report saying “it is unbelievably peaceful and heart warming village”, and it made him seriously want to see the village with his own eyes although it would be hard to go there.

But further report told him the different side of them.

Behind the peaceful side, their tribal war is heated.

Also a new-born baby is considered as a spirit and they decide if they raise it or return to forest.

The first report was only about the surface but ignored the inside of it.

Koizumi’s word,

“When you make action by seeing one side of something without overlook the whole system, you may make a huge mistake, even you think what you’re doing is right. A part is only a part of a whole.”

The NIKKEI Oct/23/2009  by Hideaki Koizumi (a fellow of Hitachi)

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