Japan and Me

Young professor at the University of Liege, I had the chance to take to Japan in 1970, a group of young people of which several were studying architecture with me.

Our discovery of a country so different from ours has marked us, I think I can say, forever.

Me, in particular, as in 1972, I returned to accompany a French delegation which was aimed at an exchange of knowledge in the field of construction with Japanese counterparts.

It was a second chance for me because during the visit to France two years later of the Japanese delegation, I had the honour guide only in the new town Le Vaudreuil and in the District of Grand Mare in Rouen.

That day, the withdrawal of French officials convinced the Japanese that a small Belgian deserved some praise. Therefore the reputation as an affable man, competent and available has never left me and I became close to renowned professors and big bosses from the building sphere, engineers, architects and contractors.

I was able to enjoy throughout the forty years that followed, the esteem and friendship of all those responsible.

I finally had a third chance, that have been able to speak a few minutes with Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan during an official dinner at the royal palace in Brussels.

Since then, my star with the Japanese ceased to shine.

In any case, I am very aware that my ' fortune ' Japanese is immense and that this country has brought me much.»

Not only it has enriched me, but it mainly taught me and especially that we must worry about the nature and that we cannot live without it.

It is difficult in a few words to sum up the influence and contribution of culture and the Japanese way of life.

Buddhism, the philosophy which inspires the Japanese better than our religions prepares them for difficulties imposed by nature.

Their interdependent way of life compared to our individualism and egoism is edifying. Each accident, whether it be an earthquake or a tsunami, finds them together and they face adversity with pride, intelligence and simplicity.

Their determination in these circumstances is exemplary and impressive efficiency. Moreover, their fight against pollution of the air and rivers, for example, leaves puzzled as it is fast and firm.

Creativity is very large, sometimes to the limit of the utopia. In 1970, in a laboratory of the Sony company, we could test a phone equipped with a screen where we could see the interlocutor. Today we find natural to speak visually with friend, and this by means of devices that fit into the palm of the hand.

How to qualify their politeness and their punctuality so this is that both are incomparable.

During my secondary studies, my latin teacher reminded often that "the road is long with the theories, it is short by examples. I found this maxim with my Japanese friends who tell me prefer see once only to hear hundred times, so closing a loop of wisdom.

Put end-to-end, my visits correspond to 420 days in the Japan and I remain fascinated as on my first trip.