Japan, One Year On

My Mum sent me this video in an email today:

I actually can't watch it without getting all glossy-eyed. It's hard to believe a whole year has passed since it happened. I wasn't in Japan at the time, but I'd had my interview for JET and my plans to go were in full swing. Then I saw news of this terrible disaster and didn't know what to think. Now, having lived here for over seven months, the video strikes a particularly strong emotional chord with me. It just captures the Japanese spirit that I've grown to love so well. In particular, the chorus of "ありがとう"s in the video's closing segment chokes me the hardest, because I know they're coming straight from the heart. Japanese people manage to love their home country in a way that never comes across as nationalistic. Whenever I speak about my love for Japan in the abstract to a Japanese friend, they'll always reply with the same "ありがとう!" (thank you!) as if I'm paying them a personal compliment. Because, the way they see it, I am. So I can only imagine how truly indebted and grateful the speakers in that video feel. It's just touching that, through all the pain and loss they suffered on that terrible day, and are continuing to suffer to this day, it's those emotions which are shining through the brightest.

Praying for Japan.