Information Expands My World
(Original in Japanese)

Kazuki Soejima
(Age 13, Japan <Living in Malaysia>)
The Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur

With the Internet, magazines, newspapers and other media, there is an abundance of information available today, and living in the center of it all makes instant access to information on the other side of the world within our reach. But have you ever thought what it would be like if we did not have these information? I used to live in India where I had little information and was even unable to watch NHK. I would like to write about that experience.

In India, I was able to meet people from countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan and Iraq—people you would rarely meet in Japan. Everyone's face and skin color were different, but we all liked the games and movies that were popular at the time. I really liked those boys with sparkling white teeth, who were delighted to take home the games that I lent them and Japanese comics they couldn't possibly read, and who gave me candies that were excessively sweet. We became friends through what little information we shared. Also, I became very interested in their home countries, which I would have dismissed before saying, "Where is that? I have no idea.” I began to watch news about these countries thinking, "My friend A lives in that country now," or "That's my second homeland, India, where I used to live," or "I've been to that country B." Whenever I found an article about one of these countries, even if it were a tiny article in the corner of a newspaper, I would run and show it to my family and cut it out.

It was the same with Japan. I began to pay more attention to Japan now that I was living away. I became fascinated by temples, Japanese history, Japanese confectionary, the Shakuhachi and other Japanese things, just like a foreigner who loves Japan. My father, who named me, laughed saying, "'Kazu' in Kazuki means 'Japan', so it is your destiny." So I got very excited about news from Japan as well. Looking at trends and ads for new products in the much anticipated magazines and comics that arrived late, I was determined to buy them all when I got back to Japan. Information from Japan was all the more important because it was so limited. Each piece of news affected me. I would get happy thinking, "Wow, so that's what Japan is like now," or "Relations between India and Pakistan have improved. That's good." At other times, I would get worried thinking, "Not another suicide bomb! I hope my friend B is okay."

Therefore, I have a favor to ask of the people who disseminate news and gather information. I would like them to recognize that there are people waiting for even the most insignificant of news, and I would like them to act responsibly by conveying only the facts. This is because inaccurate information could even cause a war.

Some time ago, I saw in the news that the Dead Sea in Jordan was disappearing. I was shocked and wrote an email to my friend in Jordan. His reply, which took some time to come, said, "Is that so? I didn't know? You should come and visit soon or the Dead Sea will be gone." I was surprised that he didn't know the Dead Sea was disappearing, but I was quite delighted by his words, "You should come soon." I immediately replied, "Shukran (thank you). I won't bother bringing my swimming tube!"