Salute

Dear our guests and customers,

I resigned as professorship at a university in Japan at the end of this March in 2009 in order to realize my mission in life.

I would like to write a little about what kind of future plan I am now making－that is, the plan to realize my mission in life. I am convinced that my past existed for fulfilling this end and aim, and that I was born to realize this. I do not always believe in the teleology of Aristotle and Leibniz, nor do I always believe in Kant’s Kingdom of Purpose and Hegel’s Dialectic Interpretation of History. But I believe strongly that we humans were born with something like a mission in life. Otherwise, I cannot understand why I was born in the world. Of course, we can also think that we were born without any meanings on the earth as Nietzsche insists. According to him, life is meaningless, nonsense lasts eternally. His idea is that although life has no meaning, it is not boring. However, I do not embrace nihilism in my life. I believe firmly that each human lives his/her daily life with each mission.

I have been long aware of my mission within myself. That is to say, my mission is to contribute to the development and prosperity of humankind. To be more precise, I want to found a charge-free university in Mekong Delta to offer young people the chance to study. I have seen many young people in Cambodia who want to study, but do not have any chances to do so by their efforts because of their difficult life circumstances. We can not change our faces and height by our efforts. In the same way they can not change their circumstances even though they work like hell. Additionally, I do not aim at offering everything using my own assets at all, but at founding the university cooperating with local peoples. To offer everything without taking into consideration the fact of how the present local situation goes makes no sense. Such an aid will result in self-satisfaction and deprive them of their pride. They will never accept such an aid. It is self-evident if we place ourselves in their position. The university, therefore, should not be created as a Japanese university, but as an absolutely local people’s university which is carried out by their efforts, labors, tears, sweats and blood.

If possible, I would like to offer them from the kindergarten to the post graduate at no charge. I would like to expand this trial to other Asian people who wait for being offered a helping hand. I would like to construct the same several university systems in Asia, each of which has the network that interacts with one another.

I want to feed my trial back to my fatherland, Japan to encourage Japanese young men. Dare I say it, there are not all Japanese young men, but majority of them are at a loss about their dreams and hopes, their aim of their living and what to do. It is about twenty years since our nation has lost its vitality, that is to say, Japan has been stalled with no way out because those who are guarded by the regulations, such as some parts of politicians, bureaucrats and media representatives, are pervaded with our society and they are inclined to be preoccupied with their self-protection without taking their responsibilities and to impose them to others, and always think about their advantages and the advantages of the organization which they belong to. It is they that interfere with the realization of just society. As I regard myself as devoted patriot and humanist by nature, I want to change the present situation of my fatherland by stimulating it from outside through my activity.

Why have I chosen Mekong Delta at first? I have been enchanted by a breathtaking setting of natural beauty of Cambodia these 5 or 6 years, where I have seen many children and young people who want to study, but do not have any chances to do so by their efforts because of their poverty as I mentioned above.

One day, a small festival in a small fishing village was held on the banks of the Mekong. When I reached there, there was a small girl following me quietly. She wore tattered clothes covered with sweat and dust. That is not really unusual here. I regarded her as about 7 or 8 years old. I thought she wanted money, but she did not make such a gesture. When I greeted her with rudimentary local language, she had a smile. I found her all front teeth tattered, but her face was shining just like the sun.

When I asked her age to my guide, she was 14 years old. I thought that her growth was prevented by the absence of sufficient nutrition. I handed her some sweets like sponge cake which are 2 or 3 cent (?) in American currency. She was eating them with gusto sitting on the river bank.

While I saw the faraway opposite bank of the Mekong with no enthusiasm, I suddenly felt a lump in my throat. I wondered if I could be left unsolved this situation. Various thoughts went through my head.

I have felt that my concrete mission is to offer them the chance to study without charge. Therefore I started the hotel business in Phnom Penh three years ago which firstly produced Cambodian people’s steady employment, and then might generate the profits to manage and run the university. I would like to establish “Tourism Faculty.” This nation has a beautiful natural environment and “Angkor Wat” that is extremely magnificent. I thought that the students could learn their history, their language, information technology skills and English which is the most important language for those who do not live in English-speaking world. In addition to them, they will be able to have practical work experience at my hotel.

I, however, could not help but learn the gap between the picture I had in mind and reality. I felt that it was quite difficult to offer a helping hand to Cambodian nation. I have had countless inconceivable experiences these three years. I have repeated to explain my staffs about my mission and selected nice-enough managers who understood me well. But those past managers and staffs repeated to steal money and my car. I thought at first that there were no alternatives, and humans would change before a large sum of money. There are desires swirling in a big city. It might have changed their human qualities. Of course, I made up my mind that I must not forgive the subsequent crimes for the future because in case I forgive the criminals, the next one to do the same thing may appear and if someone steals, then runs away and he never needs to expiate his crime, stealing is much better than working hard. Society will fall down.

When I had the third crime, I took action against the criminal by complaining to the police. But it proved that the police did nothing. Stealing has not come to a stop until today.

Even two guys and one girl I saved their lives by paying their operation charge also stole money. They would have already died without me. But after their recovery they committed crimes. One will not be able to understand their feelings by common sense that they stole money from their lifesaver. Nor will one be able to understand why they do not have any moral and ethics and are color-blind.

I supported two young Cambodian people for many years by giving their living expenses and college tuition. But when I needed their help, they refused me under various excuses.

I have already lent my money more than ten local people. But nobody repays me until today. Now I have clearly recognized that to lend money to them means to pour money down the rathole.

Looking back on my Mekong life, it was the continuance of having my money and property stolen and requests for debt. The sum total of stolen money from me is over USD70000 and the sum total I lent is over $10000. My loss of hotel, restaurant and two telephone shops have been estimated over USD170000 these only three years. I have already closed two telephone shops which I started by being cheated on the sly old woman.

I have long thought that Cambodian people will not believe me if I do not believe them. But the reality was quite different. It was an illusion. The more I have tried to believe them, the more they have come to steal me. It is a very sad story.

I do not have any money trees. The money which the past criminals stole me and I lent local people was the money that I have saved by the sweat of my brow since I was young, considering my future mission that I want to contribute to the development and prosperity of humankind. How frustrating! This nation is corrupt!

I have recently understood that I am a ready target for them. They are very strong to the weak, but very weak to the strong. How difficult it is to support them! I have been staggered by the big difference between the ideal and the real. I forefeel that all of my money will have been stolen during my preparation to found a university. Why do they go in for crime despite living in such a beautiful country? It is a quite sad story. Of course, it is probable that my method to deal with local people may be in the wrong. I have always tried to reflect on my act. Persons of high position in Cambodia advised me that I would never succeed in a Cambodia society so long as I treated them fairly and equally, that is, in a democratic way. But I cannot treat them as domestic livestock. Stealing is the thorniest question in carrying out my mission.

This is not an issue of poverty, but that of mind’s devastation, I think. Some people say that they have changed their characters and mentalities under the regime of Pol Pot and the subsequent Viet Nam War. They may be true, but I now assume that this nation is in one stage of the processes of the development history of humankind. It is my guess that we Japanese had the same behavior pattern before.

Although I had lots of disagreeable experiences so far, my determination to realize my mission is iron. I am making a plan for scouting out several reliable persons and the area for founding the university over a couple of years from now. And then I want to construct the university in the next five years. Indeed, I will pass away on the way to realize my mission, but I have a firm belief that those who take over my mission are sure to appear.

Dear our guests and customers, please understand me well, and offer your helping hand to underprivileged young Cambodian people. Staying at our hotel and having meals at our restaurant means offering your helping hand to them and advancing this nation, I think.

Thank you very much.



For your reference, I lay down my strategy as follows and make my staffs recite it at least once a month.

Our strategy

Our strategy is hospitality for our guests and customers. We must always try to offer the best service to them, being smiling and friendly. We must always be friendly to the drivers who take us the guests. We must be ready for protecting our guests and customers at the price of our lives. They are our lifeline.

We must treat our guests, customers and everyone like we want to be treated. We must always try to become independent without depending others.

You must not betray, deceive, and cheat others. You must not tell a lie. You must not break the promise. You must not steal. You must not take drugs. You must not try gambling. You must not resort to makeshifts. You must not be absent from the duties without notice. You must not act wrong. Be always honest and diligent.

We must not drink alcohol at our job place. We must not serve the drivers alcohol at our job place.

Don’t forget: These are fundamental to developing our organization and Kumae nation.