Corona storms raging across the world, Japan is, for some reason or another, faring rather well, minimizing the damages in the total numbers of both patients and deaths. 

Why so, people ask; not quite sure why, we answer.

But we don’t mean that; we know why but wouldn’t say it out aloud. Why? Out of courtesy, course. The total numbers of patients and deaths are dramatically lower than, say, the United States, and we know why so but are polite enough not to nail it down.

Don’t take it that I imply we are any superior to you in any way, but merely mean to say we are, shall we say, “born different”.

Umm?

Yes, we Japanese are born different. For one, we were born and raised to acquire the habit of instinctively maintaining space all around, both physical and mental, to avoid friction. For instance, we bow a yard away instead of shaking hands close at hand to keep what you call social distance. Hugging is in no way popular as a means of showing intimacy; nor kissing is a custom we are born with no matter how affectionate you are to your partner. We are, shall we say, born with that kind of sense of spacing.

Take the Japanese language. It is milder than any other tongues, thanks rather interestingly to fewer offending consonants, hence less harsher in sound and less offensive in delivering virus. Langage-wise, a degree of distancing is naturally built in to prevent for virus to spread across. 

On top of that all, we Japanese are highly sensitive in hygene.  We have a buit-in instinct to bathe daily – in a manner peculiar to Japan. Those of you who have ever “tasted”  Onsen know well how thus a day’s labor is so deliciously done with. 

Further, we can never think of walking right into the house with our shoes on. There is an obvious mental barrier between “in” and “out” – a sense of distancing between what is within and what is without. 

Vast majority of people in most countries learned to wear mask for the first time after the outbreak of the pandemic. Whereas in Japan, the practice of wearing mask is traditional and well built-in. Not that Japan is constantly exposed to epidemics, we have acquired the practice to guard against respiratory diseases in delicate seasons – another posture to keep distance from the alien.

The drama is nearing the denouement. While large cities like Tokyo and Osaka are still dragging behind, Japan as a whole is ducking out of the grip of the Wuhan virus with relatively milder damages and will most probably be ready to host the Olympic Games next year. The positive  traits of the Japanese thus far mentioned, hygene-sensitive and all, add up to tide over the corona turmoil.

Should the games be cancelled out after all (and most likely), it will be due to all the other nations that might still be uncertain a year from now to join them – unfortunate but can’t be helped. It’s a high price the Japanese have to pay for having been born different.