Dear Minister of Education Tatsuo Kawabata, recently I was told a deeply disturbing story by one of my students: A car hit a cyclist outside of her house. She immediately telephoned emergency services, but as she was doing so, she was horrified to see the driver reverse his car over the body of the hapless victim, an act that resulted in her death. My student was able to note the license number of the car and later relay it to the police. The man was subsequently arrested, although a poor old woman was needlessly murdered. Shocking, isn't it?

However, my student was more alarmed by the fact that not one person stopped their car and offered to help. Not one bystander offered assistance. An old lady was left to die alone on the sidewalk. Did she die instantaneously? I do not know. It seems that people had more pressing issues to attend to than holding the hand of a confused, scared old lady who was left to ponder why someone hated her so much as she breathed her final breaths.

I have recently finished an article for a university publication entitled: "How does the Ministry of Education help to make Japanese People Japanese?"