Staff writer True patriotism does not equal narrow-minded nationalism, said Mariko Terasaki Miller, the first female honorary consul general of Japan, as she called on the Japanese to develop a sense of internationalism and pacifism at the core of their identity. "To develop an international or cosmopolitan mind requires substantial effort and tolerance from individuals. But I want all Japanese people to develop such senses to contribute to the peace and harmony of the world," Miller said in an interview with The Japan Times this week. Miller was born in Shanghai to parents Hidenari Terasaki, a Japanese diplomat, and American Gwen Harold Terasaki. Due to the nature of her father's work, she grew up in such major cities as Havana, Beijing, Washington and Tokyo, exposing her to many different cultures. Miller has devoted more than 30 years of her life to issues ranging from disarmament to world peace, as well as racial and sexual equality. She has also acted as a bridge between the United States and Japan to promote goodwill. Her name, Mariko, won national recognition in Japan with the 1981 airing of a NHK documentary drama, "Mariko," based on the experiences of her family. Her father was known for his last-minute effort to avoid war between Japan and the U.S. during his tenure at the Japanese Embassy in Washington in 1941. He used his daughter's name, Mariko, as a code for Japanese-U.S. relations, sending messages to Japan such as "Mariko is well" and "Mariko is getting worse." Miller was appointed honorary consul general of Japan in Denver in 1995, and was invited to a luncheon hosted by then Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in 1996 during his visit to Washington. At the meeting, she urged Hashimoto to encourage Japan's youth to foster international and cosmopolitan minds. She is currently in Japan on a speaking tour. "I encourage Japanese people to maintain hope for the future in this time of economic hardship, because I believe they have the ability and brave minds to overcome hardships just like they did after World War II," Miller said. But she pointed out that a great danger lies in the time of hardship Japan is now experiencing. "It is easier for people to incline to jingoism, ethnocentrism or extreme nationalism when a country has lost its confidence. But they are ultimate luxuries that must be payed for later," she said. Miller said her father's failure to avert war also affected her family, including her uncle, Taira Terasaki. He suffered radiation exposure after joining, as a doctor, the first medical team that arrived in Hiroshima three days after the atomic bombing on Aug. 6, 1945. She said she would find it regretful if there were a growing sentiment among Japanese to glorify the time in its history that led to the war, which cost the lives of millions of Japanese. "People must always learn from history to develop true patriotism as well as cosmopolitan minds," she said. Regarding Japan's contributions to the international community, Miller said it should not always follow U.S. foreign policy, although a bilateral partnership is indispensable for a new world order in the coming century. "Japan has its own distinctive role in the world, as the second-largest world economy, as a country with a pacifist Constitution and as the only country that experienced the tragedies of the atomic bombings," she said. "People here must recognize that there are so many things that Japan can do for the world and also must start thinking what they can do for the world as individuals," she added.
