Regarding Judit Kawaguchi's Feb. 19 article, "Words to live by": I was greatly moved by this seemingly insignificant report of an individual's quest for reasoning and affirmation. I am a Canadian living close to Yokohama as an English teacher (unfortunately), questioning my own self-worth and trying to be acknowledged in this no-less-than-cutthroat world. I agree with Tokyo window cleaner Takahiko Nakayama's thoughts on the Japanese male species being too weak as an individual.
Nakayama is the type of person that makes me want to strive harder in my own life. I am only 23, but I am beaming with the will to dedicate myself for my own cause and my way of thinking. I would be more than humbled to meet the likes of this Nakayama. People like him are too scarce in this country. Even if they are just living mundane lives, they are the ones that create a better atmosphere. As the novelist Cervantes said, "The man who fights for his ideals is the man who is alive."
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