The article "How Coretta Scott King brought her husband's message to Japan" in the Jan. 17 edition led me to ponder the core of Martin Luther King's nonviolence and Mrs. King's way of life.

Many Japanese know about the "nonviolence" of Martin Luther King. One important characteristic of his philosophy of nonviolence is that nonviolent resistance tries to defeat injustice, not people.

Mrs. King never stopped living a nonviolent, compassionate life to solve problems of humankind throughout her life, such as racial justice, women's rights, religious freedom, nuclear disarmament, environmental justice and many others. She was the queen of nonviolence, proclaiming King's nonviolence around the world, including in Japan.

The inscription on her burial crypt tells us: "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

HIROSHI NORO

HADANO, KANAGAWA PREFECTURE

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.