June 15th, 2011 Part2 @Prague, Chez Republic
The editor-in-chief of Novy Proster, Tomas joined lunch with Dasha and me. “I’ve watched a documentary ‘Mechanical Love’ by Danish director, Phie Ambo on the other day, and the movie gives me a new Japanese word, ‘Sonzai-kan,’ meaning ‘presence.’” he said. “Do you think homeless people in Japan have Sonzai-kan?” Hmmm…it’s an intriguing question!
Never thought of it, but Sonzai-kan might be a clue to solve all those social problems in Japan, such as 30,000 people killing themselves per a year, Hikikomori, and depression. I sometimes feel pressure to show my Sonzai-kan in the society if I want the membership there. This intangible “aura” thing might make us worn out. The conversation with him brought me a great opportunity to see Japanese society from the different point of view.