香山リカのココロの万華鏡:尊重し合う心がなければ ／東京

July 13, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Respect and a bit of consideration
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:尊重し合う心がなければ　／東京

There happens to be a charity event in Japan that I have held alongside figures including the young monk Daiki Nakashita, who is known for activities to prevent people from dying alone. A central part of this event is a talk including author Karin Amamiya, Makoto Yuasa, who is known for anti-poverty activities, and Yasuyuki Shimizu, who is involved in work to curb suicide.
　「孤立死」を防ぐ見守り活動などで知られる若き僧侶の中下大樹さんらと継続して行っているチャリティーイベントがある。作家の雨宮処凛さん、反貧困の活動で知られる湯浅誠さん、自殺対策活動の清水康之さんとのトークが中心だ。

This time, we decided to invite a guest: Masaaki Odaka, a specialist in neurological and internal medicine at Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital in Fukushima Prefecture.
　今回はゲストを呼ぼうということになり、南相馬市立総合病院の神経内科医・小鷹昌明さんに来ていただいた。タイトルは「原発に一番近い病院から」。それがまさに小鷹氏の職場なのだ。

Using lots of photos, Odaka described the situation at his hospital and the state of recovery in Minamisoma, one of the areas hit hard by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and the ensuing nuclear disaster.
　たくさんの写真を使って病院の現状、南相馬市の復興の様子などを説明しながら、

"I don't want people to forget Fukushima, but at the same time, it's a problem for people to deliberately stress the dangers of radiation, because that's where we've decided to live," he said.
小鷹氏は「福島を忘れてほしくはないけれど、ことさら放射能の危険さを強調されるのもまた問題だ。私たちはそこに住むことを選択したのだから」と言った。

So what kind of stance should people who live in other areas take?
では外部の人間は、どういう態度を取ればよいのだろう。

"They should realize that people are living there and be considerate in what they say," Odaka says with a smile.
その点について小鷹氏は「住んでいる人もいると想像し、言葉などに配慮してくれればいいんです」と笑顔で述べた。

"That makes sense," I thought. "If I say such and such, what will the other party think? If I were in their shoes, how would I feel?" Taking this kind of approach, we can become naturally considerate in our choice of words.
　なるほど、と思った。「私がいまこう言ったら、言われた側はどう思うかな。もし私だったらどう感じるかな」と想像さえすれば、自然に言葉の選び方にも配慮が生まれるはずだ。

It's not simply a case of being able to make up guidelines which tell us, "This word is all right; that one isn't."
「この単語はオーケー」「これはダメ」などとガイドラインを作れるようなものではない。

Recently, more people struggle to perform the simple tasks of thinking about how the other person feels and being appropriately considerate.
　最近、こういった「相手の気持ちを想像する」「そして配慮する」という、とてもシンプルなことが苦手な人が増えている。

When I went to a bookstore, I was surprised to see a corner of books that listed up the problems and faults of other countries, criticizing them and making fun of them with strong language.
書店に行くと、日本以外の国の欠点や問題点をあげつらねて、強い言い方で非難したり笑いものにしたりするような本のコーナーができていて驚く。

If I went overseas and visited a bookstore only to find books that heaped abuse on Japan, how would I feel?
もし自分が外国に出かけ、立ち寄った書店に「日本をののしる本」が並んでいたらどう思うか。

Picturing this kind of situation should produce a level of consideration for the other party, even when saying something that needs to be said firmly.
そう想像してみれば、たとえ毅然（きぜん）として言うべきことは言う場合でも相手への一定の配慮が生まれるはずではないか。

Some people might respond, "The other party pays no consideration to me, so there's no need for me to do that." 　「向こうがこちらに配慮しないのだからその必要はない」と言う人もいるが、

But surely we have never witnessed a time in history or in our daily lives when "an eye for an eye" has been able to prevent a quarrel or conflict.
「目には目を」がいさかいや争いを抑えたことが、歴史上でも日常生活でも一度だってあるだろうか。

I think the reason human society has been able to continue in some way or other is because people have held on to the attitude, "It's not easy, but let's make an effort to respect each other's feelings and position."
「実際にはなかなかむずかしいけれど、お互いの気持ちや立場を尊重する努力はしよう」という気持ちを手放さなかったからこそ人間社会はなんとか続いてきたのだと思う。

"That's hard for you." "You've got it tough, too."
　「たいへんですね」「そちらこそ」。

Rather than coming out swinging, it's important to adopt a stance that pays consideration to the other person, and encourages consideration.
ただ強気に出るのではなく、相手に配慮する姿勢、配慮を促す姿勢が大切。

And this should apply to any issue, whether it be Fukushima or international society, or even when thinking about diplomacy and security.
福島でも国際社会でも外交や安全保障を考える上でも、それは同じであるはずだ。

(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
（精神科医）
毎日新聞　2014年07月08日　地方版