Now that the new leaves have turned a deeper green and our system for the new financial year has settled into its stride, I hope that this May finds you all well. Just as recent social conditions were seeing an increase in slightly brighter financial news, the menace of a new strain of influenza is casting a pall of unease around the world.
February’s address argued that “the economic slump this time is a new kind of slump created by the instantaneous transmission of data by information technology such as the Internet.” Similarly, it is a well-known fact that the new life-style that mankind has achieved, which includes advanced transportation, overseas travel and concentrated urban inhabitation, is intimately connected with this new strain of influenza.
The first recorded pandemic was the 1918 outbreak of Spanish influenza. From the historical background, it can be conjectured that it was intensified by the large numbers of people moving between the U.S. and Europe due to the First World War. It also does not seem to be a coincidence that the global spread of many epidemics should occur at roughly the same time as aviation technology began to be developed. Could it not also be argued that, if it were 200 years ago, illnesses such as the current influenza or SARS would not have spread around the world but would have remained regional endemic diseases?
However, human migration, the use of airplanes and urban life are all now an unstoppable part of our daily life. Nowadays the movement of people, money and information easily transcends national borders. It is a fact of life that viruses will skilfully find their way into our contemporary lifestyle and spread throughout the world.
It is likely that from now on we will see an increase in events requiring a prompt and concerted global response, such as flu epidemics or financial crises. However, at present mankind unfortunately sticks firmly with the countries that we have created, and their laws, presenting a major obstacle to “the world immediately getting into step.”
It would seem that today, with the world in the process of overcoming many dangers, a new world system and style is being sought. In that sense, the band of Junior Chambers spread around the world should possess tremendous potential. This year the International Junior Chamber Conference for the Asian-Pacific area will be held in Nagano. Many of our friends will gather here in Tokyo, and I would like us to find the wisdom to transcend national borders and unite in an instant.
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