“To be surprised, amazed, frightened or astonished” is the definition of the Japanese phrase “bikkuri shita” (Bee-Coo-Re She-Ta). Spoken with an emphasis on the first syllable. It’s what many Japanese citizens must have exclaimed outloud a couple of weeks ago when the news that their former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was assassinated. I uttered the same phrase when I saw the breaking news bulletin. Despite my two years in Japan being 40 years ago, I still hold a deep devotion and interest in anything Japan — especially their food and music. Many of us here in Cache Valley share that sentiment from church missions, military service or being a foreign student at ISU .

In a dark, distinct contrast to our national news, where shootings mass or single are daily news, something like this in Japan is indescribably rare. Motives for this assassination will slowly trickle out from the Japanese media. They are a group of stoic, unemotional reporters much different from American media. They will simply report the facts and mourn their loss as a nation — heavily.

There will not be the plethora of interviews and expert analysis to which we have become so numb and somewhat immune — at least I have.

This sad news took me back to conversations I had with more than one Japanese individual. Much of my time there was spent trying to introduce myself and a Christian religion they were unfamiliar with and hesitant to hear about. So our interaction was often just about American food or cars, baseball, John Wayne and the wild wild west that they perceived the United States to still be. I specifically recalled one such gentleman in a town called Shiogama, near Sendai, Japan. Just to put the location in perspective, that is the general area of Japan where the tsunami of 2011 came ashore and destroyed many landmarks, houses and roads on which I used to ride my bike or walk. This older man asked us many questions about life in America, about our politics and about guns. He was fascinated and “bikkuri shita’’ when I explained to him that basically any citizen could buy and own a gun, even multiple guns. I described to him how I had six of my own. All of them being hunting rifles or shotguns. He then taught us about Japan’s strict gun laws, low crime rate, etc. He seemed envious as he had a keen interest in guns and wished he could own one for himself.

The Japanese are proud of their low crime rate. We seldom even saw a police car or officer roaming the narrow streets. If anyone had a weapon, they were either a member of the “yakuza” (Japanese organized crime syndicate) or it was just a Samurai replica sword for display purposes only. We never locked our apartment doors and I never ever felt unsafe in any of the places I lived. I never had my bike stolen nor was I ever the recipient of any threatening behavior. The reason for their low crime rate is not, in my opinion, the zero tolerance for guns and I am not suggesting we adopt anything like that. I feel the reason was a consequence of their attitude, their culture of “saving face.” Any behavior that may bring shame or embarrassment to yourself or your family was severely frowned upon by all of society. They feel it is better to ignore you than treat you rudely or with aggression. They go out of their way to accommodate and be respectful to everyone they meet or know.

To the millions of Japanese people in both the United States and Japan, I say: “Gomen nasai, watakushi mo kanashi na.” (“I am sorry and feel sad with you”)

I have written a previous column about “Gun versus environmental control,” published in the ISJ (June 10, 2022). The environmental control measures I speak of in that column might be expanded to include the Japanese way of thinking and acting toward each other. I am sure I am willing to give it a try if it will make a difference. I hope you are as well.

Todd Thomas was born and raised in Preston. He’s currently serving his fourth term on the Preston City Council and works full time as a physical therapist. He can be reached at toddt@prestonid.us.