An interview with a Shimanean: Takuya Yuhashi

Takuya Yuhashi graduated from university in 1991 and worked as a bank employee in Nagano for three and a half years. In 1997 he traveled to Zimbabwe as part of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer Program where he lived and worked for three years.
On returning to Japan, Mr. Yuhashi found his new home on Ama Island, approximately 50km off the coast of Shimane Prefecture. He currently works as a local government employee in a special position created for non-islanders, which aims to bring new ideas
and fresh insight to industry, commerce, education and culture on the island.

Why did you go to Zimbabwe?
It was by chance. I applied to participate in the JOCV (Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer) program in 1997. The JOCV program is run by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and aims to help developing countries at a grassroots level.
After a long process of taking exams and interviews, I was assigned to Zimbabwe.

"The thing I learnt most in Zimbabwe was that Japan is just a small country in a wider world."

What did you do there?
I spent three wonderful years in Zimbabwe. My work involved teaching and promoting new sports such as baseball, softball, volleyball, table tennis, and indiaca (a game played by hitting a shuttlecock over a net) to village locals. I tried to involve adults in the community to participate in these sports, so that coaching could continue after I left. It took a lot of hard work to convince conservative adults to take part, but I have since heard from my friends in Zimbabwe that these efforts were worthwhile because several adults have taken on coaching roles.

How did the poverty of rural Zimbabwe impact your work?
I thought it was important to keep people motivated by holding competitions with prizes, but with a limited budget this was very difficult. I decided to ask local shops to sponsor competitions and also organized flea markets to raise money. It was also important to concentrate on sports that could be undertaken inexpensively. This is why I introduced the game indiaca: instead of buying shuttlecocks, local women in the village made them using turkey feathers.

What did you learn most from the experience?
The thing I learnt most in Zimbabwe was that Japan is just a small country in a wider world. The standards we set, the values we hold and the customs we uphold in Japan are not common throughout the world. I think I gained a wider view of things, and became more flexible to accept people who hold different values to me.

Why did you go to Ama?
It was also by chance. When I was in Zimbabwe, I was based in a rural area far from the capital, Harare, without the conveniences I'd become accustomed to in Japan. I found enjoyment in this new "inconvenient" life, and it made me start to think about my life after I returned to Japan. I decided that the kind of job I did was not so important. I wanted to get away from the urban life in my hometown of Sendai in Miyagi prefecture and Tokyo, and escape to a rural, innocent and unknown place somewhere in Japan. While looking in magazines and the internet after I returned from Zimbabwe, I came across an advertisement looking for government employees to work on Ama, a little island town in Shimane, one of Japan's lesser-known prefectures. It turned out to satisfy my wish more than I'd expected. I was fortunate to find the job and the place to match my skills and experience.

How is life on Ama?
It is quite interesting. The size is so small that I can have daily contact with various people with whom I normally couldn't in a more urban environment; coworkers, shop clerks, neighbors, teachers, students, fishermen, farmers, doctors, postmen, and councilors...even the mayor! I think you also get a feeling of being closer to nature. When the weather is stormy, ferries stop and we are forced to stay on the island. On these occasions, daily commodities such as bread, milk and fish disappear from the shops' shelves. Although these things are an inconvenience, there is nothing you can do about it. You come to realise that the power of nature is much greater than that of humans.

What word would you choose to describe Shimane?
I would probably choose the word "conservative"−in both a good and bad way. Shimane has lots of natural beauty and many traditions which have become rare in urban settings. The strong family relationships and community spirit in our rural towns and villages is something many families living in Japan's major centers yearn for. I think we need to put these elements of Shimane to use when we consider planning for the future. On the other hand, people's conservatism often means they are too slow to start new things. Our governments have become used to a central government on which they can rely. We can't afford to do this anymore, so it is time to start something new by ourselves. We need to keep a balance: do new things, but retain those things which make us unique in Japan.