PREAMBLE

BY THE END of 2003, we had moved to Tokyo, after acquiring a small flat in Harrington Gardens (London SW7) for use during our intended London visits. We were happy to be back in Japan, in our well-located apartment in Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo, and I lost no time resuming work on my memoir.

Our decision to return to live in Japan proved a wise one, as it provided direct insight into the inner workings of Japanese society three decades after we left.

In the first four parts of this book, I have followed the timeline of my life in and outside Japan, with a largely sequential description of events experienced since 1950.

For this final part, covering the period from 2003 to the present, I am changing to a different mode: a five-part overview and — where appropriate — an analysis of different aspects of my long association with Japan, both in terms of my private life and in relation to events and policies that affected or interested me personally.

Each of these five parts has its own focus, which I can describe as follows:

• 1. The difference 70 years make: a broad outline of the Japan I encountered in 1950, compared to now, as it prepares for the 2020 Olympics. The long road from Showa through Heisei and into Reiwa, the name of the new era that began with the accession of Emperor Naruhito on May 1, 2019;

• 2. Japan's fundamental problems and vulnerabilities: lack of natural resources; frequency of earthquakes and other calamities, some of which are the effect of global warming; declining population; and its historically troubled relations with neighbouring countries;

• 3. The unique personality of my late wife Toyoko: how she maintained her Japanese tastes and character while living with me in five countries; her artistic gifts and personal style; and how she inspired others — and me;

• 4. An overview of my writings and other activities: not all of the seven books I have published so far — three of which received literary awards — have Japanese themes, but the most important ones do. I know I’m not the only long-time foreign resident who has answered The Call of Japan·,