Japan, as the country with the experience of the earliest industrialization/modernization in Asia, has done a lot for itself, but also made considerable contributions to other Asian countries by providing them with the badly needed capital and modern technologies. As we enter the 21st century, however, Japan, which has also managed to hang onto its own Asian sociocultural tradition, ought to, moving beyond mere economic cooperation, strive (1) to help maintain Asia's cultural traditions and diversities, and (2) preserve Asia's own unique natural environment by devising a new developmental strategy which will enable all Asians to live friendly with their environments by virtue of a sustainable economic development.

Throughout the process of its industrialization/modernization, Japan has made a series of mistakes like the Western brothers, the most serious being the contamination and destruction of the earth environment. Thus, one major contribution Japan is capable of making to Asia is to make use of its own knowledge and experience of the past and assist the fellow Asians avoid the same mistakes made in the past as Asia continues to push for global modernization.

The Ryukoku University student group's direct-mail fund-raising drive , soliciting businesses to help them raise the needed fund for the reopening of the Thanka Painting School in the Kavre district east of Kathmandu, failed to produce a tangible result due perhaps to the prolonged business slowdown in Japan. Undaunted, they continued the effort, and, thanks to the support of individual citizens in Kyoto, Nagoya and Tokyo, the project finally raised the needed total of $3,482 as of April 15. They were also aided by the Virtual Foundation USA's matching fund of $1,000. This is the first occasion ever for the Ryukoku University students to use the Internet as an important medium for raising fund and assisting fellow Asian students solve their own problems.

Nepal-Japan Bilingual Exchange Forum Just Opened!

To reach the school, it takes an hour's drive to the village of Dhulikhel, and then one must trek mountain paths for several hours. In the Nepal Himalayas, one meets a strange assortment of religio-cultural experiences. The picture shows a shaman and his entourage coming back from a visit to a disease-stricken villagers in a distant valley. I was struck by a strange sensation that I had seen something like this before. And indeed, I did. Some years ago, I did have a very similar experience when I encountered the Goze spiritual mediums at Osore-zan (Dreadful Mountain) in the mountainous northern region of Japan. If this is not a manifestation of an old cultural tie, what else can it be?

I hope the Ryukoku University students will learn more about the place the mandalas occupy in the Tibetan Buddhism through their exchange of ideas and information with the young people of rural Nepali communities. Centuries ago, the influence of the esoteric Buddhist teachings reached Japan embodying the reveallations made by Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai), while it also reached the ancient Tibetan empire later to become known as Lamaism of today.