I met Mr. Miyazawa through Mr. Yukio Tachibanagawa, who called me one day in 2007 saying, “I would like to introduce you to an educator who loves Yasuji Tanioka and Che Guevara.

I immediately went to Oiso, Mr. Miyazawa’s home base, with Machiko Tanioka, wife of Yasuji Tanioka. He was a man of fierce energy and loved people. And he was a man who devoted his life to the art of making weak people strong (education).

He is also an entrepreneur who originally started with a classroom called Miyazawa Juku and created a huge and unique educational system in one generation, from elementary and junior high school to university and overseas expansion.

A soccer stadium was opened in Oiso, carved out of the hill where the Elizabeth Sanders Home (the home where war orphans such as Joe Yamanaka were raised) was located.

I was asked to run an advertisement to celebrate, and I was allowed to run a billboard advertisement for a long time with the words of Kakuyu, a high priest of the Heian period (794-1192): “Play or be born, play or be born.

Around 2010, I was invited to go to Bhutan with him. At the time, Bhutanese Ambassador Dago Tsering thanked Mr. Miyazawa for acting as a bridge between Bhutan and Japan, which had helped Bhutan’s cultural and sports exchange flourish. Later, I was surprised at this coincidence when I heard that Yoko Sakanoue had gone with him, although I could not go.

Furthermore, I was once asked by a Bhutanese prince to go to John C. Jay, the number two of UNIQLO, to do something about the fact that UNIQLO is popular but has no stores and Chinese fakes are circulating.

On another occasion, there was a party to dedicate a Japanese painting to Bhutan, and I was told that the royal family was invited to attend, so I went.

He published a book titled “School to Turn Your Life Around” and held a party at “Matsumoto-Ro” in Hibiya to commemorate its release, and strongly urged the public to help support Minamisoma City.

The book says, “It is difficult to prove what cannot be done. When you examine it thoroughly, you will find that “it can be done” exists somewhere. Nothing is 100% impossible.”

He added, “The gap between ‘I want to’ and ‘I can’ is bigger than the Mariana Trench. If you decide that you can do it, you will have the strength to overcome the obstacles. Miyazawa’s book is a poignant and powerful work.

They always came to Oiso in large numbers, treating us to barbecues and Oiso seafood, and sending us delicious potatoes and corn from Hokkaido, grown by their students, for more than 15 years.

Memories of Mr. Miyazawa and I come up with many without context, but it is sad that they are no longer just memories.

In his later years, he was battling cancer, but he never showed weakness and kept fighting. Thank you so much for all your hard work. Thank you for the wonderful meeting. Please continue your educational reforms even in heaven. My best regards.