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November.28.2020 KIP Forum Series ‘Onko-Chishin’ the second "Onko-Chishin through Organ Transplantation -Japanese Views on Life and Death Seen through Funerals-"
Despite its outstanding medical level, Japan implements only 100 cases of organ transplantation every year, the figure about 50 times smaller than that of Spain. The difference of views on life and death between Japan and the Western countries, aside from default conditions of being a donor might contribute to this effect. From this standpoint, we all had a heated discussion, taking into account Japan’s services compared to those of foreign countries.
In Japan, some say that one’s soul remains in the body for good. It may be that our religious beliefs, Japan-oriented religions being integrated into “imported” Buddhism and Confucianism may have something to do with this background. For example. we usually store remains after the funeral, and it is possible the thought that the body where the soul is supposed to keep staying should not be hurt leads to this custom. The idea that such unique values which date back to ancient times might have prevented organ transplantation from spreading was suggestive enough to be debated even further. One of the aspects of Series “Onko-Chishin” is to think about why Japanese traditions have lasted so long and connect the clues to the future. Nevertheless, as a participant, it was interesting to mainly discuss views on life and death and religious beliefs rather than historic perspectives.
On the other hand, in the West, it is said that donating organs are supported more strongly. In the West, the body and the soul are thought to be completely separated, as represented by a Christian notion “resurrection.” This may be one of the reasons why the idea of donating a “living” organ to others is widely accepted. One of the participants mentioned the possible link between mind-body dualism and traditional Western tendency to prefer burial to cremation. In fact, some Western countries adopt the opting-out system. In light of this contrast, I thought that social influences such as religious and historical values is strongly reflected in constructing institutional schemes.
Then we talked about whether to promote nationwide organ transplantation from now on, regarding the shift in social norms. The discussion kicked off with the question “If you were in a brain-dead state, would you willing to be a donor?” Some claimed that if financial and non-financial merits were provided to donors, they would be ready to do so, while others argued that more cases of organ transplantation would lead to ethic problems. They added that it would be in vain to be a donor unless the reality of this medical method is widely known.
In the latter half of the debate, we exchanged our thoughts on whether or not it is meaningful to save others’ lives by being a donor. Some pointed out that it would be more efficient to be one if objective criteria about recipients are established. However, those opposed argued that trying to solve everything within such systems might deprive the lifestyles of individuals to a great extent. Given that, we concluded that each person should establish their own ways of thinking about organ transplantation and the views of life and death that lied behind it.
At the end, we discussed the reason why the concept of “life” and “death” has not been a daily topic. Some participants said that since Japanese people tend to regard death as somehow evil, something that shouldn’t be on the topic, so we should speak up this kind of concept more often. I feel keenly that the Onko-Chishin series provide us with opportunities to express our feelings on our wonders in our daily life through discussion and have a sense of ownership towards them. Nowadays, in Japan, I hear contents that don’t directly connect to efficiency are gaining less popularity. It stands to reason that how-to books sell better and seemingly practical animations are viewed more frequently. Living in such times, I wish to keep asking myself and introducing overseas what Japan and the Japanese people are like, in the process of learning more about our history and philosophy. I believe this attitude is essential to have a great knowledge of Japan and an international mindset.
(Haruki Kawakami, the University of Tokyo, Law, 3rd year)