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 The Tragedy of Okinawa: A Lesson for the World

By Shlomo Maital   

     Consider Okinawa, a Japanese island.  A sad natural experiment is underway. A natural experiment is when without intervention of scholars, changes occur that enable us to gain major insights.

     Once, Okinawa was a ‘blue zone’, a region where the elderly lived very long lives in good health.  But… no longer.  As a scholar reports to the German Deutsche Welt website: “An influx of foreign influences, ranging from fast food to less exercise, the stress of modern life, as well as a loss of the traditional sense of ‘ikigai’ in younger people are all to blame.”

       “For generations, the people of Okinawa prefecture in Japan have enjoyed the reputation of being among the longest-lived humans on the planet.   Medical experts and gerontologists have flocked to these semi-tropical islands off southern Japan in search of the secret to the local population’s longevity, with most concluding it was a combination of a nutritious diet, regular exercise and the support of family and the broader community.”

          But then?   US military bases in Okinawa began exposing young people to fast food and American diets.  And then…

            “The life expectancy of the people of Okinawa is coming down quite rapidly and we believe the problem is that younger people have failed to follow in the footsteps of earlier generations,” said a part time as a clinical cardiologist and is joint-founder of the Naha-based Okinawa Research Center for Longevity Sciences.   “The people of Okinawa have been influenced by the food and lifestyle choices of other societies, particularly that of the United States.” 

          “Since Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, Okinawa has remained home to a large number of US military bases and tens of thousands of troops. A culture of fast food and television over physical exercise has rubbed off on local people, he said, and the results can now be seen.”

               And “ikigai”?  An 89-year-old Japanese man, Suzuki, recounts: “”I believe the concept of ‘ikigai’ is important to our lives, especially in older people,” Suzuki said, referring to the traditional idea of the reason a person has for living.  “My job at the hospital is very busy and that is my ikigai,” he said. “It is important for me to help people who are sick and I do not consider them my patients, I see them as my friends. But being with them also helps me as isolation and loneliness are very dangerous for old people.

      Diet. Activity. Exercise. Purpose in life.  As Okinawa replaces its own culture with that of the US and the West – people live shorter lives, and perhaps, less fulfilled ones.

       Is there a lesson here?