6. Dreamer 【Column: Leap Before You Look】

 “どんなお仕事をされていますか (What kind of work do you do)?” – people often asked me, and I would reply “I can tell you but then I have to kill you,” and then I would smile and tell them “もちろん、冗談ですが (I am joking, of course).”  But I was not entirely joking. I was working in the 防衛産業 (defense industry) as an interpreter at the time.  I often accompanied my client to places where we had to go through security briefings.  We travelled to many countries, some of which were not the safest places.  “Should something happen during our visit, the 防衛省 (Ministry of Defense) will get us out 迅速かつ安全に (swiftly and safely),”  I was told. I felt like I was Agent 99 in Get Smart.

When this client first approached me, I declined to help him, because I had no experience in the defense industry, but he 「ノー」という答えを受け入れませんでした (didn’t take No for an answer).  I was only supposed to be a substitute for his regular interpreter, who happened to be unavailable at that time.  But after this one gig, I was asked to permanently replace the previous interpreter and became their new interpreter.  Being good at what you do can be a ありがたいようなありがたくないような (mixed blessing).

I travelled to various places and the pay was good, but I never felt right about working in this industry.  “Defense” sounds somewhat 差し障りがない (innocuous) especially when watching sports and seeing fans cheering with a huge letter “D” and a white picket fence (D-fence) but in real life defense involves conflicts and wars.  The trade shows I went to were full of 戦闘車両と弾薬 (combat vehicles and ammunition), and attendees were mostly military personnel. 

日本国憲法第9条 (Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution) prohibits the use of military force to settle 国際紛争 (international disputes).  Therefore, all deployments from Japan (after the WWII) so far have been limited to peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief.  After 10 years of working with this client, he passed away, and his son took over the business. These days, I have a more limited relationship with the company, and I feel more at peace.  I know the Ministry of Defense (or the Department of Defense in the U.S.) will never cease to exist.  But like Lennon sings in “Imagine,” I cannot stop imagining a world where “殺す理由も死ぬ理由もない (there’s nothing to kill or die for)… You 私のことを夢想家だというかも知れません (may say I’m a dreamer),” but I pray we get there some day.