Mrs. HIROKO KUBOTA, chief-sponsor of JCC

A few years ago, Mr. I. Epstein remarked to me that the keyword for understanding Soong Ching Ling was “DEVOTION”. He said casually, but I was very moved and felt a deep sense of agreement with his words.

Wen I got in touch with “Eppy”(as he asked me to call him from the outset of our correspondence) to propose translating his wonderful “Woman in World history: Soong Ching Ling” into Japanese. I was busy as the secretary of the Soong Ching Ling Foundation in Japan, and finding time for the translation work proved very difficult. When I did many manage to make a start on it, I began to suffer from an eye complain brought on by diabetes, which resulted in my spending several periods in hospital.

By my beside, however, I had Eppy’s book, in enlarged—scale photocopied form, and I found I could hardly put it down. The reason for this, though, was not any conscientiousness about preparing for the translation I had undertaken, so much as my becoming more and more captivated by the book’s subject. The story of Soong Ching Ling—her career path, her struggles along the way, her many achievements, her thought, and her whole way of living—was an inspiration to me and an encouragement that gave me strength to persevere with the task of translation. It was only afterwards that I heard that the head of the publishing company, Katsuo Tamura, had assumed that my illness would put paid to the project. That it did not and that was able to recover, is thanks to the succour I was able to draw from meeting Soong Ching Ling every day, in the pages of Eppy’s book. Feeling that many people fall under the spell of Soong Ching Ling because her steadfast adherence to truth and virtue, I decided to give my translation the title “Soong Ching Ling, Conscience of China: a Life”. But since hearing his insightful remark about “DEVOTION” I have realized that this quality, above all---Soong Ching Ling’s selfless love for people of all ages and every sort---is the essence of her attraction for us.

The Soong Ching Ling Foundation of Japan was set up on the 22nd of September 1984, with Tokuma Utsunomiya (Member of the Upper House) as president, and Kiyoko Takeda (Senior Lecturer at International Christian University) as director. I myself was a director of the Soong Ching Ling Foundation as well as it’s first secretary.

The Soong Ching Ling Foundation of Japan was set up with the purpose of helping to realize the vision of Sun Yaten and Soong Ching Ling, laid out in a joint address they made in Kobe In November 1924, entitled “A Proposal for collaboration and cooperation between China and Japan, with a view to achieving independence and modernity for Asia. Japan , of course, did not need this proposal, and indeed insulted it, by pursuing its narrow self interest and invading China and its other neighbours in Asia. Mindful of this bolt on our history, we hope the Foundation will help to make amends for it by promoting friendship between China and Japan, and searching for ways to bring lasting peace to Asia as a whole.

At the Foundation’s inaugural general meeting on the 22nd of September 1984, Dr. Ma Haide (George Hatem) was a special guest. He is an advisor on Public Health matters in China, and he brought with him congratulation for us from its chairwoman, Kang Keqing as well as photographs of the blueprints for the Soong Ching Ling Science Park at Yuan Tan in Peking, and he told us of exiting plans for its future.

My first meeting with Dr. Ma had been in August of the previous year. I was visiting Eppy at Beidaihe, where he was convalescing, and brought Dr. Ma haide, Mr. Rewy Alley, and Dr. Basu together there to talk and reminisce about Soong Ching Ling. After this encounter, Dr. Ma Haide wrote to me tow or three times, once from the United State, where he was on a trip, to raise funds. He urged me repeatedly to create a Soong Ching Ling Foundation in Japan, and with such fervent encouragement. I made up my mind to do it. In Japan, I had support from Fumiko Niki, the head of the women’s section of the Japan Teachers Union, and from Mitsuyo Kashima, the head of the Domes publishing company. Together we took the first steps toward setting up the Foundation. Wu Quanheng, the vice chairwoman of the Soong Ching Ling Foundation in China, freely offered and tirelessly gave her invaluable guidance. I was also able to meet the chairwoman, Kang Keqing ,twice, the first time when we were seated together at a welcoming party held in the Great Hall of the People, the second during the opening ceremony for the Tianjun Bohai Soong Ching Ling children’s Park, in the warmth of her embrace I felt the intimacy that, for all the vast extent, is so characteristic of China.

At this time, eminent people from a variety of fields in Japan were coming forward to offer their active support for the project, agreeing on the slogan “Funding from wealthy, wisdom, from the wise, and time from those with time to spare.” With Soong Ching Ling’s description of the children of China of mind as “the treasure of the future”, we set out together to engage with the task of helping to improve those children’s educational opportunities.

For the Foundation’s first ten years, at the earnest request of our colleagues in China, we drew on our country’s experience in the fields of advanced applied science and fundamental scientific research in order to contribute to the education of in order to contribute to the education of in China (among the projects we helped with were the setting up of child science center and science park, and the modernization of maternity and child health hospitals).

After 1993, the emphasis of our contribution changed drastically. In January of that year, we were invited to Peking for a special Japan-China meeting of the Soong Ching Ling Foundations of both countries, in order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Soong Ching Ling’s birth. At this meeting, HuangHua, entreated the Japanese Foundation’s assistance in the movement to help people escape from the poverty trap, especially in the seven southern districts of NinxiaHuizu Autonomous region. In responding to this request, we contributed funds towards the effort to boost elementary school attendance in that area, and in particular towards the effort to boost female pupils there by training more women teachers. In addition, with the help of the LION’S [Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation’s Safety] club of district 330-A in Tokyo, we were able to contribute to the setting up of eight elementary schools and one middle school in the autonomous region.

The man responsible for the 330-A district LION’S club’s major contribution was its then chairman, Tetsuro Kosaka, who was also at this time the deputy chairman of the Soong Ching Ling Foundation in Japan.

IN July 2000, with the loss of the chairman, Tokuma Utsunomiya, Soong Ching Ling Foundation of Japan lost its main pillar of support, both material and spiritual, and this combined with other circumstances made the foundation’s closure in November of that year unavoidable. However, many voices were raised, imploring us to continue with the foundation’s work. Prominent among our supporters were Tea teacher Fujiko Arakawa, Tanka writer Yoshi Miura, and local government official Mutsuko Inoue, all from Hachioji city. Meanwhile, REI Sudo (group leader/mursery school head), while conducting a group tour in China (Chugoku Royo Shisetsu no tabi), had met Huang Hua (Chairman), Liu Qilin (deputy chairman), and other members of the Soong Ching Ling Foundation in China, and brought them the message that was both the strength and the will in Japan to “refloat the sunken ship.”

The Soong Ching Ling Foundation Japan-China Committee [JCC] was set up on 13th of November 2000 with Hiroko Kubota as its chief-sponsor, and Mutsuko Inoue and Rei Sudo as its deputy sponsors, and with various others also acting as sponsors. At the inaugural general meeting we were honored with the presence of of Yu Guilin(deputy chairman), Liu Qilin (former deputy chairman), and Wang Dandan. The scale of operations was much reduced from that of the preceding Japan Foundation, and the organization was more closely woven around a core of members actively pursuing project’s aims. Hachioji city was made the main base of operations, because Yoichi Inoue, who had given many years of sterling service to the cause of friendship between China and Japan, had granted us the use of his office there for free. After the JCC got gong, many people who had worked for or given assistance to the Japan Foundation joined forces with us, while at the same time many new links have been formed, and the circle of people giving us their support has steadily grown.

The JCC intends to keep alive the tradition begun by the Soong Ching Ling Foundation in Japan but also to look for ways of sowing new seeds of friendship between the peoples of China and Japan. The first fruit of JCC’s efforts and the first gift from it to the children of China, was an extension to the nursery school building at the North East Agricultural University in Harbin, an extension which on completion was opened as a preschool center fro art education.

At present, JCC is engaged in a variety of projects in China, among them contributing to the drive to boost school attendance in rural areas by providing financial assistance for children’s scholarships, for the training of more women teachers, for the construction of new school buildings and the renovation of old ones, for new desks, chairs, and other furniture fixtures, and for the stocking of libraries in elementary schools, JCC is also endeavoring to improve the conditions for safe childbirth and the care of small children by helping with the care and maintenance of Maternity and Child Health Centers of various provinces, including Heilongjiang, JIlin, Hebei, Ninxia, Neimenggu, and Guizhou. A new project, undertaken in response to a request of the China Welfare Institute, is a collaboration with them on research in preschool education.

In Japan apart from our ongoing nationwide fundraising efforts, we have been holding lectures on Chinese films, given by experts on the subject and by the members of local film societies.

In November 2002, JCC was awarded official recognition as a Non Profit Organization, but, while it now has its own office, it has no substantial financial backing, is run by its members who give their services gratis, and are mostly of retirement age, and it remains a volunteer organization. All capital is obtained by fundraising, and in addition to large donations from the members themselves, we sometimes receive contributions from individual members of the public. We have little expectation of getting substantial help from businessmen, since it is difficult to persuade such people of the importance of the work that JCC does.

The Soong Ching Ling Foundation has now been active in Japan, under different names, for over 21 years, but it has to be admitted that, for all our aspirations and efforts, the results so far have been modest. However, the members of JCC are not willing to let it succumb to the vicissitudes of time and change, and we all fervently wish to continue making a small but meaningful contribution, while searching for new ways to expand our organization and improve its effectiveness. Any advice on how to find these will be gratefully received, “for tomorrow; for giving hope to children’ for nurturing friendship”: this is the slogan of JCC, and the more people we can find to help us in further these aims, the happier we shall be.