This man is getting a lot of well-deserved praise in the media these days. He’s from nearby Oita but was here in Kumamoto helping in Mashiki after the 2016 earthquake. Not only does he do heroic work, but he’s humble too. After saving the life of the small boy, he refused to take even a meal from the grateful family. He makes it a rule to carry his own food and equipment and to sleep in his car so as not to be a burden on the people he is trying to help. What’s more, at age 78, he’s an inspiration to those of us who are getting on in years – being near 80 doesn’t have to mean that you are weak and frail.
Here’s a related news article:
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004664608
A lot of news (including, unfortunately, news that I share on this page) is negative but the news I’ve seen about this man, Haruo Obata, is truly inspirational.
– Kirk
P.S. The Japan Times article has a Japanese language video about Mr. Obata.
