Just like the sakura trees that have been through a thousand years

September 14, 2011 "Japan Night" at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions (the "Summer Davos") in Dalian, China

Each spring, sakura cherry blossoms never fail to bloom, but in a little more than a week these blossoms will have all been scattered with the wind. Then after passing a cold winter, when spring arrives, their new blossoms never fail to appear once more. For that reason, a great many people consider the sakura cherry blossoms as helping them feel the passage of time, and as symbolizing "revival and revitalization."

Some of Japan's sakura trees boast being more than a thousand years old. A catastrophic disaster said to arise once every thousand years has occurred, and just like the sakura trees that have been through a thousand years of history, Japan and the Japanese will surely once again make gorgeous sakura blossoms come forth.