I visited the family grave during the Obon holiday, in the heavy rain.
I could not light the incense because of the rain. But I was able to finish planting the Chinese cabbage seeds as planned.
Obon came quietly to Gunma, just as it always does.
But at the same time, a very different reality was unfolding in Chiba Prefecture.
There was record-breaking heavy rain.
The highest level of emergency warning, Level 5, was issued for heavy rain and landslides. Three lines of heavy rain developed one after another, and Chiba City received more than 350 millimeters of rain in 24 hours.
At one point, more than 400,000 people were told to evacuate. Roads were flooded and landslides occurred in many areas.
About 7,000 people were stranded at Narita Airport, and more than 1,700 people who could not get home stayed at the Chiba Prefectural Government Office.
The power of nature took away people's normal lives in just a moment.
How precious and almost miraculous it is to live a peaceful, ordinary day.
I felt this deeply in my heart.
But while we were facing the terrible power of nature, there was also a light of hope that deeply moved me.
On July 28, a strong earthquake hit Kumamoto.
The Kyushu Expressway, a major road connecting northern and southern Kyushu, was also badly damaged.
The section between Matsubashi Interchange and Ebino Interchange was closed to traffic. But today, August 14, at 6:00 a.m., it reopened, just 17 days after the earthquake.
Just before the Obon holiday travel season, this important road connecting Kyushu from north to south was connected again.
Some sections still have one-lane, two-way traffic and speed limits.
Even so, it took only 17 days to restore the road so that ordinary cars could travel along the entire route.
The workers who continued working at the damaged sites.
The engineers who used all their knowledge and skills to find solutions.
Their efforts once again showed Japan's technology and the strength of the people who work on the front lines.
Natural disasters do not choose a place or a person.
We never know when or where an earthquake or heavy rain will strike.
There is no guarantee that today's peaceful life will continue tomorrow.
That is why we must never think that disasters are someone else's problem.
I think of the people in Chiba who endured the cold water around them.
I think of the people in Kumamoto who are still waiting for recovery after the powerful earthquake.
My thoughts are with everyone who is suffering from sadness, fear, or uncertainty.
And August 15 is also the day Japan remembers the end of the Second World War.
First, we must protect our lives.
Then, we must stand up again and never give up.
No matter how badly we are hurt, we can help and support one another and move forward, one step at a time.
I believe that this is Japan's inner strength.
And I believe this strength will help us move toward the future.