Richie has been engaged in the "unlikely" pursuit of seeing Japan for nearly 60 years now.

"I was shocked that the world sees Japan as equaling war, only that kind of image," she said.

"My wife and I have always wanted to see Japan, to live in a society where people have respect for one another."

Don't you see: Britain and Japan, only three islands, still prosper.

If the world sees Japan as inherently dangerous, or consider its capital city contaminated, foreign businesses and people might stop coming.

They see Japan, which is pledging $10 billion, as doing the same thing.

He wanted America to see Japan as an equal, a good and wise friend from whom to learn.

That requires us to see Japan and its successes for what they are, without feeling somehow diminished by Japan's rise.

"I don't see Japan having many options," he concluded.

Or perhaps they were natives, and had never seen Japan.