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Meetings with greatness

The Japan Times met with great thinkers and doers from Japan and abroad in 2007. Can you match their words of wisdom with their photos? Click a photo or quote to find out if you're right.










"I have faith in our actions, not prayer. Action is important. Action is karma. Karma means action."
"The bigger a culture becomes, the more susceptible it becomes to self-destruction when the food is taken away. That's why different cultures have to work hard to survive, to provide diversity in cultures."
"I think every nation has its unique values and interesting things to say about this strange world we live in, and I don't think Japanese intellectuals have done their share in giving away their insights and inspirations and findings about the world."
"I recognize the achievements of Western political culture, but there is still no reason for us as Americans or Europeans to turn to any other country and say we're going to teach you how to organize your political system."
"North Korean officials kept telling me that the country is at war, and that I can reveal official things but not unofficial things. They kept saying, 'Now it's official' . . . and then, 'Now it's not.' In the end it became confusing. "
"Maai (the distance between you and your opponent) is very important in martial arts as it is in shogi. But in shogi we have to not only think about attacking, but also retreating. We have to go ahead, but if we go too strongly we will be cut by the enemy. So it's important to go ahead little by little, so as not to be cut."

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