The Power of Constructive Work

After the war, Japan had become America’s debtor. Now, America was sinking into debt to Japan. In 1986, American goods worth 26 billion dollars went to Japan, while Japanese goods worth 85 billion dollars went to America. The trade balance between the two countries collapsed. In 1986, Japan’s trade surplus against America exceeded 85 billion dollars. Today, America is the world’s largest debtor nation, while Japan is the world’s largest creditor nation (Time, April 13 & 27, 1987). This situation has inspired a flood of books. One American bestseller is titled Japan Number One. In 1945, Japan had accepted the position of number two against America. Forty years later, America itself had to admit that Japan had again become number one. It was as though the Japanese had written a book called ‘Japan Number Two’ when they accepted the unbearable conditions imposed by the United States and recognized their secondary position. Only later could others write a book about them titled ‘Japan Number One.’ This reflects a law of today’s world: those who accept defeat are the ones who ultimately triumph, and those who agree to step back are the ones who move forward again. Fourteen hundred years ago, Muslims discovered this profound truth through the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. In modern times, the Japanese applied the same principle to their own circumstances. The truth is that this world is built on competition. Everyone is running, everyone wants to move ahead of