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●『日本　呪縛の構図』を書いた理由

I wanted to, this book that Mr. Kamikura mentioned; I actually never intended to write it. I had written a number of books about - and articles about Japan’s political economy and the way it intertwined with the hedge money of the U.S. dollar, but I didn’t think I had anything new to say on the subject.

　この『日本　呪縛の構図』という本ですが、当初こういう本を書く予定は全くありませんでした。というのは、日本の政治経済や米ドル資産との結び付きに関する私の本や記事は、ありとあらゆるところで出ているし、ほとんど語り尽くした感じだったので、もうこの話題について付け加えることはないと思っていたからです。

But when I was at Oxford University Press, invited me to write this book and I accepted their invitation, partly because they are very prestigious publisher and partly because I realized that doing it, doing this book, will give me the opportunity to put down a lifetime worth of reflections.

　しかし、オックスフォード大学出版から声をかけてもらったのがきっかけで、私は本を書くことにしました。ここは非常に著名な出版社ですし、この本を書くことが、私のこれまでの人生の意味を振り返る機会にもなるだろう思ったので、引き受けたのです。

●初来日から現在まで

I first came to Japan as a 15-year-old schoolboy. I was only here for a few months, but the experience transformed my life. And it is not a coincidence for the way this book took shape that the first place I lived in Japan was Sendai.

　私が最初に来日したのは15歳の時です。たった数カ月間の滞在でしたが、私の人生を変える出来事になりました。私が最初に暮らした場所は仙台で、この本を書き始めたのも仙台です。これは単なる偶然の一致とは思えません。

My father was a visiting professor at Tohoku University. So you can say that Sendai is my Japanese furusato. And just as I began to start work on this book, the Tohoku, Great Tohoku earthquake happened. And the scenes on television of the devastation in town such as Ishinomaki and Kesennuma really tore my heart, because these were plac...