Kōbō Abe Quotes

Finish last in your league and they call you idiot. Finish last in medical school and they call you doctor.

Do you shovel to survive, or survive to shovel?

Judging is a lonely job in which a man is, as near as may be, an island entire.

It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.

It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.

Defeat begins with the fear that one has lost.

You mean in the state?

The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.

The future of Japan's economic growth depends on us having the willpower and the courage to sail without hesitation onto the rough seas of global competition.

I promise to protect Japan's land and sea, and the lives of the Japanese people no matter what.

I have experienced failure as a politician and for that very reason, I am ready to give everything for Japan.

We did have three go to the YMCA.

The Japan-U.S. alliance is an irreplaceable alliance. And I would like to further consolidate and broaden that alliance.

Without the threat of punishment, there is no joy in flight.

Mankind, which has always been a part of nature, has reached a point where it is too much for nature to accommodate.

Dissent and dissenters have no monopoly on freedom. They must tolerate opposition. They must accept dissent from their dissent.

Green makes me think of silence, or maybe it's loneliness. I get the feeling of a terribly distant star.

It's a dangerous dog that doesn't bark.

I believe it is important that we Japanese write a constitution for ourselves that would reflect the shape of the country we consider desirable in the 21st century.

For China to continue to enjoy economic prosperity, it needs to foster trusting international relationships, not tensions ... and it is important for China to understand this.

The Senkaku islands are inherently Japanese territory. I want to show my strong determination to prevent this from changing.

Work seemed something fundamental for man, something which enabled him to endure the aimless flight of time.

It is important to explain fully to the local areas with sincerity. We will also think, of course, about the development promotion of the communities.

The minute you begin to have doubts, the floor under your feet starts to shake.

It is my belief that politicians should not be stepping into the realm of history. Rather, politicians should be taking a future-oriented perspective.

The most frightening thing in the world is to discover the abnormal in that which is closest to us.

They wanted to buy out my contract, but I couldn't make change for a $20, so they had to let me stay.

Coaches who shoot par in the summer are the guys I want on my schedule in the winter.

Time cannot be spurred on like a horse.

Yet there seemed to be some truth in the law of probability, according to which the chance of success is directly proportionate to the number of repetitions.

I want. . . a steady hand. A kind soul. I want to fall asleep, and wake, knowing my heart is safe. I want to love, and be loved.

There isn't anything anybody wants that is for any other reason than that they think they would feel better in having it.

In the last five years I used to go to Zen practice once a month, but since I assumed the post of prime minister it's been much harder.

Efforts to ease regulations and reform the nation's tax system have helped put this self-sustaining recovery on track, The numbers prove our policies have not been wrong.

You may be big in New York, but in Walters, Oklahoma, you're nobody.

Hell no. When I die I want to be sick.

Perhaps the act of writing is necessary when nothing happens.

A plausible rumor / Seems a lot more believable / Than the truth itself.

The United States has renewed our leadership in the Asia-Pacific, prime Minister Abe is leading Japan to a new role on the world stage.

Doctors bury their mistakes, but mine are still on scholarship.

When I was young, I could bounce back from things like a brand-new rubber ball.

But I think there is a widespread opinion that the support system for athletes should be more firmly established.

I will aim to restore the Japan-U.S. alliance and Japan's strong diplomatic capabilities. Japan can't pursue a strong foreign policy without strengthening its alliance with the United States.

If I make a set of rules, then a guy goes out and steals an airplane. He comes back and says, 'It wasn't in the rules.'

Things have value Because somebody buys them, Because somebody pays money; If you can find a buyer, Even a lie is worth a thousand yen.

Our predecessors overcame many troubles and much suffering, but each time got back up stronger than before.

During the Koizumi administration, I served as the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary as well as the Chief Cabinet Secretary.

I'd rather be a football coach. That way you only lose eleven games a year.

Year after year students tumble along like the waters of a river. They flow away, and only the teacher is left behind, like some deeply buried rock at the bottom of the current.

She was spirit and presence, as rare and brilliant as snowflakes in sunlight, and he could not bring himself to harm her.