Confucius (551-479 B.C.) lived a long time ago, but his words in “The Analects” somehow resonate in our present-day world.

Irrespective of time and place, are we humans destined to repeat our follies? Even though it is not easy for me to “know the mandate of heaven and obey,” the sayings of the sage can still make me sit up and listen.

Watching Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s news conference on Jan. 19, I was reminded of these words: “The superior man understands righteousness while the petty man understands profit.”

Dissolving the Lower House means firing all its members who are the people’s elected representatives. As such, calling the dissolution means exercising tremendous........

© The Asahi Shimbun