On Human Dignity: Japan and the West

Human dignity is perceived dually, as active dignity when people dare in pursuit of a life worth to live, and as passive dignity because they are human beings. A human is regarded as “a being interrelated with”, not as an individual, in Japan. Person, human rights, body, and life are in reality supports of human dignity. Traditional Japanese could compensate for such ignorance of the essential concepts in their own ways. One must live in between “a being interrelated with” and an individual, being aware of one's own responsibility. Here lies the basis of human dignity.