私は観光地として好きな場所は沢山あるがそこに住みたいと思ったことは一度もない。あるとすれば日本ではなくテレビ番組で見たような欧米の街ぐらいだ。テレビの番組などでヨーロッパの町で現地の人に自分の町の好きなところをインタビューする場面をよく見るが、その受け答えを聞くと彼らの多くは自分の町に誇りを持っていて、そこ地ある歴史なんかも詳しく語ることができる人が多いように思う。つまり私が言いたいのは、日本人は欧米人に比べて自分の住む町に誇りを持っている人は少ないのではないかという事だ。
There are many places which I like in terms of sightseeing, but have never, even once, thought I would like to live there. If there was somewhere, it would not be in Japan, but a town in Europe like the ones I have seen on TV programmes. Locals of European towns can often be seen on TV programmes being interviewed about what they like about their towns, and when I listen to their answers, I think that they speak with a lot of pride for their towns and can talk in detail about the history of the area. In other words, what I am trying to say is that, compared to Europeans, there are fewer Japanese people who are proud of the towns which they live in.
