I have been lucky enough to have visited Africa three times in the past half century (South Africa in 1969, Tanzania in 2008 and now Botswana last month). The people, politics and cities change but the animals in the vast open spaces are truly timeless.

When one considers what Japan did in World War II, one might wonder how I can even suggest that Japan is the most civilized country in the world. Nevertheless, having just returned from a little over three weeks there, it is certainly the impression that I am left with.

Our modern world has amazing sights that even the most visionary thinkers could not imagine a mere century ago. In contrast, there still exist places with buildings and monuments that are hundreds of years old and demonstrate craftmanship and artistry that you could never recreate today.