Early in the morning I was called to meet Mr. Shiro Sudo, a Japanese World War II veteran who had been assigned in Indonesia. He was was getting impatient with the governor office of West Java province. He has sent a request letter to make a courtesy call to governor with a delegation of 30 Japanese business people. But the Governor was not in the office in that day. I tried to understand the misunderstanding. A spokesperson from the Governor ’s office said that Mr. Sudo has sent a request letter but he could not find it. I then got back to Mr. Sudo who gave me the copy of the letter. It had been sent over two years ago.

Mr. Sudo thought that because Governor was too busy with his schedule it was best to notify him as early as possible of his meeting. The Japanese never do things at the last moment. In this case, Mr. Sudo had planned two years ahead. While the spokesperson from the Governor’s office was confused that a letter for a meeting was sent two years before the date.

In West Java there is a way of thought called “Sangkuriang philosophy”. It means all things have to finish within a night