The 72-year-old Japanese man told the world:
　　Wuhan is safe and you can play with confidence

After resuming work, Takajima Shimada (center) took a photo with friends in the restaurant.

　　Photo courtesy of Takajima Shimada

　　At 12 noon on June 5, the Japanese Takajima Shimada came to the curry restaurant-Dingwu Curry, which he runs at the street entrance. Greeting the guests, pouring water, and wiping the table, the 72-year-old man is very skilled at these tasks. This is his tenth year of opening a curry restaurant in Wuhan and the most special year.

　　If it were not for the outbreak of New Coronary Pneumonia, Takahashi Shimada would spend three or five days at his hometown in Jiangxia, Wuhan, where his friend and manager Danzi, as usual, spent the Chinese New Year with her family. The situation was special this year. After the outbreak, Danzi left the old man behind to facilitate his life.

　　In response to the need to fight the epidemic, Wuhan temporarily closed the Lihan Passage, and everyone actively responded to the government's call without closing the door. Shimaji Tadaji sighed: "I have never experienced this kind of thing in my life, which is both surprising and very remarkable. The patience of the people of Wuhan makes me admirable." In order to ease everyone's emotions, he took the initiative to teach you how to do daily Style curry. He said: "I hope everyone can do meaningful things at home and cherish the time with their families." The old man also encouraged each other on the phone with friends, especially some young children crying while talking. He comforted them and encouraged them to find something meaningful to do and adjust their mood to overcome the difficulties.

　　On April 8, Wuhan lifted the control measures for the Lihan Channel, the city pressed the "restart button", and the rooftop curry also resumed business on April 10.

　　On the way back from Jiangxia to the urban area, the old man enjoyed the roadside scenery and said comfortably: "I took a long vacation. As a foreigner, it is really a great experience to experience the idyllic scenery in the Chinese countryside. Relax physically and mentally!"

　　On May 19, the elderly received a free nucleic acid test arranged by the government in the community where they lived. He said that under such difficult circumstances, the Wuhan Municipal Government is willing to pay for the nucleic acid detection of nearly 10 million citizens, which is a measure that makes all Wuhan and Chinese people feel at ease and makes him feel particularly safe.

　　Not only that, Takajima Shimada said that the government has also taken a series of measures to actively assist in resuming work and production, which is also greatly beneficial to his business. The landlord of Dingwu Curry Jiekoukou reduced their rent for three months; the government issued Wuhan consumer coupons, which also brought a lot of business to the store. "Every time a customer comes to the store, we will also remind them to use Wuhan consumption coupons at checkout."

　　Although the current business of the restaurant is not as good as before, the elderly are full of confidence in the future. "Wuhan is a university city. Once the students come back, the whole city will become lively again. Wuhan is good, and my restaurant business will naturally get better."

　　In the early days of the epidemic, someone called from Japan to ask if the elderly wanted to go back. The old man replied: "Why did you call me back to Japan? I am from Wuhan!" Since opening the first curry restaurant around Wuchang's colleges and universities in 2010, Wuhan has become the second hometown of Takahashi Shimada. The old man has a lot of research on the history of Wuhan, and has many treasures here, as well as witnessing the development of the city. He said that Wuhan is now much like Japan in the period of rapid development, where he found a young feeling and would stay in Wuhan forever.

　　Silver-gray hair, clean, simple, and plain dress are the first impressions given by Shigeda Takahide. However, it was such a simple old man who used his free time to teach Japanese for more than 2,000 people at his own restaurant for free, and also sponsored three primary schools. In the 10 years of living in Wuhan, Shigeda Takahashi was called "a model of Sino-Japanese folk exchanges".

　　Now, he wants to tell people around the world as a "Wuhanese", "Wuhan has no new patients with pneumonia, and it is now particularly safe. You can play with confidence!"

　　Changting Daily reporter Fan Tingting

　　(Thanks to Danzi for providing translation assistance for this article)