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TOKYO, JAPAN, June 3, 2003: What do the Japanese do when their nation’s economic slide throws more people out of work and cuts into their savings? They go in for a hug from none other than Kerala’s Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, who is on the Japanese leg of her world tour. For the Japanese, a hug from the holy woman is said to bring happiness — something many Japanese feel is in short supply in their country. And for the last three days that is exactly what thousands of Japanese who flocked to a hall in Tokyo got — happiness through hugs. All this week, people have queued up outside Amma’s room, breathing in the incense-filled air and listening to strains of devotional songs. “Japan is suffering from deflation, and I think there are a lot of people who want to be helped,” said one businessman, who had already been hugged twice. Hugging is not a common custom in Japan and many people were overcome by emotion when embraced. “When you watch the news or read the newspapers, there are so many depressing things, but that’s not all there is in the world. That’s what I felt when she embraced me,” said housewife Teruko Nakamura as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. When asked, Amma attributed the emotion to nothing more than a lack of love in the modern world. “It is like when someone has been drinking sewage water all their lives and they suddenly get river water — they want more to quench their thirst,” she said.

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