(Photo:Reuters/Aflo)

 
China will release the blockade of Wuhan City, Hubei Province, that lasted two and a half months, and appeal to the world that the coronavirus is finally suppressed. But the next threat awaits.

“The world’s attention is on the coronavirus that originated in China, but there is a possibility that a large horde of desert locusts will attack China,” said Kazuhiko Fuji, a senior researcher at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI). “It has been causing food shortages in places like Africa, and several countries have declared emergency situations.”

The desert locusts were abnormally generated by a cyclone that hit the Arabian Peninsula in 2018, and the number is estimated to be several hundred billion as of April 18.

The damage done to agricultural crops, which are being eaten by these grasshoppers, is the worst damage in the past 25 years in Ethiopia and Djibouti; it is the worst damage in the last 70 years in Kenya.

Horde of Locusts, The Size of Kanagawa Prefecture

The migratory locust is the most representative species in Japan. Although they caused agricultural damage before wartime in places like Hokkaido, there are no such cases in recent years. Most people probably will not take a “food crisis caused by locusts” seriously.

In Kenya, a flock of desert locusts grew into the same size as the area of Kanagawa prefecture in Japan, and it is said that in one day, they can eat at least the same amount of food that can supply 3.5 million people. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations forecasted that there will be 500 times more locusts by June 2020. There is no doubt that the damage will continue worsening.

“Vietnam has been preparing for the locust attack by forbidding rice exports and storing it domestically,” Fuji says. “As a result, the international price of crops is slowly rising. We can’t avoid the effect it will have on Japan’s food imports.”

X-Day, the Attack on China, to Come by June

Takayoshi Kimura, an associate professor at Happy Science University who studies entomophagy, says the following:

“The size of an adult desert locust is approximately five centimeters, and it can cover over 100 kilometers in one day. These insects are normally gentle, but once they experience a high-density state, the color of their body changes and their wings become longer. This is called phase polymorphism. However, we still don’t know why their properties or states change to the point where it can disrupt human activities. So far, China has only been invaded by migratory locusts; there hasn’t been any cases of desert locusts yet. If desert locusts do rush in, they will create an earth-shattering situation.”

China is facing an unknown threat that science can’t keep up with. Fuji predicted that the desert locusts will attack soon.

“There’s a chance that the desert locusts will invade by June,” Fuji says. “It will disrupt harvest time for crops such as wheat, and the market for grains will be in great confusion.”

In reality, China’s forestry and grassland authority foresaw locust invasions in places such as Yunnan Province, Uyghur and Tibet, and are taking measures in preparation.

Invasion of Locusts Has Been a Punishment

In ancient times, a horde of locusts was feared by people who took it as a “divine punishment.” The most famous example is a story in the Book of Exodus of the Old Testament.

During the 13th century B.C., Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to create a new country and free them from slavery. At that time, God released the Ten Commandments on Egypt, which included a swarm of locusts covering Egypt.

“Half of the Ten Commandments have to do with living creatures. Aside from locusts, it is said that swarms of snakes and frogs also broke out,” Kimura says. “In Japan, hurricanes and earthquakes are most commonly said to be divine punishments. The type of punishment and its affinity may be different in Eurasia.”

Locusts to Attack Beijing!?

In China, there are three major disasters: locust plague, flood and drought.

In the year 943, a few hundred thousand people died from starvation; three years later, it reached one million people. It is said that tragic incidents such as “a parent eating the child” or “digging a grave to eat dead bodies” resulted from food shortages.

There’s a record from the ancient Yin dynasty that migratory locusts reached Beijing, despite it being a northern cold region. The type of species may be different this time, but there’s a chance that this army of locusts may reach Beijing.

How Tang Emperor Taizong Swallowed Locusts and Resolved the Locust Plague

In Confucianism, there is an idea that the cause of a natural disaster lies within politicians, and that the loss of the state causes catastrophes (“Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals”).

There is a story in “Joganseiyo” in which Tang Emperor Taizong regrets his way of politics and resolves the locust plague. Conflicted with an expanding number of locusts, Taizong heads to the scene and picked up a few locusts from a horde that filled up the garden.

“How much damage will be done if my people’s precious grains are eaten up?” Taizong says to the locusts. “If my people have a problem, the sin is on me as their emperor. Eat my internal organs instead of eating my people’s grains.”

Taizong then swallowed the locusts. It is said that heaven was impressed by Taizong, and the horde of locusts eventually disappeared.

Chinese Emperor Begs Heavens Forgiveness

In fact, in the event of a natural disaster, even the most powerful emperors admit their wrongdoings and beg for forgiveness to the heavens. About 90 past emperors have issued a total of 260 edicts of apology.

A traditional leader of China has always thought that the government officials should humbly reflect on their actions in times of national disaster. However, the last issuance was during the Qing dynasty — Mao Zedong, the founding father of People’s Republic of China, disliked the idea.

Shouldn’t State Chairman Xi Jinping return to the Chinese tradition of reflecting on one’s wrongdoings and ask for God’s forgiveness? Only then will the country see their blind spots.