Enthusiastic and Distorted Nationalism

While the people in Egypt was protesting against military regime, the people in Akihabara, Japan, required exclusion of Chinese and Koreans from Japan. At the last evening of campaign for election of the House of Councillors, supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party escalated their requirement to eliminate supports for foreign residents in Japan, not criticizing the government but media organizations as traitors. The situation is getting close to the 1930’s before the World War II.

The scene in front of Akihabara station was extremely strange. During the last speech of Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, most of the audience, amounted to about ten thousands, chanted and waved the national flag of Japan. When Abe criticized the handlings of former administration of Democratic Party of Japan and emphasized the necessity of the amendment of the Constitution, they responded delightedly. The flags were distributed by the campaign activists and the members of right wing organizations. The scene reminded people of ceremony of small town to send young men to the battlefield in the World War II.

Even after Abe’s speech finished, the excited audience did not want to go home. They started hauling harsh words to camera men in front of them. Responding to someone’s call, they started criticizing the public TV station, chanting “disorganize NHK, disorganize NHK.” The audiences seemed to be frustrated with its reports supportive to the right of Korean residents in Japan. Then they started calling “Scrap, Scrap Asahi,” labeling the newspaper as leftist.

Most audience excited on Abe’s speech was young agers who were frustrated with social system created by older people. With the job protection to older workers, there are the less job opportunities for the young. Although Abe’s economic policies raised the bonus of big major companies in Japan, middle and small business had not enjoyed its benefit. Their frustration strangely did not go to Abe, but to other issues such as DPJ or foreign residents.

Such a people do not have detailed information about policy and politics, only looking into some extremist assertions on website. That phenomenon represents a tendency of narrow-minded Japanese. They ignore, or have no idea about, the change of power structure in international politics. They do not want to see the world inside or outside Japan. The frustration against media may encourage governmental power over freedom and liberty of the people. Supporters of Abe’s constitutional amendment do not know that it will be themselves, or their kids, who need to go to battlefield in contingency.