Embarrassing Right Wing Women Leaders

Taking advantage of women power is one of the main slogans for the shuffle of the Cabinet led by Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Now, it is proved that “women” the Premier relied on meant right wing activists. Three women leaders in Abe administration were accused of their relationship with extremely radical right-wing activists. They need to explain their own relationships.

New Minister for Interior, Sanae Takaichi, and new Chairwoman for Policy Council of Liberal Democratic Party, and former Minister for Woman Issue, Tomomi Inada, had taken picture with the leader of neo-Nazism organization in Japan, Issei Yamada. According to the website, official name of the organization was “National Socialist Japanese Workers Party.” It admires principle of totalitarianism of Nazis and banner of swastika. Taking picture with a politician symbolizes relationship of firm support and acceptance of it.

The fact was reported by AFP as an endorsement of an argument that Abe administration had been gathering right-wing leaders around him. A newspaper in United Kingdom, Guardian, picked the issue with a headline reading “Neo-Nazi photos pose headache for Shinzo Abe. Japanese news media followed them. Both women leaders explained that each of them took a picture after an interview of a magazine and had no idea about Yamada and his political belief.

However, the third case appeared from underground cannot be explained with such a simple story. Minister for Abduction Issue, Eriko Yamatani, was found to have taken a picture with one of the leaders of highly controversial racist organization, Association Intolerant on Privilege for Korean Japanese, or Zaitokukai. Zaitokukai upholds slogan of exclusion of Korean originated citizens in Japan and repeats demonstration requiring exclusion or elimination of them.

Yamatani has been known as a conservative politician close to Abe, namely enthusiastic about returning Japanese abductees in North Korea. Although the man in the picture with Yamatani explained that he took distance from Zaitokukai when the organization started hate-speech demonstration. The office of Yamatani made an announcement that she did not know the affiliation of the man.

There have been a number of political scandals of taking picture with someone inappropriate, such as yakuza leaders. Politicians have good reason to be careful in taking picture with someone. Those three women, who are responsible as leaders in Abe administration, inadvertently revealed their hidden relationship. The reason why Abe chose them must not be because they were hopeful in leading women, but because they would promote right-wing political agenda.