‘The Second Time as Farce?‘ Abe Shinzo's New Challenge

Extract

I'd like to start with a big question: “can the media overcome nationalism?” I ask this because the words “national interest” have been used both casually and often in communicating everyday information. The Japanese media seemingly lack awareness that these words are used contiguously with the words “conservative swing”. What I'd like to know is the proportion of Japanese who felt angry versus those who remained calm when Korean president Lee Myung-bak visited Takeshima (Dokdo), and how that number changed when people learned that the reason for his visit was to pressure the Japanese government to take responsibility for the comfort women of the former Japanese military. But the Japanese media are uninterested in such things. As I write this, what is on my mind is the capacity (or lack thereof) of Abe Shinzo, who has been re-elected as LDP leader, to make political judgements. In the LDP's draft election pledges, the party proposed to create an official “Takeshima Day” and to continue to object to “unreasonable viewpoints” regarding comfort women issues. Abe is also calling for a revision of the Constitution and proposing the establishment of “national defense forces.” Can such a person provide an answer to such complex territorial issues and historical awareness? The editorial of Chosun Ilbo on 22^nd November asked: “How can Abe meet with leaders of South Korea and China as Prime Minister, based on this election pledge?”