However, it is not just politics that is to blame for Japan's downfall.
The media, which influences public opinion, is also to blame for most of it.
October 20th, 2019
The following is an excerpt from a unique feature on the second volume of the separate edition of Seiron magazine, "Fallen Media" and "Why Did the Media Fall?", which was recommended to me by a friend who is a keen reader because it is packed with really worthwhile articles and interviews, and is titled "It's Because They Don't Write the Truth." The emphasis in the text, other than the headings, is mine.
Takita
: The two of you have been reporting on the situation in Japan and abroad for many years as Sankei Shimbun journalists, so I would like to ask you to talk about the state of the media.
The theme is "the fallen media," but why do you think the media has become such a heavily criticized entity?
Takayama
: When you ask what is wrong with Japan, which is in a state of stagnation and decline, people say things like the opposition parties are sloppy or that the LDP has become too routine.
But it's not just politics that has brought Japan to this state.
The media, which influences public opinion, is to blame for most of this.
For example, the problems caused by TEPCO's Fukushima plant in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake have resulted in nuclear energy being phased out of Japan.
While the rest of the world is increasingly relying on nuclear power and building more nuclear power plants, Japan is going against the tide and calling TEPCO the most atrocious of villains, but that's not right.
The Fukushima accident was caused by defects in the plant built by the US company GE.
However, the media don't even mention the name of GE and don't report any of the facts.
Even when it comes to radiation contamination, the annual limit of 1 millisievert is a joke that the US created, but they don't even mention that.
They don't have any intention of reporting the truth.
Saito
There is some media coverage that is anti-TEPCO, but there isn't much that goes into the technical details.
Takayama
It's not right to single out TEPCO, but newspapers don't report the "facts" that should be reported, and they report with an anti-nuclear power plant ideology.
The standard for judgment is "taking the side of the weak," and in this case, TEPCO is the bad guy, and the people who were forced to evacuate are portrayed as the weak.
Newspapers think it is their mission to crush any politicians or commentators with different viewpoints immediately.
Saito
It's all about newspaper ideology.
It is not a phenomenon that only exists in Japan.
When Stalin was at the height of his power, Walter Duranty of the New York Times, who admired him, hid the fact that millions of people in Ukraine were starving to death and, praised Stalin and even won a Pulitzer Prize.
Not long ago, the people of Ukraine held a demonstration in New York, demanding that at least the Pulitzer Prize be revoked.
Takayama
Ideology comes first.
Takita
When you were both active as on-the-spot reporters, was there media criticism like there is now?
Saito
There was a time when only Sankei was being criticized.
Takayama
But even if you look at old Sankei, you'll see articles praising Chiang Kai-shek, who massacred Taiwanese intellectuals, as a hero of anti-communism, while at the same time publishing stories from the Japan Association of Chinese Returnees (Chukiren) about how the Chinese were burned in furnaces.
Several articles were similar to those by Katsuichi Honda of the Asahi.
Saito
Seiron was first published in 1973.
That was the year after I joined the company.
Takayama
Even with "Seiron," there were some things that we didn't see.
Newspapers inevitably get carried away with isms.
There were some things that we did after the war without reflection.
Takita
In 1982 (Showa 57), there was a textbook issue.
The newspapers all reported that the Japanese Ministry of Education had forced the replacement of the term "invasion of North China" with "advance" in the textbook screening process.
Takayama
At that time, Shoichi Watanabe contributed an article to the October magazine Shokun! titled "The Textbook Controversy in Which a Million Dogs Barked at the Sky," in which the truth came to light.
The newspapers pretended not to hear, but Sankei revised its stance and apologized.
What followed was the Asahi poison gas report (see page 35 for details).
At that time, too, many of the Sankei newspaper's social affairs desk editors were hesitant.
One was, "What will we do by challenging the Asahi?
"It was an era when we didn't criticize other newspapers.
The other was the idealistic notion that 'we don't know what the Japanese army was doing.
So, the manuscript was sent back to Mizuho Ishikawa.
He was a new desk, and he didn't have such idealistic notions, so he did it flashy on the front page of the society section, saying,' Isn't this interesting?"
Saito
: "Seiron" didn't catch on in the company for a while.
However, in 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, the Beijing Bureau Chief at the time, Shibata Hō, was expelled from the Chinese government. That was the real starting point for the "Seiron" line.
Takayama
: That's right.
Saito
: When Mr. Shibata returned, he wrote a series of articles on the front page about how he had been expelled and did it about a hundred times.
This series of articles exposed the truth of the Cultural Revolution, the power struggles in China, and the true nature of Chinese communism. It was the starting point for "Seiron," which accused the Chinese Communist Party and the Soviet Communist Party of being outrageous regimes.
Even ordinary readers and newspaper journalists didn't understand what kind of regime the Soviet Union and China had.
That gradually became more widely understood, and it's only recently that people have finally started to understand.
Takayama
It took a long time.
Even during the Tiananmen Square Incident, they argued that "it's good that China is stable."
It's better for the neighboring country to be unstable.
In fact, during the Mao Zedong era, when massacres were going on over there, relations between Japan and China were going the best.
As things stabilized there, starting with the Senkaku Islands, Japan's politics, finances, and public order were disrupted and violated.
Stability in a neighboring country is the worst thing.
The same goes for South Korea.
Saito
Three years after the Tiananmen Square Incident, the Emperor (the former Emperor) visited China, and I think the entire media is to blame for this.
Sankei opposed it quite a bit.
At that time, they didn't understand the true horror of communism.
Takayama
So, it's just as you wrote ("Seiron", April 2019)."Never forgive Russia."
It is precisely what is needed to counteract what that fake ambassador (the Russian Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Garudin) said.
This article continues
The media, which influences public opinion, is also to blame for most of it.
October 20th, 2019
The following is an excerpt from a unique feature on the second volume of the separate edition of Seiron magazine, "Fallen Media" and "Why Did the Media Fall?", which was recommended to me by a friend who is a keen reader because it is packed with really worthwhile articles and interviews, and is titled "It's Because They Don't Write the Truth." The emphasis in the text, other than the headings, is mine.
Takita
: The two of you have been reporting on the situation in Japan and abroad for many years as Sankei Shimbun journalists, so I would like to ask you to talk about the state of the media.
The theme is "the fallen media," but why do you think the media has become such a heavily criticized entity?
Takayama
: When you ask what is wrong with Japan, which is in a state of stagnation and decline, people say things like the opposition parties are sloppy or that the LDP has become too routine.
But it's not just politics that has brought Japan to this state.
The media, which influences public opinion, is to blame for most of this.
For example, the problems caused by TEPCO's Fukushima plant in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake have resulted in nuclear energy being phased out of Japan.
While the rest of the world is increasingly relying on nuclear power and building more nuclear power plants, Japan is going against the tide and calling TEPCO the most atrocious of villains, but that's not right.
The Fukushima accident was caused by defects in the plant built by the US company GE.
However, the media don't even mention the name of GE and don't report any of the facts.
Even when it comes to radiation contamination, the annual limit of 1 millisievert is a joke that the US created, but they don't even mention that.
They don't have any intention of reporting the truth.
Saito
There is some media coverage that is anti-TEPCO, but there isn't much that goes into the technical details.
Takayama
It's not right to single out TEPCO, but newspapers don't report the "facts" that should be reported, and they report with an anti-nuclear power plant ideology.
The standard for judgment is "taking the side of the weak," and in this case, TEPCO is the bad guy, and the people who were forced to evacuate are portrayed as the weak.
Newspapers think it is their mission to crush any politicians or commentators with different viewpoints immediately.
Saito
It's all about newspaper ideology.
It is not a phenomenon that only exists in Japan.
When Stalin was at the height of his power, Walter Duranty of the New York Times, who admired him, hid the fact that millions of people in Ukraine were starving to death and, praised Stalin and even won a Pulitzer Prize.
Not long ago, the people of Ukraine held a demonstration in New York, demanding that at least the Pulitzer Prize be revoked.
Takayama
Ideology comes first.
Takita
When you were both active as on-the-spot reporters, was there media criticism like there is now?
Saito
There was a time when only Sankei was being criticized.
Takayama
But even if you look at old Sankei, you'll see articles praising Chiang Kai-shek, who massacred Taiwanese intellectuals, as a hero of anti-communism, while at the same time publishing stories from the Japan Association of Chinese Returnees (Chukiren) about how the Chinese were burned in furnaces.
Several articles were similar to those by Katsuichi Honda of the Asahi.
Saito
Seiron was first published in 1973.
That was the year after I joined the company.
Takayama
Even with "Seiron," there were some things that we didn't see.
Newspapers inevitably get carried away with isms.
There were some things that we did after the war without reflection.
Takita
In 1982 (Showa 57), there was a textbook issue.
The newspapers all reported that the Japanese Ministry of Education had forced the replacement of the term "invasion of North China" with "advance" in the textbook screening process.
Takayama
At that time, Shoichi Watanabe contributed an article to the October magazine Shokun! titled "The Textbook Controversy in Which a Million Dogs Barked at the Sky," in which the truth came to light.
The newspapers pretended not to hear, but Sankei revised its stance and apologized.
What followed was the Asahi poison gas report (see page 35 for details).
At that time, too, many of the Sankei newspaper's social affairs desk editors were hesitant.
One was, "What will we do by challenging the Asahi?
"It was an era when we didn't criticize other newspapers.
The other was the idealistic notion that 'we don't know what the Japanese army was doing.
So, the manuscript was sent back to Mizuho Ishikawa.
He was a new desk, and he didn't have such idealistic notions, so he did it flashy on the front page of the society section, saying,' Isn't this interesting?"
Saito
: "Seiron" didn't catch on in the company for a while.
However, in 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, the Beijing Bureau Chief at the time, Shibata Hō, was expelled from the Chinese government. That was the real starting point for the "Seiron" line.
Takayama
: That's right.
Saito
: When Mr. Shibata returned, he wrote a series of articles on the front page about how he had been expelled and did it about a hundred times.
This series of articles exposed the truth of the Cultural Revolution, the power struggles in China, and the true nature of Chinese communism. It was the starting point for "Seiron," which accused the Chinese Communist Party and the Soviet Communist Party of being outrageous regimes.
Even ordinary readers and newspaper journalists didn't understand what kind of regime the Soviet Union and China had.
That gradually became more widely understood, and it's only recently that people have finally started to understand.
Takayama
It took a long time.
Even during the Tiananmen Square Incident, they argued that "it's good that China is stable."
It's better for the neighboring country to be unstable.
In fact, during the Mao Zedong era, when massacres were going on over there, relations between Japan and China were going the best.
As things stabilized there, starting with the Senkaku Islands, Japan's politics, finances, and public order were disrupted and violated.
Stability in a neighboring country is the worst thing.
The same goes for South Korea.
Saito
Three years after the Tiananmen Square Incident, the Emperor (the former Emperor) visited China, and I think the entire media is to blame for this.
Sankei opposed it quite a bit.
At that time, they didn't understand the true horror of communism.
Takayama
So, it's just as you wrote ("Seiron", April 2019)."Never forgive Russia."
It is precisely what is needed to counteract what that fake ambassador (the Russian Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Garudin) said.
This article continues
