The following is from a feature article in the November 26 issue of the monthly magazine WiLL titled "I Want to Curse and Kill Xi Jinping's Dictatorship! and featured a dialogue between four authors, including Tomoko Ako, a professor at the University of Tokyo, Tan Lomi, a writer, Yang Yizhi, and Liu Yanzi, a Chinese literature scholar.
As I have mentioned, WiLL and Handa are full of factual articles, yet they cost 980 yen! That's a bargain!
It is no exaggeration to say that they are the best monthly magazines in the world today.
It is a must-read not only for Japanese citizens but for people worldwide.
It is a must-read for men and women, young and old, and especially for all young people.
Some parts of the article already foreshadow the phenomenon that is now taking place in China.
(Emphasis in the text, except for the headline, is mine.
Japanese Media is Bought
Ako
I was in Taiwan the other day and felt that tensions were rising.
In 2020, Taiwan was accepting immigrants from Hong Kong since Hong Kong was placed under China's influence by the National Security Maintenance Act. However, with contingencies being discussed, people seem suspicious that there may be spies among the immigrants.
Although there is no such tension in Japan, there may be more Chinese spies in the future.
Liu.
With the easing of immigration restrictions, many Chinese have come to Japan.
Some of these Chinese are planning to take advantage of Japan's liberal democracy to take over the media.
In particular, some publishing companies suffering from the publishing slump may jump at the vast amount of Chinese money.
If the publishers are bought, they will publish books praising Xi Jinping in Japanese, one after another.
It will lead to an "invisible invasion" from within, as in the case of Hokkaido's land and water resources and Okinawa.
Ako
According to a public opinion poll on foreign affairs by the Cabinet Office released in January 2022, more than 40% of 18-29-year-olds feel an affinity toward China.
While it is good that Japan-China relations are strengthening as an understanding of China is growing in terms of cultural and personal ties, I do not believe that young people are paying enough attention to moves that undermine the values of democracy.
Liu.
You are right.
Furthermore, Japanese universities accept many Chinese students. Still, there is often an atmosphere of fear of the Chinese government's intentions at so-called "objective" and "neutral" universities, research institutions, and academic societies.
If they conduct research unfavorable to China, the embassy immediately issues orders to the Chinese students, and the students overwhelm the universities in numbers.
Researchers become "self-regulating" and are forced to express their political attitudes in line with the Chinese government.
So we are unwittingly influenced by a dictatorship.
Yang.
I came to Japan in 1987. At that time, the atmosphere in Japan was much freer than it is today, partly because of the bubble economy.
However, in the past ten years, I have felt a sense of tightness in terms of culture and speech, perhaps due to the influence of China.
Newspaper reporters, writers, and authors self-impose restrictions when writing, saying, "I shouldn't say this."
Why does Japan self-regulate even though there is no speech control like in China?
As I write, I always think, "Japan is a waste."
This article continues.
