The following is from the feature article on the conversation between Mr. Sekihei and Mr. Kin, which appeared in the monthly magazine WiLL, published on September 26th, on pages 201-211, under the title "I've become a naturalized citizen, but I don't want to hear Chinese or Korean."
It is a must-read not only for Japanese citizens but also for people worldwide.
Japan should take better care of its national interests
Escalating Chinese provocations
Sekihei
It is the first time we've had a conversation.
Kin
I always read your books, Sekihei-san.
Sekihei
Thank you very much.
We have a lot in common, as we are both from China, naturalized in Japan, and were born in 1962.
I came to Japan in 1988, a year before the Tiananmen Square Incident, but when did you come to Japan, Mr. Kin?
Kin
I came to Japan in 1991.
There is also some connection (laughs).
Sekihei
The situation in Japan and China has changed dramatically since we came to Japan.
In particular, China's provocations are escalating.
China's provocations range from military to political, but what particularly angered me recently was when a Chinese national working for NHK's international broadcasting service said things like "the Senkaku Islands are Chinese territory" and "Don't forget the Nanking Massacre."
It is no exaggeration to say that this incident showed Japan's public broadcaster speaking on behalf of China's claims on territorial and historical issues.
Kin
Mr. Sekihei and I have lived in Japan for over 30 years and are very familiar with Japanese culture and other aspects of Japanese society.
Although the Chinese man in question may not have lived in Japan as long as we have, he has spent considerable time here and even attended graduate school at the University of Tokyo.
Despite this, he commented on Japanese public broadcasting representing the Chinese government's position.
I wonder if the man is not a person under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
Sekihei
There is a high possibility of this being the case.
It is said that the man has already left Japan, but if he said such things from a position unrelated to the Chinese Communist Party, I would like to ask him, "What was the point of your time in Japan?
My guess is that stories like this incident are just the tip of the iceberg.
Considerable darkness may lurk in places we don't know about.
The naturalization system is a system full of loopholes
Kin
There are also significant problems with the recruitment process at NHK.
When recruiting foreigners and naturalized citizens, it is necessary to test whether they have a sense of personal values and patriotism.
Since NHK handles "public airwaves," it should impose stricter recruitment conditions than ordinary private companies.
Sekihei
The staff member in question was dismissed, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also imposed administrative sanctions on NHK, requiring them to take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence.
In addition, NHK also decided that the director in charge would resign and that the officials' remuneration would be voluntarily returned. Still, we must not assume that "it is all over."
The Diet should also investigate the background of the Chinese male staff member, including whether or not there was infiltration work by the Chinese Communist Party.
Kin
As I mentioned, there are significant problems with using aliases for naturalized citizens.
Using the alias system, it is possible to use common Japanese family names such as "Tanaka" or "Yamada."
It makes it easy for anti-Japanese naturalized citizens to slip through the net.
If naturalized citizens are willing to work hard for Japan, there is no problem, but unfortunately, the reality is that there are a great many anti-Japanese people.
Sekihei
It really is a terrible system.
To begin with, the requirements for naturalization in Japan are very lax.
I was naturalized in 2007, and when I received the phone call saying that I had been approved, I went to the Legal Affairs Bureau.
I thought there would be some oath-taking ceremony or something, but there wasn't, and the whole process was over in just five minutes.
I was astonished, thinking, "You can become a Japanese citizen that easily?"
Kin
When I was naturalized in 2004, I remember vividly that I was so happy that I ran from home to the Legal Affairs Bureau when I received a phone call from the bureau saying, "Kim-san, your application has been approved.
However, when I arrived at the Legal Affairs Bureau, I thought I would be sworn in in front of the Japanese flag, but all I had to do was go through the necessary formalities.
Sekihei
As I could not take the oath before the Rising Sun flag, I visited Ise Shrine on New Year's Day the year after I became a naturalized citizen and reported to Amaterasu Oomikami that I had become a Japanese citizen.
Kin
After returning home from the Legal Affairs Bureau, I decorated my house with the Rising Sun flag and prayed, saying, "Thank you for accepting me as a Japanese citizen."
I was wondering about the simplicity of the procedure, so I asked the staff at the Legal Affairs Bureau, "Even if we don't like Japan, can we still become a Japanese citizen?" The answer was, "That's not relevant. As long as you can fulfill the three conditions of having a proper occupation, no criminal record, and a residence history in Japan, that's all that matters."
No other country in the world grants naturalization based on such austere conditions.
In other countries, such as the US, UK, South Korea, and China, the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Country of Naturalization" forms must be completed, so becoming a naturalized citizen is not easy.
In the US and UK, you may have to swear an oath in front of the national flag, and South Korea, you may be tested on how much you know about Korean culture.
Sekihei
In Japan's naturalization system, there are actually people who naturalize with the motive of wanting a Japanese passport that is easy to use in the international community, even if they hate Japan.
The Japanese passport is one of the most reliable in the world.
It allows visa-free entry to 194 countries and regions.
A Chinese woman I have appeared on TV with several times also said without hesitation that she had naturalized because the Japanese passport was so convenient.
Kin
There are a lot of people like that.
Japan should also have a test with questions like "If Japan and your home country went to war, would you fight for Japan as a Japanese person?"
It might be a test that should also be given to people born in Japan who are doubtful about whether they love their country (lol).
Even so, if things continue, foreign countries will take Japan over.
We should think about the national interest first.
Sekihei
There are a lot of problems related to China.
It has been a problem for many years, but Chinese people buy many land and water resources in Japan.
Aside from properties in ordinary residential areas, the most frightening thing is that even land around Self-Defense Force bases is being bought by Chinese people.
Kin
Japan is an island country and lacks energy resources such as oil.
That is why its territory is its most excellent resource and must be cherished more than any other country.
Although the "Act on the Investigation of the Use of Land, etc. around Important Facilities and Remote Islands near the National Border, etc., and the Regulation of Use, "etc. that was passed in 2021 designated land around Self-Defense Force bases as "areas requiring close attention"," to the best of my knowledge, no law states that land cannot be sold to foreigners.
Sekihei
We need to make such a law as soon as possible.
Also, there are problems with employing foreign nationals at public educational institutions.
For example, Chinese teachers could teach Japanese children false history, including the Nanking Massacre, in history classes, and this could lead to the instilling of a mistaken view of history.
As happened at NHK, there should also be restrictions on employing foreigners at TV stations, as they handle public airwaves.
When I discuss this, some people say, " Stop discriminating against people based on their nationality." Still, from the perspective of protecting national interests, it's not discrimination.
Kin
Of course not.
I also have a strong sense of discomfort about the fact that "multicultural coexistence" is being called for so much.
I've been researching comparative cultural theory between Japan, China, and Korea, and it's tough for people with different cultures and values to live together.
To use an analogy, it's like a couple with different values cannot continue their married life.
Sekihei
Speaking of multicultural coexistence, there was controversy when the Korean school song was played after Kyoto International High School, the winner of the National High School Baseball Championship Tournament held in August, won a game.
What did you think about this, Mr. Kin?
Kin
To begin with, it's strange that a Korean school song was played at a game at the traditional Koshien Stadium in Japan.
Furthermore, the lyrics say, "The land of Yamato, which lies beyond the East Sea, is the place of the distant dreams of our divine ancestors."
The problem with these lyrics is that they refer to the Sea of Japan as the "East Sea," which is the name used by Koreans.
Also, the lyrics "place of the distant dreams of our divine ancestors" imply that Japan is a place of dreams for Koreans and Koreans.
Furthermore, this school was approved by the Korean government in the 1960s.
If the school became an international high school and began accepting Japanese students, it would be natural to change the lyrics.
Sekihei
In an interview, the baseball team coach, Noritsugu Komaki, said that if the school song was about "trilingual education and the three languages of education," it should be made up of a mixture of Korean, English, and Japanese.
There are indeed people who are aware of the problem.
Kin
However, in that interview, Director Komaki said that the school had told him they couldn't change the school song because they didn't have the money.
Sekihei
That's just an excuse.
Recently, with the increase in inbound tourism, you can hear announcements and see notices in Chinese and Korean on trains and at train stations.
Isn't that strange?
Even though Japanese and English are sufficient, when I get on a bus in Japan and suddenly hear Mandarin being broadcast, I feel a momentary sense of dread that I've been transported back to China (lol).
Not only Chinese and Korean people but also people from many other countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand, visit Japan.
However, there are no signs in Vietnamese or Thai.
Isn't that entirely discriminatory?
Kin
That's right.
The reason Vietnamese is not written is probably because the Japanese don't think it's important.
Also, in Seoul, Korea, there are signs written in Japanese in places because there are many Japanese tourists, but it's not because they are being kind.
It's a sign that they want Japanese tourists to spend money, and it's all about business.
But in Japan, they're trying to curry favor with China and South Korea.
It is definitely something that needs to be corrected.
Japan being made light of by China
Sekihei
Looking at Japan today, we can see that, despite China being provoked in various ways, we are only responding weakly.
Even when it comes to dealing with issues such as the maritime buoys set up off the Senkaku Islands and the violation of Japanese airspace, Japan has done nothing substantial, merely saying that it is "regrettable."
Even though South Korea has accepted the release of water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean between August and September 2023, and even North Korea has not complained, China has made the unfounded claim that it is "nuclear-contaminated water."
However, the Japanese government has only been sending out weak messages such as "seeking understanding".
Furthermore, even the Chinese people seem to be aware of the lies of the Chinese Communist Party when it comes to the issue of treated water.
In August, the major conveyor belt sushi chain "Sushiro" opened its first branch in Beijing, but there were reportedly up to 12-hour queues.
If the Chinese people believed the lies of the Chinese Communist Party, it would be impossible for the restaurant to be so successful.
If Japan continues to show a weak stance towards a lie that even the Chinese people know is a lie, it will only be taken advantage of more and more.
The Japanese prime minister and foreign minister must clearly tell China, "You are lying. Please stop lying."
Kin
China is using the issue of treated water as a political card.
Whether it's the issue of treated water or military provocations, Japan's inability to take a strong stance is influenced by its historical sense of atonement.
In school history education, the only thing taught about the history of Japan since the Meiji era is the lie that "Japan did terrible things during the war," but the fact that Japan fought against the Western powers to liberate Asia is hardly ever conveyed.
If this kind of education continues, it will be impossible for us to have pride in being Japanese.
Now is the time to have education that will allow us to have pride in being Japanese based on our history.
Sekihei
We must abandon the self-deprecating view of history based on the lies of China and Korea.
To this end, Japanese politicians should visit Yasukuni Shrine, where the spirits of the war dead who fought for Japan are enshrined.
Kin
In the first place, the term "post-war" itself should be abolished.
Next year will be the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, but continuing to talk about "war being bad" is as fruitless as discussing issues that arose in the Edo period in the Showa era.
This article continues.
This article continues.
2024/9/26 in Umeda
