The following is from a column that first appeared in the monthly magazine WiLL, which was released on the 26th, under the title "Exploring Old Media."
This column is not just a read, it's a vital part of the ongoing discourse, a must-read for the Japanese people and a significant contribution to the global conversation.
It is what deliberation at Asahi looks like.
Deliberation, deliberation, deliberation... These words are everywhere in the newspapers.
When the ordinary session of the Diet opened in January, all the newspapers were discussing the "Diet of Deliberation."
The first to start talking about it was Asahi.
When the extraordinary Diet session was held last autumn, they called for "the restoration of the legislature through thorough debate" (editorial dated November 28, 2024), and at the end of the year, they called for "progress towards thorough debate" (editorial dated December 25).
When the Asahi newspaper called for "the results of deliberation by the ruling and opposition parties" on the day after the Diet was convened, the local newspapers followed suit, right and left.
"It's Prime Minister Ishiba's moment of truth for deliberation "(Kyoto Shimbun),
"Let's get back to building the country through deliberation" (Ehime Shimbun),
"Let's make 'deliberation' a political norm "(Sanyo Shimbun, all of which are editorials dated January 25, 2013).
They are all singing the praises of deliberation.
That reminds me of something.
Deliberation was the forte of Naoto Kan, the 'nightmare Democratic Party of Japan administration.'
"I will work to make the Diet a place of 'deliberation' where debate is deepened" (October 2010, policy speech at the extraordinary Diet session).
"I call on all members of the Diet to make this the Diet of mature debate, and I will make this my policy speech" (policy speech for the ordinary Diet session in January 2011).
Asahi was also the instigator of this mature debate (the first appearance of the term in an editorial was on August 1, 2010, in the newspaper 'Mature Debate: A Way of Not Leaving Politics to Others').
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also emphasized 'mature debate,' which is a scary story.
What happened when the Kan Naoto administration was intoxicated with deliberation?
A Chinese fishing boat collided with a Japanese patrol boat in the Senkaku Islands (September 2010).
In addition, they gave in to Chinese threats and released the captain, exposing a weak Japan to the world.
In March 2011, in the middle of this Diet session, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, followed by the Prime Minister's Office going on a rampage over the nuclear accident.
That's why deliberation can't help but sound like a spell that will bring about national disaster.
The specter of that time has returned - the "nightmare of the Ishiba administration." Oh, my goodness.
When I think of the political editor of the Asahi Shimbun, I think of Takeshi Soga.
He was the man who, during the Abe administration, raised his fist against power, saying, "The mission of newspapers is to monitor power."
After that, he was an editorial board member but resigned this year at the end of January.
It was written in a three-part series of reporter round-table discussions titled "2025: Where is Politics Heading?" from January 7 to 9th.
I've never heard of a reporter round-table discussion like this one that goes on for three days.
It was a meaningless "farewell round-table discussion".
Maybe it was a farewell party, but I'm surprised that no one within the company said, "Don't make the newspaper your own personal property."
Well, it doesn't matter.
What doesn't matter is that Mr. Soga was actively promoting "the will of the people" when he said that the result of the general election last autumn "may have been a choice by the people for a situation of power decentralization led by the Diet, rather than a 'one-party system' led by the Prime Minister's Office."
If you're talking about the will of the people, why didn't you say anything when the Abe administration was in power?
They won six consecutive national elections.
The 'one-party system' was the people's will, pure and simple.
However, when Abe announced his resignation as prime minister, the Asahi Shimbun editorialized, "This must be a step towards rebuilding Japanese democracy, which has been deeply wounded during his seven years and eight months in office" (August 29, 2007).
It's a total denial of public opinion.
Stop being so double-talky.
By January, the results of the national opinion polls conducted by newspapers and news agencies on the issue of allowing married couples to choose whether or not to use different family names were all in.
This kind of survey is absolutely no good if you ask people whether they are for or against it.
That's because those who use a common name are being led to choose 'selective' and are being counted as those who support separate family names.
On the other hand, the Yomiuri newspaper was careful to ask the question in three different ways.
The results were 24% for maintaining the same family name, 48% for maintaining the same family name and expanding the use of alternative names, and 26% for selective use of different family names by married couples (as of the 27th).
That's it.
It is over 60% for maintaining the same family name and 20% for different family names.
Sankei (21st) and Jiji Press (16th) also showed a similar trend.
However, the Asahi, Mainichi, and Kyodo news agencies, which have been pushing for a two-choice system, are all left-leaning media.
They have been spreading the word that "the majority of the public support separate surnames" based on a bogus survey.
This time, the Mainichi added a question about using aliases (on the 20th).
The results were 62% in favor of using aliases and 10% against.
The game is over.
However, the Kyodo news agency is still pushing for a two-choice system.
Local newspapers that fill their pages with this content also publish false information without batting an eyelid, such as "59% in favor of optional use of different family names" (27th).
Kyodo caused a "misinformation incident" last year regarding Akiko Ikuina, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs' visit to Yasukuni Shrine, but this is deliberate manipulation of public opinion.
It is also terrifying.
So, what about Asahi?
However, they removed this from the questions in their January opinion poll (dated the 20th).
Isn't this a cover-up?
Asahi's polling department has practically thrown up the white flag.
And yet their editorial (dated the 25th) calls for "the results of careful deliberation between the ruling and opposition parties" and urges "the legalization of optional separate surnames for married couples, a long-standing issue."
Well, this is yet another massive denial of public opinion.
That's all Asahi's deliberation amounts to.
If they're going to talk about deliberation, why don't they deliberate it internally before saying anything?