The following is from the November issue of the monthly magazine WiLL, released on September 26th.
It is a must-read for not only Japanese citizens but people worldwide.
Has China manipulated Shigeru Ishiba?
Rui Sasaki, Journalist, Professor of the Faculty of International Studies, Reitaku University
The shadow of China behind the "overwhelming superiority" that has been running around Nagatacho
Candidates full of pro-China and pro-Chinese sentiments
The real mastermind behind the LDP presidential election was the Chinese Communist Party.
How should Japan deal with a China that behaves arrogantly around the world and uses military and economic pressure to force Japan into a subordinate position?
This point has yet to be rigorously questioned at the time of writing.
If the LDP presidential election, which is, in effect, a choice of prime minister, closes its curtain as it is, it will leave a bad legacy for the future.
China will probably continue to use the LDP members who have stood for the presidency and gained some prestige to strengthen its plans to disseminate information and guide benefits in its favor behind the scenes.
We need to pay even closer attention to the words and actions of LDP lawmakers running for president than in the past.
I looked at the candidates except Ms.Takaichi Sanae.
The presidential election was dominated by pro-China politicians.
Minister of State for Digital Policy Taro Kono's family business, Nihon Terminal (headquarters: Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture; president: Jiro Kono), has close ties with Chinese companies.
It was also discovered that the logo of a Chinese company was attached to the materials of an expert panel of the Cabinet Office discussing renewable energy.
Some people whispered that the move aimed to direct profits to Nihon Terminal.
The concern that "the family business is being prioritized over national interests" (LDP member of parliament) has not been dispelled even through the presidential election.
As Foreign Minister, Mr. Kono visited China in late January 2018.
He took a photo with the Chinese spokesperson Hua Chunying, who is of a lower rank and posted it on his Twitter account, appearing to be pleased with himself.
If Mr. Kono is the Yokozuna (grand champion) of the pro-China faction in the West, then the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi, who is the former chairman of the Japan-China Friendship League and who calls himself a "China-friendly faction" and is the overall supervisor of Japan-China trade, is the Yokozuna of the East.
At a press conference, Mr. Hayashi said that if he becomes prime minister and LDP president, he will set up a meeting of relevant cabinet ministers to consider measures to deal with the maritime buoys that China has installed in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the Senkaku Islands (Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture).
It is equivalent to saying that they are not removing it out of consideration for China.
As prime minister, he should simply order their removal.
It is a bad example of how a person can become so corrupt that they are enthusiastically welcomed whenever they visit China.
When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Japan in November 2020, he said at a joint press conference after the Japan-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting that "the Senkaku Islands are Chinese territory."
Still, Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi responded with "Shei, Shei" without refuting him.
Moreover, he uttered words of gratitude that seemed to imply that he would sell the Senkaku Islands.
He was exposed as unfit for both prime minister and LDP president.
At that point, he should have realized he no longer had the qualifications to be prime minister and LDP president.
Shigeru Ishiba's supporters include many pro-China figures.
Among those who recommended him, House of Representatives member Taira Masaaki serves as vice president of the Japan-China Development Association (Chairman Kono Taro), a general incorporated association dedicated to promoting exchanges between small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan and China.
False information spread around Nagatacho:
In the case of Mr. Ishiba, there were suspicions that he was being used as a pawn by the Chinese side.
It was the night before the official start of the presidential election.
According to reliable sources, the results of a public opinion poll that the LDP headquarters conducted on September 8th among party members were spread around Nagatacho and Kasumigaseki.
The survey was said to have been conducted on 2,162 people out of the 1 million party members and supporters, and the results were as follows:
- 34.9% for Mr. Ishiba
- 23.2% for former Environment Minister Mr. Koizumi
- 15.9% for Minister of State for Economic and Security Policy Ms. Sanae Takaichi
It is clear that the results are unnatural.
It is because the figures show that Mr. Ishiba is overwhelmingly in the lead over the other candidates.
The gap between Mr. Koizumi, who is in second place, and Ms. Takaichi, who is in third place, is also so large that it seems impossible to recover.
If Ms. Takaichi were to make it into second place, there was a possibility of a reversal in the final vote.
Still, these figures conveyed the message that "Ishiba and Koizumi are the ones who will finish first and second, and there is no chance for Ms. Takaichi to advance to the final vote, so you should switch to the winning horse and give up your support for Ms. Takaichi."
The LDP headquarters has never conducted a public opinion poll for the presidential election in the past to ensure fairness.
The author has also covered the presidential election for many years in the political arena but has never heard of it.
The background to the appearance of baseless, false information the day before the official announcement, which was also denied by the head of the LDP's election management committee, was thought to be "a great force at work" (according to people close to Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso) trying to seize the initiative in the leadership election and create a trend in favor of Mr. Ishiba.
This level of disinformation is an idea that even a novice in the world of elections could come up with.
What must be noticed is the power of dissemination and appeal.
Only a limited number of forces can disseminate information widely throughout the political, bureaucratic, and business worlds to the extent that those who receive the disinformation end up believing it.
I received disinformation from several people involved in the matter.
The first thing that comes to mind is the media.
If the final recipients of false information are consumers, it is like a retailer that receives goods from producers via wholesalers and then delivers them to consumers.
So, who is the mastermind behind the production of disinformation, the wholesaler of disinformation to the middleman?
Mr. Ishiba's camp is not the source of the disinformation.
They wouldn't do something so cunning, and they don't have the power to do it.
The existence of the Central United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (United Front Department) lurks in the background.
It is because even a Chinese acquaintance of mine, who is well-informed about the activities of the Chinese Communist Party in Japan, obtained this disinformation from the Chinese community in Tokyo on the night of the 11th.
Even for the Japanese public security authorities, it takes time to identify the source of disinformation immediately.
It is like trying to find the first coronavirus patient in Wuhan, China.
The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office is on high alert regarding the Chinese government's information warfare, including the spreading of false information.
Another public security official said, "We are working hard to find the source and the aim of this. We need to be aware of the fact that false information was circulating in the Chinese community in Tokyo, which is made up of Chinese people living in Japan and overseas Chinese."
Overseas Chinese and Chinese nationals are members of the LDP.
The fact that the candidates for president are all pro-China or pro-Chinese is a problem, but what is more serious is that there is still concern about the "impersonation" of Chinese nationals (Chinese nationals living in Japan who have acquired Japanese nationality) and overseas Chinese (Chinese nationals living in Japan) by LDP members and party friends who have the right to vote in the presidential election.
The LDP stipulates that membership is open to "those 18 years of age or older and Japanese nationality".
However, in reality, in most cases, they do not even ask for identification.
An acquaintance with the LDP prefectural party confided in me, saying, "They don't even ask for a copy of the family register or a passport or check the official gazette, so it's almost like there's no check at all."
The fact that the person being introduced, rather than the person, carries out the membership application process also adds to the lack of transparency surrounding party membership.
Even members of parliament rarely disclose their nationality or background, and it is an open secret that there are a considerable number of naturalized Japanese citizens in the LDP and the opposition parties.
It is thought that many naturalized LDP members may be forced to follow Beijing's instructions in the event of a crisis in Taiwan, etc., through intimidation or by means of a softening-up strategy.
Could it be that the attempt to simplify administrative procedures to expand party membership quickly has backfired?
Even among Chinese people who have acquired Japanese nationality, many "have their hearts in China."
It should be noted that, as the Chinese female spy in New York introduced in the latter part of this article, many people who have naturalized in the country they immigrated to have still the mentality of following orders from Beijing and remaining loyal to their mother country.
This article continues.
2024/10/6 in Umeda
