VOX POPULI: Xenophobia gains ground in Upper House election
Front-page headlines in Japanese newspapers come in various forms. The more important or surprising the news, the more the headline shifts from the traditional vertical format (top to bottom, commonly used in most articles) to a bold horizontal layout (left to right). Major news stories also tend to use what is known as the 'beta-kuro shiro-nuki' format--white lettering set against a solid black background--stretching dramatically across the width of the page.
In the latest Upper House election--where the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, Komeito, suffered a stinging setback--the largest headline now looms high above this daily column, which appears regularly at the bottom of The Asahi Shimbun's front page.
When Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appeared on television on election day, July 20, his expression was more tense and rigid than ever. This seismic shift in Japan's political landscape may well go down as a moment of lasting historical significance.
At the same time, I can't shake the feeling that another, more troubling shift has taken place, one quite different from the 'political upheaval' captured by the headline. It is the rise of xenophobia. I have never witnessed an election in which fear of foreigners was so openly inflamed, nor one where discriminatory rhetoric was voiced with such blatant ease.
Democracy is governance through speech. For elections--the very foundation of democracy--to function properly, it is essential that policy debates be grounded in facts. Yet, despite repeated media fact-checks exposing falsehoods in the xenophobic statements made by a certain party's candidates and its leader, that very party has garnered a significant number of votes. What, then, lies ahead?
If the party continues to take the same stance on issues concerning foreign nationals during Diet deliberations, I fear that its rhetoric--used to legitimize prejudice--will gain broader acceptance in society, bolstered by its growing political influence.
In 'How Democracies Die,' Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt warn that the erosion of democracy often begins with language. 'The process often begins with words,' they write.
Am I reading too much into this? I can only hope that someday people will look back and say with a laugh, 'You were worrying for nothing.'
--The Asahi Shimbun, July 21
* * *
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kyodo News
4 hours ago
- Kyodo News
SDF request led to nuclear threat scenario in Japan-U.S. exercise
TOKYO - The Japanese Self-Defense Forces strongly urged the U.S. military during a joint command post exercise last year to mirror any nuclear threat made by China with one of its own, government sources said Sunday. The United States ultimately complied with the request in the simulation exercise that envisioned a potential invasion of Taiwan by Beijing, raising concerns that Japan's push to invoke nuclear deterrence could exacerbate tensions between the United States and China. The request, the first of its kind in a Japan-U.S. joint exercise, was based on Japan's policy of reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for protection, suggesting that both Japanese government and SDF officials see Chinese nuclear saber-rattling as a real possibility in the event of a Taiwan contingency. The Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Japan and the United States named China as a hypothetical enemy for the first time in the computer simulation exercise "Keen Edge" in February last year. During the exercise, the U.S. Navy set up temporary bases in the Nansei island chain in the Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures in the initial stages of a Taiwan contingency, with the SDF providing logistical support. Later in the drill, the scenario assumed that China hinted at the use of nuclear weapons against the United States and Japan, but the U.S. side initially did not take any measures due to concerns over escalating the situation further, according to the sources. Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, ultimately acquiesced to repeated requests by Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of the SDF Joint Staff, for "the United States to counter with nuclear threats to defend Japan." Neither Beijing nor Washington used nuclear arms in the simulation. The two countries announced last December their first guidelines on "extended deterrence," often described as the U.S.'s commitment to using its full range of nuclear and conventional capabilities to defend Japan amid China's growing military activities and North Korea's missile and nuclear development.
Kyodo News
4 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Nobel panel, A-bomb survivors urge youth to carry torch of peace
TOKYO - The Norwegian Nobel Committee and Nihon Hidankyo, Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors, jointly urged younger generations at an event Sunday in Tokyo to "carry the torch" for peace by listening to the stories of survivors and keeping up the momentum for nuclear disarmament. "The nuclear taboo is under threat, and the hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) are aging. In not too many years, we will no longer have the testimonies of those who were there, those who could tell this story," said Norwegian Nobel Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes. Nihon Hidankyo, also known as the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for its efforts to achieve a nuclear-free world through witness testimony. The symposium at Sophia University's Yotsuya Campus marked the first time the Nobel committee has traveled to a laureate's country to cohost an event. In a joint press conference, Terumi Tanaka, the 93-year-old co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, expressed hopes that the awarding of the prize would encourage Japanese people to raise their voices "strongly enough to move the government" to take a more proactive stance in calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Recognizing that the future belongs to the youth, Tanaka said "I hope that going forward, young people will take an interest, engage with sensitivity, and listen to the hibakusha. I want them to reach the point of understanding that (nuclear weapons) must never be allowed to exist." Frydnes, 40, once again lauded the dedication of Nihon Hidankyo, noting that since the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the group, many movements and individuals have reengaged on the issue of nuclear disarmament. "Hopefully (the 80th anniversary) will be a turning point where world leaders are listening to all those people around the world who say, we cannot live in a world where we are living in a nuclear prison waiting for collective annihilation," he said. Frydnes, who arrived in Japan on Monday, visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki earlier this week where he met with atomic bomb survivors and local activists working toward nuclear abolition. "Hearing about these places is different from seeing them in person, so we are grateful that he came," Tanaka said, calling the Nobel committee's visit to Japan an "honor." The U.S. atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final days of World War II in August 1945, killing an estimated 214,000 people by the end of the year and leaving numerous survivors grappling with long-term physical and mental health challenges. At a conference later in the day on responding to the threat of nuclear arms, keynote speeches by Frydnes, Tanaka and Michiko Kodama, assistant secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo, were followed by a panel discussion on nuclear disarmament involving Asle Toje, vice chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and Japanese academics. The event was attended by around 700 people, according to the university.
8 hours ago
Prominent LDP Members Eye Leadership Post after Ishiba
Tokyo, July 27 (Jiji Press)--With Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's resignation widely seen as inevitable, prominent members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are beginning to step up their efforts to succeed him. Former LDP policy chief Sanae Takaichi, who came in first in the first round of voting in last September's party leadership election but lost to Ishiba in the subsequent runoff, is said to have a strong desire to become the country's first female prime minister. Before the LDP suffered a historic defeat in this month's House of Councillors election, Takaichi said in her home turf in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on July 18, "I've made up my mind." On Wednesday, after the election, Takaichi held talks with about 10 lawmakers close to her, including Upper House member Hiroshi Yamada, at a residential facility for House of Representatives lawmakers in Tokyo. She also met with former Prime Minister and current LDP supreme adviser Taro Aso, who heads the party's only remaining faction. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
