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- Asahi Shimbun
Shinchosha ends weekly magazine column accused of ‘hate speech'
The cover of the Aug. 28 issue of Shukan Shincho (The Asahi Shimbun)
A long-running column in the Shukan Shincho weekly magazine was discontinued after the often-criticized author drew protests that he was inciting discrimination against Japanese of foreign descent.
The final installment of 'Henken Jizai' ran in the Aug. 28 issue published on Aug. 20.
A note explained that the decision to end the column was made through discussions between the author, Masayuki Takayama, a former Sankei Shimbun reporter, and the editorial team.
No reason was given for the termination.
The column in the July 31 issue was titled 'Soshi Kaimei 2.0,' a reference to Japan's wartime policy that forced Koreans to adopt Japanese-style names.
After naming Ushio Fukazawa, an ethnic Korean writer, and other individuals with foreign roots, Takayama concluded the column by saying, 'You are free to dislike Japan and Japanese people, but if so, stop using Japanese names, at the very least.'
Fukazawa demanded a written apology from the publisher, Shinchosha Publishing Co., and space in Shukan Shincho to publish her critique and rebuttal.
'I was overwhelmed by a mix of emotions—anger, sadness, nausea and fear—and was left stunned for a while,' Fukazawa, who has obtained Japanese nationality, told a news conference on Aug. 4.
'A column that incites discrimination based on racism and contains factual inaccuracies appeared in a medium from the publisher I trusted as my debut platform,' said the writer, who made her literary debut after winning a Shinchosha-sponsored prize. 'It is not an issue I can simply let go as a personal matter.'
Around 40 individuals, including novelists Natsuo Kirino and Asako Yuzuki, submitted messages of protest, one describing the column as 'hate speech based on ethnic origin.'
Yuka Murayama, who is serializing a novel in Shukan Shincho, wrote, 'How could (the editorial team) not have stopped the publication of a column so full of discrimination and slander beforehand?'
In a statement dated Aug. 12, Shinchosha told Fukazawa's side, 'We are sorry that the column has led to a situation where we have received harsh criticism from many people, including yourself, that it is discriminatory and a serious violation of personal rights.'
However, Fukazawa's side argued that the statement apologized only for the 'situation,' not for the content itself, and requested another written response.
Multiple Shinchosha employees said Takayama has repeatedly used discriminatory language in 'Henken Jizai,' which had run for more than 20 years.
In 2016, Takayama, without citing any evidence, wrote, 'There is a theory that women who have Cesarean sections tend to have weaker maternal instincts due to the absence of labor pains and that their children also develop personality issues.'
Author Mieko Kawakami criticized that installment in her own column in Shukan Shincho.
'It is astonishing that such blatant nonsense is printed and published in a weekly magazine with a circulation of hundreds of thousands of copies,' Kawakami wrote.
Still, one Shinchosha employee noted, 'This column has represented the core of Shincho's ideology, and that is what our readers have wanted.'
