＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
Looking at recent social trends, I am concerned that “the current social climate in Japan may be deeply mistaken.”
In this article, I would like to introduce some of the social trends that I find problematic. For more details on each, please refer to the articles under “internal links.”
As an outsider when it comes to the media, journalism, film, television, and music industries, my comments may seem like “barking in the distance,” but I would like everyone involved to give them some thought.
1. Problems with the current climate in Japan’s media and journalism
(1) Excessive emphasis on COVID-19-related coverage
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in Wuhan in December 2019, not only the news but also information variety shows have been dominated by COVID-19 almost every day, creating the impression of a “coronavirus frenzy.”
(2) Almost no coverage of illegal occupations and territorial waters violations by China, South Korea, and Russia, and no protests.
Russia’s long-standing illegal occupation of the Northern Territories and its seizure of Japanese fishing boats has received almost no coverage, and even when reports of fishing boat seizures are received, they are merely reported matter-of-factly, with no protests from Japan whatsoever.
Chinese coast guard vessels sail around the Senkaku Islands almost daily and repeatedly violate Japan’s territorial waters, yet there is almost no coverage of them, and it does not appear that the Japanese government is strongly protesting or taking effective countermeasures.
When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Japan in November 2020 and made remarks at a joint press conference following their meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi, suggesting that the Senkaku Islands were Chinese territory, Motegi simply smirked without offering any rebuttal.
While Motegi’s weak stance, which is supposed to protect Japan’s national interests, is appalling, I believe Japanese television stations and newspapers should unite in condemning China’s rude attitude.
Strangely enough, the most reasonable criticism on this matter was the Japan Communist Party’s firm and stern condemnation of China.
The same can be said about South Korea’s illegal occupation of Takeshima.
Japanese newspapers, often referred to as the “voice of society” and boasting an “impartial and nonpartisan” stance, may criticize “Japan’s past militarism,” but they make no criticism of the imperialist aggression and militarism currently occurring in China and Russia.
The saying goes, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” but it appears they are not fulfilling that role.
If one loves and respects peace and democracy, it is strange not to criticize this situation. I also think it is one-sided not to criticize the “anti-Japanese education” in South Korea and China.
Is the GHQ’s “WGIP” brainwashing program for the Japanese people, which replaced “atomic bombs” with “peace,” still alive among today’s media professionals and journalists?
2. Problems with the trends in Japan’s film, television, and music industries and sponsors
(1) “Film screenings and video/CD sales suspensions” for celebrities involved in scandals
Despite the fact that “the works themselves are not to blame” for movies, TV dramas, music, and other such works, from 2018 to 2019, scandalous celebrities such as Hirofumi Arai and Pierre Taki were repeatedly forced to “cancele film screenings and suspend video/CD sales.” The NHK Taiga drama “Idaten” even replaced Pierre Taki midway through its broadcast.
Furthermore, the NHK Taiga drama “Kirin ga Kuru,” which ran from last year to this year, had to be recast and reshot from the beginning after Erika Sawajiri was arrested on a drug-related charge.
Recently, many people have come to agree that “the works themselves are not to blame,” and the hysterical responses of the past seem to have decreased, but it cannot be said that this social trend has completely disappeared.
At the end of last year, Ken Watabe of the comedy duo Unjash, who held an apology press conference following an extramarital affair scandal, had his appearance cut from Nippon Television’s year-end special “Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!” (Downtown’s Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!).
(2) “Apology press conferences that resemble collective bashing and public shaming” of scandalous celebrities
The apology press conference for Yoshimoto Kogyo’s “underground business” scandal two years ago also felt excessive. The president of Yoshimoto Kogyo’s rambling and clumsy press conference also felt unsettling.
It’s one thing if it’s just the celebrity involved in the scandal, but when the parent is also a celebrity, they even hold an “apology press conference for their son’s scandal.” It’s collective “bullying” that resembles ostracism or collective responsibility.
This is reminiscent of the forced public self-criticism once practiced by Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist Party and other groups.
It also brings to mind the violent lynchings (sōkō) practiced by groups like the United Red Army, in which groups denounced and publicly tormented individuals.
While newspapers have engaged in “violence of the pen” through “fabricated articles and malicious, biased reporting,” this seems like a television version of “violence of the pen.”
Isn’t this the “misguided formation and manipulation of public opinion, and information manipulation” by the “monster known as the media, wearing the mask of justice”?
(3) Terminating Commercial Appearances and Sponsorship Contracts for Scandalous Celebrities
This is unavoidable, considering the “reputational risk” to sponsoring companies.
However, whether it’s a criminal act or a scandal like adultery or sexual harassment, the “presumption of innocence” should be considered until the situation is fully clarified. We should listen impartially to the victim’s defense, not just weekly magazine reports and the victim’s one-sided claims.
However, when such reports come out, they suddenly turn their backs on her and immediately terminate her commercial appearances and sponsorship contracts without any room for argument, which seems like going too far.
There’s apparently a Korean proverb that goes, “If a dog falls into the river, beat it with a stick,” and it feels exactly like that. Has Japan become such an “intolerant society”?