Occidentalism

Matt,

I don’t like Ishihara personally but his opinion in the video seems to be not too bad. He seems to have said that “I don’t justify completely the annexation of Korea, but it was a kind of Korean people’s decision. They chose Japan, the same looking race’s country, rather than Russia or Chine because their country was on the verge of collapse.”

His remark doesn’t sound completely right but there is a slight truth. Chosun was going to collapse. I don’t think that they wholeheartedly wanted to be annexed by Japan but there seems to have been an atmosphere that they should be accept that.

correction:

…..should be accept that.

SHOULD BE

….should accept that.

sorry.

Matt,

I know that you are not a Ishihara fan. I’m with you, I too aproove of the good things he says and disapprove of the bad things he says.

BTW, were you able to understand all of what they say in the video? How incredible your language ability is!

It really shouldn’t matter what one thinks of Ishihara, the problem is you can’t go around changing what people say and then talking trash about them because of what in reality they didn’t say.

When it comes to East Asian relations, for some reason many seem to think it’s justified to lie or exaggerate because it’s for a good cause. The general stance of TBS has always been anti-Ishihara and his policies (which is fine – free speech and all that), and they seem to think any false claims they make about him are justified because they are good, and he is evil, making this a good cause.

Darin,

When it comes to East Asian relations, for some reason many seem to think it’s justified to lie or exaggerate because it’s for a good cause.

I’ve always felt that way about the Japanese mainstream media, too. Democracy is about people making decisions on the future of their country, and we are not going to be able to make the right decisions unless we have the correct facts to base our own opinions on. Giving the people lies or exaggerated facts or pushing your “good” opinions on the masses are not going to benefit anyone in the long run. The Kenkanryu wasn’t really about hating Korea, it was about despising the media who were so ridiculously pro-Korean that they presented only one aspect, the good side, and chose to completely ignore the bad side of Korea.

I read a post at Usinkorea’s site about the Democrats trying to suppress pro-Republican radio. Why is it that the supposedly “liberal” end of the political spectrum in the US and Japan both are fascist in their manners? Don’t they realize that they are basically saying, “I know what is best unlike you un-enlightened morons so I will guide you. You don’t have to know the truth, because if you do, then you’ll make the wrong decisions.” The really sad thing in Japan is the low level of journalists. They think they can push their conclusions on the masses who they assume know less than him, but with the spread of the Internet, there’s bound to be someone who is more knowledgable on the subject than he is and can present the story in a more broader perspective (which is what the journalist should have done in the first place.)

I read a post at Usinkorea’s site about the Democrats trying to suppress pro-Republican radio. Why is it that the supposedly “liberal” end of the political spectrum in the US and Japan both are fascist in their manners? Don’t they realize that they are basically saying, “I know what is best unlike you un-enlightened morons so I will guide you. You don’t have to know the truth, because if you do, then you’ll make the wrong decisions.

I feel the same way about the attitudes taken by US politicians, however I find it’s the other way around, and the republicans take the high and mighty stance and insult the general public by treating them like fools.

Darin,
Hmm. Interesting. Anyhow, I do think the best strategy for the Democrats would be to create their own grassroot system for disseminating their own views instead of encroaching on the freedom of speech on the other side.

Two Cents
That certainly would be true if the Republicans were not already doing it themselves. Using bashing techniques like calling any person slightly disagreeing with them unpatriotic or surrender monkey… (what do surrender monkey means anyway?)
Attacking the grassroot system here may be the necessary thing to do to make the others realize that what they’re doing is wrong. Of course it shouldn’t succeed. If it did it would actually be a negative thing.

I am sorry. I am not good at English.
After this I write in Japanese.
日本のメディアはテレビも新聞もどこか変です。
その始まりはGHQによる検閲と焚書だと、日本人は昭和史を
忘れさせられ、洗脳されてると、江藤淳が「閉ざされた言語空間」
に書き残しました。
1925-1945年に出版された7000冊以上の本が宣伝用刊行物
という名目で全国の図書館から没収されました。
その時使用された目録の復刻版を元に、澤龍さんが個人宅から
古書店に流れた本を収集、確認したところ、没収対象の多くが堅い
学術書で、プロパガンダでは有りませんでした。
このことは「GHQに没収された本」という本に書かれています。

検閲は1945-1949に出された
図書類　　　　　　　　8万2000冊
新聞　　　　　　　　　 1万6000紙
雑誌　　　　　　　　　 1万3000誌
通信社などの記事　　70万ページ
GHQ関連文書　　　　60万ページ
をGHQの課長で歴史家のゴードン・プランゲ博士が検閲の為に
提出された資料を米国に持ち帰り保管。
現在はメリーランド大学に「プランゲ文庫」として所蔵。
日本の新聞社は戦前の検閲を声高に非難しますが、GHQの
検閲は未だに隠し証拠も処分してるようです。
プランゲさんが残していなければ日本人は今も知らずに
いたことでしょう。
この時身に付けた自己規制が未だに日本の新聞社に
歪んだ形で残っていると江藤淳は言います。
メディアが報道しないいくつかは、この検閲から始まり
今に到っているようにみえます。
私は善い事，悪い事含めこの忘れさせられた歴史
を掘り起こし、まず知る事が必要だと強く思います。

Oceboy,
Yes, but the Republicans are not moving to shut down liberal newpapers or TV, are they? Or maybe it’s just that I’m not informed on such things. (It would be a stupid and disasterous move, of course.) Calling the opposition party names hardly counts as suppression of free speech, because the other side can just return fire in the same crude fashion. I do think the Bush administration is getting a fair amount of bashing. It’s when one side starts making laws to prevent the other side from doing that, that the people should be concerned, regardles of which side they are supporting. Never let those in power have a monopoly on information. Isn’t that the lesson we have learned from the 20th century?

Just like to point out that this video is from November 2003. More info at: http://yucarimint.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ishihara/

A whole site devoted to exposing TBS? Interesting.

Actually, there’s a paperback book about it.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%A4%A9%E6%99%B4%E3%82%8C-%E7%AD%91%E7%B4%AB%E5%93%B2%E4%B9%9FNEWS23-%E6%96%87%E6%98%A5%E6%96%B0%E6%9B%B8-494-%E4%B8%AD%E5%AE%AE/dp/4166604945

TBS is very leftist (like Asahi Shimbun), and has its opponents. I guess the younger generation in Japan see the Japanese leftists as hypocrites.

Last month I have also read the book (Closed Space of Language – Censorship by GHQ and postwar Japan by now-dead Jun Etoh) that hana quoted. The auther spent 9 months in Washington DC for the research of US policy and details of censorship conducted to all the Japanese media, schools, individuals’ letters, etc. in the Occupied Japan Period of 1945 through 1952. I think this is a very good book.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E9%96%89%E3%81%95%E3%82%8C%E3%81%9F%E8%A8%80%E8%AA%9E%E7%A9%BA%E9%96%93%E2%80%95%E5%8D%A0%E9%A0%98%E8%BB%8D%E3%81%AE%E6%A4%9C%E9%96%B2%E3%81%A8%E6%88%A6%E5%BE%8C%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC-%E6%B1%9F%E8%97%A4-%E6%B7%B3/dp/4167366088

Following are some of its contents what I understand:

- The whole Japan was completely under hypnosis of the GHQ implemented War Guilt Information (Brainwashing) Program and was made to believe everything Japanese before WW2 was evil. Japanese are still bound by the spell.

- Both General MacArthur (arrived Japan on August 30, 1945) and the Japanese Government at the beginning correctly interpreted that the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration by the Japan did not mean “the unconditional surrender of the Japan,” but it did mean “the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces” as stated in the Article 13 of the Declaration. Therefore as long as Japan complied with the Declaration Japan should have had the equal right with the Allied Nations and the Japanese Government should have rejected the GHQ’s censorship.

- Since the Kyodo (or Jiji? I am sorry I forgot) News Service also understood the acceptance of the Declaration same as MacArthur did, it was able to continuously provide the news in Japan including even the murders and rapes of Japanese by US soldiers’ to the world through its short wave global broadcasting networks of rather high powered. However as GHQ restricted the activities of the Allied Nations’ reporters in Tokyo they were advised the news of Japan by their offices in the home countries received from Kyodo (Jiji), they envied the freedom enjoyed by Kyodo (Jiji). They could enjoy the freedom only for a few weeks though.

Potsdam Declaration (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Potsdam_Declaration)

(13) We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.

Also about the book.
http://abirur.iza.ne.jp/blog/entry/25934/

「閉された言語空間」によると、戦後、GHQが厳しい検閲で削除、または発行禁止の対象とした表現は、次のようなものでした。
　・SCAP-連合国最高司令官(司令部)批判
　・極東軍事裁判批判
　・SCAPが憲法を起草したことに対する批判
　・検閲制度へ言及
　・合衆国に対する批判
　・ロシアに対する批判
　・英国に対する批判
　・朝鮮人に対する批判
　・中国に対する批判
　・他の連合国に対する批判
　・連合国の戦前の政策に対する批判
　・戦争犯罪人の正当化および擁護…など。

　日本は占領期に朝鮮人と中国に対する批判を封じられたというわけですね。

Thanks Hana and Jiromaru for the info on the interesting book.
I think the information in the book would be one of the missing pieces in the puzzle of modern history of Japan. I’ve been wondering how Chinese managed to spread their “Nanking Massacre” propaganda successfully with a bunch of false evidence.

- The whole Japan was completely under hypnosis of the GHQ implemented War Guilt Information (Brainwashing) Program and was made to believe everything Japanese before WW2 was evil. Japanese are still bound by the spell.

「閉された言語空間」によると、戦後、GHQが厳しい検閲で削除、または発行禁止の対象とした表現は、次のようなものでした。
　・SCAP-連合国最高司令官(司令部)批判
　・極東軍事裁判批判
　・SCAPが憲法を起草したことに対する批判
　・検閲制度へ言及
　・合衆国に対する批判
　・ロシアに対する批判
　・英国に対する批判
　・朝鮮人に対する批判
　・中国に対する批判
　・他の連合国に対する批判
　・連合国の戦前の政策に対する批判
　・戦争犯罪人の正当化および擁護…など。

　日本は占領期に朝鮮人と中国に対する批判を封じられたというわけですね。

Things make more sense now. I’ve been deeply concerned about social and political situations of Japan in terms of maintaining its natural and healthy state as a democratic and free nation (free speech and all that is definitely there however something invisible seemed to play a role in protecting/strengthening anti-Japanese activists for a long, long time) , and wondered how things become so bad. It’s as if Japan has been preyed upon by worms/parasites and it’s nearly dead.
It’s great to know what kind of frameworks were set to achieve this and by whom. After all, to undo something, you have to know what was done to it, right?

Ok, now back to TBS.
I think a lot of folks from Japan has seen this before but let me mention it here.
It’s supposedly posted by a long-time TBS employee exposing how his company has fallen under heavy (or direct) influence of Chousen Souren (朝鮮総連）。

ＴＢＳ（＝チョ●支配の朝鮮放送）窓際放送局社員の独り言
“ウチの局がこんなになってしまった経緯” をお話しましょう。

（１）1960年代～
テレビ放送が始まってまもなくの頃、放送中のちょっとした言葉づかいの問題 （例えば「朝鮮民主人民共和国」を“北朝鮮”と呼んでしまった、など）に対して、 朝鮮総連から会社及び経営幹部の自宅に対して脅迫に近い抗議行動が繰り返される。
抗議行動に対する「手打ち」として、採用枠に“在日枠”が密かに設けられる。
総連幹部の子弟を中心に入社試験無し（カタチだけの面接）での採用が毎年続く。
在日枠の密約を所轄官庁に対して内密にしてもらうよう局側から総連に 「お願い」をしてさらに弱みを握られるなど、素人のような甘い対応で身動きがとれなくなっていく。

（２）1970年代～
政府を叩きさえすれば世論が喝采する狂った時代。
在日社員の「反日番組」を「権力に対するペンの戦い」「調査報道」と勘違いした経営幹部が 社内で在日を積極登用。「日本人社員と在日社員に昇進の差別があってはならない」 などと理想論を述べたのは良かったが、結果を見れば昇進差別をしなかったのは甘い 日本人幹部だで、課長、部長と昇進した在日社員は、帰化した在日二世を理不尽なまでに優遇する逆差別人事を徹底。 異を唱えた日本人社員は徹底的にマークされ、営業や総務など番組制作の第一線から退けられる。

（３）1980年代～90年代
昇進した在日社員が主要な報道番組のプロデューサーや報道局長など、 決定的なポストを占める。某サヨク週刊誌の在日編集長（筑紫哲也）をキャスターに迎えた ニュース２３の番組が学生時代に学生運動に没頭した団塊の世代の視聴者の支持により 高い視聴率を得る。
１９８９年の参議院議員選挙では「土井社会党」「マドンナブーム」を「消費税反対キャンペーン」
で徹底的に援護。
宇野総理のスキャンダルを連日報道し社会党党首を徹底して 「おたかさん」と呼ぶなど、あからさまな社会党支持。 社会党が地すべり的な勝利。「山が動いた」と感動の報道。

（４）1990年代～2000年代
偏向報道、捏造報道、取材情報を特定の勢力に提供するなど、 報道機関として存在を否定されかねない不祥事が続発。
ウチと同様に「左翼的」と呼ばれる朝日新聞、系列のテレビ朝日が、 どちらかといえば「北京の意」を汲んだ報道が多く、その手法が良くも悪くも緻密で計算高い のに対して、ウチの場合、この時期に発生した数多くのトラブルは、ほとんどすべてが 朝鮮半島絡み。
不祥事の内容も、テロを実行した朝鮮カルトの手伝いをしたオウム事件を筆頭に、 粗雑で行き当たりばったり。
バブル崩壊以降の景気低迷で、ただでさえ厳しい広告収入 が、 「サラ金」と「パチンコ」に大きく依存。まさに、在日朝鮮人の資金で在日朝鮮人が 運営しているのがウチの放送局。
２００５年以降は、もっと露骨なカタチで在日のスターを「作り上げる」ような番組制作が 為されると思う。

I think this is quite credible.
It’s a book written in Japanese but to get some ideas about TBS and its sins, look here.
For people who don’t read Japanese, TBS, to put is short, is just like a cult worshipping Kim Jong-il disguised as a legit media.

Mainichi Shinbun, I believe, is newspaper media version of TBS so don’t believe everything you read if it’s from Mainichi, either.