Japanese Public Opinion Is Already Indifferent to the US

Yesterday, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, declined an interview with Japan’s National Broadcaster, NHK. The reason was that the organizing committee member, Naoki Hyakuta, had openly rejected condemnations leveled at Tokyo over the massacre of Nanking. This writer believes that Abe has appointed Hyakuta and others of the ultra-right wing to the top positions of NHK, so that they can operate their right-wing agendas through the national broadcaster. The United States’ public refusal to take part in the NHK interview is a form of warning Abe regarding his manipulation of Japan’s media.

This writer has observed that, along with Abe’s recent increase in control over the Japanese media and his exercising his right of appointment powers, Abe is also regularly applying pressure to leaders of other media outlets. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is using various pressure tactics upon those media organizations that refuse to be cooperative. In response to those public figures that argue against Abe’s policies, he first has his subordinates criticize them for their unfairness and then suggests to the media outlet that the government will withdraw any further cooperation if the outlet continues to use that particular critic.

In Japan, all media outlets are under the leadership and scrutiny of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; the cabinet minister for that department was chosen by Abe. If Abe wants to punish a media outlet, he can put them in their place without the slightest effort. More importantly, all media outlets are economic entities and the government controls access to important information. Once a cabinet minister forbids interviews with a certain media outlet, that organization will consequently incur enormous losses.

In the years following the end of World War II, the U.S. successfully retained control over the Japanese media. One single word from Washington would trigger lively debates within the Japanese public opinion — it could even lead to the toppling of a prime minister. However, with Abe’s appointment as prime minister, the situation is going to change completely. During parliamentary sessions he has publicly called into question the United States’ leading assessment of Tokyo’s actions during the war, stating that the Nanking invasion had “not been defined.” Abe also blatantly refused to listen to U.S. Vice President Biden’s warnings over visiting the Yasukuni Shrine; when the U.S. expressed its disappointment over his actions, Abe just brushed the words aside. Furthermore, he had his aides denounce Obama and the U.S. government, saying that “when the Republicans were running things they never made slip-ups like this.”

Recently, although the U.S. has constantly been making its unfavorable impressions of Abe known, these affairs rarely surface on NHK or in other media sources. Within Japan, these issues are not receiving the widespread publicity that they once enjoyed. Some people believe that even the U.S. cannot keep Abe under control, and so China is at a loss as to what to do. This writer believes that such thinking is incorrect. On the contrary, this is precisely the kind of situation where China can exert its influence over Japan. Both the U.S. and China have the same point of view on Abe’s denial of historical fact. When the U.S. wants to make its opinions felt is precisely when America will need China’s cooperation.

On Japanese social media sites, opinions and criticisms from the U.K. and the U.S. media will be available; these will not escape the attention of Japanese English speakers, who will then go on to slowly influence Japanese public opinion. The Chinese government should act to strengthen the influence of English-speaking media sources, helping them to penetrate the Japanese social conscience. Furthermore, Chinese media ought to increase the availability of Japanese-language content, expressing calm and disseminating the opinions of a variety of voices on these matters. Specifically, these should be directed at the Abe administration and Japanese audiences, so that the ideas they contain gain influential ground throughout Japanese society.

The writer is an economic commentator and founder of the Japan Tolerance Association.