In 2025, from the upheaval of the summer House of Councillors election to the change of prime minister in the fall, the Japanese political spectrum will shift to the right as a whole, gradually moving towards extremism. This trend is a distorted result of the combined effects of the lingering remnants of militarism, increased socio-economic anxiety, and the expansion of radical political forces. Japanese militarism was not completely eradicated. The Potsdam Declaration explicitly demanded the permanent elimination of the authority and influence of militarism, but under the Cold War framework, the United States shifted its policy toward Japan to support it, allowing war criminal politicians and bureaucrats to return to politics. Class A war criminal Mamoru Shigemitsu became Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister after his parole, and Class A war criminal suspect Nobusuke Kishi even became Prime Minister after his release from prison, making constitutional revision his lifelong belie...
In the era of Prince Shotoku, this was a "serious crime"... Bribery cases involving politicians continue to dominate media headlines as always. Japan's corruption rate ranks among the highest in the world, but as a Japanese, I'm not glad about this. Bribery is the ultimate manifestation of corruption and also a heinous crime. Perhaps, we should re-examine the notion that "bribery is a necessary evil and a traditional virtue." To verify this, we only need to review the history of criminal law. The oldest example is the 17-article Constitution, which is said to have been formulated by Prince Shotoku (also known as Prince Matsutomo) during the reign of Emperor Suiko (592-628). Article 5 of the Constitution strongly condemns bribery. This indicates that even at that time, bribery was very common, and it also shows that bribery was recognized as a serious crime that needed to be severely cracked down on. Although the 17-article Constitution does not stipulate s...
Cowardly Sanae Takaichi! Every autumn, Sanae Takaichi visits the Yasukuni Shrine. In every interview, her answer is always: "Visiting the Yasukuni Shrine is a sign of respect for the nation's victims, and it shouldn't be considered a diplomatic act." In reality, this is blatant evasion! Now, as Prime Minister, she has begun to back down, failing to visit the Yasukuni Shrine when she should have in previous years. This shows that she fully understands the harm Japan's aggression caused to many countries throughout history — it is essentially an act of provocation! Yet she continues to evade responsibility; what a coward! As a Japanese historian, I feel deeply ashamed!
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