A trio of real winners in today’s Japan Times by staff writer Eric Prideaux.
In Riding with the rightists Prideaux takes “his tape, his camera and his time to get to know some of those who bellow their rightwing beliefs from scary ’sound trucks’ that disturb the peace throughout Japan.”
Steel grilles cover their windows and patriotic slogans plaster their sides. Thunderous rhetoric and martial music blast from huge speakers mounted on top, while people in paramilitary uniforms glower out grim-faced. These fortresses on wheels look like they could quell a riot in the Gaza Strip — but instead they’re to be found patrolling some of the world’s most expensive real estate along central Tokyo’s glitzy Ginza shopping street, around the Imperial Palace, revered national shrines and despised foreign embassies.
They are the (generally) black trucks that are the intimidating signature of Japan’s uyoku (rightwing) political activists — an element of society little understood by the average citizen, let alone foreign residents or visitors often moved to recoil in fear from the vehemence of the nationalistic passion they so stridently broadcast.
Then in NATIONALIST HATREDS BORN OF WAR: ‘God of death’ seethes with rage he interviews Shinichi Kamijo, founder of the nationalist group Gishin Gokoku-kai.
Home renovator Shinichi Kamijo has three tattoos of swastikas: one on each shoulder and another smack dab between his sizeable pectoral muscles — right above the words, “Heil Hitler.”
A black belt in karate, and built like a bull, Kamijo, 37, also has the word “Death” tattooed across the back of his neck — “as a courtesy to foreigners,” he said, mostly U.S. Navy servicemen he used to brawl with in Tokyo’s Roppongi party district.
As he explains: “It means, ‘I am the god of death and I will mete death upon you.’ ”
Yet it was with an affable smile and in polite and cultivated Japanese that Kamijo — who was a teenage motorcycle gang leader before founding the still-thriving 17-member nationalist group Gishin Gokoku-kai at age 26 — presented his logic for hating not only Chinese and Koreans but also his fellow Japanese who sympathize with them.
He finishes up with WHERE RIGHT MEETS LEFT: Yasukuni is a ‘duty’. which chronicles the relationship between the rightists and the Yasukuni Shrine.
“Take World War II. At that time, of course, there was foreign pressure on Japan, the only non-colony in Asia. Japan was also attacking other countries, and I disapprove of that. Japan created Manchuria for its own profit and invaded Southeast Asia and Korea — I acknowledge that. I do believe that Korea was a Japanese colony. At that time, though, Japan wasn’t the only colonizer; Britain, France and the rest of Europe were colonizing Asia — as well as the Philippines, China and Hong Kong. The United States was involved. They most likely wanted to make Japan a colony, too.
“Liberating Asia was one reason Japan had for invasion. OK, that may have been what the Japanese government told the population to get everybody on board. But Japanese at the time believed it.
Every one a must-read.
Pff, who cares about those whackos? Giving them coverage just helps them raise their profile. Best to do what most Japanese do when they come across the vans - ignore them and walk on by.
That said, I found the last article quite interesting - thanks for providing that one.
Agreeed. Excellent article!!
Is it me, or do these guys don’t have much of an influence on the country overall, certainly less than similar groups of evangelist Christians in the U.S.? I mean, they’re tolerated as a facet of “free speech” and no one thinks about them, and they’re mocked in movies (at least, when Itami Juzo was alive). I don’t believe they affect elections, for example, at all — Sokka Gakkai has a lot more ability to influence things. And one good thing about these guys, they love to play the Yamato theme song sometimes. I love to sing along loudly when a truck passes…
The uyoku themselves have very little influence on Japanese politics. But many of them are funded by right wing senators who have a great deal of influence. These guys are basically a political tool to apply added pressure in certain areas. The rest of the time they are entertainment for us gaijin.
(Gotta say though, those trucks are damn cool !)
It’s common knowledge that Uyoku groups are connected with Yakuza groups. And it’s notable that both Uyoku and Yakuza have a large presence of Zainichi Koreans (Koreans living in Japan). Look at this pic.
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7506/1454/1600/b0015171.jpg
Isn’t it strange that the extreme right wing put Korean flag on their black van?
Obviously not all the Uyoku groups are influenced by Koreans. But as far as I know, there are at least 5 Uyoku groups with Korean leaders.
“At that time, of course, there was foreign pressure on Japan, the only non-colony in Asia”
Not true, at least that last bit. Thailand (Siam at the time) and China weren’t colonies.
China was a semi-colony. The colonial powers agreed to not bother each other and they carved up pieces of China for themselves.
Is it me, or do these guys don’t have much of an influence on the country overall
1961: Kenzaburo Oe’s Seventeen reveals rightists to be sexually-frustrated compulsive masturbators.
2006: Mainichi story claims Koizumi is sexually-frustrated compulsive masturbator.
45 years, but they got there. As I mentioned before though, that’s not the half of it.
Let’s see. The rightists are sexually-frustrated compulsive masturbators (SFCM), and so is Koizumi, not to mention the author you link to here (throbbing, purple prose). Come to think of it, I display worrying SFCM symptoms myself, as do most men I know. Then, of course, there are the good family men. I have seen too many of them crack under the pressures of Asian business entertainment to have much faith in that any more.
We won’t even discuss world leaders.
If SFCM is the defining characteristic of Japanese right wing nationalists, then they took over the world hundreds of years back. Banzai, brothers!
I’m not sure I understand the sexually frustrated bit…
Suddenly it is clear why they call these guys “hardliners.”
more like flatliners..
Nice article. I love right wingers - they’re so cute. If I see that guy with DEATH on his neck I’m going to give him a big hug.
One thing I don’t miss about America is sidewalk or airport or television evangelists. One thing i don’t miss about Japan are those nutty rightwingers. It’s a pox on all of Japan! Shame shame shame!
[…] JP blogs about some recent right wing activities in Japan in Japundit. […]
Fluffy: it’s true that there are “zainichi Koreans” in the lower ranks of yakuza gangs. This may be the connection that you are thinking of, since some lower-ranking yakuza members are also members of uyoku groups.
It seems odd that the uyoku rightwingers would have more than a casual relationship with zainichi Koreans since rightwingers are for the “pure Japanese race” (cue laughtrack here), etc. Even an uyoku rightwinger (known to have intellectual ability roughly equivalent to other bog-dwelling creatures) can appreciate the inherent contradiction of having a Korean flag on his spiffy black van.
I suspect the photo you posted a link to (my server is apparently forbidden access to the site, so I haven’t seen it) is of a zainichi Korean “yakuza” gang’s silly attempt to copy the uyoku’s methods. Who knows?
And uyoku groups (5 of them, no less!) headed by zainichi Koreans? Sounds odd to me. Any proof of that? I suspect you meant to say “criminal gangs” and not “uyoku.” Their members may sometimes overlap, but they are not the same thing.
Maybe they think Korea is still part of Japan.:shock:
well..where ever they come from they seem like awfully horrible people to me.
Probably the very same group who go around erecting those beastly pachinko places and spoiling what little natural beauty japan has managed to hold on too.
a long time ago in england there were a bunch of louts led by a so-called patriot called Mosley..they got their marching orders quick smart and buggered off never to be seen or heard of again.
Hopefully,these japanese (or whoever) spivs, bovver boys..etcetera,etcetera - get the same message.
it’s not very nice is it?.
Maybe they think Korea is still part of Japan.
Or maybe they think Japan has become part of Korea? Damn those handsome actors and calander models!