The following is from an article by University of Tokyo Professor Emeritus Sukehiro Hirakawa that appeared in the Sankei Shimbun's "Seiron" on June 17, titled "When the Curse of the 'Peace Constitution' is Lifted."
In 1945, the defeated nation of Japan was disarmed, and a constitution was promulgated the following year, which stated that "trusting in the justice and faith of peace-loving peoples, we resolve to preserve our security and existence" (Preamble) and that Japan "shall not retain" any war potential. (Article 9)
Since then, the two main arguments have been at odds with each other and remain so to this day.
The majority are in favor of disarming the occupying forces in Japan and are defending the Constitution, such as "Asahi Shimbun," "Komei Shimbun," and "Red Flag."
Mental Disarmament of the Japanese People
The dream of a "Peace Constitution" is beautiful.
They cling to this illusion because the occupation policy intended to disarm the Japanese spiritually. Still, the curse continued even after the restoration of sovereignty because the Japanese longed for that ideal.
There were reports that peace was possible thanks to the Constitution.
However, such myths about Japan's safety were burst like soap bubbles by the escalation of the international situation.
Does the United States protect Japan, which is not trying to shed blood?
It is because such doubts have grabbed the hearts of the Japanese.
It convinced the Japanese that they were "absolutely undefeated" before the war and blindly believed in "absolute peace" after the war, but both are the two sides of the same coin.
The nickname of the "Peace Constitution" has become a taboo that prohibits criticism of the Constitution and has cursed us.
Our eyes became cloudy to see the reality of international affairs, and our thoughts continued to stop.
But the illusion of peace was shattered when a dictator threatened with nuclear intimidation.
The invasion of Ukraine changed the thinking of both the Scandinavians and the Japanese.
We must be wary of the injustice of our neighbors.
The Sankei Shimbun, which approves of the Security Treaty and advocates constitutional reform, used to be the minority in the newspaper world, but its opinion is now becoming mainstream.
Here, I would like to trace my memories of newspapers and sketch how I broke free from the spell of the postwar system.
I started reading newspapers in the fifth grade of elementary school.
It was because I wanted to know the war results of the army and navy, which is no different from today's children who are happy or sad at the number of hits, batting average, or scores in baseball or soccer.
Every morning I looked forward to reading "Kaigun (Navy)," a serialized article by Bunroku Shishi, whose real name was Toyoo Iwata, about the heroes of the Pearl Harbor bombardment in "Asahi" magazine.
When the Yomiuri Hochi (Yomiuri News) and other newspapers printed "Oni-zoku●■ (BeiEi)" with the animal side of the name added, I felt disgusted at the lack of refinement. (The "●" is for "American," and the "■" is for "British.)
Although I lived as a student under the occupation, my view of the world changed when I studied abroad in France, Germany, England, and Italy from the end of the 1945s, saw the world, and read newspapers from around the world.
Western democracy is better than people's democracy.
In 1959, I was surprised when Inajiro Asanuma of the Socialist Party went to Beijing and said, "U.S. imperialism is the common enemy of Japan and China."
When I returned to Japan, the people around me were a big chorus against the Security Treaty.
"I'm against the anti-security movement. Protect democracy. Follow the majority vote of Congress," I said, but it's treated as an eccentric.
The university was on strike all year round.
I, an associate professor, was also on duty, but even there, an assistant professor of mathematics was upset with me, saying, "Hirakawa always makes strange comments."
I realized I could not talk with a colleague who read only the Asahi Shimbun.
It is far from Mao Zedong, far from his thunder.
At the time, Masanori Kikuchi was a popular man of the Asahi Shimbun at the University of Tokyo, and he was a great admirer of the Cultural Revolution.
In contrast, Mineo Nakajima, who became an associate professor at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, saw the Cultural Revolution as Mao's struggle for power and did not hesitate to publish his analysis.
I also occasionally contributed to this paper's "Direct Comment" column, in which I wrote that the East German ambassador was surprised that Chairman Mao had read the German poet Sturm because the translator, Guo Moruo, had learned " Immensee" in German while studying at the old Okayama High School.
I still refrained from direct political commentary.
Still, I stopped reading "Asahi" and subscribed to "Sankei.
Immediately after Mao Zedong's death in September 1976, my old friends who had studied in Paris got together.
Kenichi Honda, a professor at the University of Tokyo in applied chemistry, said that he had mourned and booked the Chinese embassy, so I chilled out, "It's about time Ms. Jiang Qing is arrested."
Diplomat Yoshiya Kato says, "Hey, this is a Chinese restaurant, please refrain from talking."
Toru Haga, a colleague of comparative culture, said, "What is that devotion to China?" Abuse "Asahi" severely.
Then Donald Keene replied, "I am in a position to pursue the cultural situation in Japan, so the cultural column is" Asahi. "
The following year, I was transferred to the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., where I met with Heishiro Ogawa, who served as the first Chinese ambassador to Japan at the time of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, who told me, "I don't care for 'Sankei.
Pseudo-Pacifist Autointoxication
Was "Sankei," which was refused to have a correspondent in Beijing, correct, or was "Asahi," who had a correspondent stationed in Beijing who continued to send articles for China to Japan, wise?
There was a Beijing correspondent who, after leaving "Asahi," became the editor of "People's China," China's PR magazine for Japan. Still, he is a person who is not fit for one's company.
Shuichi Kato took a seemingly "conscientious" position that Japan had a criminal record of a war of aggression against China, so I would not criticize China at all. Instead, he was heavily used in "Asahi."
Asahi respected the comments of the "intellectual giant" Kato.
Looking back, however, Asahi lost credibility not only because of the comfort women incident involving the fraudulent story of Seiji Yoshida.
It was because the public was fed up with such pseudo-pacifist autointoxication.
It has already been half a century since the jokey article "Red Red Red Asahi Asahi" appeared in the company's magazine.
In 1945, the defeated nation of Japan was disarmed, and a constitution was promulgated the following year, which stated that "trusting in the justice and faith of peace-loving peoples, we resolve to preserve our security and existence" (Preamble) and that Japan "shall not retain" any war potential. (Article 9)
Since then, the two main arguments have been at odds with each other and remain so to this day.
The majority are in favor of disarming the occupying forces in Japan and are defending the Constitution, such as "Asahi Shimbun," "Komei Shimbun," and "Red Flag."
Mental Disarmament of the Japanese People
The dream of a "Peace Constitution" is beautiful.
They cling to this illusion because the occupation policy intended to disarm the Japanese spiritually. Still, the curse continued even after the restoration of sovereignty because the Japanese longed for that ideal.
There were reports that peace was possible thanks to the Constitution.
However, such myths about Japan's safety were burst like soap bubbles by the escalation of the international situation.
Does the United States protect Japan, which is not trying to shed blood?
It is because such doubts have grabbed the hearts of the Japanese.
It convinced the Japanese that they were "absolutely undefeated" before the war and blindly believed in "absolute peace" after the war, but both are the two sides of the same coin.
The nickname of the "Peace Constitution" has become a taboo that prohibits criticism of the Constitution and has cursed us.
Our eyes became cloudy to see the reality of international affairs, and our thoughts continued to stop.
But the illusion of peace was shattered when a dictator threatened with nuclear intimidation.
The invasion of Ukraine changed the thinking of both the Scandinavians and the Japanese.
We must be wary of the injustice of our neighbors.
The Sankei Shimbun, which approves of the Security Treaty and advocates constitutional reform, used to be the minority in the newspaper world, but its opinion is now becoming mainstream.
Here, I would like to trace my memories of newspapers and sketch how I broke free from the spell of the postwar system.
I started reading newspapers in the fifth grade of elementary school.
It was because I wanted to know the war results of the army and navy, which is no different from today's children who are happy or sad at the number of hits, batting average, or scores in baseball or soccer.
Every morning I looked forward to reading "Kaigun (Navy)," a serialized article by Bunroku Shishi, whose real name was Toyoo Iwata, about the heroes of the Pearl Harbor bombardment in "Asahi" magazine.
When the Yomiuri Hochi (Yomiuri News) and other newspapers printed "Oni-zoku●■ (BeiEi)" with the animal side of the name added, I felt disgusted at the lack of refinement. (The "●" is for "American," and the "■" is for "British.)
Although I lived as a student under the occupation, my view of the world changed when I studied abroad in France, Germany, England, and Italy from the end of the 1945s, saw the world, and read newspapers from around the world.
Western democracy is better than people's democracy.
In 1959, I was surprised when Inajiro Asanuma of the Socialist Party went to Beijing and said, "U.S. imperialism is the common enemy of Japan and China."
When I returned to Japan, the people around me were a big chorus against the Security Treaty.
"I'm against the anti-security movement. Protect democracy. Follow the majority vote of Congress," I said, but it's treated as an eccentric.
The university was on strike all year round.
I, an associate professor, was also on duty, but even there, an assistant professor of mathematics was upset with me, saying, "Hirakawa always makes strange comments."
I realized I could not talk with a colleague who read only the Asahi Shimbun.
It is far from Mao Zedong, far from his thunder.
At the time, Masanori Kikuchi was a popular man of the Asahi Shimbun at the University of Tokyo, and he was a great admirer of the Cultural Revolution.
In contrast, Mineo Nakajima, who became an associate professor at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, saw the Cultural Revolution as Mao's struggle for power and did not hesitate to publish his analysis.
I also occasionally contributed to this paper's "Direct Comment" column, in which I wrote that the East German ambassador was surprised that Chairman Mao had read the German poet Sturm because the translator, Guo Moruo, had learned " Immensee" in German while studying at the old Okayama High School.
I still refrained from direct political commentary.
Still, I stopped reading "Asahi" and subscribed to "Sankei.
Immediately after Mao Zedong's death in September 1976, my old friends who had studied in Paris got together.
Kenichi Honda, a professor at the University of Tokyo in applied chemistry, said that he had mourned and booked the Chinese embassy, so I chilled out, "It's about time Ms. Jiang Qing is arrested."
Diplomat Yoshiya Kato says, "Hey, this is a Chinese restaurant, please refrain from talking."
Toru Haga, a colleague of comparative culture, said, "What is that devotion to China?" Abuse "Asahi" severely.
Then Donald Keene replied, "I am in a position to pursue the cultural situation in Japan, so the cultural column is" Asahi. "
The following year, I was transferred to the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., where I met with Heishiro Ogawa, who served as the first Chinese ambassador to Japan at the time of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, who told me, "I don't care for 'Sankei.
Pseudo-Pacifist Autointoxication
Was "Sankei," which was refused to have a correspondent in Beijing, correct, or was "Asahi," who had a correspondent stationed in Beijing who continued to send articles for China to Japan, wise?
There was a Beijing correspondent who, after leaving "Asahi," became the editor of "People's China," China's PR magazine for Japan. Still, he is a person who is not fit for one's company.
Shuichi Kato took a seemingly "conscientious" position that Japan had a criminal record of a war of aggression against China, so I would not criticize China at all. Instead, he was heavily used in "Asahi."
Asahi respected the comments of the "intellectual giant" Kato.
Looking back, however, Asahi lost credibility not only because of the comfort women incident involving the fraudulent story of Seiji Yoshida.
It was because the public was fed up with such pseudo-pacifist autointoxication.
It has already been half a century since the jokey article "Red Red Red Asahi Asahi" appeared in the company's magazine.
