Each country is different, and that is precisely why Japan should have confidence in its own Japanese way of doing things.
However, there is a bizarre condition—one that seems to be worsening in some quarters—that causes unease unless Japan is seen as inferior to other countries or being scolded for failure.
June 7, 2020
The day before yesterday, Finance Minister Tarō Asō reportedly stated at a press conference that, when asked repeatedly by officials from various countries about Japan's apparent success in combating COVID-19—“You must be using some special medication…”—he replied, “Maybe it’s because of our high level of civic virtue.”
According to him, this answer left foreign officials speechless.
As soon as this remark surfaced, Renhō of the Constitutional Democratic Party—who had long concealed her dual nationality and resorted to blatant lies when it was exposed—jumped on the comment.
Asahi Shimbun Online gleefully reported this.
Upon seeing this, I immediately thought, “Renhō really isn’t Japanese after all.”
At the same time, I thought to myself that the Asahi Shimbun is truly a hopeless newspaper.
However, since I’m not someone who earns a living through writing, I didn’t feel compelled to respond right away.
The following is from the next day’s Sankei Shō column.
Everything that a proper journalist ought to say about this incident is written there perfectly.
Of course, there is no such thing as 100% certainty in anything.
But the time has long since come when people around the world should recognize that the Sankei Shimbun is the only real newspaper in Japan today.
I can only hope that a newspaper like the Asahi Shimbun is not the one representing your country.
Sankei Shō
It seems to be one of the postwar pathologies that when Japanese people take pride in their national characteristics, they are somehow criticized as if it were shameful or improper.
On the 4th in the Diet, Finance Minister Tarō Asō said the following regarding the strikingly low number of deaths in Japan due to COVID-19 compared to Western countries:
“The civic-mindedness of the people is different.”
His remark was in response to foreign inquiries about the “mystery” of why, despite not being able to enforce lockdowns like those seen in the West due to legal constraints, Japan’s mere requests for self-restraint proved effective.
Immediately, Renhō, deputy leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, attacked him on Twitter: “Just how superior do you think you are, Minister Asō?”
But it’s unclear how expressing confidence in the high level of public culture leads to the idea that Mr. Asō was calling himself superior.
Renhō also criticized him for not showing empathy for those who died of COVID-19, regardless of nationality, and their families, but such an accusation seems like an overly strained interpretation.
As expected, several newspapers ran critical pieces in their June 5th morning editions.
“Asō’s remarks could be taken as disparaging other nations” (Asahi).
“They could cause controversy” (Mainichi).
Yet when countries like South Korea praise their own COVID-19 response and look down on Japan, these same papers show no particular concern.
On the international page of the June 5th edition of Sankei Shimbun, reporter Mina Mitsui wrote about the current state of France, where public relaxation of rules is evident.
Because of a national character that resists rules, the government is said to have no choice but to impose strict legal enforcement without debate.
The article concludes by saying, “Each nation has its own shape.”
Precisely because each country is different, Japan should also take pride in its own approach.
And yet, there are those who suffer from a bizarre affliction—one that compels them to feel unsettled unless Japan is failing or being scolded compared to other countries.
