This is a continuation from the previous chapter.
pp. 81–84
The Arrogance of Academia
Iwata:
There are very few modern historians in Japan who seriously study the GHQ occupation period. Things like what kind of censorship was enforced.
I once asked a historian friend, “You’re highly capable—shouldn’t it be more valuable for you to study the GHQ era that shaped postwar Japan?”
He replied, “If we start exposing the truth about the postwar constitution being written by the GHQ, it would unravel the worldview we’ve built up over time.
If I step into that field, I’ll be ostracized from the academic world like you, Iwata. That’s why I don’t want to do it.”
Sekihei:
One would need to destroy the safe world they live in—and that takes real courage.
Everyone wants a prestigious post at a top university. So, naturally, they prioritize self-preservation.
How much influence does the academic world really have?
Iwata:
Not all that much. In fact, public perception and academia are often out of sync.
For example, the Science Council of Japan forbids military research, which is incomprehensible from the perspective of common sense.
They justify it by saying, “We must reflect on prewar Japan. If we allow military research, Japan will once again walk the path of militarism.”
But that’s an absurd argument.
Sekihei:
Isn’t it Japan’s bureaucratic elite who are most influenced by this kind of academic culture?
Iwata:
Exactly.
The more seriously one studies through elementary, junior high, high school, and university, the more ideologically skewed they become.
It’s no exaggeration to call that a national tragedy.
Sekihei:
And those who excel in such study are often the ones who rise through the ranks. That makes it even more problematic.
Iwata:
For instance, the textbook publisher Manabisha prints extremely left-leaning history textbooks.
They feature content like the “comfort women” issue and heavily emphasize Japan’s wartime aggression in Asia—completely outrageous material.
Yet, these textbooks are being adopted by Japan’s top high schools. It’s deeply troubling.
Sekihei:
It’s the Ministry of Education that approves such textbooks, isn’t it?
Take for example Kihei Maekawa, former top bureaucrat at the Ministry—his post-retirement comments have been extremely pro–North Korea. He could fairly be called far-left.
Someone like that worked at the core of Japan’s educational administration for decades. No wonder our textbooks became warped.
Iwata:
Whenever we criticize this, the left often accuses us of “anti-intellectualism.”
When the public starts realizing, “Something’s wrong with China,” or “North Korea really did abduct Japanese citizens,” they say, “You people are just too ignorant and easily distracted by trivialities.
We, the enlightened, decide things from a broader perspective.” That’s their logic.
Sekihei:
That’s exactly like communism.
Communist Party members claim to represent reason and believe the ignorant masses must be “guided.”
Iwata:
Professor Yoko Kato of the University of Tokyo, whose appointment to the Science Council of Japan was rejected, appeared in an Asahi Shimbun interview ("How Should We Face the General Election?"—Salon article, September 6), and I was astonished by what she said:
“I think those in power lack academic grounding. Those with scholarly backgrounds understand the importance of expert opinions through personal experience.
But those without such experience probably find expert advice unconvincing.”
Isn’t that the epitome of Leninism? The argument that the ignorant masses should just obey the intellectual elite.
To say that anyone who doesn’t heed scholars is simply “lacking academic ability”…
Sekihei:
In other words, scholarship is for elites like them. That’s just wrong.
Iwata:
Professor Kato seems to suggest that politicians without academic training are unqualified for office.
That those who don’t obey scholars have no right to govern. That’s profoundly undemocratic.
Sekihei:
Unbelievable. What she said is utterly arrogant.
The Unrepentant Left
Iwata:
On the other hand, they constantly preach “respect for diversity.”
But when someone like Takaichi emerges as a female candidate for prime minister, they say, “Not just any woman should be allowed to become PM.”
The very same people who had been complaining that the lack of a female PM is a symbol of Japan’s gender discrimination!
Take Chizuko Ueno, for example—she posted a bizarre tweet on September 8: “Dangerous! This woman will destroy Japan!”
What on earth is that based on?
She didn’t react nearly as hysterically to any of the male candidates. It’s baffling.
Sekihei:
I escaped an authoritarian system in China and came to democratic Japan, but it’s disappointing to see that communist ways of thinking still linger deeply here.
Iwata:
That’s why Japan’s democracy has always been upheld by its ordinary citizens.
After the war, the intellectual elite sympathized with the Socialist Party.
But the people kept voting for the Liberal Democratic Party.
The intellectuals say, “The masses are ignorant, that’s why they vote for the LDP.”
But ordinary people think differently:
“There’s too big a gap between what they say and what they do. It’s strange.”
If we had kept listening to the intelligentsia, Japan wouldn’t be Japan anymore.
Sekihei:
Many intellectuals even praised China and North Korea.
For instance, Nobel laureate Kenzaburō Ōe popularized the phrase “North Korea is a paradise on Earth.”
Many Japanese actually moved there believing that.
And yet, we’ve seen no reflection, no apology for such reckless remarks.
Iwata:
Not even from the Asahi Shimbun or other media.
Let me give an example.
In 1992, the PKO (Peacekeeping Operations) Law was passed. Over 20 years later, in 2015, the Peace and Security Legislation was enacted.
On both occasions, the Asahi and other leftist media rallied scholars and celebrities to mount fierce criticism.
But their arguments hadn’t changed at all.
They just kept repeating the same old slogans like “This destroys constitutionalism.”
Of course they’ve never reflected or repented.
Sekihei:
During the Peace and Security Legislation debate, left-leaning political scientists were screaming, “Abe is a dictator! We must defeat him in the next election!”
That’s a ridiculous statement.
If you can defeat a “dictator” in a free election, he’s not a dictator to begin with.
As long as elections function, there is no such thing as a dictator in Japan!
Iwata:
Exactly (laughs).
Some people even said, “Abe is just like Hitler.” But that’s completely false.
No matter how harshly you criticize former PM Abe, you won’t get arrested or imprisoned.
Japan guarantees freedom of speech—how fortunate we are!
Sekihei:
There’s nothing worse than a political scientist (laughs).
But I’m concerned about you, Iwata. Aren’t you isolated in the academic world?
Iwata:
Oh, I’m extremely isolated (wry smile).
On Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, there are crested ibises—an endangered species. The locals cherish and protect them dearly.
But in academia, conservative scholars like me—also an endangered species—are completely ignored (laughs).
Instead of protection, we get pelted with stones.
Can’t they treat us like the ibises?
Sekihei:
That’s rough (laughs).
Still, I admire how boldly you stand by your ideals and convictions. Keep at it.
I hope Japan’s next prime minister has the same resolve.
