The following is from a feature article titled "Sanae Takaichi: A Whirlwind" in WiLL, a monthly magazine released on September 27.
Which features a conversation between critic Shi Ping and political scientist Atsushi Iwata titled "Taro Kono, who can't deny the Kono Statement, is a dupe for China."
A politician who China criticizes is a sign of a good politician for Japan.
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The Arrogance of Academics
Iwata
There are very few modern historians who study the GHQ occupation period in Japan. There are very few people who look at the kind of censorship that took place.
I once asked a historian friend of mine, "Since you are a brilliant person, it would be more beneficial for you to study the GHQ occupation period that shaped postwar Japan."
He said, "It would reveal the truth about the postwar period, such as the fact that GHQ created the postwar constitution. There is a fear that the worldview we have believed in will collapse. If I stepped into that area, I would be shunned by the academic world like Iwata. That's why I don't want to do it."
Seki Hei
You have to destroy the world in which you have been living.
It takes a lot of courage.
If possible, it wants to get a post at a famous university. That's why they have to protect themselves.
What is the influence of academia?
Iwata
It's not that strong. In that sense, there is a gap between the public and the academic world.
Military research is banned by the Science Council of Japan, which is unthinkable from common sense.
They make excuses, " We based on prewar Japan's reflections. If we do military research, we'll be on the path of a military nation again," but an absurd remark is also terrible.
Seki Hei
Isn't it the bureaucracy, Japan's elite class, most affected by this kind of academic world?
Iwata
That's right.
The more diligently they study in elementary, junior high, high school, and university, the more biased they become ideologically.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is the tragedy of Japan.
Seki Hei
Moreover, those who can study well tend to get ahead in their careers. That's why it's so troublesome.
Iwata
Manabiya, a textbook publishing company, publishes history textbooks with a robust leftist flavor.
For example, they take up the issue of comfort women and emphasize the perpetration of the former Japanese military in Asia, which is outrageous.
However, such textbooks are being adopted by Japan's top high schools. It is a genuinely alarming situation.
Seki Hei
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) approves such textbooks.
Looking at the speeches of Kihei Maekawa, who used to be the administrative vice-minister of the Ministry of Education after he retired from the ministry, it is no exaggeration to say that he is on the extreme left, including his pro-North Korea comments.
With such a person working for decades at the center of Japan's education administration, even the content of textbooks would be wrong.
Iwata
The left often uses the word "anti-intellectualism" in response to such criticism.
When the people realize that China is crazy or North Korea has been abducting people, they say, "You people are too stupid to pay attention to such trivial things. We, good people, decide things from a much larger perspective."
Seki Hei
It is precisely like communism.
The communists represent the intellect, and they think that ordinary people are stupid and will "lead the way."
Iwata
Professor Yoko Kato of the University of Tokyo, who was denied appointment as a member of the Science Council of Japan, appeared in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun ("How should we face the general election?" Press Salon, September 6).
I was astonished to hear her say the following: "I think there is a lack of learning among politicians. Those who are learned have the experience that the words of experts are important. For those who have no such knowledge, the terms of experts will not be persuasive."
Isn't this behavior the very essence of Leninism?
The argument is that the masses should follow what the intellectuals say.
Those who do not follow the words of our expert intellectuals are "not learned enough. ......
Seki Hei
In short, academia is for the elite like them. That's not right.
Iwata
Furthermore, Ms. Kato is trying to say that politicians who have not studied are not qualified to be politicians, isn't she?
Politicians who do not listen to scholars are not qualified to be politicians. It is really undemocratic.
Seki Hei
I can't believe it. What Ms. Kato is saying is the height of arrogance.