Tsuneo Watanabe on Japanese conservatism

I've always felt pretty ambivalent about Japanese mainstream/mass media because of the way in which it operates (the presss "kisha kurabu" club system), etc. Basically, I know that the Japanese media often works hand-in-hand with the Japanese government, which is often the case in other nations as well, of course. Also, I've always felt that the Japanese mainstream media is basically about different shades of grey- i.e. that the tone of the media might be slightly different from outlet to outlet, but that in general the message is very similar. Within the shades of grey, I've always seen Asahi as the most left-leaning, Yomiuri as the most right-leaning, but this is really semantics.

So it is interesting to see one of the media barons of Japan, Tsuneo Watanabe of the Yomiuri Shimbun, at age 80, coming into the media spotlight for a strong anti-Koizumi stance. It would be somewhat akin to Rupert Murdoch doing interviews against Bush.

You can read the interview with Watanabe in a rival's magazine here:

Now, the Japanese public is divided because of that sort of thing, which has destroyed our diplomacy with Asia.

It is wrong in the first place to allow a Shinto shrine to hold such power.

To deny the shrine any authority, the best way is for prime ministers not to pay visits to the shrine. They should never pay visits in their official capacity to Yasukuni. That is the only way.

Yomiuri, Asahi editorial chiefs call for a national memorial

The NY Times covers this issue again here:

Watanabe seems troubled by some aspects of the nationalist movement he helped engender. The editorial, which reflected his worries about Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors, sent shock waves through the political world. It called for the building of a secular alternative to the shrine and bluntly said the country's prime minister did not understand history.

Nowadays, Watanabe is unsparing in his criticism. Koizumi worships at a shrine that glorifies militarism, said Watanabe, who equates Tojo with Hitler.

"This person Koizumi doesn't know history or philosophy, doesn't study, doesn't have any culture," Watanabe said. "That's why he says stupid things, like, 'What's wrong about worshipping at Yasukuni?' Or, 'China and Korea are the only countries that criticize Yasukuni.' This stems from his ignorance."

Publisher dismayed by Japanese nationalism - International Herald Tribune

Greater Asia is watching Japan very carefully with respect to the Yasukuni Shrine controversy. Koizumi has damaged relations with China and other East Asian nations with his visits to the shrine and it will be up to the next leader of Japan to mend these fences.