Eric Prideaux of the Japan Times has a fascinating multi-part series on the Japanese right wing that is must-read for anyone in Japan.
The Japan Times Online – Building ‘crisis’ mood
The Japan Times Online – Anti-American in name of ‘respect’
The Japan Times Online – Yasukuni is a ‘duty’
I found it curious that while they mostly came across as rational people whose views were not really what you’d term extreme, they chose to get the message across using such an offputting approach. Is it perhaps a reflection of how much politics in general (and certainly anything outside the mainstream of party politics) is ignored in Japan that they have to resort to shock tactics in the hope of getting noticed? In the US or UK these people would either be marching or blogging (or both) under far less threatening banners, surely?
Or were they simply adopting a conciliatory tone and watering down the message for the audience’s benefit?