Sugano isn’t surprised. “Prime Minister Abe talks a lot about womenomics (the empowerment of women in the business world) but it’s all talk. It’s like a Texas racist saying, ‘I have a black friend so I’m not racist.’ The fact that there are female politicians supported by the group is the same logic. There are always some minorities in a minority that consider discrimination to be acceptable. Or these women find the support of the group advantageous to themselves—if not for women in general.”
Professor Jeff Kingston, a historian of modern Japan, has pointed out that while Abe says all the right things, he has quietly reduced his original professed goal of promoting women in management from 30 percent to 15 percent, and in reality his meager actions are “a nod to patriarchal realities that exposes Abe’s version of womenomics as a sham”.
Sugano insists the “patriarchal realities” of Japan are one reason behind Japan’s media self-censorship under the Abe administration and why they long avoided touching upon Nippon Kaigi.
He argues the mainstream Japanese media are run by misogynistic old men whose world views align with Nippon Kaigi’s sexist ideals, and since they agree with their principles, they have seen no need to report on the organization.
“It is not self censorship. It’s more like silent collusion,” he said.
Nippon Kaigi’s dismissive attitude towards women and children also explains its evident opposition to The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Hideaki Kase, a prominent member of Nippon Kaigi and prolific revisionist writer, is also listed as Chairman of Japan’s Corporal Punishment Association—which advocates judicious beating of children as a means of educating them and making them strong.
If you ask Sugano why these elections are important, he will tell you why in his Kansai-accented Texas drawl:
“The LDP, Abe, and Nippon Kaigi have essentially the same agenda. The frightening thing about this election is that they have never been closer to achieving their dreams—amending the constitution to return Japan to a militaristic feudal society where women, children, youngsters and foreigners, including the Japanese-Koreans, have no basic human rights. They will only have one right: the right to shut up.”
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