
Japanese government dismantles freedom of the press - sprucely
https://freedom.press/blog/2015/12/preparation-join-us-wars-japan-dismantles-freedom-press
======
hackuser
Neo-nationalism seems to be on the rise everywhere. Look at the UK (Scotland
trying to secede, the crazy extreme right-wing party getting seats in
Parliament, etc.), France (the National Front did very well in recent
elections), South Korea (IIRC, textbooks are edited to replace history with
nationalist propaganda), Israel, Turkey, Russia, China, Donald Trump, etc.
etc.

When is the last time you heard someone stand up and point out how dangerous
nationalism is, how it's historically led to wars, massacres, and other
oppression and brutality. I suspect the public, hearing no criticism or
counterpoints, goes along with the nationalists.

Where are the liberal and moderate conservative elite? Asleep at the wheel?
Cowed? Complacent?

~~~
RightWingRabble
Nationalism doesn't lead to wars, massacres and other oppression and
brutality. That's tribalism leading to that. Tribalism is one of those built
in human behaviors we have that we can't get rid of. People have tried with
globalism, with cultural marxism, with communism. The pendulum always swings
back toward tribalism because genetics is a powerful force. Nations are the
people, not the dirt, as is pretty obvious to see after 3 decades of mass
immigration.

If you want real danger, you should want to curb and reverse the mass
immigration we're still seeing. History is very clear on this point; if
immigration continues unabated, eventually the immigrants will become targets.
Hopefully it's just expulsion that they're targeted for, but genocide isn't
unheard of in these situations.

~~~
hackuser
The meaning of nationalism (and tribalism) is not clearly defined, at least
not in this thread. I thought about that as I wrote my comment, but I decided
I couldn't cover every contingency ...

Without disputing the definitions, I agree with some aspects of what you say,
but I disagree about that there is some inevitable bad ending. Generally, as
the U.S. shows, it turns out well.

The U.S. is filled with the descendents of immigrants who think of each other
as 'Americans'. Today's nativists are the descendents of immigrants that
suffered the same discrimination. A few examples: Ben Franklin (and his peers,
AFIAK) openly disparaged German immigrants, Italian and Irish immigrants used
to riot against each other ... generations later, does anyone care? I read a
study that said by the third generation, 3% of immigrants spoke the language
of their former country and 80% married outside their group (I might
misremember the stats to a degree).

> The pendulum always swings back toward tribalism because genetics is a
> powerful force.

I don't think it's tied to genetics. People are tribalistic about all sorts of
groups that aren't genetically related to each other, and over time the
groupings change. I believe genetic studies show enormous diversity within
groups.

~~~
userulluipeste
"The meaning of nationalism (and tribalism) is not clearly defined"

Wikipedia would have been helpful: "[Nationalism] can be expressed as a belief
or political ideology that involves an individual identifying with or becoming
attached to one's _nation_." "Tribalism is [...] a way of thinking or behaving
in which people are more loyal to their _tribe_ than to their friends, their
country, or any other social group."

None of these in itself implies that it also has to bear a negative emotional
charge of any kind. I think you're confusing nationalism/tribalism with
xenophobia.

------
pippy
It's happening in New Zealand to a similar extent. This current government is
raiding journalists homes who publish things they don't want[1] [2]. Even more
worryingly the government recently bailed out the other major broadcasting
company, and replaced the CEO with a friend of the prime minister. It didn't
take long before journalists who were sometimes critical of the government
were replaced [3].

1 [https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/hager-police-
rai...](https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/hager-police-raid-
dangerous-for-journalism-6099331)

2 [http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/290989/police-raid-
du...](http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/290989/police-raid-du-plessis-
allan's-home)

3
[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_i...](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11462265)

------
meesles
For a country whose culture already stifles expression and speech, this is bad
news. I'm proud that supposedly so many Japanese stood up to protest these
legislative actions. Having lived there, I can say that the government comes
across as way more untouchable and heightened than here in the US, and that it
takes a LOT before action can be taken against them. The US messing in their
politics in order to get more aid in their wars is infuriating and makes me
worry for the future of such a rich country.

~~~
kagamine
Had a friend who lived in Japan for 35 years whose opinion of Japanese
politics was basically that the ruling party were the largest and most
powerful of the triad gangs.

~~~
ionised
You mean Yakuza, not Triad?

~~~
kagamine
yes

------
euske
So, as an average citizen in the country, what should I do?

I'm just a tech geek guy. I write software at work, and I teach sometimes (for
CS related topics). I write OSS. I occasionally write a blog, but feel
terribly helpless for spreading my view with that. I don't think going to a
rally helps the cause that much (because I feel it only pleases the curious
media). I'm probably a bit more politically aware than the average people
here, but I don't want to devote myself to much political activities.

Probably I should continue to do the small things that I'm currently doing
(e.g. occasionally bringing up the topic to friends and advocating more
openness of the society, etc.), but what else? Does anyone have any idea?

------
alexandercrohde
I wish this post gave a better treatment to the discussion. By presenting such
a stark claim on a blog, with little justification it leads to polarization
that may make some who are open-minded to the issue actually take such
concerns _less_ seriously.

I don't have any answers myself, I'm learning a lot but here's what I glean:

\- Reporters without borders (RWB) is a neutral cause dedicated to
investigating freedom of the press in various countries, they explain their
methodology on their website.

\- RWB has moved Japan down to 61 on the list of nations with the most free
press. However, the US is at 49 for comparison, so saying Japan has
"Dismantled freedom of the press" because they are 61 seems to be an
overstatement

\- The piece presents a theory that America is trying to use Japan's military.
Time will tell.

\- The style comes across as vaguely rambly

If anybody who's not too emotionally involved in the topic has some
recommended reading I'd love to hear more.

------
ilurk
I feel saddened by this this. But at the same time I see Japan in a very
complicated situation with China expanding its maritime influence in the
region.

If it doesn't flex its military muscle (needing the secracy for it) it may
find itself in a vulnerable situation against China. Although on the other
hand it really doesn't stand a chance against China's nuclear arsenal.

If China used a nuclear warhead would the US riposte in the same manner?

What I don't get is the "Japan to battle in the middle east". Is this a "you
scratch my back and I scratch yours"? Or just a cover for not saying "we're
preparing for an eventual conflict with China"?

~~~
mahranch
> _Although on the other hand it really doesn 't stand a chance against
> China's nuclear arsenal._

I beg to differ; According to the U.S government, Japan maintains a latent
nuclear program. According to their assessment, Japan can go from "Hey, let's
build a nuclear weapon stockpile" to actually having that stockpile in as
little as a few months. (Source: [http://zidbits.com/2012/02/which-country-is-
closest-to-build...](http://zidbits.com/2012/02/which-country-is-closest-to-
building-their-first-nuclear-weapon/))

Germany comes in second place and could have nuclear weapons nearly as quick.

> _Or just a cover for not saying "we're preparing for an eventual conflict
> with China"?_

Right now, if North Korea launched a missile at California, Japan would have
to watch as it sailed over Tokyo. They legally cannot shoot it down in
protection of their ally. Japan wants to change that. They want to be able to
protect and assist their allies in more than just a minor supporting role.
Japan was there in Iraq and Afghanistan, they just weren't in combat roles.
They were there providing medical aid and resupplies.

People (incorrectly) think that Japan is trying to become 1935 imperial Japan
again. That's not it - they just want to be like everyone else. Right now,
they have less freedom (militaristicaly) than everyone else. Significantly
less than Germany too.

~~~
avar

        > Right now, if North Korea launched a missile
        > at California, Japan would have to watch as
        > it sailed over Tokyo.
    

This doesn't detract from your general point, but I was curious to see if this
particular thing was true.

If you use the "measure distance" tool on Google Maps you can see that even if
North Korea launched an ICBM from the southernmost part of their eastern coast
to the southernmost part of California it would only intersect Japanese
territory by a few miles, at the point of Rebun Island northwest of Hokkaido,
something they could trivially avoid. They'd have a much bigger practical
problem with having to fly it over Russia than Japan.

In order for its course to go anywhere near Tokyo they'd have to be aiming
said ICBM somewhere midway around Argentina, around a thousand miles south of
Buenos Aires or so.

Don't let the Mercator projection interfere with your sense of reality.

------
Fando
If you could redesign a system of government free from major flaws we see
today, how would it work? Current systems almost seem to have a tendency to
"breed" the types of malevolent, inefficient, greedy and problematic power
structures we see. I think that at the root of the problem are natural human
flaws. It seems almost certain that given enough time, no matter how well
intentioned people are, the cumulative effect of our natural flaws inevitably
evolves the kind of system/culture that attracts and perpetuates these flawed
tendencies. I think the process could be compared to natural selection. Has
anyone thought about it like that? I'm curious. Is it possible to design a
system of government which would not be influenced by inherent human flaws? A
system which, by design, has a tendency to "select" characteristics that shape
it to be more beneficial, free from its current flaws?

~~~
ionised
Some form of sortition probably;

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition)

Basically treat political office as a civic duty, much like jury duty.

Give them a very generous salary and have a maximum term after which they can
never be reinstated.

Also ban completely any form of financial lobbying.

~~~
userulluipeste
I don't know how this worked back then, but what prevents acts of corruption
or any other kind of power abuse from the instated public figures' part? BTW,
the power itself legitimizes lobbying, so this may sound a little cynical but
when you ban means convenient for corruption then it simply goes underground
until it finds its way to being legit again in some form. Maybe this is the
way it's supposed to be (the cynical part) - the game of life and the ever-
present competition inside our species?

------
codingthebeach
"In preparation to join US wars, Japan dismantles freedom of the press". What
US wars? Populist hogswaddle. Such assertions should be backed up if you're
going to make them. As for the supposed rise of "nationalism", to the average
liberal, _ANY_ movement in the direction of national security, or any display
of pride in one's country, is not just nationalism but _fascism_ , racism, and
worse.

~~~
codingthebeach
@sprucely -- thanks for the downvote -- you prove my point.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sprucely](https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sprucely)

~~~
PhasmaFelis
What are you trying to do here? You think you know who downvoted you, and
you're...calling them out? By...linking to their public user page?

------
mtgx
Why does it look like democracy is on a declining trend all over the world,
even as the Internet is more used by more people than ever?

~~~
webkike
Observer bias

~~~
PlzSnow
Indeed, we live in a time of unprecedented democracy. But confirmation bias
reigns supreme, people read from news sources which confirm their preconceived
notions of the world. The Hacker News community is as susceptible to this as
anyone else.

------
acd
I think that the Japan public debt house is starting to crackle and they do
not want the public to know. Thus they are silencing the media.

Here is a graph of Japanese debt to GDP ratio
[http://www.tradingeconomics.com/japan/government-debt-to-
gdp](http://www.tradingeconomics.com/japan/government-debt-to-gdp)

Here is demographic Changes in Japan's population. It shows a top slope,
population starting to fall.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Japan#/media/F...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Japan#/media/File:Population_of_Japan_since_1872.svg)

So a retiring Japanese population is going to pay for rising public debt.
Sustainable in the long run?

~~~
jld89
You forgot to mention that Japan is the biggest creditor in the world and the
one that possesses more foreign net assets than even China.

So even if debt is colossal, it has the assets to maintain it for a long time.

------
wtn
I have never seen the emdash overused this badly.

------
pm24601
Once again the US exporting "corporate democracy"

~~~
crimsonalucard
Don't blame the united states for everything. Totally unlike the situation
described in the article, I can assure you that Americans have all the freedom
in the world to criticize the government. We are fortunate in that regard.

~~~
SwimAway
Fortunate? Freedom of speech (et al.) is a birthright, NOT a privilege. If
only the people of Japan stood up for their rights..

~~~
scribu
> If only the people of Japan stood up for their rights..

As mentioned in the article, there already are massive protests around this
issue.

What more could they do? Try to take down the government by force? Even if
they succeeded, I'm sure the U.S. would be happy to step in to "calm the
waters" and impose martial law outright.

~~~
gozur88
They don't need to have a violent revolution. They can just vote for a
different party in the next election cycle. If the votes aren't there,
revolution wouldn't succeed anyway.

~~~
rangibaby
"They can just vote for a different party in the next election cycle."

The last time they tried that (2009), the different party was literally more
of the same. The only thing worth mentioning about the following two elections
was their extremely low turnout (the lowest ever in Japan's modern history in
the latter).

