Visible Minorities: Yoshiro Mori’s Overdue Comeuppance
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori represents the worst of Japan’s politics, melding misogyny with racism.
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori represents the worst of Japan’s politics, melding misogyny with racism.
Yasuhiro Nakasone, who served as prime minister from 1982 to 1987 and died this past November 29, broke the back of Japan’s labor movement.
Whether it be the Lockheed Scandal of the 1970s, the Recruit Scandal of the 1980s, or the more recent misadventures that shook the Abe administration, such as the fall of prominent ministers Akira Amari and Yuko Obuchi, the issue of “money and politics” is a theme that runs like a steam train through the center of postwar Japanese political history.
Lower House member Takaya Muto tweeted on July 30 that the arguments of students protesting against the security bills “are based on the selfish and extremely egoistic thought of not wanting to go to war.” Since then, his tweet has gone viral in Japan: It was retweeted more than 6500 times and has sparked outrage in the media.