Recently, I’ve been busy and haven’t had much free time, so I wasn’t really able to set aside time to continue writing after my previous post. But today I have a little extra time, so I’d like to write some more.
This time, I want to talk about an episode of Abema Prime that featured a far-left organization.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKdIAtlHuak
It’s been a while since I watched the program, but I’d like to write down my thoughts as best as I can remember them.
[b]About the “Yajima Faction”[/b]
First of all, I had never even heard of far-left organizations still existing in Reiwa-era Japan, so just hearing about them was very interesting.
You can already infer quite a lot just from the organization’s name: “Zengakuren (Yajima Faction).”
I think one of the bad tendencies of the political left is that they pursue ever more “pure” ideology, end up fighting internally, and gradually split into more and more factions.
It’s a very interesting phenomenon. I wonder why that happens…
Also, as I wrote in my previous post, the thing I absolutely cannot agree with about this group is, needless to say, its support for violence.
If they claim peace and workers’ rights as their noble cause, then trying to overthrow democratically elected leaders through violence should obviously be out of the question… 😅
That approach is never going to bring peace, and it’s also a huge nuisance to ordinary workers.
Their attitude of trying to justify every wrongdoing with ideological reasoning feels antisocial, and it once again reminded me how frightening extremist political organizations can be.
That said, this Yajima faction apparently rejects figures like Stalin, so perhaps they are more reasonable than some far-left groups overseas.
[b]The Radicalization of Left-Wing Movements
[/b]
At this point, some people might wonder what the point is in even covering such a strange organization.
Certainly, groups like the Yajima faction have virtually no public support, and although they advocate extreme ideas, they don’t appear to have either the ability or the will to actually carry them out.
However, looking at the world as a whole, I feel that similar kinds of ideology have been becoming increasingly popular in recent years.
For example, in the United States, although still a minority, some members of the so-called “woke” left have made increasingly visible statements that appear to tolerate criminal acts, such as riots or violence against political opponents.
One example I saw recently was a popular left-wing influencer who said something along the lines of: “Rich people commit financial crimes and never get punished, so there’s nothing wrong with poor people shoplifting.” The statement received a great deal of sympathy and support…
Still, in today’s America, it is not the left but rather the right that currently holds power and is causing political turmoil.
However, if the opposition Democratic Party hopes to produce a candidate capable of countering Trumpism after President Trump’s term ends, then it will eventually have to confront the growing popularity of this far-left ideology.
I don’t think it’s a problem that will simply disappear if ignored. And many other countries are probably dealing with similar situations as well.
That is why I personally take a strong interest in the direction of left-wing movements.
Japan does not seem like a country where far-left ideology is likely to become popular at all, but in the past there were tragic incidents such as the Asama-Sanso incident and bombing attacks.
I think there is great value in reporting on how far-left movements have changed since then, and it may even be necessary in order to prevent similar tragedies from ever happening again.
[b]What Should Programs Featuring Extremist Guests Be Like?[/b]
As an ordinary viewer, I’d also like to share my thoughts on how Abema structured the program.
I think inviting radical activists onto a show is an extremely difficult thing to do.
If you simply let them speak freely, the program risks becoming a platform for their propaganda. On the other hand, if the hosts only criticize them one-sidedly, viewers probably won’t gain much deeper understanding either.
Personally, I would like programs to avoid simply taking an openly hostile stance toward extreme guests, and instead expose the flaws in their thinking by asking sharp and probing questions.
In that sense, I think this episode of Abema Prime did some things very well, though there were also moments where it felt a little lacking.
For example, with so many commentators on the panel, there were times when it looked as though the hosts were simply scolding the organization’s representative. That said, Pakkun and Ms. Iwasawa did make some constructive comments and asked meaningful questions.
I also think that if Abema Prime’s ace announcer, Naoyuki Hiraishi, had been there, he probably would have moderated the discussion more skillfully.
[b]What Is the Relationship Between the “Yajima Faction” and Demonstrations?[/b]
Another thing that caught my attention was the relationship between the “Yajima faction” and the anti-Takaichi demonstrations held in front of the National Diet.
My assumption is that most people participating in those protests do not support violence and probably have never even heard of the “Yajima faction.”
That’s why I felt somewhat uneasy about portraying them as though they represented the demonstrations as a whole.
Anyway, the episode gave me a lot to think about, so I’m glad I was able to reflect on these ideas and leave a record of them on Nyan-8. 😆
This post ended up being a little incomplete, but I think I’ll stop here for today.
Thank you, as always, for reading.