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What Is the Aim of Nippon Kaigi, the Ultra-Right Organization That Supports Japan’S Abe Administration?¹

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What Is the Aim of Nippon Kaigi, the Ultra-Right Organization That Supports Japan’S Abe Administration?¹ Volume 15 | Issue 21 | Number 1 | Article ID 5081 | Nov 01, 2017 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus What is the Aim of Nippon Kaigi, the Ultra-Right Organization that Supports Japan’s Abe Administration?¹ Tawara Yoshifumi Translation by Asia Policy Point, Senior Fellow William Brooks and Senior Research Assistant Lu Pengqiao Introduction by Tomomi Yamaguchi Introduction The article translated here appeared in the December 2016 volume of the magazine, Heiwa Nippon Kaigi [The Japan Conference], Undō (Peace Movement), and summarizes his established in 1997, is the largest right-wing most recent book Nippon Kaigi no Zenbō: organization in Japan. The organization is a Shirarezaru Kyodai Soshiki no Jittai [The major supporter of the current Prime Minister Complete Picture of Nippon Kaigi: The Abe Shinzo, and both Japanese and foreign Unknown Reality of an Mammoth media report that Abe, and many of his cabinet, Organization.] (Kadensha 2016.) In the book, are prominent member of its Diet Members Tawara utilized data on Nippon Kaigi League. Despite Nippon Kaigi’s influence on accumulated over a long period of time to governmental policies of Japan, thedescribe Nippon Kaigi’s history, organizational organization was little known to the general structure, “grassroots” movement style, and public until 2015. In 2016, however, numerous goals. books and magazine articles focusing on Nippon Kaigi were published, some becoming best sellers. This created a “Nippon Kaigi boom” in the publishing world.2 These 2016 works on Nippon Kaigi, however, were not the first. A number of journalists, scholars and activists have long paid attention to the history and activism of Nippon Kaigi. Tawara Yoshifumi, a leading specialist on education and textbook adoption issues, and the secretary general ofChildren and Textbooks Japan Network 21, has published articles and books that on Nippon Kaigi over the years. 1 15 | 21 | 1 APJ | JF wo Tsukuru Kokumin no Kai [National Citizens’ Association to Create a Beautiful Constitution for Japan] promoting constitutional reform. Mobilizing local branches and various affiliated organizations across Japan in national and local levels, Tawara shows, Nippon Kaigi operates a “grassroots right-wing movement,” while maintaining strong ties with the Abe administration. Tawara emphasizes that Nippon Kaigi presents the Constitution, education, and defense as a set of interlocking issues, an approach shared with Prime Minister Abe’s policy priorities. Tawara particularly focuses on two issues: education and the Constitutional amendment. Tawara’s greatest contribution centers on education, reflecting his long-term commitment to issues of education and textbooks, from Ienaga Saburō’s textbook trials beginning in 1965 to the present. Tawara shows how the Abe administration’s concept of Kyōiku Saisei [education rebuilding] seeks to overturn the foundations of Tawara traces the history of the right-wing contemporary education. The 2006 revision of movement that led to the formation of Nippon the Fundamental Law of Education, which Kaigi from the 1970s, starting with a movement defined the goal of education not to serve to legalize imperial era names. The two students but the state by emphasizing patriotic organizations that played significant roles in education, was a major victory of the first Abe this movement, namely, Nihon wo Mamoru administration (2006-7). This had a tremendous Kokumin Kaigi [National Conference to Protect impact on the direction of education – not Japan] and Nihon wo Mamoru Kai [Association simply in schools but also in communities and to Protect Japan], merged in 1997 to form even in families (the revised Law includes an Nippon Kaigi. Tawara points out that unlike article on “family education”.) Abe’s these organizations, Nippon Kaigi appointed modification of the Board of Education system business leaders and intellectuals as board in 2014 made it much easier for governors and members and hid its right-wing priorities, but mayors to intervene in education and the the nature of the organization remained textbook adoption process. Under this new unchanged. Tawara then introduces various system, Tawara notes, members of the Nippon affiliated organizations of Nippon Kaigi, such as Kaigi Local Assembly Members League have its Diet Members’ League and Local Assembly played significant roles in promoting a Members’ League, its women’s section called conservative and revisionist history and civic Japan Women’s Association, and Nihon Seinen textbooks published by Ikuhōsha (connected Kyōgikai [Japan Youth Council]. Nippon Kaigi with the Japan Education Rebuilding has various front organizations for independent Organization) and Jiyūsha (connected with the issues, such as the Utsukushii Nippon no Kenpō Society for History Textbook Reform). 2 15 | 21 | 1 APJ | JF Moreover, under the second Abereceives the greatest attention, Nippon Kaigi administration, “moral education” (dōtoku) was calls for seven important constitutional introduced as an “official subject” (i.e., with revisions including the making of a new clause grades assigned, based on evaluation of degree on emergency powers and the addition of a of patriotism among other rubrics) infamily protection clause to Article 24.5 On May elementary and junior high schools, which has 3, 2017, Prime Minister Abe delivered a video been criticized for potentially interfering with message at a symposium held by the National children’s freedom of thought. As of September Citizens’ Association. There, he called for 2017, the adoption process of elementary making “explicit the status” of the self-defense school moral education textbooks to be used forces in Article 9 of the Constitution by the from 2018 is under way. The textbookyear 2020. Clearly, Article 9 has become a published by Kyōiku Shuppan includespriority for Nippon Kaigi. members of the Japan Education Rebuilding Organization among its editors, and has an On August 15 this year, I visited the booth of especially patriotic content, with photos of the National Citizens’ Association to Create a conservative politicians, including Abe Shinzo, Beautiful Constitution for Japan at a street near in the text.3 In the translated text, Tawara Yasukune Shrine. There flags and signs stresses the danger of the next Gakushū Shidō included “Write the SDF into the Constitution” Yoryō [Education Guideline], whichand “Thank you, SDF,” along with a photo of fundamentally changes the guidelines for all journalist Sakurai Yoshiko, who is also one of aspects of schools, families and communities. the co-chairs of the National Citizens’ Tawara insists that the aim of education Association. I also received a flyer “Thank you, became two-fold in the new guideline: to SDF.” Despite heavy rain, Nippon Kaigi was strengthen “human resources” for the sake of holding a gathering in a tent on the grounds of the state by promoting patriotism, and also in the shrine. The main speaker was LDP Upper the service of large corporations by promoting House representative and former SDF member neoliberal policies. Sato Masahisa discussing the importance of the SDF and the need to revise the Constitution. It Currently the most important goal for Nippon was obvious that the goal of amending the Kaigi is undoubtedly to amend the post-war Constitution by 2020, by writing the SDF into Constitution. Nippon Kaigi founded theArticle 9 of the Constitution, remains a Nippon National Citizens’ Association to Create a Kaigi priority as it is of the Abe administration. Beautiful Constitution for Japan in 2014, to promote a constitutional revision movement based on a “national referendum” to be held during Abe’s administration. The organization has actively pursued approaches introduced in the 1970s to pass legislation that requires the use of imperial era names, ranging from a massive “10 million” signature drive, collecting petitions from local assemblies, holding gatherings in such major venues as Nippon Budōkan of Tokyo, conducting small study group meetings across Japan, distributing leaflets and a DVD, and broadcasting videos on YouTube. It is important to note that while there is no doubt that amendment of Article 9 3 15 | 21 | 1 APJ | JF The flyer “Thank you, SDF” by the National Citizens’ Association to Create a Beautiful Constitution for Japan. The flags at the booth of the Association to Create a Beautiful Constitution for Japan in front of Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, 2017. Picture book, Jieitai tte Naani? [What is the SDF?] (Author: Sonoda Haru, Meiseisha 2017), sold at the Nippon Kaigi booth of Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, 2017. The book is recommended by LDP Upper House Representative, Sato Masahisa.5 On September 28, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo dissolved the lower house of the parliament, and a snap election was held on October 22. Abe’s LDP and its coalition partners secured a major victory, with more than half of the seats won by the LDP. As the LDP and the Komeito Party that currently form a coalition government, gained two-third of the Lower House, which is the number of votes needed to assure a national referendum for constitutional revision, the likelihood is that a proposal to hold a national referendum will be submitted to the Diet in the very near future. Under Japan’s national referendum law, a majority (more than 4 15 | 21 | 1 APJ | JF 50%) vote is required to amend theLDP. The party’s platform included opposition Constitution, with no stipulation as to the to the revision of the Article 9, the minimum number of votes cast. Since 2014,
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