Politics, Democracy, and Monsters

Talking about politics, religion, and baseball may be off limits because they touch on people's beliefs.

This time we'll be talking about "politics," "democracy," and monsters, so if you don't like such topics, please just close the page.

Hoaxes and monsters

The results of the US presidential election have been confirmed in favor of Biden.

Trump has indicated that he refuses to accept the results and will sue and fight them in court, but as he has been unable to provide evidence to support his claims of large-scale fraud, his legal team is withdrawing one after another, making the outlook for the trial bleak and it is unlikely that the results will be overturned.

In terms of Japan's foreign policy, Trump has advantages over Biden, and I personally have doubts about Biden's qualifications to be president, but Trump's refusal to accept the facts of the election results is unsightly.

By the way, the US election was kept secret by Trump in retaliation for losing the election.UFO information releasedThere are rumors that this will be the case, and if they are true, I'm looking forward to it.

As for Trump supporters,Q AnonThere is a group of conspiracy theorists called "

These are people who believe in the conspiracy theory that there is a secret society that secretly controls the US government, and that Trump is a hero who is fighting against that secret society, the "Deep State (DS)."

They are similar to what is called the "online right wing" in Japan, but they have a stronger, more organized following, and it is said that even if Biden is chosen as the president, chaos will continue in the United States for some time and the social divisions will be difficult to repair.

During the election, Trump himself spread what could be considered hoaxes on Twitter, and some Japanese celebrities and media outlets were seen being led astray by these hoaxes and the "red mirage."

In Japanese politics, a referendum was held on November 1st regarding the Osaka Metropolitan Government Plan, with the result that the plan presented by the Osaka Restoration Party was rejected, meaning that Osaka City would continue to exist.

Here too, the top officials, such as Governor Yoshimura and Mayor Matsui, were spreading information that was close to falsehoods and stirring up anxiety.

In particular, with regard to COVID-19, the government made a highly misleading announcement that "povidone iodine" could be effective in treating COVID-19 infection, causing confusion in society.

*For more information on rumors, hoaxes, and monsters, please see the article below.

https://youkaiya.jp/archives/1998

Politics and monsters

About politics and monsters, the grandfather of former Prime Minister Abe, who was held in Sugamo Prison as a Class A war criminal but rose to become Prime Minister after the warNobusuke Kishiteeth"Ghosts of the Showa Era"It was called "

Politics is a monsterDemons and monstersIt is sometimes said that Japan is a world where such things run rampant.

Politicians are often thought of as cunning, but young politicians also live in an unreasonable world cut off from society, where common sense does not apply, and they often make gaffes, so they are sometimes sarcastically called "monsters."

Monsters and Democracy

『Democracy of the DeadIn the book "Akihiro Hatanakateeth,"Democracy for the Dead" is necessary.

Mr. Hatanaka had been working on theFolklore in the 21st Century"In "Give kappas the right to vote!"This call for the dead is a fundamental principle of democracy, and it can be said that "democracy for the dead" developed from this.

"Democracy for the Dead" was originally written by a British author.Gilbert Keith Chestertonsaid a Japanese folklorist.Kunio YanagitaThis was proposed by.

Countries like Japan and the UK do not belong only to the people of today. They belong to our descendants, who will be our citizens in the future, as well as to those who lived in these countries in the past.

Recently, with the advent of the SDGs and other initiatives, there has been active discussion about how to preserve the global environment for future generations. However, since today's society is an accumulation of cultures and traditions that have been passed down uninterruptedly from the past, humans who lived in the past, as well as non-humans, also have the right to use the global environment, and so democracy is necessary.

In particular, in the era known as the Anthropocene, a dialogue with the past will be essential when considering the nature of democracy and capitalism.

Godzilla's interpretation of the dead

The 2001 film "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out AttackIn "Movie: Godzilla vs. the Monsters" (abbreviated as GMK), Godzilla is depicted as "an aggregate of the grudges of those who died in the Pacific War" (i.e., heroic spirits).

Although it is not explicitly stated in the original 1954 Godzilla film, one of its themes is to "straightforwardly address the horrors and stupidity of war and nuclear weapons." GMK Godzilla can be considered its legitimate sequel, and the concept has been carried over to the 2016 film Shin Godzilla.

Incidentally, the folkloristNorio Akasakaalso puts forward the theory that the original Godzilla was the ghost of soldiers who died in battle during World War II, particularly those who died at sea, and that Dr. Serizawa needed to risk his own life to pay tribute to them.

In "GMK," the sacred guardian beasts Mothra (Saizura), King Ghidorah (Giradora), and Baragon (Baragonoun) cooperate with humans and somehow defeat Godzilla (Gojira). In this story, humans living in the present have defeated humans from the past (= heroes).

This may be a fine ending for a movie, but in reality, "modern humans" must find a way to coexist with Godzilla (the heroic spirit).

Where the dead go

In addition, "Democracy of the Dead" features the film "In This Corner of the World" is also mentioned. The film hasOniorZashikiwarashiThere are supernatural beings and ghosts such as these. As mentioned in the book, Hiroshima is said to be "the place where the dead go." Not just in war, but in people's lives, the "dead" are inseparable.

*The monsters in "In This Corner of the World" are also mentioned in the following article.

https://youkaiya.jp/archives/2177

All humanity is a monster

In "Democracy of the Dead," Hatanaka calls for people to "consider the circumstances of the dead, spirits, monsters, and other non-humans, and beings that exist on the border between human and non-human, and to listen to what they have to say. He also asserts that he wants to "encourage their political participation and let them know that they are important members of modern society."

Certainly, the nation of "Japan" is not made up of just "the people of today." It encompasses not just the "present," but the past and future, and things other than "people" are also important components of the nation.

Hatanaka has previously argued that the "yokai" that inhabit the Japanese archipelago are the collective spirits of people who died untimely in disasters and wars, and that they too should be given the right to vote. He said, "I believe that people who have a simple faith in spirits, yokai, and small gods, and people who have always believed in them, are the ones who carry democracy forward."

Godzilla represents the collective spirits of those who died in the Pacific War, but this is also one factor that makes up Japan, and politics must take this into account as well.

Godzilla, kappa, and monsters should all have the right to vote.

This is the idea of "democracy of the dead."

People tend to think that yokai have little to do with politics or democracy, but humans and yokai all live in the same society, so humans are not special.

"All humanity is a monster" That's it.

 

Images: "Bakemonogatari: The Night of One Hundred Demons" "Demons and Monsters", "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" (directed by Kaneko Shusuke, Toho), "In This Corner of the World" (directed by Katabuchi Sunao, based on the original work by Kono Fumiyo)

References: "Folklore of the 21st Century" (Akihiro Hatanaka, Kadokawa Shoten), "Democracy of the Dead" (Akihiro Hatanaka, Transview), "Godzilla and Nausicaa: Those Who Came from Beyond the Sea" (Norio Akasaka, East Press)

Text by Keijiro Watanabe

 

■ Keishiro Watanabe (Kei-chan)

Born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Graduated from the School of Human Sciences at Waseda University. An independent researcher of yokai. IT coordinator, Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and Project Management Professional (PMP).

He currently works as a management and IT consultant, residing in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and traveling throughout the prefecture and Tokyo. However, he studied folklore and cultural anthropology at university, and continues to research yokai as his life's work.

I am currently writing articles about monsters associated with Hokkaido, where I currently live, as well as current news about business and economics.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/keishiro_w

Blog: http://blog.livedoor.jp/meda3594/