Uyoku dantai

[komitsuki]

Well, my female friend returned to Canada from her two weeks of trip to Japan. It was overly well, nothing too much of a hassle. However, there was one thing that she was very annoyed from her adventure in Tokyo: bunch of propaganda trucks called gaisensha that irritates some of the tourists and citizens. Her English-speaking Japanese guide (it was a group tour cuz she traveled alone) explained this to the tourists too wishy-washy because they might get offended. She later found out that the gaisensha slogan was "foreigners are horrible and should get out of Japan" after she personally asked the guide and got extremely offended afterwards.

Speaking of which, is this a common sight in Japan to have far-right groups that go around with their scary vehicles? My sister might move to Japan for her work and I might teach English in Japan right after I get my TESL certification. Should I be worried?

Let's say this was my friend's worse experience, like her encounter of a Fascist rally in Leipzig, Germany (ex-East German city).

[MMM]

Originally Posted by komitsuki

Well, my female friend returned to Canada from her two weeks of trip to Japan. It was overly well, nothing too much of a hassle. However, there was one thing that she was very annoyed from her adventure in Tokyo: bunch of propaganda trucks called gaisensha that irritates some of the tourists and citizens. Her English-speaking Japanese guide (it was a group tour cuz she traveled alone) explained this to the tourists too wishy-washy because they might get offended. She later found out that the gaisensha slogan was "foreigners are horrible and should get out of Japan" after she personally asked the guide and got extremely offended afterwards.

Speaking of which, is this a common sight in Japan to have far-right groups that go around with their scary vehicles? My sister might move to Japan for her work and I might teach English in Japan right after I get my TESL certification. Should I be worried?

Let's say this was my friend's worse experience, like her encounter of a Fascist rally in Leipzig, Germany (ex-East German city).

yes it is the worst experience of your life...until you realize you can turn and walk away. The only "power" they have is their voice. I recommend using yours.

[Nyororin]

I have never encountered any trucks with THAT direct of a slogan.
They are fairly common on national holidays (I say common as in a few trucks will be out driving around) and on certain occasions some of them will gather...
But their slogans are usually not quite so direct. I don`t know exactly what the truck your friend encountered was saying - and it probably could in a round-about way be interpreted in that way... But in general the slogans are more patriotic than outwardly attacking. Of course, usually patriotism overdone to the point of being racist, but not quite as direct.

I have NEVER encountered anything worse than a few trucks playing loud slogans or patriotic songs from war time. No gatherings or actual hostilities. Most people just ignore the trucks and consider them incredibly annoying and obnoxious. It`s also pretty common that the people driving them have nothing to do with the groups putting them out there and are just hired to drive them around.
I can`t possibly imagine there ever being a "rally" of the sort.

[komitsuki]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

But their slogans are usually not quite so direct. I don`t know exactly what the truck your friend encountered was saying - and it probably could in a round-about way be interpreted in that way...

Perhaps the guide of hers was too tensed to explain this in English to the tourists who were all quite shocked, confused, and scared; slipped the guide's mind.

I have NEVER encountered anything worse than a few trucks playing loud slogans or patriotic songs from war time. No gatherings or actual hostilities. Most people just ignore the trucks and consider them incredibly annoying and obnoxious.

I see.

Originally Posted by MMM

yes it is the worst experience of your life...until you realize you can turn and walk away. The only "power" they have is their voice. I recommend using yours.

You don't need to be so obnoxious to a Canadian. :/

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by komitsuki

Perhaps the guide of hers was too tensed to explain this in English to the tourists who were all quite shocked, confused, and scared; slipped the guide's mind.

I agree it could be a terrifying experience if you don`t know much about what is going on. The trucks are big and look scary, but in reality are harmless. Just loud and irritating. They do the only thing they legally can - play recorded messages during set hours of the day.

[komitsuki]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

I agree it could be a terrifying experience if you don`t know much about what is going on. They trucks are big and look scary, but in reality are harmless. Just loud and irritating. They do the only thing they legally can - play recorded messages during set hours of the day.

Uyoku dantai is an interesting thing. I am a bit afraid of asking a specific question about their impression to my Japanese friend, so I asked this question to a foreigner living in Japan in this forum.

There is a historical event related to a uyoku dantai. Some certain uyoku dantai called Genyosha was one of the central reasons why Japan-Russia relationship collapsed before the Russo-Japanese War. Apparently several Genyosha members assassinated the consort of the king of Korea in 1895 secretly. Here's an interesting thing: Kawanu Tatsumi (河野龍巳), the grandson of a certain Genyosha member who was involved in her assassination, came to South Korea and paid a homage of apology in Seoul in 2005.



Here is his picture.

Having been to a huge Japanese-Korean language website several year ago, there has been concerns between some Koreans and Japanese about this. Some of the Japanese uyoku dantai are diversifying their interest in the Internet space by hiring Japanese youths to participate in a multi-language video site like YouTube or Japanese-Korean translation bulletin boards by spreading anti-Korean comments or uber-patriotic comments.

I'm not saying this with an anti-Japanese sentiment. Some of the stuffs posted by the ones hired by the uyoku dantai are very wacky even the average Japanese take extreme offense. And this is a kind of websites that average Japanese don't get access to (cellphone-oriented web culture).

[samurai007]

You shouldn't worry about it too much. I saw some trucks like that, but they are usually for a political candidate at election time rather than general anti-foreigner messages. I was never accosted or attacked for being a foreigner, and in fact, the Japanese people often went far out of their way to be helpful and accommodating.

Let me say a little something about Japanese nationalism and national pride. While many Japanese are proud of their country, I encountered quite a few that did not seem willing to show much national pride, (perhaps because a foreigner was present). I'm sure part of it was Japanese humility, but they'd often say "Japan is a small country, insignificant in the world, the economy has been failing for a long time and will never get better, we are sinking into obscurity, etc". Several also apologized to me for Japan's actions in WW2, and many asked if Americans still hated or feared Japanese people because of the war. I told them the vast, vast majority of Americans hold no anger towards Japan today, and they see Japan as a good ally and close friend and trading partner. I told them that every country has done things in the past they may not be proud of, but every country also has things it's citizens should appreciate and take pride in. Japan's incredibly fast technological advancement while still maintaining many of its traditional values is something that they should be very proud of, I said. People should have (and not be afraid to show) some national pride in things like that, and I said that I was not offended at all if they were proud of the good things in their country... I think Japan has a great many things they should be proud of, just as I think the US has many things to be proud of. I'm much more offended by someone who can only say bad things about their country (like the "Blame America First" crowd) than I am by someone showing some national pride and patriotism (though of course that can go too far too).

[jesselt]

Did you know that the United States is home to thousands of people who feel that foreigners should be banned from the country and that only whites should be allowed to live here?

There are always crazy (and usually loud) people no matter which country you're in.

[Nyororin]

Having been to a huge Japanese-Korean language website several year ago, there has been concerns between some Koreans and Japanese about this. Some of the Japanese uyoku dantai are diversifying their interest in the Internet space by hiring Japanese youths to participate in a multi-language video site like YouTube or Japanese-Korean translation bulletin boards by spreading anti-Korean comments or uber-patriotic comments.

I'm not saying this with an anti-Japanese sentiment. Some of the stuffs posted by the ones hired by the uyoku dantai are very wacky even the average Japanese take extreme offense. And this is a kind of websites that average Japanese don't get access to (cellphone-oriented web culture).

Frequenting Japanese boards, I can say the reverse is also true. Korean groups will have "invasions" and post hundreds upon thousands of Japan-Hate messages... All but shutting down boards. It doesn`t matter if the board topics have anything to do with Korea or not.
It`s a tactic used equally by both sides, in my opinion... But it seems that the Korean side is a bit more diverse and leans toward posting on more international boards. There is a group that goes around posting hate against Japan on any and every English speaking board and blog out there. JF gets it`s share, but it is to be expected as a Japan related board. I`ve seen boards where there was not a single word about either country be spammed with anti-Japan hate. Checking ips, 9 times out of 10 it`s from Korea.

Of course they`re all so crazy and extreme that it`s clearly spam and does nothing but annoy.

I also feel that both Korea and Japan have a tendency to sort of "nit-pick" due to the tension. It usually goes in a pattern. Someone insignificant in one country makes a comment that the other country doesn`t like - the other side throws a fit and spouts hate about that country - country 1 (that doesn`t know what was said because whoever said it is so far away from mainstream) is shocked at the sudden outpour of hate and goes on the defensive... Repeat hundreds of times. The popular one for Japanese to pick up on is Korea claiming something as originating there. And usually it`s some crazy insane conspiracy loving person who says it in the first place - like some recent ones that the Japanese net has been whining about "Koreans were the first to go into space! We have proof from 500 years ago if you interpret this in a certain way!" or "All important people in Chinese and Japanese history were really Koreans!" or "Japan was actually sold entirely to Korea, so it is all ours if we want to press it." or my favorite - "I did research and found that Japanese are really just Koreans who mated with monkeys when they were stranded on the Japanese islands!". If anyone bothers to check, the people saying these things are weird crazed "doctors" who are known for being just that. I doubt anyone believes them at all even in Korea. But because of the tension and because media knows it will bring a response, they will report it on some sites in Japan as if it was the number one top story and everyone in Korea shares that opinion. And a knee-jerk reaction ensues, and things just get worse.
I am totally sure the exact same thing happens on the Korean side but don`t know Korean so can`t look around and see. I`m sure there are some very right-wing crazed Japanese "doctors" of something or other who spout stupid claims that are never reported inside Japan, but that enrage those outside the country.

[komitsuki]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

I am totally sure the exact same thing happens on the Korean side but don`t know Korean so can`t look around and see. I`m sure there are some very right-wing crazed Japanese "doctors" of something or other who spout stupid claims that are never reported inside Japan, but that enrage those outside the country.

To be fair, we also criticize majority of generations of Korean politicians with their "dubious' origins of affiliating with pre-1945 Japan, got freed by the American military officials right before the Korean War. But these aren't translated in Japanese almost all the time. You only hear this in Korean, never in Japanese.

It's a bit different.