A February 1, 2017 commentary criticizing postwar Japanese intellectuals who glorified the West, the Soviet Union, and Communist China, and the mass media—especially Asahi Shimbun—that continued to reproduce the Tokyo Trial narrative. It highlights how the belief that “Japan is a bad nation” persisted even after the collapse of socialist ideals, shaping young people’s self-deprecating mindset.

2017-02-01

Seventy years ago, Japan had lost its confidence, and the intellectual class exalted the West while praising the Soviet Union and Communist China.
But the Berlin Wall collapsed, and the socialist fantasy vanished.
The scholars who served communist regimes lost their authority.
Yet the fixed idea that “Japan is a bad nation” has remained deeply ingrained.
If things continue this way, is Japan indeed a hopeless country?
The self-important mass media, which believes its mission is to indoctrinate young people into self-denigrating thought, is busily reproducing the Tokyo Trial view of history.