In response to South Korea’s restrictions on Japanese seafood and the WTO ruling, this essay examines the limits of the international order, Japan’s perception of the outside world, and the policy responses Japan should consider.
Rather than emotional retaliation, it argues for independent national judgment and a more realistic diplomatic posture.

2019-04-12
Sushi restaurants across Japan should ban the entry of Korean people.
They should write in large letters, “Because the safety of Japanese seafood cannot be guaranteed for Korean people, entry is refused.”

NHK’s 7 p.m. news was reporting Japan’s defeat at the WTO over South Korea’s restrictions on Japanese seafood exports.
This news also made two things known to the world.

The first is the reality that South Korea continues to maintain an extremely hostile posture toward Japan.
The second is that, as was plain once again in this WTO ruling, the international community does not necessarily move on the basis of reason and fairness alone.
Judgments are influenced by the loudness of voices and by political atmosphere.
The doubts I have repeatedly expressed about international institutions such as the United Nations and the WTO were, after all, not mistaken.

Such an international order is thoroughly exploited by anti-Japan propaganda states such as South Korea and China.
Japan must finally abandon its blind faith in the international community.
Part of the reason things have come to this lies in the absurd preamble of the Constitution imposed by GHQ.
Even though neighboring countries are, in effect, like wolves, it speaks foolishly of trusting them and permanently renouncing military power.
There is probably no other country in the world that writes such things into its constitution.
Countries other than Japan do not commit the stupidity of abandoning their own right of self-defense.

Now then, as I watched the news, I immediately thought this.
Japan must respond to countries that exploit the misfortunes of others and seek to disgrace rival nations not with mere emotion, but with clear national principles.
If Japan’s seafood safety is denied, then the Japanese government must respond firmly to such claims with scientific evidence and diplomatic countermeasures.
As long as Japan continues to maintain an ambiguous posture, this kind of unjust treatment will surely continue to be repeated.