Published on January 24, 2020. This article introduces a column by Rui Abiru from the Sankei Shimbun and points out the contradiction in the Asahi Shimbun’s criticism of the Abe administration as a “distortion of long-term rule” or “Abe’s overwhelming dominance,” while ignoring the nearly twenty-year leadership of Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii. It also refers to the lack of leadership election rules in the Constitutional Democratic Party and discusses the danger of the media’s leniency toward opposition parties.

January 24, 2020
Come to think of it, I remembered that the Asahi Shimbun had frequently used the expression “Abe’s overwhelming dominance” some time ago.
By persistently using specific words, it also seems to be trying to imprint a certain image on its readers.
The following is from a serialized column by Rui Abiru, one of the finest reporters of our time, published in yesterday’s Sankei Shimbun.
When Speaking of Long-Term Rule, One Should Think of the Communist Party
On the 21st, the day after the ordinary Diet session opened, at least three people around Nagatacho spoke to me, saying, “That newspaper’s top front-page headline is really something.”
I am frankly tired of it, but “that newspaper” means the Asahi Shimbun, and the headline was as follows.
“The ‘Doubts Diet’ Opens”
At present, there are piles of issues at home and abroad that are directly connected to the lives and property of the people, including constitutional revision, social security reform, the tense situation in the Middle East, the trade war between the United States and China, and North Korea, which could explode at any time.
Despite this, was it a declaration of intent to devote its pages exclusively to pursuing scandals of the Shinzo Abe administration?
Thinking that this was typical of the Asahi, I read its editorial that day on the opening of the Diet session, and here too, it began as follows.
“Correcting the distortion of long-term rule…”
This keyword, emphasizing the harmful effects of long-term rule, such as “the distortion of long-term rule,” seems to be one of the Asahi’s favorite expressions these days, and I see it in its pages almost every day.
In its January 22 edition, the paper even went out of its way to mention it in an article explaining the “breakdown” between the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Democratic Party for the People.
“Looking at the various suspicions surrounding the ‘cherry blossom viewing party,’ the arrogance and distortions of long-term rule can no longer be concealed.”
Nearly Twenty Years Already
Come to think of it, I remembered that the Asahi Shimbun had frequently used the expression “Abe’s overwhelming dominance” some time ago.
By persistently using specific words, it also seems to be trying to imprint a certain image on its readers.
The same Asahi, in its January 20 editorial on the Communist Party convention, titled “Toward Joint Struggle, Further Change,” was careful enough to write, “The arrogance and slackness of long-term rule are being revealed one after another.”
However, for the Asahi, which dislikes long-term rule so much, there was something hard to understand.
That editorial did not mention at all the long-term rule of Kazuo Shii, chairman of the Japanese Communist Party, whose continuation was decided at this party convention and who has already been in office for nearly twenty years since his appointment in 2000.
Prime Minister Abe defeated other candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election and reached his current position through democratic procedures.
By contrast, Mr. Shii has remained the head of his party for a period far longer than the prime minister, without even an election against a rival candidate.
Does the Asahi believe there is no problem with the Communist Party’s long-term rule?
The Constitutional Democratic Party Has No Leadership Election Rules
Regarding his term of office, at a press conference on the 18th, Mr. Shii became flustered when asked by Sankei Shimbun reporter Shinji Naito, “Some say it is too long.”
It is long, but I will quote it.
“Well, yes, um, as our party, at each time, I have been elected at the party convention and have taken on and carried out this responsibility. When I noticed it, this much time had passed, but now I am needed, and everyone, um, has asked me to do it, regarding doing it, um, everyone has judged that I should continue to ‘do it,’ so all I can do is work hard. Omission. I would like to discipline myself and, despite my age, continue making efforts to grow further.”
This is not an explanation, and it can even be interpreted as showing his desire to continue further.
The Communist Party appeals that it “will not allow the Abe dictatorship,” but does the Asahi, which dislikes long-term rule, feel no sense of incongruity about this?
The Constitutional Democratic Party, the largest opposition party, still has no rules for a leadership election, even now, two years and three months after its founding.
At this rate, without an election, Representative Yukio Edano, who is said to be “overwhelmingly dominant” within the party, may simply remain in office indefinitely.
The mass media often tend to be lenient toward opposition parties, but such an attitude may lead to overlooking the seeds of future danger.
Editorial writer and political department editorial committee member.