This chapter explains how Japan’s traditional ie family system offered same-sex couples legal protection through adoption, exemplified by folklorist Orikuchi Shinobu and his partner Fujii Haruyo. It critiques Komeito for attempting to dismantle the system that enabled its own growth. The essay then examines Komeito’s excessive deference to China and South Korea, including its refusal to allow human-rights-related wording in a 2022 parliamentary resolution on Xinjiang. Additional topics include China’s appropriation of the yen’s “￥” symbol, its lack of gratitude for massive Japanese ODA, and South Korea’s exploitation of the fabricated comfort-women narrative. The author argues that Sanae Takaichi’s strong stance toward China is gaining broad voter support.

This is a continuation of the previous chapter.
This essay again proves that Takayama Masayuki is the one and only journalist, scholar, and writer in the postwar world.

Make use of the wisdom of our predecessors.
There is no need to legislate same-sex marriage.
The folklorist Orikuchi Shinobu, who awakened to homosexuality at age fourteen, fell in love at age forty-one with Fujii Haruyo, a student twenty years his junior, and they began living together.
However, near the end of the war, Haruyo was drafted and assigned to Iwo Jima, where survival was unlikely.
On the advice of fellow folklorist Yanagita Kunio, Orikuchi adopted Haruyo as his son.
Tolerant Japanese society even allowed kagema-chaya (male brothels), but did not permit marriage between homosexuals.
But with adoption, they could share the same surname, inheritance was no issue, and they could be buried in the same grave.
By enduring only the slight difference between “wife” and “child,” Orikuchi demonstrated through personal example that the same legal benefits could be obtained.
Despite such wisdom from our predecessors, people ignore it.
Komeito’s policies that aim to dismantle Japan’s ie (family) system are questionable.
In fact, it was precisely this ie system that enabled Komeito to grow significantly.
To destroy the very system that supported it can only be considered an act of self-harm.

China, which has no creative ability.
Komeito takes China and South Korea into account—too much so.
For example, in 2022, when the Diet adopted a resolution condemning human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, it was Komeito that refused until the very end to include the words “China,” “condemn,” or “human rights violations.”
Moreover, it was reported that on October 6—four days before announcing the coalition split—Saito met with China’s Ambassador Wu Jianghao inside the Diet members’ building.
It can only be seen as having left the coalition exactly according to China’s choreography.
China continues to violate Japan’s territorial waters and airspace around the Senkaku Islands.
According to the Sankei Shimbun (October 13), activities by another Chinese research vessel were confirmed within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone off Amami Oshima, separate from the vessel confirmed since late September.
There is no diplomacy whatsoever.
Asahi once published an interesting column (November 19, 2015).
In editorial writer Yoshioka Keiko’s “The Column,” written when the inclusion of the renminbi into the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) was being finalized.
SDR functions as a certificate of international currency and is composed of the dollar, euro, pound, and yen.
Yoshioka wrote that she asked former ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, “$ stands for the U.S. dollar. C stands for the European euro. Then what does ￥ represent?”
He answered, “The Japanese yen,” which is naturally correct.
However, even after the renminbi became an international currency, China never created its own symbol for it.
They lack creative ability.
They believe intellectual property can simply be stolen.
Thus, since yuan and yen both begin with “Y,” they misappropriated the Japanese yen’s “￥” symbol.
But once the renminbi became an international currency, two “￥” symbols came into existence.
Yet the Chinese did not care at all and thought, “China is a great power, so little Japan should change its symbol.”
It is genuinely an arrogant attitude.
Even with their country name—they had long been referred to globally as Shina, China, Tschina, etc., but they forced only Japan to adopt “Chuugoku.”
When Japan reluctantly used “Chuugoku,” they then demanded that “Chugoku Bank” and the name of the “Chugoku Region” be changed.
A people without manners will continue to overstep endlessly.
It was Japan’s ODA that enabled China to become the world’s second-largest economic power.
Over more than forty years, Japan provided approximately 3.66 trillion yen.
Yet they have no concept of gratitude.
The Japanese must understand the true nature of the Chinese—ignorant and arrogant.
South Korea is much the same.
The comfort-women story, without evidence, is merely South Korea taking advantage of a farce Asahi fabricated.
Prostitution is South Korea’s only industry.
Yet when Asahi’s fictional “forcibly taken comfort women” appeared, they created a huge uproar, and Asahi gladly reported it.
In response to the arrogant and rude behavior of China and South Korea, Komeito criticizes nothing and insists Japan behave so as not to offend them.
If Japan continues this Komeito-like stance, even the “￥” symbol will be taken by the renminbi, and Japan’s territory will steadily be encroached upon by China and South Korea.
Therefore, far more attention should be paid to the fact that many voters support Takaichi’s firm stance toward China.
(To be continued.)