This chapter sharply condemns Japanese newspapers and television for acting as if they were politicians, manipulating public opinion on taxation and government, and declares that true journalism must devote itself solely to the accurate pursuit of facts and the revelation of truth.

Newspapers, television, you should stop, for a while, the delusion that you yourselves are politicians. January 1, 2017. Journalism that chases only the present moment, considers only today and tomorrow, and forgets the hundred-year plan. April 26, 2011. The simple conclusion that I wish to convey in this chapter is as follows. Newspapers, television, you had better stop, for a while, the delusion that you are politicians. Politics should be left to the policies of professional politicians. Of course, if there truly exists something that runs counter to democracy, it should be corrected. However, I clearly point out that you should stop the manner in which, from a position like that of politicians, you have guided public opinion toward choices of government and paths of tax increases. Journalism’s mission is to pursue facts accurately and to make the truth clear. If you claim that you also have a realm of opinion, as represented by editorials, then you must carry that out by clearly stating your own position. If it is a matter of choosing a government, you should clearly state which party you support and for what reasons. If it is a matter of choosing a prime minister, you should clearly write whom you support and for what reasons, and develop your argument accordingly. It is only now, more than sixty years after the war, that The Turntable of Civilization clearly takes issue with this. You must never speak with the boundless arrogance of claiming that you yourselves are justice. If you are to speak about politics, you should thoroughly research the individuals and clearly name the political party you support and the candidate you support for prime minister, based on which party is most suitable to enrich national wealth and strengthen national power, and which individual is most suited in ability to serve as prime minister. You must immediately put an end to the current state of affairs in which, based on such foolish standards as the number of times a person appears on what I call “senile television” that conveys no real facts, how well they look on television, and the “superficial matters that are nothing more than momentary tricks” spoken there, you attempt to decide the nation’s ruler and governor through absurd opinion polls asking readers and viewers, “Who do you think would be a good next prime minister?” Why? Because it concerns the fate of the nation and the happiness or misfortune of its people.