This essay condemns the Japanese media’s reckless calls to dismantle Toshiba, a core strategic company employing 190,000 people.
It exposes the political irresponsibility, anti-nuclear hysteria, and media-driven sabotage that inflicted massive damage on Japan’s economy and energy security.

The Absurdity of Calling for Toshiba’s Breakup — A Nation That Attacks Its Own Strategic Industry
2017-02-10

The other day, stacks of Toyo Keizai were piled up at the entrance of Kinokuniya’s Umeda main store.
Splashed across the cover in large letters was the laughable headline “Dismantling Toshiba.”
It also noted that the company employs 190,000 people.
The moment I saw this, a thought immediately struck me.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that I felt anger at how Japan stands in complete contrast to Donald Trump.
What should have been written instead was “Save Toshiba.”
It is a historical fact that the Democratic Party administration—then fervently promoting the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol—also strongly pushed nuclear power as part of its efforts to prevent global warming.
This was a national strategy.
It is likewise a historical fact that the Democratic Party government at the time went on diplomatic tours urging other countries to construct nuclear power plants.
Toshiba and Hitachi, the two heavyweight manufacturers that have represented Japan in both name and reality, pursued different paths regarding America’s two major nuclear power companies, Westinghouse and GE.
Toshiba acquired Westinghouse, while Hitachi partnered with GE to establish a joint venture.
As for how Fukushima became “Fukushima,” it is well known that I was the first person in the world to point out the course of events and their underlying truth, starting from the moment then–Prime Minister Naoto Kan flew to Fukushima by helicopter.
This man, the worst prime minister in history—indeed, a man who never should have been prime minister at all, as many commentators have pointed out—was disastrously elevated to that position.
A man from Fukushima (a University of Tokyo graduate) repeatedly published long articles in the Asahi Shimbun extravagantly praising even Kan’s wife, and now serves as the anchor of TBS’s News 23.
Despite causing tens of trillions of yen in damage to Japan in just a few short years, he continues to receive a high salary and repeatedly implies that only the major media are correct.
This is what shamelessness truly looks like.
The childish, hysterical policy of immediate and total shutdown of nuclear power—worse than the tantrums of kindergarteners—was realized by Naoto Kan, Masayoshi Son, and Mizuho Fukushima.
As I have repeatedly pointed out, the Asahi Shimbun has consistently and powerfully backed these three.
Once again, the moment reports emerged of Toshiba’s renewed hardship—stemming from massive losses of several hundred billion yen related to its acquisition of Westinghouse—I thought the same thing.
“Sato of Mizuho FG, immediately—by the fastest decision in Mizuho FG’s history—provide Toshiba with one trillion yen in financing.”
If Mizuho FG truly possesses the recognition and pride of being one of Japan’s representative banks, it should do exactly that.
All discerning individuals across Japan should silently understand what I am saying.
Having left many articles unread in the March issue of WiLL, I began reading them this morning.
While reading Moe Fukada’s painstaking work, “Ms. Renhō, Just Who on Earth Are You!?,” I reached a passage that perfectly matched the anger I expressed at the outset—and I was genuinely horrified.
It is a work that all Japanese citizens should read.
The time has long since come for people to realize that genuine works of this caliber will never be published in the Asahi Shimbun.
What appears in the Asahi Shimbun are merely proxy propaganda pieces that express the sentiments of its editorial writers’ favored scholars.
The time has long since come to recognize this fact.
To be continued.