An essay critically examining historical narratives, education policies, and media discourse surrounding Japan–Korea relations.
It explores structural issues of information influence and public opinion formation.

2019-01-06
Efforts to inflame hostility toward Japan and extract large financial concessions are an extremely serious problem.
The continuation of one-sided historical education directed at children reflects tendencies that resemble forms of ideological uniformity.
A structure that encourages hostility toward Japan.
The chapter published on 2018-11-28 under this theme now ranks 23rd in the official hashtag ranking under “Kobe University.”
In last month’s issue of the magazine Voice, Professor Kan Kimura of Kobe University, a specialist on the Korean Peninsula, contributed an article.
He argued that South Korea’s current posture toward Japan is not driven by populism but by economic growth that has reduced Japan’s relative significance.
However, the anger many Japanese feel stems not from economic competition but from disputes over historical narratives and factual interpretation.
South Korea’s economy also faces serious structural challenges, including high youth unemployment.
Questions concerning technological capacity and industrial structure require calm and empirical examination.
Companies such as Samsung operate within an international division of labor that still depends in part on Japanese components.
A university professor should present empirical analysis rather than rhetorical simplifications.
Some commentary in the Sankei Shimbun praised the argument, yet newspapers are large organizations with diverse editorial voices.
During the Cold War, Soviet foreign influence operations were revealed through the Mitrokhin Archive and Levchenko testimony.
The influence exerted on media and intellectual circles was documented as historical fact.
International affairs today cannot be discussed without considering information warfare.
It cannot be ruled out that attempts exist to shape anti-Japan opinion from the Korean Peninsula or China.
Educational and civic movements may contain political motives.
There may be a structure in which historical issues are used to consolidate domestic political support.
These matters deserve sober analysis.
I have long felt discomfort toward certain narratives within academia and media.
Perhaps when the full extent of information activities is eventually revealed, the reality will become clearer.