Based on a chapter published on October 26, 2015, this passage argues that postwar Japanese mass media, above all the Asahi Shimbun, together with the so-called cultural figures who were shaped by it, decisively deepened the deterioration of Japan–South Korea relations.
The author focuses on the long continuation of anti-Japan education in South Korea and the fixation of its resulting mental structure, criticizing the Japanese side for having responded under the spell of performative moralism and thereby emboldened South Korea.
The passage further asserts that the only remaining way to correct this situation is no longer ordinary diplomacy, but the drastic medicine of severing diplomatic relations, and presents this as the intelligent course for conveying Japan’s philosophy, honor, and truth to the world.
It is a chapter that questions the foundations of Japan’s postwar media space, its understanding of South Korea, and its diplomatic judgment.

2019-04-22
When one thinks of how the Asahi Shimbun and the so-called cultural figures who grew up reading it have worsened Japan–South Korea relations to this extent…
And of how they have emboldened them to an unbelievable degree…

What follows is a chapter published on October 26, 2015.
The cover of the Japanese edition of Newsweek that arrived last Tuesday carried a feature titled “History War.”
The moment I saw that cover, I thought the following.
The feature deals with Japan, China, and South Korea,
but as for South Korea, I was convinced that the time was finally approaching when what I had long felt Japan ought to do in order to resolve this condition, namely that severing diplomatic relations is the only solution, should at last be put into practice.
South Korea is a country that has spent two thousand years as a tributary state to a country of “bottomless evil” and “plausible lies.”
There can be no doubt that among the individual Chinese, who belonged to the suzerain state, there is far more intelligence than among them.
For example, there are the good elements contained within what one might call a continental cast of character.
It is also something I myself had felt from the few overseas Chinese acquaintances I have.
In the Chinese microblogs I have introduced several times, there is splendid irony directed toward those in power.
Their rulers do not speak the truth.
But among the Chinese there certainly exist people who do speak the truth, people who can see the truth.
I think South Korea is hopeless even in this respect.
The cause probably lies in the length of time each country has carried out anti-Japan education, that is to say, Nazism.
As for South Korea, I have referred to it as spanning the seventy years since Syngman Rhee, and Masayuki Takayama has taught me that Park Chung-hee thoroughly entrenched it.
As for China, he also made me recognize again that Jiang Zemin began it in the 1980s.
The other day, when I was speaking with a well-informed friend, he remarked,
“Even if we assume South Korea were to stop its anti-Japan education, it would still take a hundred years for it to return to anything like a normal condition.”
In other words, South Korea is hopeless.
But if one asks whether there is no road to correcting this hopelessness, there is.
It is the only road, but no remedy remains for them except the drastic medicine of severing diplomatic relations.
When one thinks of how the Asahi Shimbun and the so-called cultural figures who grew up reading it have worsened Japan–South Korea relations to this extent…
And of how they have emboldened them to an unbelievable degree…
This performative moralism deserves death.
If Japan were to sever diplomatic relations, the South Korean economy would collapse immediately.
There would be a certain amount of pain for those companies that had been supplying products to a handful of conglomerates such as Samsung…
But it goes without saying that this would immediately lead to the revitalization of other companies…
Especially the great enterprises of which Japan is proud before the world.
Their splendid products would once again resound throughout the world.
And besides…
Since this would be for the sake of conveying to the world the philosophy, honor, and truth of Japan and the Japanese, people would simply have to endure a certain amount of pain.
Until South Korea writes and submits to the world a written pledge stating,
“We will never again falsify history and slander Japan,”
all exchange with them must be cut off.
That is what intelligence means…
That is the only road by which the world may be led to peace…
The time when both Japan and the world must come to know this had already long arrived.
To be continued.