Identifying Flaming Right-wing Nationalists

Here, for the sake of argument, I conceded that “[Hirofumi] Nakasone[, the new Foreign Minister] is a flaming right-wing nationalist” by way of his membership in the Nihon Kaigi, or Japan Conference (motto: English language page last updated April 15, 2003). By the same token, Yasuo Fukuda, Shigeru Ishiba, Makoto Koga, and Sadakazu Tanigaki are all flaming right-wing nationalists too.

Yes, the more a Diet member’s name pops up on the membership lists of certain groups and associations, the more likely it is that he/she holds a conservative/nationalist/right-wing outlook. But a single membership is a poor tool to judge the ideological coloring of that particular individual with unless he/she happens to belong to the The Teachers’ Union of Japan Believes that the Nanking Massacre Happened and the Government Was Involved in Rassling Up Comfort Women HAHAHA So Let’s Go Build Us Nihonjin Some Nuclear Weapons Committee.

This is an issue that I’ve taken up before, but I hope that a reminder will be useful to casual visitors to my blog.