Democracy Now! is broadcasting from Tokyo, Japan, today in the first of three special broadcasts. At a critical time for Japan and the region, we begin our coverage looking at the country’s rightward political shift under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was re-elected just over a year ago. As head of the Liberal Democratic Party, Abe is known as a conservative hawk who has pushed nationalistic and pro-nuclear policies. In December, he visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine, which honors Japanese soldiers who died in battle, including several war criminals who were tried by the International Military Tribunal after World War II. The visit sparked outrage from China and South Korea, who consider the shrine a symbol of Japanese militarism and its refusal to atone for atrocities committed in the first half of the 20th century. We speak about Japan’s increasingly pro-nuclear, nationalistic stance with Koichi Nakano, professor at Sophia University in Tokyo and director of the Institute of Global Concern.
Continue reading at Shock Doctrine in Japan: Shinzo Abe’s Rightward Shift to Militarism, Secrecy in Fukushima’s Wake
Series of reports at Democracy Now!:
From Atomic Bombings to Fukushima, Japan Pursues a Nuclear Future Despite a Devastating Past
For Fukushima’s Displaced, a Struggle to Recover Lives Torn Apart by Nuclear Disaster
Okinawa’s Revolt: Decades of Rape, Environmental Harm by U.S. Military Spur Residents to Rise Up
Japan’s Peace Boat Journeys to Confront Buried Crimes of the Past & Build Ties for a Hopeful Future
Japan Remains Hotbed of TPP Protest as U.S. Tries to Fast-Track Trade Deal, Crush Environmental Laws
“We Want to Fight For This Cause”: Nuclear Refugees from Fukushima Join Anti-Nuke Protests
Mayor of Town That Hosted Fukushima Nuclear Plant Says He Was Told: “No Accident Could Ever Happen”
Protests Grow in Japan: “We Want to Bring Our Message to the World to Stop Nuclear Power Plants”
Volunteers Crowdsource Radiation Monitoring to Map Potential Risk on Every Street in Japan
