Japan: What happens if the assassin wins?

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code SPECTACLES at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan:
incogni.com/spectacles
-
Shinzo Abe was murdered almost two years ago, and Japanese politics still isn't the same.
-
Support us on Patreon: / spectaclesmedia
Check out our script and sources: www.spectacles.news/what-happ...
Hang out on our Discord: / discord
-
Spectacles is a love letter to democracy, its values, its caretakers, and its ideas. Around the world, individual rights and representative government are facing unprecedented attacks from the forces of reaction and revisionism. But despite liberal democracy’s real shortcomings and today’s all-too-fashionable cynicism, we remain committed to its preservation and improvement. Join us as we explore just what liberal democracy is, how it comes about, and how it can best be maintained in a changing world.
-
CITATIONS (footnotes in CC)
Note: Unless cited otherwise, all claims made reference our previous video on this subject and its antecedent citations: • Shinzo Abe was assassi...
1. Asahi Shinbun, www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14....
2. Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_o....
3. Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/1....
4. Reuters, www.reuters.com/world/asia-pa...
5. Mainichi, mainichi.jp/english/articles/... ↩︎
-
00:00 INTERSECTION
01:04 CHURCH
04:13 MANIFESTO
08:25 CHANGE

[@spectacles-dm]

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code SPECTACLES at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: incogni.com/spectacles

[@NKY151]

Shinzo was never a good person or a good politician. The right wing has led the damn nation into the ground, particularly with the almost all-men cabinet disincentivizing any incentives or any illusions that gender equality or any meaningful progress was made during his cursed tenure

[@darthzayexeet3653]

So in a way… he won. Not only did he successfully assassinate his target, but he also kicked off a kind of “revolution” and single-handedly discredited the ruling party of Japan, forcing them to seek a ban of the Unification Church. I don’t think he could’ve predicted that public reaction, even in his wildest dreams

[@josron6088]

👍

[@Sigma_Male_Anti_Female]

Why do people pretend that Japan is a better place than the USA?

[@josron6088]

@@Sigma_Male_Anti_Female Social cohesion and virtually no crime.

[@Sigma_Male_Anti_Female]

@@josron6088 Bro a dude got assassinated and the government is run by a corrupt church. Japan isn't the ethno state utopia you think it is.

[@yonavlad3723]

@@josron6088 but

[@sylvainfalquet6350]

I also heard that the assassin chose Abe because Hak Ja In, the current leader of the Unification Church, had STRONGER security than that of the Japanese Prime Minister. So he went for the second "easier" target.

[@kaplanbahadir2301]

Lol, I guess he saw this coming.

[@kacperwoch4368]

Abe wasn't a prime minister at the time so that partially explains the lack of security.

[@Fadzi2342]

FORMER Prime Minister. He was already out of office by the time of the assassination.

[@mYnAME-ww9iv]

​@@kacperwoch4368Yeah, security of the EX-Prime Minister would obviously be somewhat lacking.

[@alshoutcasting9101]

Well Shinzo Abe was no longer the prime minister, he had retired from office and for the most part Japanese political figures don't receive the same threats and violence thus the lesser security.

[@anotherbacklog]

The fact that Abe died almost felt like some sort of divine retribution. If any one of the things didn’t happen he would be still kicking: Abe was supposed to go to Nagano, Yamagami was about to give up Abe changed the plan last minute to go to Nara, Yamagami just happened to be there too They picked a busy junction, pretty prone to attack from all directions Some cyclists pass by distracted the security, allowing Yamagami to get within meters. Security didn’t click after the first shot fired, only after second shot that they neutralized Yamagami Abe turned around after the first shot missed, second shot end up hitting him in front. Yamagami actually deliberately made his weapon weaker to reduce risk of collateral damage, and yet one pallet just happened to hit an artery The security were inexperienced with gunshot wounds, and were performing CPR on Abe, making his bleeding worse. This is perhaps the biggest contributing factor. Due to the traffic control the ambulance took longer to arrive. They had to ship him out with a helicopter to a bigger hospital capable of dealing with gunshot wounds Took 50 minutes to get Abe to the hospital. It really got that Archeduke Ferdinand vibe. That turn.

[@hoshi314]

that's just eerie, kinda reinforces the "history can't be repeated, but it can be remade"

[@dylanschenkelberg7399]

CPR on a gun wound is insane

[@adrianevital-lu5qp]

holy shit.that’s creep me me 😣😰

[@eruno_]

@@dylanschenkelberg7399 In Japan gun crime is so rare no one knows how to deal with it.

[@Voland1871]

Also a side note, Shinzo Abe’s grandfather was also prime minister, he was named Nobusuke Kishi, better known as the “Monster of Manchuria”. Kishi ran the brutal slave state of Manchukuo prior to and during WW2. Post war he returned to Japanese politics only to be ousted as Prime minister following the JSDF refusing his orders to fire on unarmed protestors in Tokyo. Abe’s story understandably also carries a certain “sins of the father” narrative.

[@spectacles-dm]

Kishi is one...interesting...character, you're right. If you want our telling of that lore, check out our other most recent video, "Japan in 1960 was insane." - kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6u1iIN9iMZ-es0

[@roxylius7550]

@@kormagogthedestroyerstory of abe’s family is well documented and easily verifiable. Look up his family of wikipedia. It really is as if japanese elected high ranking member of nazi party to be their politicians over and over again

[@ericflyingraccoon923]

@@spectacles-dm That was a spectacular video dude!

[@SirMatthew]

More like *shinzo* the father

[@eedobee]

Incogni is bullshit

[@korakys]

"Japan basically agreed with his reason for killing [ex-Prime Minister] Abe." Is a shocking phrase that really sums up how unusual the situation was.

[@davidsenra2495]

Nobody could see that coming. The world is unpredictable sometimes.

[@asdfghjjhgf]

Because when this incident came to light, many Japanese were disappointed in Abe. Abe was popular in Japan as a conservative, but he was actually working with an anti-Japanese left-wing korean cult that trying to destroy Japan.

[@JohnYoo39]

​@@davidsenra2495 i mean, we knew nobody liked him

[@sunnohh]

The surprise of the reaction is pretty much proportional to how well you understood Japanese domestic politics

[@oz_jones]

@@JohnYoo39 "I can merk you because nobody likes you"

[@TombaFanatic]

It is weird to me to see what is basically a 1 party state scramble to change something because of public opinion.

[@toromaniac2232]

The LDP and their coalition holds the House of Councillors by about 58%, and they hold the House of Reps by 63%. Opposition holds the HoC by ~37% and HoR by ~35%. Many Japanese tend to be unaffiliated with any political party, so I guess it makes sense to listen to public opinion once in a while as long as there is somewhat competitive opposition.

[@JamieElli]

Japanese politics is _weird,_ but you don't get to be the ruling party for so long by ignoring public opinion.

[@bebebaba3442]

It changes because it’s not a one-party state, it’s a dominant-party state with democracy. That’s why ruling party can actually face problems if it ignores public opinion which holds it accountable

[@jamesgeorge7579]

From what I've read, the basic policy of the LDP is to simply do what it most popular. If the opposition parties advocate for something that a large portion of the population want, make it a part of your platform as well, then people often don't have a reason to vote for the opposition. Combine that with the fact old people in Japan are generally more politically active than younger people and are generally more averse to big changes, and they've had the LDP in power their whole lives

[@demeterruinedmylife3199]

The problem (or really, the good thing) is that Japan is still a democracy, although LDP is heavily favoured due to election laws surrounding promotion and district drawings, they can still lose. It is once pointed out that the noteworthy thing about Abe’s governance is not the supermajority he got in the diet, but that he still achieved not much (including his main project, pushing for revision of the peace constitution) due to afraid of popping the indifference bubble.

[@InfinteIdeas]

"It's not his politics, it's personal" really says something about it being a narrow motive and a painful reality, not a grand world view.

[@bagashariyanto5449]

I thought he would say "It's not about Abe's politics, it's about sending a message".

[@gugga2745]

the bus was a paid actor

[@dariusalexandru9536]

Was a CIA informant

[@ThePieMaster219]

I have a half Japanese, half Korean friend; her mother is a Japanese moonie, she actually in fact came to Korea because she was more or less scammed into a marriage by the church; needless to say, the friend's home is quite broken. Thankfully she's out of that situation and has more or less cut ties with her parents. Despite all this, apparently her mum still is a devout worshipper.

[@s.davidson1783]

bruh these churches are a real problem sometimes ... I face almost similar predicament ...

[@lewatoaofair2522]

Goes to show how cults can be stubbornly powerful and can make one (neigh, many) stubbornly codependent.

[@ThePieMaster219]

@@s.davidson1783 My condolences... Especially if you're an only child like my friend that I talked about here. I hope you, too, get out of that situation ASAP.

[@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993]

My parents are part of it

[@ThePieMaster219]

@@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993 my condolences

[@ChewyThomson]

How embarrassing, getting merc'd by the starting gun from Fallout 4

[@tsukuneboy]

They don't have bodyguard with power suit, that's why ........

[@melvinbrotherofthejoker436]

It wasn’t a 10mm pistol though…????

[@crptpyr]

​@@melvinbrotherofthejoker436I think they're referring to pipe weapons. It's not the first gun you get access to but the most common low level weapons

[@soyersawce3726]

A homemade “Shinzo Schwacker”

[@edwhatshisname3562]

It was a pipe gun from Fallout 4 or Rust.

[@neotailz]

The Abe-lisher or Shinzo Special

[@Melcor2304]

9:12 he may not have done anything to fix the problem, but he provided the ammo that can allow Japanese law-makers, lawyers and social activists that are against these cults to force change into Japan's policies regarding religions and cults, to make sure these cults don't ruin people's lives.

[@MrEnjoivolcom1]

It’s been two years?! Feels like just a few months ago. Dang. I need to get to living life!

[@c.o.m.r.a.d.e4541]

Ikr

[@SonOfLaVey1966]

I wish you would've talked more about Abe's actual connection to the church and whether or not he was truly corrupted by it.

[@willyvereb]

He frequently took place in their ceremonies but you can't exactly ask the dead if he was a devout believer or just a cynical trend follower. His father had deep connections to the Church already and he basically grew up with it. As it often is with cults, after a certain point you don't drink from their cool-aid but take your share out of the scam. It's unclear how much Abe actually believed in the Church and how much he used it as a convenient tool. He certainly had no remorse about the Japanese war crimes. His family lineage and most importantly his political comments made it almost too obvious. Fun Fact: Abe managed to do what his grandfather Kishi championed for his whole political career, reinterpreted Article 9 and allowed Japan to participate in foreign missions. It is a lot less glorious than what Kishi envisioned but it's a rather curious thing to know. So in a sense his family got what they always wanted. Given that the previous political murder and major turn in Japanese politics happened because Kishi wanted to push through Japan's remilitarization it's even more curious.

[@iammrawesomesauce]

As someone who’s been watching this informal series on Abe’s assassination since around the time the original videos came out, I’m genuinely surprised by how not bored I am with each successive video. They repeat an ok amount of the same information, sure, but I can see that you continue to get better at condensing and presenting this information over time. The new bits you add really help to change the context as well, like the LDP’s approval rating in this one. Keep it up. You’re one of the better political/historical “documentary” channels out there right now

[@josh9736]

Oh boy, love me my dose of Japanese political docs

[@beeflumps]

Why do you like it. Why do I like it?

[@F0UR3V3R]

​@@beeflumpsFor a second I thought you were the same person because I only looked at your profile pictures

[@GrandPoobahRoc]

The LDP at least WERE pretty comfy with the Yakuza for a few decades.

[@ernstschmidt4725]

yeah pretty sure they "were", totally not "are" since the police is kicking down some of those villians on TV

[@peterkelly4873]

Wow! What an incredible follow up, and thank you for putting out such great informative content!

[@swanstarr1441]

This scandal isn't the only reason the LDP is losing support, there's also a corruption scandal going on right now about their fundraising methods

[@chantingzhang]

It is important to note that the Unification church has received massive political support from the American political right after WWII due to their founder's newfound anti-communism, The US supported their activities, while US conservative politicians received massive political donations in return. Post WWII, the US intentionally fostered the political right in Japan to counter communism, including the merging of the liberal party and the democratic party, both right wing parties at the time, into the Libdem party mentioned in the video, along with massive CIA influence and financial support (now all declassified in public records). The Unification Church, like the fascists in Operation Gladio is one of the many evils the US deemed acceptable in the cold war as long as it helped kept communism out and kept workers and unions out of power.

[@dr.victorvs]

Kinda weird, with those beliefs, that their logo is essentially the Imperial Japanese war ensign.

[@Jane-sw1zh]

This was informative. Thanks!

[@jamescousins9216]

Considering this topic was one of your earliest videos, this was a nice, short follow-up with some good background footage to show the upscale since your start.

[@eskipotato]

I love how much the quality of videos on the channel has improved in the past months. So cool

[@chrisperry7963]

Man, this channel is amazing.

[@austinrichard8046]

Dang this is a wild topic I'm glad to see it covered Such a good quality video

[@JohnnyMarksVideos]

This is so good, I'm blown away by how many projects you guys juggled in Japan. Hope there was still enough time for fun!

[@clmk28]

Excellent video, I always wanted to know more about this.

[@schuylerkrizay6192]

incredible channel. I havent seen anything like it on youtube

[@rubenvega3368]

I once again ask spectacles to make a video about the death of Luis Donaldo Colosio

[@connorzen-vm8of]

Please make more videos about Japan. Your content is very well made.

[@cycla]

top notch journalism!!!

[@frankjames4743]

Insightful video. Subbed and liked. ty

[@MrGillb]

The unification church I think was directly referenced in black lagoon; after all both are flushed with cash and have sent weapons and money to weird places.

[@sashimiroll5055]

I can no longer hear the name “Shinzo Abe” without starting to sing FOB’s version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” lol

[@bladepeterson778]

It is fascinating to see how the broad public sentiment is that the assassination itself should be condemned, but the reasons for said assassination were justified. Leading to the, in practice, one party state to cut ties and try to reform. At least try to show they are responding to public opinion even though to win re-election they wouldn't necessarily have to. It goes to show how even though Japan is a strong democracy, there are still serious risks of a single party having such a tight grip on control with no reasonable chance of opposition unseating them. If worse actors (and less resilient guardrails against said actors) were in control of Japan's Liberal Democratic party we would see worse things happening in their system. It shocks me that there approval is as low as %17 and they still don't need to worry about being unseated by the opposition.

[@spectacles-dm]

Legend

[@t0t0-wb1bt]

The perpetrator's brother and father committed suicide, A few years later, he killed Abe

[@itcaboi1707]

What’s unfortunate is that the Japanese public’s distain for the unification church also bled into distain for actual Christianity, exasperated by Japanese people’s already low view of Christianity.

[@bulletflight]

Japan already has their own religion. Syncretism is the way to go, not conversion.

[@abrahamicreligionsbowbefor3585]

All religion is cult.

[@beverlyhills7883]

I live a km away. The nearby Starbucks was where I'd have coffees.

[@Jobe-13]

The Moonies kind of remind me of the FLDS.

[@dr.victorvs]

The LDP was, in some sense, the party in power even before 1960. It was essentially borne from the party that ruled Japan from 1900 leading to WW2 (Rikken Seiyukai). The LDP's the latest in one huge tree of conservative parties that branched and remerged since '45.

[@GusVIII]

Lived in Nara about ten years back. Yamato Saidaiji was my local station. It’s so weird to see a place that used to be part of my everyday routine become so infamous.

[@skypig]

I’m really liking these more modern on location videos mixed in with the animated style, it’s a good balance I think.

[@bebebaba3442]

Love your documentaries about Japanese politics! ❤

[@iamseamonkey6688]

When i heard "I want to show a really important intersection" i thought you were going to show us the shibuya crossing

[@calebweldon8102]

It’s interesting how they take a real thing (Japan did an evil thing and should repay Korea) but uses it for power like Japan should repay Korea but through the Korean government not a church

[@frappes_]

i was an exchange student in Nara before Abe was shot there. it's strange how historic events changes your perception of what was just a busy station back then.

[@biggrug3968]

Shoko Asahara has caused so much damage to post-war Japanese society and religious practices, even so many years after his execution.

[@theman44ful]

Donald Trump even did videos for the Unification Church, it’s way more widespread than people think.

[@user-ru3ql6ji4p]

Great content as usual!

[@TapOnX]

Mr Salieri sends his regards

[@ANorminalHuman]

This was amazing

[@mrcoole7890]

Getting grubbed by a DB from rust is crazy.

[@hpenvy1106]

3:22 is the spinning logo a nod towards Ghost in the Shell?

[@cald1421]

I don’t believe this is accurate. Abe is fondly remembered and was a popular PM. He was responsible for stability and reasserting japans place in the Asian pacific

[@LanceCSTCuddy]

The wiggling charts didn’t work for me. I found them a bit dizzying to look at. Just a datapoint for you. Loved the video.

[@OleksandrKhreptyk]

An ad on a 5 min video is wild Maybe I’m just used to longer form content that’s more common now

[@dunaldiX]

This is very very high quality content that is extremely well produced. Honestly these guys should be about 20x as big, fact that its free is awesome so an ad even in a short video is completely fine with me.

[@avilancer2516]

Well, you gotta pay for the travel.

[@oz_jones]

Adblock and sponsorblock.

[@student_initiative4926]

In Japan, opinion polls show that opposition parties will win 3 of Liberal Democratic seats in the by elections on 28th. The liberal democrats know that they cannot hold their safe electoral districts, so two elections have no ldp candidate and the only race with a ldp candidate shows that only 60% of members plan to vote for their party. While support is weaker for a specific opposition party, more people are increasingly mobilized to vote for an opposition candidate simply because the ldp is extremely unpopular. Online, less people vocally support the ruling party and it seems that ldp is on their way to lose the next election. The systemic problems of the current party cannot be solved it's leadership without losing a large majority of members, and on top of bad economic policy and tax hikes, the opposition earns the support of former ldp voters. I think that this channel should look at the upcoming by-elections for evidence of change in Japanese society.

[@orrorsaness5942]

It all just depends on the next candidate. If it's anything like the Oda vs The God of Anime, the LDP would win again, if only barely, and The LDP will crack down on their own corruption However, if The current prime minister decides to run again, The LDP would lose.

[@leftenantthunder]

Fascinating stuff

[@politicalmemes1296]

They own the Washington Times?? How did I not know that.

[@Nadia1989]

The apathy among younger citizens towards politics doesn't help either.

[@ARIXANDRE]

It's already been 2 years???

[@senior_ranger]

"Shockingly influential" Washington Times? I did 10 years in the DC lobbying world; that rag is considered the equivalent of a local high-school student paper. The only newspapers of influence in that town are: Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Beyond that, your video is interesting, even illuminating. Thanks. (If I were you, I'd lay off the word "shocking.")

[@orrorsaness5942]

This

[@swimmerboy172]

It’s the 2nd most circulated daily newspaper headquartered in DC meaning it’s somewhat influential and shocking that it was started and owned by the self proclaimed second coming of Christ and his church. Also shocking that the church was supported by the longest running Japanese prime minister of all time. Even Donald trump spoke at one of their related rallies. I fully agree though, he could have used another word besides shocking. But It’s a click-bait world we live in.

[@ReallyRealBenMills]

People outside the Beltway don't realize that it's a terrible source. It took me a few articles to realize that they're basically a sham. And there's no trustworthy consensus on which papers and blogs are worth reading. So yes, they have a shocking readership given the quality of their shit.

[@piedpiper1172]

That’s just it. Insiders aren’t influenced by it, but to the less informed, the WT is often mistaken for the WP, and it’s not uncommon for its articles to go viral. Which is frankly a shocking amount of influence for some nutter cult’s personal news rag. Most cult rags dream of the readership numbers highschool papers bring in, they don’t go viral a few times a year.

[@Refloni]

Maybe he got it mixed with Washington Post like I did hearing the name

[@sandstormxx]

Is this a redux of the old video?

[@syd1279]

was abt to ask the same

[@spectacles-dm]

+ update on what has been going down in japanese politics since then

[@Saul_Atreides]

@@spectacles-dm Question: Why no acknowledgement of the old video at all during this one? Made me feel weird and start questioning my sanity...

[@TheEvilCheesecake]

What is it about modern internet users, where instead of researching the answers to their concerns themselves, they just ask the creator and expect to be spoonfed an explanation? Take control of your own media literacy and worldview, for your own sake.

[@ROBLOXGamingDavid]

Follow-up.

[@HorsesArePeople2]

I love how you say he did nothing to fix the problem after explaining for 10 minutes how his actions directly caused the PM to cut ties and advocate to dissolve the church. Do you even listen to yourself?

[@wildfire9280]

1:42 “Co-Prosperity Sphere”

[@n00b1n8R]

Pretty wild that Japan has continued to cling onto the LDP through decades of recession. Makes you wonder how democratic the system is.

[@motojojo_]

I remember when it happened. The outpouring of grief from the… weeby side of the internet was far greater than anything I heard from the Japanese people I know. Like, the Japanese were silent, it was just another day.

[@Monkey_D_Luffy56]

It's been 2 years!?!

[@sageg58]

Its crazy, because shinzo abe was pretty well liked, and still is

[@qwerasdfjkl1990]

The moonies are nuts

[@alejandroreyes8878]

2 years already? Man, my time perception is so screwed

[@mobashshirkareem976]

I usually don’t watch videos with low view count, cause they are usually not good. but this was very well researched and narrated! The story telling was terrific.

[@adiuntesserande6893]

I never knew the Moonies owned the Washington Times. I thought I couldn't despise that paper more. I was apparently wrong!

[@otakunthevegan4206]

And people say the news is all bad these days.

[@Mr.McMuffin]

The Moonies lived in my town here in the U.S. They were considering to be cranks by most of us, and highkey we all hated them. Their estate is about 400 feet from my house, and quite frankly the whole town rejoiced when he died and they all started leaving. There's not many left in my town nowadays, but they were a nuisance for a long time.

[@Shaker626]

Which town?

[@Mr.McMuffin]

@@Shaker626 Irvington NY

[@danielmaw7225]

the shotgun was pretty advanced dude had it wired up with an actual trigger not just a pipe shotgun

[@robertcloonan6346]

I thought this was supposed to be about a sick homemade gun!

[@josron6088]

My heart goes out to him and his family. This is why I here in the United States the founding fathers TRIED to have separation of church and state. All religions are cults some do more damage than others.

[@lukehahn4489]

That explains occasional references to religious cult scams seen in various anime. Never sypathetic...

[@kasumiayanami4501]

America and Japan both lost an Abe 😔💔

[@swetangsharma]

Somebody looses?

[@randomchannel-px6ho]

You're omitting a crucial aspect of Japanese society and politics from your analysis: demographics. Japan's youth are effectively irrelevant to policy makers for whom it's a better reelection strategy to focus on the welfare of Japan's much larger old cohort. The elderly securing their entitlement benefits is the most important issue in Japanese politics and all else is secondary, probably something the political astute in other democracies with aging populations should pay attention to as geriatric leadership focused primarily on the welfare of the geriatric is in part responsible for Japan's stagnation. Americans are upset about inflation right now. After the pandemic many Japanese workers saw their salaries reduced! Hikikomori and other problems resulting from a society that doesn't promise its young a stable future are quite worrisome and appearing elsewhere l l

[@russellmoore8187]

I liked the essay style better, without the stand-up correspondent on camera

[@defeatSpace]

Funny how China glorifies it and Japan is like "that's distasteful, and yes, he had it coming."

[@kobedoggo]

please cover more japanese politics!!!

[@shin_no_posaydal]

屋上にスナイパー小屋が…？

[@cornballmcgoo7174]

maybe most of the time people will be stepped on by an overwhelmingly powerful and corrupt force but not everytime

[@cartilagehead6326]

You weren't exactly wrong to say "one country" at 8:53. Both the LDP's political monopoly and the Unification Church's power in Korea and in Japan are direct results of US foreign policy.

[@Pierre-lj4sq]

"japan a democracy" 10 seconds later "one party rules for 50 years"

[@fawwazbmn]

IMHO, its nothing wrong, its still a democracy afterall, although there might be some drawbacks. Many countries that are stable politically and rich economically have been dominated by one party. Singapore is one of them.

[@Pierre-lj4sq]

@fawwazbmn Well your honest opinion is wrong, japan similar to (but not as much as) korea is controlled by Wast mega corporations that in one way or another fund and "lobby" the same party. In this case, those who are more in favor of de-regulation. Both countries, despite undergoing massive crises, still haven't changed their politics. Why? "Stability"? No, political centralisation under that "The party that always been successful" "The party of no change". They are brainwahsed into hating "Change" something you can observe easily in korean politics. Material conditions that they live under dictate such politics. They are infact no way near to Singapore or China, in the latter (singapor and china), the state rules conglomerates, while in japan and korea, its the opposite. None are democracies respectively. Its just a way to "legitimise" korea and japan and stigmatise China. Social fabric of korea is completely rotten to the core, its a cesspool of greed, deregulation, hyperconsumerism, and inhumane. Far worth than what we advertise "China". Simply because their population "hate change" does not mean its a democracy, they are conditioned into living in a hyper individualist society, to hate the unknown, its not a "democracy" when the state itself doesn't even control 40%of the economy.

[@eruno_]

It's still a democracy with fair elections. LDP isn't winning because of some kind of authoritarian measures, they win because of tradition and perceived stability they bring while opposition had been in endless bickering and infighting since basically forever.

[@felixsmdt]

Two things can be true at the same time. As long as the elections are free, fair and secret and democratic principles are followed it's a democracy. No matter how often one party gets elected

[@Nabil-ef7lo]

I think its more like Guided democracy same as in Singapore, both are succesful countries regardless

[@alexlehrersh9951]

4:39 Lies many japanese see the truth and know that Abe was a hero and a victim

[@stephenmontague6930]

Japanese were rather shocked, especially as a gun was involved and the man killed was famous, but politicians in Japan aren't the messianic celebrity figures of America, in general, rather the opposite, and this was during the depressing covid era, on top of the normally good but hard life of Japanese - the response is very Japanese, which has grown accustomed to the threat of sudden tradegy, where the best response is to investigate and calculate a public solution, if possible, rather than openly lash out from emotions, which tend to be private.

[@MeatyOchre]

Wow, I didn’t have any of this context. While it doesn’t justify what happened, I can’t help but feel just as sorry for the assassin and his family as I do Abe and his.

[@Anon90147]

Wait aren’t firearms banned in japan?

[@darkspire91]

No, certain firearms can be purchased after extensive screenings and permits. Even so, the assassin MADE a gun out of pipes, tape and a battery to ignite firework propellant that fired ball bearings.

[@mccoyfleming6664]

is the wasington post seriously a moonie thing? wow edit: washington post and times are two different papers

[@philiphart4146]

Washington Times- a different newspaper.

[@SamAronow]

You’ll also want to be on the lookout for _The Epoch Times,_ which is the same deal but with Falun Gong, another East Asian cult with strong connections to right-wing politics. Shen Yun is also them.

[@ROBLOXGamingDavid]

Sometimes people can get confused about the two similarly named papers. Only when they find out what they're publishing, well... i guess you and I knew...

[@SnakeBush]

in japan the shinobi always win

[@ericclaptonsrobotpilot7276]

David Pakman and Jonny Harris’ love child

[@informitas0117]

No matter what gruesome stuff I'd done I would never surrender to a group of people who chant "This guy sucks, give me money!". If I was remorseful I'd give my money to the poor, not the rich.

[@mathieuleader8601]

It will be very interesting to see if party members of the LDP enact on the publics thirst for change by voting for current minister for foriegn affairs Yōko Kamikawa in the forthcoming leadership election so Japan has its first female PM.

[@Keisha-iv6wu]

I think you fumbled on your word a couple times you said when one country controls when I think you meant to say one party