Jake Adelstein - Japan Has a New Emperor and a New Era, but a Dark Future
Prime Minister Abe and his political base are members of a Shinto cult and political lobby, Nippon Kaigi , which believes that Japan must shed the shackles of a “U.S. imposed” democratic constitution, popular sovereignty, basic human rights, pacifism, and gender equality. Abe and most of his cabinet members believe that the Japanese people are divine descendants of the gods, World War II was justified, and that emperor worship should be restored. The name of Japan’s new imperial era, Reiwa , was announced on April Fools’ Day with great fanfare and a great big linguistic lie. The official government party line is that it translates as “Beautiful Harmony,” but what it means literally is more Orwellian: “Commanded Peace.” Of course, a certain portion of the Japanese population realizes that the explanation given for the new imperial name is not the truth, but they probably were not surprised. Japan has grown numb to the deceptions and lies of its elected rulers. As o...